Cuando estás aprendiendo inglés, uno de los temas más importantes es conocer todo sobre el verbo to be, desde sus significados hasta sus conjugaciones. Su uso correcto es la clave para entender el contexto de lo que lees, escuchas y escribes.
En este artículo te enseñaremos de forma fácil a reconocerlo y emplearlo adecuadamente.
El verbo to be y sus significados
Para entender los significados que puede tener el verbo to be, debes aprender que todo depende del contexto en el que se encuentre, es decir, que según la forma en la que se emplee, este puede representar alguno de los siguientes conceptos:
- Ser | Por ejemplo: She is tall = Ella es alta
- Estar | Por ejemplo: He is ill = Él está enfermo
- Haber | Por ejemplo: Is there a chemical reaction? = ¿Hay una reacción química?
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¿Cómo usar el verbo to be en inglés?
Ahora que sabemos cuáles pueden ser los significados del verbo to be, hablemos de los dos usos más frecuentes.
Uso del Verbo to be
Principalmente funciona para declarar acciones o estados que afectan al sujeto de la oración, sin importar el tiempo en que se encuentre.
| I am Italian |
Soy italiano |
| She was a student |
Ella era una estudiante |
Uso del Verbo auxiliar to be
Al usarse acompañado de otros verbos, expresa estados o acciones que ocurren en ese momento o en cierto lapso de tiempo. Entonces es cuando se utiliza –ing en el verbo principal.
| She is waiting |
Ella está esperando |
¿Cómo conjugar el verbo to be?
En las siguientes tablas encontrarás las conjugaciones para los diferentes tiempos y formas del verbo to be, además de un ejemplo para cada uno.
Verbo to be en presente
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| I am |
I am not |
Am I? |
| You are |
You are not |
Are you? |
| He is |
He is not |
Is he? |
| She is |
She is not |
Is she? |
| It is |
It is not |
is it? |
| We are |
We are not |
Are we? |
| They are |
They are not |
Are they?
|
Ejemplos del verbo to be en presente:
- She is sad = Ella está triste
- It is not your classroom = No es tu salón de clase
- Are they ready? = ¿Están listos?
Verbo to be en pasado simple
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| I was |
I was not |
Was I? |
| You were |
You were not |
Were you? |
| He was |
He was not |
Was he? |
| She was |
She was not |
Was she? |
| It was |
It was not |
Was it? |
| We were |
We were not |
Were we? |
| They were |
They were not |
Were they? |
Oraciones con el verbo to be en pasado:
- He was with you = Él estaba contigo
- It was not that bad = No fue tan malo
- Were they happy together? = ¿Fueron felices juntos?
Verbo to be en futuro simple
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| Will be |
I will not be |
Will I be? |
| You will be |
You will not be |
Will you be? |
| He will be |
He will not be |
Will he be? |
| She will be |
She will not be |
Will she be? |
| It will be |
It will not be |
Will it be? |
| We will be |
We will not be |
Will we be? |
| They will be |
They will not be |
Will they be? |
Oraciones con ejemplos del verbo to be en futuro:
- She will be a great wife = Ella será una gran esposa
- We will not be friends again = No seremos amigos otra vez
- Will it be possible? = ¿Será posible?
Verbo to be en presente perfecto
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| I have been |
I have not been |
Have I been? |
| You have been |
You have not been |
Have you been? |
| He has been |
He has not been |
Has he been? |
| She has been |
She has not been |
Has she been? |
| It has been |
It has not been |
Has it been? |
| We have been |
We have not been |
Have we been? |
| They have been |
They have not been |
Have they been? |
Por ejemplo:
- I have been alone for 2 years = He estado solo por 2 años
- He has not been invited to the party = Él no ha sido invitado a la fiesta
- Have they been informed? = ¿Han sido informados?
Verbo to be en pasado perfecto
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| I had been |
I had not been |
Had I been? |
| You had been |
You had not been |
Had you been? |
| He had been |
He had not been |
Had he been? |
| She had been |
She had not been |
Had she been? |
| It had been |
It had not been |
Had it been? |
| We had been |
We had not been |
Had we been? |
| They had been |
They had not been |
Had they been? |
Las oraciones del verbo to be en pasado perfecto siempre tendrán un complemento para brindar contexto.
Por ejemplo:
- I had been engaged for 6 months until she ran away = Había estado comprometido por 6 meses hasta que ella huy
- It had not been an easy decision but it is done = No había sido una decisión fácil de tomar pero ya está hecha
- Had they been with him before the accident? = ¿Habían estado con él antes del accidente?
Verbo to be en futuro perfecto
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| 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 will have been |
He will not have been |
Will he have been? |
| She will have been |
She will not have been |
Will she have been? |
| It will have been |
It will not have been |
Will it have been? |
| We will have been |
We will not have been |
Will we have been? |
| They will have been |
They will not have been |
Will they have been? |
Estas oraciones tienen como especialidad describir acciones o situaciones que ocurren una después de otra.
Por ejemplo:
- He will have been promoted before the end of the week = Él habrá sido promovido antes del fin de semana
- The ship will have been gone before they get to board it = El barco se habrá ido antes que ellos logren abordarlo
- Will they have been ready by the end of the month? = ¿Se habrán preparado para fin de mes?
Verbo to be en condicional
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| I would be |
I would not be |
Would I be? |
| You would be |
You would not be |
Would you be? |
| He would be |
He would not be |
Would he be? |
| She would be |
She would not be |
Would she be? |
| It would be |
It would not be |
Would it be? |
| We would be |
We would not be |
Would we be? |
| They would be |
They would not be |
Would they be? |
Oraciones con el verbo to be en condicional:
- I would be happy to help = Estaría feliz de ayudar
- It would not be a problem = Eso no sería un problema
- Would she be my friend? = ¿Ella sería mi amiga?
Verbo to be en condicional perfecto
|
| Afirmativa |
Negativa |
Interrogativa |
| 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 would have been |
He would not have been |
Would he have been? |
| She would have been |
She would not have been |
Would she have been? |
| It would have been |
It would not have been |
Would it have been? |
| We would have been |
We would not have been |
Would we have been? |
| They would have been |
They would not have been |
Would they have been? |
Por ejemplo:
- I would have been cooking everyday if they had paid me well = Habría estado cocinando todos los días si me hubieran pagado bien
- We would not have been late if it wasn't my fault = No habríamos llegado tarde si no fuera mi culpa
- Would they have been here for a long time if they hadn’t had an emergency? = ¿Habrían estado aquí por mucho tiempo si no hubieran tenido una emergencia?
