Verbs related in meaning to 'be': selected forms

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verbs related to 'be'

present of 'be': He is quite rich He appears/seems (to be) quite rich

It is quite dark It appears/seems (to be) quite dark

past of 'be': He was quite rich He appeared/seemed (to be) quite net

It was quite dark It appeared/seemed (to be) quite dark

present progressive: He is working hard He appears/seems to be working hare,

It s working It appears/seems to be working

past progressive: He was working hard He appeared/seemed to be working /v

It was working It appeared'seemed to be working

present perfect: He has been hurt He appears/seems to have been hurt

It has been broken It appears seems to have been brokei

10.24 Expressing uncertainty with verbs related to 'be'

We can express certainty about states with be:

He is ill We can express less certainty about states with modals [> 11.27-28]:

He may/might/could be ill or through the use of verbs related to be:

He seems (to be) ill

Some common verbs related in meaning and function to be are: appear feel look seem smell sound and taste [> 9. 3, App 38.5]; chance happen and prove can also be used in certain patterns.

10.25 Some possible constructions with verbs related to 'be'

We cannot normally omit to be after appear and seem except in the simple present and simple past:

He appears/seems (to be) ill He seems (to be) a fool

It seems/seemed (to be) a real bargain To be is usually included before predicative adjectives beginning with a [>6.8.2]:

The children appear/seem to be asleep

The children seemed to be awake when I went into their room

We can use other infinitives after appear happen prove and seem: You seem to know a lot about steam engines Juan happens to own a castle in Toledo

We cannot use to be after feel look smell sound or taste: He feels/looks hot You smell nice Gillian sounded very confident when she spoke to me I like your new jacket It looks comfortable It feels cold in here It smells funny in here

Feel look seem smell sound and taste can be followed by like +

noun or adjective + noun: This looks/tastes/smells/feels like an orange (obligatory like) Jennifer seems/sounds/looks (like) the right person for the job

Verbs related in meaning to 'be'

To + object pronoun is commonly used after an adjective: He seems/appears/looks tired to me (Not 'seems to me*) This material feels quite rough to me (Not 'feels to me*)

Or to + object pronoun can come immediately before an infinitive: He seems to me to be rather impatient

We can use that after it + appear, chance happen and seem;

It seemed (that) no one knew where the village was For the use of as if after verbs [> 1.47.2],

There will combine with appear, chance happen prove and seem + to be and to have been;

There seems to be a mistake in these figures

There appears to have been an accident

10.26 Process verbs related to 'be' and 'become'

10.26-1 Process verb + adjective complement [> 1 9, 1 11]

Process verbs (e g become, come, fall, go, get grow, run, turn, wear) + adjective complement describe a change of state. Unlike appear, seem_t etc. they can be used in the progressive to emphasize the idea that change is actively in progress:

It was gradually growing dark

As she waited to be served, she became very impatient

Old Mr Parsons gets tired very easily since his operation

The milk in this jug has gone bad

The leaves are turning yellow early this year

My shoelaces have come undone

The River Wey ran dry during the recent drought

My pyjamas are wearing rather thin

The most common process verbs are get, become and grow. Get is used informally with a variety of adjectives: get annoyed get bored, get depressed, get ill, get tired, get wet [compare > 12.6] Used to is common after get (and to a lesser extent after become) to describe the acquisition of a habit. In such cases, used to functions as an adjective and can be replaced by accustomed to [> 16.56]: / hated jogging at first, but I eventually got used to it

Process verbs are often used in fixed phrases: e.g. come right come true, fall ill go mad, run wild, turn nasty, wear thin

10.26.2

Process verb + noun complement

Nouns are not so common after process verbs, but note that:

- become + noun can describe a change of state or occupation: The ugly frog became a handsome prince Jim became a pilot/a Buddhist/a CND supporter

- make + noun can be used to suggest a change of state: I'm sure Cynthia will make a good nurse one day This piece of wood will make a very good shelf

10.26.3

Process verb + infinitive

Come get and grow can be followed directly by a to-infinitive: We didn't trust Max at first but we soon grew to like him