6
AUX
You use
be
with an infinitive to say or ask what should happen or be done in a particular situation, how it should happen, or who should do it. □ [AUX
to-inf]
What am I to do without him?
□ [AUX
to-inf]
Who is to say which of them had more power?
7
AUX
You use
was
and
were
with an infinitive to talk about something that happened later than the time you are discussing, and was not planned or certain at that time. □ [AUX
to-inf]
Then he received a phone call that was to change his life.
□ [AUX
to-inf]
A few hours later he was to prove it.
8
AUX
You can say that something is
to be
seen, heard, or found in a particular place to mean that people can see it, hear it, or find it in that place. □ [AUX
-ed]
Little traffic was to be seen on the streets.
□ [AUX
-ed]
They are to be found all over the world.
➋
be
◆◆◆ /bi, STRONG
biː/ (am
, are
, is
, being
, was
, were
, been
)
In spoken English, forms of
be
are often shortened, for example 'I am' is shortened to 'I'm' and 'was not' is shortened to 'wasn't'.
1
V‑LINK
You use
be
to introduce more information about the subject, such as its identity, nature, qualities, or position. □ [V
n]
She's my mother.
□ [V
n]
He is a very attractive man.
□ [V
n]
My grandfather was a butcher.
□ [V
adj]
The fact that you were willing to pay in the end is all that matters.
□ [V
adj]
The sky was black.
□ [V
adj]
It is 1,267 feet high.
□ [V
prep/adv]
Cheney was in Madrid.
□ [V
prep/adv]
His house is next door.
□ [V
adj]
'Is it safe?'—'Well of course it is.'
□ [V
adj]
He's still alive isn't he?
2
V‑LINK
You use
be
, with 'it' as the subject, in clauses where you are describing something or giving your judgment of a situation. □ [V
adj]
It was too chilly for swimming.
□ [V
adj to-inf]
Sometimes it is necessary to say no.
□ [V
adj that]
It is likely that investors will face losses.
□ [V
adj v-ing]
It's nice having friends to chat to.
□ [V
n that]
It's a good thing I brought lots of handkerchiefs.
□ [V
n v-ing]
It's no good just having meetings.
□ [V
n to-inf]
It's a good idea to avoid refined food.
□ [V
prep to-inf]
It's up to us to prove it.
3
V‑LINK
You use
be
with the impersonal pronoun 'there' in expressions like
there is
and
there are
to say that something exists or happens. □
Clearly there is a problem here.
□
There are very few cars on this street.
□
There was nothing new in the letter.
4
V‑LINK
You use
be
as a link between a subject and a clause and in certain other clause structures, as shown below. □ [V
n]
It was me she didn't like, not what I represented.
□ [V
to-inf]
What the media should not do is to exploit people's natural fears.
□ [V
v-ing]
Our greatest problem is convincing them.
□ [V
wh]
The question was whether protection could be improved.
□ [V
that]
All I knew was that I didn't want to be there.
□ [V
+ as if
]
Local residents said it was as if there had been a nuclear explosion.
5
V‑LINK
You use
be
in expressions like
the thing is
and
the point is
to introduce a clause in which you make a statement or give your opinion. [SPOKEN
] □
The fact is, the players gave everything they had.
□
The plan is good; the problem is it doesn't go far enough.
