be - WordReference.com Dictionary of English - Chia Sẻ Kiến Thức Điện Máy Việt Nam

/bi; unstressed bi, bɪ/

USA pronunciation

and auxiliary verb. Present forms: singular;
1st person form: am, 2nd person form: are, 3rd person form: is. Present plural form: are. Past forms: singular;
1st person form: was, 2nd person form: were, 3rd person form: was. Past plural form: were. Present subjunctive form: be. Past subjunctive form: were. Present participle form: be•ing. Past participle form: been.

[

usually: not: be

~-ing

]

to have (the quality, job, etc., mentioned);
used to connect the subject with an adjective, or to another noun or a phrase in order to describe, identify, or say more about the subject:

Wilt is tall. I am Barbara. Indira Gandhi was the first woman prime minister of India.
to exist or live: Shakespeare’s famous line “To be or not to be” asks if life is worth living. There is a man with five cats on my street (=

A man with five cats lives/exists on my street).

See definition 10 below.

to take place;
occur:

The wedding was last week.
to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table. We will be in Oslo in a few minutes. Where were you?
to belong to a group:

Whales are mammals.
to continue or remain as before:

Let things be.
(used as a verb to introduce a question or in a command, request, or piece of advice):

Is that right? Be quiet! Don’t be so mean. Be careful about what you say.
(used after it or there in order to delay talking about the real subject of a sentence, or as a way of introducing something new about the subject):

It was she who was late for the class (real subject

=

“she”). There was a fly in my soup (real subject

=

“fly”).Note: in sentences with there, the form of be agrees with the real subject that follows:

There was a fly in my soup (“was” agrees with “fly”); There were flies in my soup (“were” agrees with “flies”).

See

there, it

(used in a short answer where it stands for a longer phrase that has be in the question):

Is he coming? Yes, he is (= Yes, he is coming.) Are you the new president of the Chinese club? No, I am not (= No, I am not the new president of the Chinese club).
(used in a short question, called a tag question, that comes after a subject and verb to ask for the listener’s agreement):

She is not very pretty, is she? You are running pretty hard, aren’t you?

auxiliary verb.

(used with the -ing form (the present participle) of another, main verb to show continuous activity ):

I am waiting. We were talking.
(used with to plus the root form (the infinitive) of another verb to express a command, or indicate future action): He is to see me today (= He will see me today). You are not to leave before six (= You must not leave before six). I am to start my new job next week (=

I will start my new job next week).
(used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice, that is, to show the action of the verb has been done to the subject of the sentence):

The policeman was shot. Your passports have been sent on.

is special in English, first because it functions as an auxiliary, but also in the way it works as a main verb. It changes forms depending on its subject in the present and past tenses. Like the verbs

and

have

, the verb

comes first in questions that can be answered with the words “yes” or “no”: Am I sure? Is she crazy? Are you there? Finally, the verb

can have the word

not

after it (again like do and have): She is not crazy. When

is used as a main verb, it seldom is used in the progressive tenses; we indicate this in this book by the symbol

[

not: be

~-ing

]

. When talking about people’s activity or how they behave, sometimes

as a main verb can take the -ing form of itself: I’m being careful (= I am acting in a careful manner); You’re being so patient (= You are acting in so patient a manner). We do not use

in the -ing form to talk about states of the mind, or of feeling: I am happy now (not: I am being happy now); He is tired now (not: He is being tired now).

be-,

prefix.

be- is attached to words to make verbs with the meaning “to make, become, treat as”: be-

+

cloud → becloud (= make like a cloud, hard to see);
be-

+

friend → befriend (

=

treat someone as a friend).
be- is also attached to adjectives and verbs ending in -ed to mean “covered all over;
completely;
all around”:

be-

+

decked → bedecked (

=

decked or covered all over);

be-

+

jeweled → bejeweled (= covered with jewels).

B.E.,

an abbreviation of:

Education,

Bachelor of Education.
Education,

Bachelor of Engineering.

/bi;bi, bɪ/an abbreviation of:

(bē; unstressed bē, bi),

USA pronunciation

and

auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers.

am,

2nd

are

or (Archaic)

art,

3rd

is,

pres. pl.

are*

past sing. 1st pers.

was,

2nd

were

or (Archaic)

wast

wert,

3rd

was,

past pl.

were;

pres. subj.

be;

past subj. sing. 1st pers.

were,

2nd

were

or (Archaic)

wert,

3rd

were;

past subj. pl.

were;

past part.

been;

pres. part.

be•ing.

v.i.

to exist or live:

Shakespeare’s “To be or not to be” is the ultimate question.
to take place;
happen;
occur:

The wedding was last week.
to occupy a place or position:

The book is on the table.
to continue or remain as before:

Let things be.
to belong;
attend;
befall:

May good fortune be with you.
(used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject):

Martha is tall. John is president. This is she.
(used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences):

Is that right? Be quiet! Don’t be facetious.

auxiliary verb.

(used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense):

I am waiting.
(used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action):

She is visiting there next week. He is to see me today.
(used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice):

The date was fixed. It must be done.
(used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense):

He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone.

Middle English been, Old English bēon (bēo- (akin to Old Frisian, Old High German bim, German bin, Old Saxon bium, biom (I) am, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon būan, Old Norse būa reside, Latin fuī (I) have been, Greek phy- grow, become, Old Irish boí (he) was, Sanskrit bhávati (he) becomes, is, Lithuanian búti to be, Old Church Slavonic byti, Persian būd was)) + -n infinitive suffix. See
am,

is,

are

1,

was,

were

bef. 900

me.

Be,

[

Symbol, Chem.

]

Chemistry

beryllium.

be-,

a native English prefix formerly used in the formation of verbs:

become, besiege, bedaub, befriend.

Middle English, Old English, unstressed form of bī
by

Bé.,

Hydraulics

Baumé.

B/E,

Business

bill of exchange.

Also, b.e.

B.E.,

Education,

Bachelor of Education.
Education,

Bachelor of Engineering.
Business

Bank of England.
Business

bill of exchange.
Education

Board of Education.

(bē;bē, bi),

biː

; (

unstressed

)

bɪ

(

pres. sing. 1st pers

2nd pers

are

3rd pers

pres. pl

are

past sing 1st pers

was

2nd pers

were

3rd pers

was

past pl

were

pres. part

being

past part

been

)(

intransitive

)

to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; live

:

I think, therefore I am

,

not all that is can be understood
(
used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only

)

to pay a visit; go

:

have you been to Spain?
to take place; occur

:

my birthday was last Thursday
(
copula

)

used as a linking verb between the subject of a sentence and its noun or adjective complement or complementing phrase. In this case be expresses the relationship of either essential or incidental equivalence or identity (John is a man; John is a musician) or specifies an essential or incidental attribute (honey is sweet; Susan is angry). It is also used with an adverbial complement to indicate a relationship of location in space or time (Bill is at the office; the dance is on Saturday)
(
takes a present participle

)

forms the progressive present tense

:

the man is running
(
takes a past participle

)

forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive ones

:

a good film is being shown on television tonight

,

I am done
(
takes an infinitive

)

expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligation

:

the president is to arrive at 9.30

,

you are not to leave before I say so

)(

Etymology: Old English bēon; related to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, Greek phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit bhavati he is

abbreviation for

bill of exchange
Bachelor of Education
Bachelor of Engineering

the chemical symbol for

beryllium

be-

prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives

(
from nouns

)

to surround completely; cover on all sides

:

befog
(
from nouns

)

to affect completely or excessively

:

bedazzle
(
from nouns

)

to consider as or cause to be

:

befool

,

befriend
(
from nouns

)

to provide or cover with

:

bejewel
(
from verbs

)

at, for, against, on, or over

:

bewail

,

berate

Etymology: Old English be-, bi-, unstressed variant of bī

be – WordReference.com Dictionary of English