Be
Be (bē) , intransitive verb
[Old English been, beon, Anglo-Saxon beón to be, beóm I am; akin to Old High German bim, pim, German bin, I am, Gael. & Ir. bu was, Welsh bod to be, Lithuanian bu-ti, O. Slav. by-ti, to be, Latin fu-i I have been, fu-turus about to be, fo-re to be about to be, and perh. to fieri to become, Greek fy^nai to be born, to be, Sanskrit bhū to be. This verb is defective, and the parts lacking are supplied by verbs from other roots, is, was, which have no radical connection with be. The various forms, am, are, is, was, were, etc., are considered grammatically as parts of the verb “to be”, which, with its conjugational forms, is often called the substantive verb. r97. Compare Future, Physic.]
The verb to be (including the forms is, was, etc.) is used in forming the passive voice of other verbs; as, John has been struck by James. It is also used with the past participle of many intransitive verbs to express a state of the subject. But have is now more commonly used as the auxiliary, though expressing a different sense; as, “Ye have come too late -- but ye are come. ” “The minstrel boy to the war is gone.” The present and imperfect tenses form, with the infinitive, a particular future tense, which expresses necessity, duty, or purpose; as, government is to be supported; we are to pay our just debts; the deed is to be signed to-morrow.
Have or had been, followed by to, implies movement. “I have been to Paris.” Sydney Smith. “Have you been to Franchard?” R. L. Stevenson.
Been, or ben, was anciently the plural of the indicative present. “Ye ben light of the world.” Wyclif, Matt. v. 14. Afterwards be was used, as in our Bible: “They that be with us are more than they that be with them.” 2 Kings vi. 16. Ben was also the old infinitive: “To ben of such power.” R. of Gloucester. Be is used as a form of the present subjunctive: “But if it be a question of words and names.” Acts xviii. 15. But the indicative forms, is and are, with if, are more commonly used.
Collocations (4)
Be-
[Anglo-Saxon be, and in accented form bī, akin to Old Saxon be and bī, Old High German bi, pi, and pī, Middle High German be and bī, German be and bei, Gothic bi, and perh. Greek 'amfi` about (compare Anglo-Saxon beseón to look about). r203. Compare By, Amb-.]
It is joined with certain substantives, and a few adjectives, to form verbs; as, bedew, befriend, benight, besot; belate (to make late); belittle (to make little). It also occurs in certain nouns, adverbs, and prepositions, often with something of the force of the preposition by, or about; as, belief (believe), behalf, bequest (bequeath); because, before, beneath, beside, between.
In some words the original force of be is obscured or lost; as, in become, begin, behave, behoove, belong.