Así como en cualquier lengua, el verbo to be es uno de los principales del inglés. Te lo puedes encontrar en casi cualquier texto y lo puedes escuchar en cualquier momento en cualquiera de sus conjugaciones y significados, por eso es muy importante usarlo bien. Y precisamente para eso está este artículo.
Significado del verbo to be
El verbo to be es uno de los más camaleónicos del inglés, por lo que en muchas ocasiones su significado depende del contexto en el que te lo encuentres. Sin embargo, sus significados principales son los siguientes:
-
Ser
He is smart = Él es inteligente
-
Estar
It is cold today = Hoy está hacienda frío
-
Haber
Is there anybody inside? = ¿Hay alguien adentro?
-
Poder (permiso)
Tell her she is not to open the door to strangers = Dile que no puede abrirle la puerta a extraños.
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Usos principales del verbo to be
Una vez que ya conocemos sus significados más conocidos, podemos conocer los usos más comunes de este término:
Sirve para mencionar una acción o estado del sujeto en cualquier tiempo.
I am Mexican = Soy mexicano.
I was a doctor = Yo era doctor.
Se usa en compañía de otros verbos para dar a entender que las acciones o estados se desarrollan en el momento. Para ello se usa la conjugación –ing.
I am still working= Todavía estoy trabajando.
Conjugación del verbo to be
Te presentamos algunos cuadros con las conjugaciones de los siguientes tiempos: presente, pasado simple, futuro simple, presente perfecto, pasado perfecto, futuro perfecto, condicional y condicional perfecto. Además incluimos sus formas afirmativas, negativas y de pregunta.
Presente
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
I am
|
I am not
|
Am I?
|
You are
|
You are not
|
Are you?
|
He / She / It is
|
He / She / It is not
|
Is he / she / it?
|
We are
|
We are not
|
Are we?
|
You are
|
You are not
|
Are you?
|
They are
|
They are not
|
Are they?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en presente
-
I am tall = Yo soy alto/a
-
I am not your teacher = Yo no soy tu maestro/a
-
Are you her doctor? = ¿Eres su doctor/a?
Pasado simple
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
I was
|
I was not
|
Was I?
|
You were
|
You were not
|
Were you?
|
He / She / It was
|
He / She / It was not
|
Was he / she / it?
|
We were
|
We were not
|
Were we?
|
You were
|
You were not
|
Were you?
|
They were
|
They were not
|
Were they?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en pasado simple
-
I was very shy = Yo era muy tímido/a
-
We were not the champions = Nosotros no fuimos campeones
-
Were you at the store? = ¿Estabas en la tienda?
Futuro simple
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
I will be
|
I will not be
|
Will I be?
|
You will be
|
You will not be
|
Will you be?
|
He / She / It will be
|
He / She / It will not be
|
Will he / she / it be?
|
We will be
|
We will not be
|
Will we be?
|
You will be
|
You will not be
|
Will you be?
|
They will be
|
They will not be
|
Will they be?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en futuro simple
-
We will be a great team = Seremos un gran equipo
-
They will not be my next students = Ellos no serán mis próximos estudiantes
-
Will we be at the beach next weekend? = ¿Estaremos en la playa el próximo fin de semana?
Presente perfecto
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
I have been
|
I have not been
|
Have I been?
|
You have been
|
You have not been
|
Have you been?
|
He / She / It has been
|
He / She / It has not been
|
Has he / she / it been?
|
We have been
|
We have not been
|
Have we been?
|
You have been
|
You have not been
|
Have you been?
|
They have been
|
They have not been
|
Have they been?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en presente perfecto
-
I have been your fan all my life = He sido tu fanático toda mi vida
-
She has not been kind to you = Ella no te ha tratado bien
-
Has it been a good instrument? = ¿Eso a sido un buen instrumento?
Pasado perfecto
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
I had been
|
I had not been
|
Had I been?
|
You had been
|
You had not been
|
Had you been?
|
He / She / It been
|
He / She / It had not been
|
Had he / she / it been?
|
We had been
|
We had not been
|
Had we been?
|
You had been
|
You had not been
|
Had you been?
|
They had been
|
They had not been
|
Had they been?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en pasado perfecto
La oración en pasado perfecto siempre está acompañada de otra oración o frase en el pasado para dar contexto:
-
I had been the goalkeeper of the team before I went to college in another city = Yo era el portero del equipo antes de irme a estudiar a otra ciudad.
-
They had not been the best classmates in high school = Ellos no fueron los mejores compañeros de clase en la secundaria.
-
Had you been at the concert before the earthquake? = ¿Ustedes estaban en el concierto cuando tembló?
Futuro perfecto
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
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 / She / It will have been
|
He / She / It will not have been
|
Will he / she / have been?
|
We will have been
|
We will not have been
|
Will we have been?
|
You will have been
|
You will not have been
|
Will you have been?
|
They will have been
|
They will not have been
|
Will they have been?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en futuro perfecto
El futuro perfecto es para hablar de algo que sucederá antes de otra acción en el futuro. Por ejemplo:
-
By the time you get home, I will have been asleep = Para cuando estés llegando a casa, yo ya habré dormido.
-
You will have been named the winner by the time the end of the day = Habrás sido declarada la ganadora antes de que termine el día.
-
She will have been cured by the time her family gets here? = Ella se habrá curado antes de que llegué su familia.
Condicional
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
I would be
|
I would not be
|
Would I be?
|
You would be
|
You would not be
|
Would you be?
|
He / She / It would be
|
He / She / It would not be
|
Would he / she / it be?
|
We would be
|
We would not be
|
Would we be?
|
You would be
|
You would not be
|
Would you be?
|
They would be
|
They would not be
|
Would they be?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en condicional
-
He would be my father = Él sería mi papá
-
We would not be lost = Nosotros no estaríamos perdidos
-
Would you be my valentine? = ¿Serías mi cita de San Valentín?
Condicional perfecto
Afirmativo
|
Negativo
|
Pregunta
|
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 / She / It would have been
|
He / She / It would not have been
|
Would he / she / it have been?
|
We would have been
|
We would not have been
|
Would we have been?
|
You would have been
|
You would not have been
|
Would you have been?
|
They would have been
|
They would not have been
|
Would they have been?
|
Verbo to be: Ejemplos en condicional perfecto
-
I would have been waiting for you all night if I hadn’t been so tired = Yo te habría estado esperando toda la noche si no hubiera estado tan cansado.
-
They would not have been found guilty without the main piece of evidence… the letter = Ellos no habrían sido declarados culpables sin la pieza clave de la evidencia: la carta.
-
Would you have been sitting quietly here if you already knew the truth? = ¿Habrían estado sentadas aquí si hubieran sabido la verdad?
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