The substantive and copulative verb expressing:

1. Simple existence.
2. Existence in a defined state, (whence its use with participles as an auxiliary of tense and voice).

Conjugational Forms:

1st person present. indicative singular. AM, (I am.)

2nd  person present. Indicative singular  IS   plural  ARE (arch. and dial.) art, beest,

 (arch. and dial.) be; pt. was, pI. were; pres. subj. be, pt. subj. were; pp. been. The forms are derived from four bases as follows.

A. IE. -es -s-. Jst pers. sg. OE. eam, am, WS. eom (with eo after beo(m) j see below) = ON. em, Goth. im, Qlr. am, Lith. esml, OSl. jesmi, L. sum (for -esem ; infl. by sumus we are), Gr. eimi, Skr. asmi, OPers. amiy, Ann. em, Alb. jam : IE.

-esmi.

3rd pers. sg. OE. is = OFris., OS. ist (Du. is), (O)HG., Goth. ist, ON. es (later eT), Olr. is, W. ys, L. est, Gr. esti, OSl. jestl, Skr. dsti : IE. -esti.

pl. OE. sind, sindon, surviving in ME. till c. 1200 = OFris. send, OS. sind, sindan, OHG. 3rd pl. sint (G. sind), Goth. 3rd pl. sind, Olr. it, OW. int, L. sunt, Gr. eisi (Dor. enti), Skr. sdnti : IE. .senti.

pres. subj. OE. sie, pl. sien, later si, sin, surviving till c. 1200 = OS., OHG. si, sin (I?u. zij, z.iin, G. sei, seien) ~ L. si:m" ~~m, sint, Gr. eien, etc., Skr. sydt .-IE. S(i)Jem, -s(i)jenti.

B. Genn. .ar (: .or-), of unkn, origin. 2nd pers. sg. OE. eart, pl. aron, earon are ; these are old perfect fonnations.

C. IE. .bheu .bhu-. ISt pers. sg. beo, earlier bio (: .biju) = OFris. bim, OS. bium, biom (Du. ben), OHG. bim (G. bin), corr. to L. fio I become (: -bhwij6), rel. further to L. fui I was, futurus FUTURE, Gr . phuein bring forth, cause to grow, ephun, pephuka I was, phuesthai grow, come into being (see PHYSIC), Lith. bllti, OSl, by ti (Russ, byt'), Olr. buith, W. bod be, Skr. bhdvati becomes, is, Pers. bud was, biidan be, become, exist. So OE. bist wilt be, art = OS., OHG. bis(t) (G. bist), OE. bip will be, is, corr. to L. lis becomest, fit becomes; cf. W. bydd will be) ; OE. beoj; pI. will be, are, inf. beon (a new formation on beo). The orig. meaning of this base is 'grow' ; the derived sense 'become' led to its adoption as an appropriate el. in the paradigm of the verb 'to be', esp. for expressing the future ; for another sense-development see BOWERI, BUILD.

D. IE. -wes .wes-. OE. inf. wesan = OFris. wesa, OS., OHG. wesan (Du. wezen ; G. wesen, surviving as sb.), ON. vesa, vera, Goth. wisan remain, continue, rel. to Skr . tJdsati dwells, remains. The orig. meaning is 'dwell, remain', and the use of this base is therefore appropriate to the imper. (OE. wes, pl. wesaP) and the pt. (OE. ISt and 3rd sg. tvres was, 2nd sg. wmre wast, pl. wmron were, in which latter alone it survives).