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What is Grammar?
English Grammar Terms
The 8 English Parts of
Speech
These are the words that you use to make a sentence.
There are only
8 types of word - and the most
important is the Verb!
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Verbs |
be, have, do, work |
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Nouns |
man, town, music |
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Adjectives |
a, the, 69, big |
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Adverbs |
loudly, well, often |
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Pronouns |
you, ours, some |
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Prepositions |
at, in, on, from |
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Conjunctions |
and, but, though |
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Interjections |
ah, dear, er, um |
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Hot Links
Verbs
Passive voice
Modal verbs
Conditionals
Questions
Irregular
verbs
Going to
Gerunds
Phrasal Verbs
Tenses
Nouns
(Un) Countable nouns
Adjectives
Articles
Pronouns
Preposition List
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| Grammar Quizzes
Parts of Speech Quiz
Verb Classification Quiz
Main Verb Forms Quiz
Active or Passive Quiz
Subjunctive Quiz
Future Time Quiz
Continuous Tense Verb
Quiz
Used to do or Be used to
Quiz
Have to,
Must, Must not Quiz
Can, Could, Be able
to Quiz
Questions Quiz
Tag Questions
Quiz
Infinitive or
-ing Quiz
Gerunds Quiz
Phrasal Verbs
Quiz
Conditionals Quiz
For or Since Quiz
Present Simple
Present Continuous
Present Perfect
Simple
Present Perfect
Continuous
Past Simple
Questions
Comparative
Adjectives
Superlative
Adjectives
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English Tense System:
to be
This page shows the tense system for the irregular verb to
be. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-)
and the interrogative or question form (?). "To be" is an exceptional verb. It
is always different from other verbs, in various ways. So we cannot expect "to
be" to have exactly the same structure as other verbs!
However, the basic structure for to be is the same as for
all verbs:
| + |
positive: |
subject + auxiliary verb + main
verb |
| - |
negative: |
subject + auxiliary verb + not + main
verb |
| ? |
question: |
auxiliary verb + subject + main
verb |
Exception! For simple past and
simple present tenses, the structure is not the same. In fact, it's even
easier! There is no auxiliary verb. Here is the structure:
| + |
positive: |
subject + main verb |
| - |
negative: |
subject + main verb + not |
| ? |
question: |
main verb + subject |
These are the various forms of the main verb that we use to
construct the various tenses:
| be |
was, were |
been |
being |
am, are, is |
| base |
past simple |
past participle |
present participle |
present simple |
| Tenses |
past |
present |
future |
SIMPLE
present simple
or past simple
(except future:
will + base verb) |
+ |
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I will be |
| - |
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I will not be |
| ? |
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Will I be? |
SIMPLE PERFECT
have +
past participle |
+ |
I had been. |
I have been. |
I will have been. |
| - |
I had not been. |
I have not been. |
I will not have been. |
| ? |
Had I been? |
Have I been? |
Will I have been? |
CONTINUOUS
be +
-ing |
+ |
I was being. |
I am being |
I will be being. |
| - |
I was not being. |
I am not being. |
I will not be being. |
| ? |
Was I being? |
Am I being? |
Will I be being? |
CONTINUOUS PERFECT
have
been + -ing |
+ |
I had been being. |
I have been being. |
I will have been being. |
| - |
I had not been being. |
I have not been being. |
I will not have been being. |
| ? |
Had I been being? |
Have I been being? |
Will I have been being? |
In the following table, we see to be conjugated with all
persons in the singular (I, you, he/she/it) and in the plural (we, you, they)
for the 12 tenses.
| SIMPLE |
past |
present |
future |
| singular |
I |
was |
am |
will be |
| you |
were |
are |
will be |
| he/she/it |
was |
is |
will be |
| plural |
we |
were |
are |
will be |
| you |
were |
are |
will be |
| they |
were |
are |
will be |
| PERFECT |
past |
present |
future |
| singular |
I |
had been |
have been |
will have been |
| you |
had been |
have been |
will have been |
| he/she/it |
had been |
has been |
will have been |
| plural |
we |
had been |
have been |
will have been |
| you |
had been |
have been |
will have been |
| they |
had been |
have been |
will have been |
| CONTINUOUS |
past |
present |
future |
| singular |
I |
was being |
am being |
will be being |
| you |
were being |
are being |
will be being |
| he/she/it |
was being |
is being |
will be being |
| plural |
we |
were being |
are being |
will be being |
| you |
were being |
are being |
will be being |
| they |
were being |
are being |
will be being |
| CONTINUOUS PERFECT |
past |
present |
future |
| singular |
I |
had been being |
have been being |
will have been being |
| you |
had been being |
have been being |
will have been being |
| he/she/it |
had been being |
has been being |
will have been being |
| plural |
we |
had been being |
have been being |
will have been being |
| you |
had been being |
have been being |
will have been being |
| they |
had been being |
have been being |
will have been being |
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