Verbo be en inglés: conjugación completa
Diego De La Croix
Profesor bilingüe francés-español
El verbo inglés to be significa «ser/estar» en español. Es un verbo irregular, lo que significa que sus formas de pasado simple y participio pasado no siguen la regla estándar de añadir -ed y deben memorizarse. Es el verbo más irregular del inglés con ocho formas distintas: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been. Funciona como verbo copulativo (I am happy), auxiliar para el progresivo (I am working) y para la voz pasiva (It was made).
Conjugación de be en indicativo
Present simple (presente simple)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | am |
| you | are |
| he/she/it | is |
| we | are |
| they | are |
Present continuous (presente continuo)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | am being |
| you | are being |
| he/she/it | is being |
| we | are being |
| they | are being |
Present perfect (pretérito perfecto)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | have been |
| you | have been |
| he/she/it | has been |
| we | have been |
| they | have been |
Past simple (pasado simple)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | was |
| you | were |
| he/she/it | was |
| we | were |
| they | were |
Past continuous (pasado continuo)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | was being |
| you | were being |
| he/she/it | was being |
| we | were being |
| they | were being |
Past perfect (pluscuamperfecto)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | had been |
| you | had been |
| he/she/it | had been |
| we | had been |
| they | had been |
Future simple (futuro simple)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | will be |
| you | will be |
| he/she/it | will be |
| we | will be |
| they | will be |
Future perfect (futuro perfecto)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | will have been |
| you | will have been |
| he/she/it | will have been |
| we | will have been |
| they | will have been |
Conjugación de be en condicional
Present (presente)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | would be |
| you | would be |
| he/she/it | would be |
| we | would be |
| they | would be |
Past (pasado)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| I | would have been |
| you | would have been |
| he/she/it | would have been |
| we | would have been |
| they | would have been |
Conjugación de be en imperativo
Conjugación de be en participio
Present (presente)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| - | being |
Past (pasado)
| Persona | Conjugación |
|---|---|
| - | been |
Ejemplos
I am a student.
Yo soy estudiante.
She is very kind.
Ella es muy amable.
We are at home.
Estamos en casa.
They were happy yesterday.
Ellos estaban contentos ayer.
He was a great teacher.
Él fue un gran profesor.
I have been here before.
He estado aquí antes.
It will be a good day.
Será un buen día.
Be careful!
¡Ten cuidado!
To be or not to be.
Ser o no ser.
Don't be afraid.
No tengas miedo.
Expresiones
be on cloud nine
estar en las nubes / estar eufórico
be in hot water
estar en problemas
be a piece of cake
ser pan comido
Errores frecuentes
Olvidar la -s de la tercera persona: He be en vez de He bes
Correcto: He/She/It is
En el present simple, la tercera persona del singular (he/she/it) siempre añade -s o -es al verbo. Es el error más frecuente entre hispanohablantes.
Regularizar el pasado: beed en vez de was/were
Correcto: Past simple: was/were — Past participle: been
«be» es irregular: sus formas de pasado no siguen la regla estándar de añadir -ed. Deben aprenderse de memoria.
Formar preguntas sin do/does: You be? en vez de Do you be?
Correcto: Do you be? / Does he/she be?
En español, la pregunta se forma con la entonación. En inglés, el present simple y past simple necesitan el auxiliar do/does/did para preguntas y negaciones.
Confundir present simple con present continuous: I be vs I am being
Correcto: Hábito/general → I be | Ahora mismo → I am being
El present simple se usa para hábitos y verdades generales, mientras que el present continuous se usa para acciones en progreso. En español a menudo se usa el mismo tiempo para ambos.
Antónimos
Comparación inglés / español
| Aspecto | Inglés | Español |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | I am | yo soy |
| Present simple (3rd person) | he/she is | él/ella es |
| Present continuous | I am being | yo estoy siendo |
| Past simple | I was/were | yo fui |
| Present perfect | I have been | yo he sido |
| Future simple | I will be | yo seré |
| Negative | I'm not | yo no soy |
| Question | Are you? | ¿tú eres? |