bi: v. & v.aux. (sing. present
am; are;
is; pl. present are; 1st
and 3rd
sing.
past was; 2nd sing. past and pl. past
were; present subj. be; past subj. were; pres.
part.
being; past part. been) --v.intr. 1 (often prec. by there)
exist, live (I
think,
therefore I am;
there is a
house on
the corner; there is no God). 2 a
occur;
take place (dinner is at eight). b
occupy a
position in
space (he is in the
garden;
she is
from abroad;
have you been to Paris?). 3
remain,
continue (let it be). 4 linking
subject and
predicate, expressing: a
identity (she is the
person;
today is Thursday). b
condition (he is
ill today). c
state or
quality (he is
very kind;
they are my friends). d
opinion (I am
against hanging). e
total (two and
two are four). f
cost or
significance (it is ø5 to
enter; it is
nothing to me). --v.aux. 1
with a past
participle to
form the
passive mood (it was
done; it is
said; we
shall be helped). 2 with a present participle to form
continuous tenses (we are
coming; it is being cleaned). 3 with an
infinitive to express
duty or
commitment,
intention,
possibility,
destiny, or
hypothesis (I am to tell you; we are to
wait here; he is to
come at
four; it was
not to be found; they were
never to meet
again; if I were to die). 4
archaic with the past participle of
intransitive verbs to form
perfect tenses (the
sun is set; Babylon is fallen). øbe
about occupy
oneself with (is about
his business). be-all and end-all colloq. (often foll. by of) the
whole being or
essence. be at occupy oneself with (what is he at?;
mice have been at the food). been (or been and gone) and sl. an
expression of
protest or
surprise (he's been and taken my car!). be
off colloq. go
away; leave. be
that as it
may see MAY. -to-be of the
future (in
comb. : bride-to-be). [OE beo(m), (e)am, is, (e)aron; past f. OE wós f. wesan to be; there are
numerous Gmc cognates]