Verbo to be en inglés

¿Qué es el verbo to be?

El verbo to be es el verbo más utilizado en la lengua inglesa y también el más importante. Se utiliza como verbo principal y como auxiliar, y es irregular en pasado y en presente. Tiene 4 significados aunque los principales son ser y estar. Los cuatro significados son:

1. Ser.
2. Estar.
3. Haber.
4. Poder.

Ejemplos:

• I am a tall person. (Yo soy una persona alta).
• She is sad. (Ella está triste).
• There are four chairs in the room. (Hay cuatro sillas en la clase).
• You are not to open your mouth in the meeting. (No puedes abrir la boca en el meeting).

¿Cómo se usa el verbo to be?

Al empezar a estudiar inglés encontrarás muchas frases que llevan el verbo to be, con significados diferentes, y podría resultar un poco difícil diferenciarlos. En general, verás el verbo to be usado de dos maneras:

Verbo principal

El verbo to be aparecerá solo cuando sea el verbo que de sentido a la frase.
Ejemplos:

• The car is red. (El coche es rojo)
• There is a snake over there. (Hay una serpiente allí)

Verbo to be como auxiliar

Puedes utilizar el verbo to be como un verbo auxiliar en los tiempos verbales continuos acompañado de un verbo en gerundio o pasado participio. 
Ejemplos:

• Jenny is studying a new career. (Jenny está estudiando una nueva carrera.)
• I was working till late last night. (Estaba trabajando hasta tarde anoche.)
• We were watching TV last Sunday. (Estábamos mirando la tele el domingo pasado.)

Cuándo usar el verbo to be

A continuación conocerás algunas situaciones en las cuales podrás utilizar el verbo to be correctamente:

Describir algo o alguien

Si quieres describir a una persona, el verbo to be será de gran utilidad. Mira el siguiente ejemplo:
Colin is an accountant. He is a man. He is canadian. His eyes are brown. He is intelligent and very friendly. (Colin es contable. Es hombre. Es canadiense. Sus ojos son marrones. Es inteligente y muy amigable.)
💡 Ten presente que en inglés para hablar acerca de la edad no utilizas el verbo ‘tener ‘ (have), sino el verbo to be. 
Ejemplo: (Tengo 34 años.)

• ❌ Incorrecto: I have 34 years old.
• ✅ Correcto: I am 34 years old.

Hablar del estado de ánimo de alguien

El verbo to be te ayuda a describir cual es el estado anímico de una persona.
Ejemplos:

• He is angry. (Él está enfadado.)
• You are sad today. (Estás triste hoy.)
• She was tired. (Ella estaba cansada.)
• They are a bit disappointed. (Ellos están un poco decepcionados.)

Hablar del estado del tiempo

Utiliza el verbo to be cuando quieras describir la temperatura o el clima de un lugar.
Ejemplos:

• Manhattan is rainy today. (Hoy está lluvioso en Manhattan.)
• The Arctic pole is quite cold. (El polo Ártico es bastante frío.)
• Tomorrow will be a sunny day. (Mañana será un día soleado.)

Mencionar una ubicación

Puedes hablar acerca de la ubicación geográfica o espacial de algo o alguien.
Ejemplos:

• Martin is at the university. (Martin está en la universidad.)
• New Orleans is in the United States. (Nueva Orleans está en los Estados Unidos.)
• The keys are under the bed. (Las llaves están debajo de la cama.)

Video del verbo to be inglés

+30 MILLONES DE ESTUDIANTES

Conjugación del verbo to be

Ahora veamos de forma breve los tiempos verbales del verbo to be en inglés. Recuerda que todos los tiempos verbales tienen forma afirmativa, negativa y pregunta.

El verbo to be en presente se utiliza principalmente para hacer referencia a algo verdadero en el presente o para dar información básica. Las formas del verbo en presente son am, is, are.

El verbo to be en pasado se usa para hablar de información verdadera, hechos o datos que sucedieron en el pasado. El verbo toma la forma de was y were, dependiendo del pronombre personal con el que se conjugue. 

El verbo to be en futuro utiliza la forma will be y se utiliza para hablar de algo que será o estará en el futuro.

Present Simple

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I am	I am not	Am I ?
You are	You are not	Are you ?
He/She/It is	He/She/It is not	Is he/she/it ?
We are	We are not	Are we ?
You are	You are not	Are you ?
They are	They are not	Are they ?

Past Simple

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I was	I was not	Was I ?
You were	You were not	Were you ?
He/She/It was	He/She/It was not	Was he/she/it ?
We were	We were not	Were we ?
You were	You were not	Were you ?
They were	They were not	Were they ?

Future Simple

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I will be	I will not be	Will I be?
You will be	You will not be	Will you be?
He/She/It will be	He/She/It will not be	Will he/she/it be?
We will be	We will not be	Will we be?
You will be	You will not be	Will you be?
They will be	They will not be	Will they be?

Present Perfect Simple

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I have been	I have not been	Have I been?
You have been	You have not been	Have you been?
He/She/It has been	He/She/It has not been	Has he/she/it been?
We have been	We have not been	Have we been?
You have been	You have not been	Have you been?
They have been	They have not been	Have they been?

Past Perfect Simple

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I had been	I had not been	Had I been?
You had been	You had not been	Had you been?
He/She/It had been	He/She/It had not been	Had he/she/it been?
We had been	We had not been	Had we been?
You had been	You had not been	Had you been?
They had been	They had not been	Had they been?

Future Perfect

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I will have been	I will not have been	Will I have been?
You will have been	You will not have been	Will you have been?
He/She/It will have been	He/She/It will not have been	Will he/she/it have been?
We will have been	We will not have been	Will we have been?
You will have been	You will not have been	Will you have been?
They will have been	They will not have been	Will they have been?

Conditional

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I would be	I would not be	Would I be?
You would be	You would not be	Would you be?
He/She/It would be	He/She/It would not be	Would he/she/it be?
We would be	We would not be	Would we be?
You would be	You would not be	Would you be?
They would be	They would not be	Would they be?

Perfect Conditional

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I would have been	I would not have been	Would I have been?
You would have been	You would not have been	Would you have been?
He/She/It would have been	He/She/It would not have been	Would he/she/it have been?
We would have been	We would not have been	Would we have been?
You would have been	You would not have been	Would you have been?
They would have been	They would not have been	Would they have been?

Ejercicios

Es tiempo de poner en práctica los conocimientos de la presente lección. Completa las siguientes frases con la respuesta correcta:

1. We ____ starting a new project. (Estamos comenzando un nuevo proyecto.)
2. They _____ near Main Avenue. (Ellos estaban cerca de la Avenida Main.)
3. He ____ a tall guy. (Es un hombre alto.)
4. I will ___ a famous tennis player some day. (Algún día seré un famoso jugador  de tenis.)
5. Yesterday _____ a cloudy day. (Ayer fue un día nublado.)
6. You ____ 24 years old a year ago. (Hace un año tenías 24 años.)

Respuestas: 

1. are
2. were
3. is
4. be
5. was
6. were