Questions tagged [be]
For questions relating to the verb to be.
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There seems (to be) a... vs. There seems (to be) little
There seems to be a problem.
There seems a problem.
In this type of construction, the version with to be, such as (1), is much more productive than the one without, such as (2). See this Ngram: ...
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Who vs whom in "many of { } are yet to be born" [duplicate]
I understand that when "those" is referred to as the subject of the verb we use "whom", and when "they" is the object we use "who".
But consider the following ...
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Omitting "to be", "that", "it is" all in the same sentence?
I encountered the following in a 1958 book on investing:
How has the market price of these shares responded to all this? Has the price-earning ratio continued to advance as, twenty-two months ago, I ...
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What is the difference between "to be" and "must/need/should be"?
Is there a difference in meaning in the following example:
Select the [x] button next to the email address that is to be deleted
Select the [x] button next to the email address that should be deleted
...
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Difference of meaning between the two sentences
Whenever I see "to be", I don't get the whole meaning, so please help me with other scenarios which could help me get rid of my fear with "to be".
I'm going to be hanging out ...
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Any antonyms of be? [closed]
Is there any word that is the opposite of the verb, "be?" That is, the state of not existing?
Several thesauruses give answers related to the termination of existence -- die, cease, desist, ...
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“There is to be no more loss today” sentence [duplicate]
There is to be no more loss today.
In this sentence, I don’t understand the grammar structure. Why does “to be” come after “there is”?
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'What is important is ...' vs 'What is important are ...'
Which number does be want to agree with? Is it with important or customer relations?
What's most important is good customer relations.
What's most important are good customer relations.
Which one is ...
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When to delete Verb to be
Sometimes I read people write without verb to be for example...
Can we say my boy eating/ wearing without verb to be?
If we say “he” we have to put “is”
So what is the difference?
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What semantic meaning does the copula 'be' have in its specifying use?
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 252) says:
It may be that the be of [Kim is fond of animals] should be regarded as semantically empty, serving the purely syntactic function of ...
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What kind of verb phrase is it when “is” in the present tense is immediately followed by another verb that’s itself in the past tense?
Please consider this example of three sentences in sequence:
The building is destroyed.
The rubble is then removed.
The rubble is broken into smaller pieces.
What kind of verb phrase is ...
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"To be" or "Be" [closed]
Could you please tell me the difference between the verb To be and Be, in terms of their uses and meaning? Is there a relation between the two? Do they mean the same?
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it was to be a time when meaning
I was watching a history movie that I saw a new sentence, So I can't meaning that.
"It was to be a time when Florence set the standards for European art and culture."
I know be to used for ...
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2
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Need help distinguishing auxiliary 'be' vs main verb phrase 'be'
"The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad."
Is the 'be' in the sentence above an auxiliary 'be' or is it serving a main phrase verb?
From my textbook, ...
user396883
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When two "be" verbs are used in one sentence, should the second be omitted?
For example
He is a teenager and [is] from South Sudan.
Is it necessary to delete the second "is" in parentheses?
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"X and Y is" or "X and Y are"? [closed]
Is the following sentence grammatical?
Secondly, doing research and inventing new things are only possible if someone has understood the concepts in that particular topic or area.
I'm concerned ...
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The clause starts with “be”? [duplicate]
We write when we need to remember something, be it an idea, a quote or the outcome of a study.
In the second clause, the beginning is be. What is the grammatical rule behind it?
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What is the different between "display" and "be displayed" in using? [closed]
This part is the introduction, which won't be displayed on the document.
This part is the introduction, which won't display on the document.
Which one is more correct?
And what is the difference ...
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2
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which is indicated" vs. "is indicated
The question is about the use of:
which is indicated
and
is indicated
Examples:
Visible need in this area, which is indicated by the number of articles and books on the subject.
1a. Visible need ...
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Are there plural forms with "is"? [duplicate]
When I type "Students is the type of people you are looking for".
Instead of "type of people", it may be something like: "somewhat", "the way to go", etc..
I ...
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"these functions are strictly non-decreasing, whereas the others ARE", or "these functions are strictly non-decreasing, whereas the others DO"?
Should I say
"these functions are strictly non-decreasing, whereas the others ARE.",
- or -
"these functions are strictly non-decreasing, whereas the others DO." ?
Related, but not similar:
...
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"There was/were my brother and two sisters?
"There was [or were?] my brother and two sisters, hugging and tears streaming."
I've come across a sentence while editing, and I don't know whether to use "was" or "were." The object of the "be"-verb ...
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Why is "were" used in the highlighted relative clause?
Thank you for taking interest in this question. I have attached below the context of the clause in question to help your understanding.
A full version of the question would be: Why were, instead of ...
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Chekhov and the omission of "be" verbs with progressive tenses in compound sentences
The following is an excerpt from a translation of Chekhov's story "The Student" published in the Norton Critical Editions. Given the prestige of this publication, one would assume what's printed to be,...
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Slang etymology of "up" and "down" in phrasal verbs [duplicate]
In this, "to be" is the base verb, conjugated in the first, singular, present tense "am". The verb is then put in a contraction with first, singular, pronoun "I" to create "I'm". This contraction is ...
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be headed: adjectival -ed vs past participle
(Intransitive) go in particular direction: He headed toward the
station.
(Transitive) cause something to go somewhere: The pilot
headed the plane on a northeasterly course.
-ed2 (suffix): ...
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Use of is/are in sentences where you talk about two things - one singular and other plural
This recently came up when chatting with a colleague who moved companies. I asked "How is your manager and teammates?"
Later I thought if I should've used "How are your manager and teammates?"
Which ...
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How "much" emissions or how "many" emissions?
The following is what I found in the website of US Energy Information Administration.
Is the word "emissions" usually used with "much" as in the quotation? If so, why is the verb "are" used instead ...
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Why isn't there "is" in "They did it, thinking it more glamorous than..."?
Could you please help me with the grammar of this sentence? It's from an essay in a book on IELTS by Cambridge University Press.
People turn to buying the new brand from overseas nations, perhaps ...
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How to parse "this is so they can..."
Ligaments connect bones to each other. This is so they can help stabilize the joints and provide structure to the skeletal frame.
source
Parsing one:
"So they can help..." is predicative.
Parsing ...
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'People are to find these ideas throughout his later work'
According to Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, page 206,
With a passive the interpretation can be strong deontic, “must” ([ii]
He is to be left alone), or weak dynamic, “can” ([iii] ...
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Term for the different uses of "are": one which applies an adjective independently, and one which denotes a relationship
There are definitely at least two ways in which the word "are" is used. Consider the following:
Book A and Book B are red.
vs
Book A and Book B are similar.
In the first use, it is applying ...
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how to use be and is/are hereby?
Please help me to explain the grammar of this sentence belows:
any Director or any person (s) authorized by the Directors be and is/are hereby authorized, either solely or jointly, to sign and ...
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Omitting Relative Pronoun and verb "be" [duplicate]
Could someone please explain, why the pronoun and the verb "be" are omitted in the following sentence?
"it allows communication even for people far away from each other"
Shouldn't this sentence be "...
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How do I say that one thing is another using active voice?
I've tried typing this question or variations of this question into Google to no avail, so I apologize if it has already been answered elsewhere. I'm trying to edit a paper for a class in which the ...
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Is this sentence correct or comprehensible? "They actually had more soldiers than was shown on TV"
I would like to know if the following sentence is correct:
They actually had more soldiers than was shown on TV.
Here I use "was" because I think the full sentence should be "They actually had more ...
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'What I have presented is the first steps' or 'What I have presented are the first steps'
Which is correct:
'What I have presented is the first steps'
or
'What I have presented are the first steps'?
The issues is what counts as the subject of the verb: the relative 'What' (= is), or ...
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Questions about "get" and "be"
Is it good English to write the following passive sentences, considering that it should describe what a system is doing in general (but maybe not necessarily at the moment)? I am interested in the ...
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Third person singular or plural form of "to be" with plural noun in question
A disagreement with a colleague: I say "What measures are your company currently implementing?"; she says "what measures is your company currently implementing?". It seems obvious to me I am right! ...
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"To be" as a state
In Catalan and in Spanish we have two verbs: "ser" and "estar" . Both translate into English as "to be". One of the uses of "estar" is to say that something is in a certain state or place. So, for ...
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The form of the verb to be in the questions with "and" and "or"
Should I use was or were in sentences like this:
Who was/were the bride and groom?
In my opinion, both are possible, but I don't know why. What to use if there is or instead of and?
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Is "you are yourself" grammatically correct?
I know what "be yourself" means. I usually see people using it in some sentences like "You have to be yourself", "You must be yourself" etc., but I barely see anyone saying "You are yourself".
Is ...
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What tense is this? "to be + to verb"
For example, "If we are to achieve our objectives..." or "What is to be done?"
What tense is this? In my understanding, we're talking about the future, but it's a weird sort of "tense" I haven't ...
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Proper tense for 'to be' in non-if conditional clauses [closed]
You will receive your money back under the condition that the product (is / be / will be / ?) returned in the original packaging.
This method removes the constraint that the batteries (are / be / ...
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"would" as an auxiliary for present tense conditionals
Both of these sentences feel wrong to me:
if I am alone, I will go today
if I would be alone, I will go today
By looking up some rules, it seems that using would in the protasis is a common mistake,...
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"Are to" and "Have to"
There's a question in an exam paper to which there's only one answer:
Students ______ to make tough decisions after the final exams are out.
Between 'have' and 'are', which most suitably fills the ...
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Be we all here?
The passage below is taken from Life's Little Ironies by Thomas Hardy. My question concerns "Now be we all here?". I understand that it means "Now are we all here?". The writer might have left the ...
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Is "I be", grammatically correct?
Bishop Robert Lowth, a prominent Hebraist and theologian, with fixed and eccentric opinions about language, wrote A Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762).
Many schoolroom grammars in use to ...
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How to identify subjects and verbs in a sentence? [closed]
"Just as expert carpenters must be thoroughly acquainted with the tools of their craft and artists must have expert knowledge of colors, so good writers must have a thorough understanding of the basic ...
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Using Be or Being for initial word [closed]
I don't know which word is right for this sentence:
Be at the airport by 4 o'clock to meet him when his flight lands.
or
Being at the airport by 4 o'clock to meet him when his flight lands.
...
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