Be': time references, price, age, etc

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

It is Monday/July 23/1992 It is £5.50 Tom is 14

10.9.5 'Be' + possessives

It's mine/Tom's. They are mine/Tom's

10.9.6 'Be' + adverbs and prepositional phrases [> 7. 3.3]

She is here/there They are upstairs

The play is next Wednesday (future reference)

He is in the kitchen They are at the door

10.9.7 'Be' + adverb particle and 'home' [compare > 8.29.2, 10.13.4]
Be combines with adverb particles (away in out, etc. [> 8.4]);

Is Tim in? No, he's out He's back in an hour Be combines with home [at is optional):

Where was Tim? Was he home?/Was he at home?

Compare: Tim's home now (= he has arrived at his home)

Tim's at home now (= he may not have left home at all)

10.9.8 'Be' in the present and past replacing 'have/had'

In informal English, the present and past of be can replace have/had [present and past perfect, > 9.22, 9.28] with verbs like do, finish, go. I'm done with all that nonsense (= I have done, i.e. finished)

/ left my keys just there and next moment they were (had) gone Have you finished with the paper? - I'm (have) nearly finished

10.9.9 'Empty subject' + 'be' [> 4. 12]

It's foggy It's 20 miles to London

10.9.10 'Be' + infinitive [> 9.47-48, 16.16]

My aim is to start up my own company

'Be' as a full verb

10.10 Form of the present and past progressive of 'be'

present progressive		past progressive
/ am	(I'm)	being	I	was	being
You are	(You're)	being	You	were	being
He is	(He's)	being	He	was	being
She is	(She's)	being silly	She	was	being
(It is	(It's)	being)	(It	was	being)
We are	(We're)	being	We	were	being
You are	(You're)	being	You	were	being
They are	(They re)	being	They	were	being

The forms He s being silly and He s been silly [> 10.12] should not be confused

10.11 The use of 'be' + 'being' to describe temporary behaviour

The progressive forms normally occur only with the present and the past forms of be. They are used with a few adjectives and nouns [> App 41] (or adjective and noun combinations). The progressive is possible with adjectives such as naughty silly, referring to passing behaviour, but is not possible with adjectives describing states (hungry, thirsty, etc.) With some combinations there is a strong implication that the behaviour is deliberate. Compare temporary and usual behaviour in the following:

Your brother is being very annoying this evening

He isn't usually so annoying

Your brother was being a (silly) fool yesterday

He isn't usually such a (silly) fool

10.12 Form of the present perfect and past perfect of 'be'

present perfect			past perfect
full form	short form	full form	short form
/ have been	I ve	been '	I had been	I'd been
You have been	You ve	been	You had been	You'd been
He has been	He's	been	He had been	He'd been
She has been	She s	been ill She had been	She'd been
(It has been)	(Its	been)	(It had been)
We have been	We ve	been	We had been	We'd been
You have been	You ve	been	You had been	You'd been
They have been	They've	been	They had been	They'd been

The forms He s been silly and He s being silly [> 10 10] should not be confused.

10.13 Uses of 'have been' and 'had been' [compare > 9 24]

In many of the uses described below, other languages require the present or past of be where English requires has been or had been.

10.13.1 'Have been/had been' + adjective: behaviour and states

Have been and had been will combine not only with adjectives describing temporary behaviour (annoying, etc., [> 10.11]), but also with those describing states and moods continuing up till now or till

10 Be, Have, Do

then. Have been is common in conversation and had been in reported speech and written narrative:

Behaviour: She's been very quiet I said she had been very quiet States: / ve never been so tired I said I'd never been so tired Moods: He's been very gloomy I said he d been very gloomy

Some participles used as adjectives combine with have/had been: My uncle has been retired for more than two years Their dog has been missing for three days

And notice especially: She's been gone (= away) for half an hour

10.13.2 'Have been/had been' + adjective: weather, etc.

Have been and had been also combine with adjectives describing the

weather (i.e. states):

It's been very cold lately I said it had been very cold

In certain contexts other adjectives (e.g. numbers) are possible: You're speaking as if you'd never been 15 years old in your life