“Be” as an auxiliary

How to use Be (am, are, is, was, were) as an auxiliary

Be – as an auxiliary is used to form Continuous forms of verbs and Passive verb forms

In Continuous verb forms we use:

be (in the correct tense) + verb (in the -ing form)

• – Present Continuous: Julia is writing an interesting book.
• – Past Continuous: The man and his dog were walking down the road when they saw the full moon.
• – Future Continuous: This time next week we will be lying on the beach in the Caribbean.
• – Present Perfect Continuous: John is exhausted because he has been running for 2 hours.

In Passive verb forms we use:

be (in the correct tense) + verb (in past participle form)

• – Present Passive: A typical paella is made with rice and fish.
• – Present Continuous Passive: My house is being painted this week
• – Past Passive: My car was repaired yesterday. Where were these potatoes grown?
• – Present Perfect Passive: Anne’s exam results haven’t been published yet.

Here is an Introduction to Auxiliary verbs and Modal verbs

There are a lot of different ways to practise English grammar here are some more lessons.