BE

SIMPLE

PRESENT

repeated

actions

BE, AM, IS, ARE

Is your mother on a trip?

PAST

completed

action in

the past

WAS / WERE

Were they at the doctor´s office earlier?

promise

FUTURE

WILL BE

plan

Will John be at the party tonight?

Idiomatic Future

future

plans

PERFECT

am

is + going to + be

are

MEANING

USED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT A PERSON, THING, STATE

PAST

Am I going to be rich

in twenty

years?

happened

before

another

in the

past

HAD BEEN

PRESENT

Had they been on a test before recess?

happened

in the

past,

but

continues

HAVE / HAS BEEN

Has someone been late during the school year?

TENSES

INFINITIVE TO BE

PRESENT BE, AM, IS, ARE

PAST WAS, WERE

FUTURE

PERFECT BEEN

happened

before

another

in the

future

WILL HAVE BEEN

Will trash cans have

been empty by

tomorrow?

Conversation Verb

BE