be
[verb]
Synonyms: exist, be alive, breathe, inhabit, live

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Related Words: hold, obtain, stand, abide, continue, endure, go on, persist, prevail, remain, come

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English Thesaurus: cost, price, value, charge, fee, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. be¹ S1 W1 /bi; strong biː/ auxiliary verb (past tense was, were, past participle been, present participle being, first person singular am, second person singular and plural are, third person singular is)

1. used with a present participle to form the continuous(4) tenses of verbs:
Don’t disturb me while I’m working.
Gemma was reading.
They’ve been asking a lot of questions.
That guy’s always causing trouble.
We’ll be starting in about an hour.
He isn’t leaving, is he?

2. used with past participles to form the passive:
Smoking is not permitted.
I was told about it yesterday.
The house is being painted.
She’s been invited to a party.
The flames could be seen several miles away.
The police should have been informed about this.

3. be to do something formal
a) used to talk about arrangements for the future:
Audrey and Jimmy are to be married in June.
Two men are to appear in court on charges of armed robbery.
b) used to give an order or to tell someone about a rule:
You are to wait here in this room until I return.
All staff are to wear uniforms.
c) used to say or ask what someone should do or what should happen:
What am I to tell her?
He is not to be blamed.
d) used to ask how something can be done:
How are we to get out of the present mess?

4. be to be seen/found/heard etc used to say that something can be seen, found, or heard somewhere:
A large range of species are to be seen in the aquarium.
We searched everywhere but the ring was nowhere to be found (=could not be found).
The only sound to be heard was the twittering of the birds above us.

5. was/were to do something used when talking about a time in the past to say what happened later:
This discovery was to have a major effect on the treatment of heart disease.

6.
a) used in conditional¹(2) sentences about an imagined situation
were somebody to do something/if somebody were to do something
Even if England were to win the next two matches, Germany would still be three points ahead.
Were we to offer you the job, would you take it?
b) used in conditional sentences to introduce an aim when you are saying what must be done in order to achieve it
if somebody/something is to do something
If we are to succeed in this enterprise, we shall need to plan everything very carefully.

7. old use used instead of ‘have’ to form the perfect³ tense of some verbs:
The hour is come.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. be² S1 W1 verb
[Language: Old English; Origin: beon]

1. [linking verb] used to say that someone or something is the same as the subject of the sentence:
My name is Susan.
These are my favourite pictures.
He’s my brother.
The problem is finding the time to get things done.
Our aim was to reduce the number of accidents.

2. [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] used to say where something or someone is:
Jane’s upstairs.
Are my keys in the drawer?
The principal’s in his office.
How long has she been here?

3. [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] used to say when something happens:
The concert was last night.
The party is on Saturday.

4. [linking verb] used to describe someone or something, or say what group or type they belong to:
The sky was grey.
Spiders are not really insects.
Mr Cardew was a tall thin man.
She wants to be a doctor when she leaves school.
Her dress was pure silk.
I’m not ready yet.

5. there is/are used to say that something exists or happens:
There’s a hole in your trousers.
There was a loud explosion.
‘I thought there was going to be a party.’ ‘No, there isn’t.’
Is there a problem?

6. [linking verb] to behave in a particular way:
He was just being rude.
Don’t be silly.
You’d better be careful.

7. [linking verb] used to say how old someone is:
His mother died when he was 20.
Rachel will be three in November.

8. [linking verb] used to say who something belongs to:
Whose is this bag? It isn’t mine and it isn’t Sarah’s.

9. [linking verb] used to talk about the price of something:
‘How much are the melons?’ ‘The big ones are £2 each.’

10. [linking verb] to be equal to a particular number or amount:
32 divided by 8 is 4.

11. be that as it may formal used to say that even though you accept that something is true, it does not change a situation:
‘He was only joking.’ ‘Be that as it may, silly remarks like that can do a lot of harm.’

12. [intransitive] formal to exist:
What was once a great and powerful empire has effectively ceased to be.

13. be yourself to behave in a natural way, rather than trying to pretend to be different:
Don’t try too hard – just be yourself.

14. not be yourself to be behaving in a way that is unusual for you, especially because you are ill or upset:
Sorry – I’m not myself this morning.

15. the be-all and end-all the most important part of a situation or of someone’s life
the be-all and end-all of
For Jim, making money was the be-all and end-all of his job.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

be- /bɪ/ prefix
[Language: Old English; Origin: bi-, be-]

1. [in verbs] used to mean that someone or something is treated in a particular way:
Don’t belittle him (=say he is unimportant).
He befriended me (=became my friend).

2. [in adjectives] literary wearing or covered by a particular thing:
a bespectacled boy (=wearing glasses)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

be
verb
1.
BAD: Meanwhile, Sarah was beginning to be upset.
GOOD: Meanwhile, Sarah was beginning to get upset.
BAD: When she didn't arrive, I started to be anxious.
GOOD: When she didn't arrive, I started to become anxious.

Usage Note:
When talking about a change in state, use get/become/grow + adjective (NOT be ): 'I've put a couple of apples in your bag in case you get hungry.' 'The children were growing impatient.'

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2.
BAD: After six months he was the general manager.
GOOD: After six months he became the general manager.

Usage Note:
When talking about a change in state, use become + noun phrase (NOT be ): 'In 1975 she became leader of the Conservative Party.'

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3.
BAD: Nowadays is very difficult to get a job.
GOOD: Nowadays it is very difficult to get a job.

Usage Note:
See IT 1 (it)

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4.
BAD: On Saturdays is usually a party at someone's house.
GOOD: On Saturdays there is usually a party at someone's house.

Usage Note:
See THERE 1 (there)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

cost the amount of money you need to buy or do something. Cost is usually used when talking in a general way about whether something is expensive or cheap rather than when talking about exact prices:
The cost of running a car is increasing.
the cost of raw materials
price the amount of money you must pay for something that is for sale:
They sell good-quality clothes at reasonable prices.
the price of a plane ticket to New York
value the amount of money that something is worth:
A new kitchen can increase the value of your home.
charge the amount that you have to pay for a service or to use something:
Hotel guests may use the gym for a small charge.
bank charges
fee the amount you have to pay to enter a place or join a group, or for the services of a professional person such as a lawyer or a doctor:
There is no entrance fee.
The membership fee is £125 a year.
legal fees
fare the amount you have to pay to travel somewhere by bus, plane, train etc:
I didn’t even have enough money for my bus fare.
fare increases
rent the amount you have to pay to live in or use a place that you do not own:
The rent on his apartment is $800 a month.
rate a charge that is set according to a standard scale:
Most TV stations offer special rates to local advertisers.
toll the amount you have to pay to travel on some roads or bridges:
You have to pay tolls on many French motorways.
cost a lot
Their hair products are really good but they cost a lot.
not cost much
Second hand clothes don’t cost much.
cost something per minute/hour/year etc
Calls cost only 2p per minute.
cost something per person
There’s a one-day course that costs £80 per person.
cost something per head (=per person)
The meal will cost about £20 per head.
not cost (somebody) a penny (=cost nothing)
Using the Internet, you can make phone calls that don’t cost a penny.
cost a fortune/cost the earth (=have a very high price)
If you use a lawyer, it will cost you a fortune.
cost a bomb/a packet British English (=have a very high price)
He has a new sports car that must have cost a bomb.
cost an arm and a leg (=have a price that is much too high)
A skiing holiday needn’t cost you an arm and a leg.
be especially spoken to cost a particular amount of money:
These shoes were only £5.
be priced at something to have a particular price – used when giving the exact price that a shop or company charges for something:
Tickets are priced at $20 for adults and $10 for kids.
retail at something to be sold in shops at a particular price – used especially in business:
The scissors retail at £1.99 in department stores.
sell/go for something used for saying what people usually pay for something:
Houses in this area sell for around £200,000.
fetch used for saying what people pay for something, especially at a public sale:
The painting fetched over $8,000 at auction.
A sports car built for Mussolini is expected to fetch nearly £1 million at auction.
set somebody back something informal to cost someone a lot of money:
A good set of speakers will set you back around £150.
come to if a bill comes to a particular amount, it adds up to that amount:
The bill came to £100 between four of us.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cost to have a particular price:
The book costs $25.
A new kitchen will cost you a lot of money.
It’s a nice dress and it didn’t cost much.
be especially spoken to cost a particular amount of money:
These shoes were only £5.
be priced at something to have a particular price – used when giving the exact price that a shop or company charges for something:
Tickets are priced at $20 for adults and $10 for kids.
retail at something to be sold in shops at a particular price – used especially in business:
The scissors retail at £1.99 in department stores.
sell/go for something used for saying what people usually pay for something:
Houses in this area sell for around £200,000.
fetch used for saying what people pay for something, especially at a public sale:
The painting fetched over $8,000 at auction.
A sports car built for Mussolini is expected to fetch nearly £1 million at auction.
set somebody back something informal to cost someone a lot of money:
A good set of speakers will set you back around £150.
come to if a bill comes to a particular amount, it adds up to that amount:
The bill came to £100 between four of us.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

be
bi:
See: let be , to-be

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲