What are the eight forms of be?

Am, is, are (present), was, were (past), be (infinitive, imperative, and subjunctive), being (the -ing form), and been (the past participle). Am, is, and are also start present continuous and present passive forms; was and were start the past ones; been follows have, has, or had; being builds the continuous passive and also works as a gerund.

How is this different from the verb to be as a beginner lesson?

The beginner lesson teaches am, is, and are for identity, feelings, and place, plus simple negatives and questions. This page adds was, were, be, been, and being, and it treats be as the auxiliary that builds every continuous and every passive. If you only need I am tired and Are you ready?, start on the verb-to-be page.

When do I use been and when do I use being?

Been follows have, has, or had: She has been chair. It has been repaired. We have been waiting. Being is the -ing form: as a gerund (Being late cost us) or after am/is/are/was/were in the continuous passive (The cello is being restrung). Is been and has being are both errors.

How do I make a continuous passive with be?

Stack two be-forms: a tensed be, then being, then a past participle. The cello is being restrung. The chairs were being stacked. The same order with a modal: The hatch will be being sealed is grammatical and rare; writers usually switch to The hatch will be sealed or They will be sealing the hatch.

Why do we still say If I were?

Because were here is a subjunctive, a mood that marks the situation as unreal, not a past-time were. If I were the chair, I would delay the vote imagines a present that is not true. Informal speech often uses If I was. Careful writing, and the fixed phrase If I were you, keep were for every person.

English grammar · Intermediate

Be Verbs: Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Be, Been, Being

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

Be has eight forms: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, and being. It is a linking verb (The hall is silent), and it is the auxiliary that builds every continuous form (is sorting) and every passive (was sorted, is being sorted, has been sorted). This page is the full paradigm across tenses, not the beginner lesson in am, is, and are as descriptions of people.

The scores are being sorted; they have been in that crate since March.

are being: auxiliary be in a present continuous passive; have been: been as the perfect participle

What it is

No other English verb has eight living forms, and no other verb does two grammatical jobs at this scale. As a linking verb, be joins a subject to a noun, adjective, or place: She was the chair. The hall is silent. As an auxiliary, the same forms build the continuous (is sorting, was being repaired) and the passive (was sorted, has been sorted, is being sorted). Am, is, and are cover the present; was and were cover the past; be is the infinitive, subjunctive, and imperative; being is the -ing form; been is the past participle that follows have, has, or had.

The hatch was shut. (linking or passive, depending on whether shut is an adjective or a participle) The hatch was being shut when we arrived. (clearly auxiliary: continuous passive)

How to spot it

Name the form, then name the job. Am/is/are + adjective or noun: linking, present. Was/were + adjective or noun: linking, past. A form of be + -ing: continuous. A form of be + past participle: passive. Have/has/had + been: perfect of be, or perfect continuous / perfect passive once more words follow.

I am the duty curator this week. (am: present linking, identity)
They were already on the causeway. (were: past linking, place)
The cello is being restrung. (is being plus a participle: present continuous passive)
Those crates have been in the loft since March. (been after have: present perfect of linking be)

Been never stands without have, has, or had in standard finite clauses. Being never stands without a form of be when it is the continuous auxiliary (is being, was being). Bare being as a gerund is a different job: Being late cost us the crossing.

Be Verbs Quick Reference

The eight forms of be and where they live

Form	Slot	Example
am	present, first person singular	I am on duty. I am sorting the letters.
is	present, third person singular	She is the chair. The hall is being painted.
are	present, you / we / they	You are early. They are being careful.
was	past, I / he / she / it	I was downstairs. The fuse was replaced.
were	past, you / we / they (and subjunctive)	They were ashore. If I were you...
be	infinitive, imperative, subjunctive	to be sure; Be quiet; it is vital that she be there
being	-ing form: gerund or continuous auxiliary	Being late cost us; it is being repaired
been	past participle after have / has / had	She has been chair. It has been repaired.

Common Be Verbs Examples in English

The paradigm first as a linker, then as the engine of continuous and passive forms:

Linking Across Tenses

I am on the night crossing this week.: am plus a place/role phrase, present
The loft was draughty after the storm.: was plus an adjective, past
You have been a patient chair of that panel.: been after have: perfect of linking be
They had been at sea for a fortnight.: had been: past perfect of place

Linking be takes a complement that describes or identifies the subject, not an object. There is no do in its questions or negatives: Was the hall silent? The hall wasn't silent.

Auxiliary in Continuous Forms

She is filing the letters in the loft.: is plus -ing: present continuous
We were stacking chairs when the lights failed.: were plus -ing: past continuous
He has been tuning the cello all afternoon.: has been plus -ing: present perfect continuous
They will be waiting on the lower steps.: will be plus -ing: future continuous

The first be-form carries the tense and the person. The -ing form of the other verb never changes. Two be-forms can stack: is being, was being, has been being (rare).

Auxiliary in Passive Forms

The scores were sorted before dawn.: were plus a participle: past simple passive
The cello is being restrung this morning.: is being plus a participle: present continuous passive
Those crates have been moved twice.: have been plus a participle: present perfect passive
The hatch will be sealed from the inside.: will be plus a participle: future passive

Every passive is a form of be plus a past participle. Change the form of be and you change the tense of the passive. Get plus a participle (got restrung) is a related pattern, not a form of be.

Be, Being, Been in Other Slots

The board asked her to be present for the vote.: infinitive be after to
Be ready at four.: imperative be
Being the duty curator means holding the loft keys.: being as a gerund, subject of means
If I were the chair, I would delay the vote.: were as a subjunctive, not a past-time were

The subjunctive were (If I were, I wish she were) is a mood, not a past tense. In informal speech was often replaces it; in careful writing were still marks the unreal.

How the Be Paradigm Fits Together

Eight forms, two jobs, and a stacking order that never changes.

Person and Tense Live on the First Be-Form

Am, is, and are split the present by person. Was and were split the past (was for I, he, she, it; were for you, we, they). Everything after that first form is invariant: being, been, sorting, sorted. That is why She are filing and They was stacked are person errors on the first form, not on the participle.

She is filing. They were filing. She has been filing.

is, were, and has carry person and tense; filing does not change

Mark person on the first be (or on have).

Linking Be Versus Auxiliary Be

If an adjective, a noun, or a place follows, be is linking: is silent, was the chair, are on the quay. If an -ing form of another verb follows, be is the continuous auxiliary: is filing. If a past participle of another verb follows, be is the passive auxiliary: was filed. The same word, three tests, three jobs. Some participles are also adjectives (shut, closed, tired), so was shut can be linking or passive; add being or a by-phrase when you need the action reading.

The hatch is shut. The hatch is being shut.

state versus action in progress

Complement: linking. -ing: continuous. Participle: passive.

Stacking Order: Modal, Have, Be (continuous), Be (passive)

When several auxiliaries appear, they line up in a fixed order: a modal first (will, must), then have for perfect, then be for continuous, then be for passive, then the main verb. Will have been being sorted is grammatical and almost unused. The useful stacks are will be sorted, has been sorted, is being sorted, has been being (rare), was being sorted.

The scores will have been sorted by dusk. The scores were being sorted at noon.

modal plus have plus been plus participle; past continuous passive

Modal, have, be-continuous, be-passive, main verb.

Questions and Negatives Never Borrow Do

Whatever job be is doing, it inverts with the subject for questions and takes not for negatives: Is she filing? She isn't filing. Has it been moved? It hasn't been moved. Were they ashore? They weren't ashore. Do is is, Did they were, and Does it been are all impossible. Do only appears when be is absent and another main verb needs a helper.

Is the cello being restrung? It isn't being restrung yet.

the first be-form inverts; not attaches to it

Be inverts. Be takes not. No do.

Common Mistakes with Be Verbs

Incorrect: The cello is been restrung.

Correct: The cello has been restrung. / The cello is being restrung.

Been needs have, has, or had, not is. Is being restrung is the continuous passive (action now). Has been restrung is the perfect passive (action already done).

Incorrect: Does she is filing the letters?

Correct: Is she filing the letters?

Be never borrows do. The first be-form inverts with the subject for every job: linking, continuous, and passive.

Incorrect: They was stacking chairs when the lights failed.

Correct: They were stacking chairs when the lights failed.

Was is only for I, he, she, and it. You, we, and they take were, in the past of linking be and in every past continuous or past passive that starts with be.

Incorrect: If I was the chair, I would delay the vote. (careful writing, unreal present)

Correct: If I were the chair, I would delay the vote.

The unreal present after if and wish still takes were for every person in careful English: If I were, I wish she were. Was is common in speech; were is the form this page recommends for the subjunctive.

Be Across Tenses

Linking be in the present and the past, then the present perfect with been. Continuous and passive stacks use these same forms as the first auxiliary.

Present of be (linking or auxiliary)

Am, is, and are. In speech: I'm, she's, they're, isn't, aren't. There is no aren't with I in standard English: I'm not, not I aren't.

Pronoun	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	am ready	am not ready	Am I ready?
you	are ready	are not ready	Are you ready?
he / she / it	is ready	is not ready	Is she ready?
we	are ready	are not ready	Are we ready?
they	are ready	are not ready	Are they ready?

Replace ready with filing and the same forms become the present continuous auxiliary: I am filing, she is filing, they are filing.

Past of be

Was for I, he, she, and it; were for you, we, and they. Were is also the subjunctive after if and wish for every person: If I were sure.

Pronoun	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	was ready	was not ready	Was I ready?
you	were ready	were not ready	Were you ready?
he / she / it	was ready	was not ready	Was he ready?
we	were ready	were not ready	Were we ready?
they	were ready	were not ready	Were they ready?

Contractions: wasn't, weren't. Replace ready with being restrung for the past continuous passive: The cello was being restrung.

Present perfect of be (been)

Have or has plus been. Been does not change. This is linking be in the perfect (have been ready) and the base of perfect continuous and perfect passive (have been filing, have been sorted).

Pronoun	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	have been ready	have not been ready	Have I been ready?
you	have been ready	have not been ready	Have you been ready?
he / she / it	has been ready	has not been ready	Has she been ready?
we	have been ready	have not been ready	Have we been ready?
they	have been ready	have not been ready	Have they been ready?

Contractions: I've been, she's been, hasn't been. She's been can be she has been or, in a different sentence, she is been, which is not English: been always needs have, has, or had.

Been, Being, and the Infinitive Be

The three forms that do not carry person on their own.

Been after have

Been is only a past participle. It follows have, has, or had, and then either a complement (have been ready), an -ing form (have been waiting), or another participle (have been sorted).

She has been chair since January.: perfect of linking be
We have been waiting on the lower steps.: present perfect continuous
The fuse had been replaced before we arrived.: past perfect passive

Been to a place (She's been to the loft) is the perfect of go in the experience sense, not linking be. Been here versus gone there is a present-perfect lesson.

Being as gerund and as auxiliary

Being plus a complement can be a gerund (Being late cost us). Be plus being plus a participle is the continuous passive (is being restrung, was being stacked).

Being duty curator means holding the keys.: gerund as subject
The letters are being filed in date order.: present continuous passive
The chairs were being stacked when we came in.: past continuous passive

Is being ready is not standard for a state; stay with is ready. Being appears as an auxiliary only when a passive action is in progress.

Bare be

Be follows to, a modal, or an imperative, and it appears in the subjunctive after it is important that, it is vital that.

The board wants her to be present.: to-infinitive
You must be on the lower steps by four.: bare infinitive after a modal
It is vital that the hatch be sealed.: present subjunctive, more common in American formal writing

British English often replaces that subjunctive with should: it is vital that the hatch should be sealed. Both are standard.

Quick Check: Be Verbs

Choose the correct form of be, and name the job if asked.

1. The cello ___ (restrung, action in progress now).

Answer: is being restrung

present continuous passive: is + being + participle

2. Those crates ___ (in the loft) since March.

Answer: have been

present perfect of linking be: have + been + place

3. ___ they ashore when you arrived?

Answer: Were

past of be, you/we/they form, inverted

4. The scores ___ (sort, finished before dusk, future).

Answer: will have been sorted / will be sorted

future perfect passive or future simple passive, both possible

5. ___ late cost us the crossing. (gerund)

Answer: Being

being as a gerund, not is being

Be Verbs FAQs

What are the eight forms of be?: Am, is, are (present), was, were (past), be (infinitive, imperative, and subjunctive), being (the -ing form), and been (the past participle). Am, is, and are also start present continuous and present passive forms; was and were start the past ones; been follows have, has, or had; being builds the continuous passive and also works as a gerund.
How is this different from the verb to be as a beginner lesson?: The beginner lesson teaches am, is, and are for identity, feelings, and place, plus simple negatives and questions. This page adds was, were, be, been, and being, and it treats be as the auxiliary that builds every continuous and every passive. If you only need I am tired and Are you ready?, start on the verb-to-be page.
When do I use been and when do I use being?: Been follows have, has, or had: She has been chair. It has been repaired. We have been waiting. Being is the -ing form: as a gerund (Being late cost us) or after am/is/are/was/were in the continuous passive (The cello is being restrung). Is been and has being are both errors.
How do I make a continuous passive with be?: Stack two be-forms: a tensed be, then being, then a past participle. The cello is being restrung. The chairs were being stacked. The same order with a modal: The hatch will be being sealed is grammatical and rare; writers usually switch to The hatch will be sealed or They will be sealing the hatch.
Why do we still say If I were?: Because were here is a subjunctive, a mood that marks the situation as unreal, not a past-time were. If I were the chair, I would delay the vote imagines a present that is not true. Informal speech often uses If I was. Careful writing, and the fixed phrase If I were you, keep were for every person.