be

A. vi (pres am, are, is past, was, were past p, been)

• 1 a (followed by an adjective) she's French = es francesa he's worried = está preocupado how are you? = ¿cómo estás? I'm much better = estoy or me encuentro mucho mejor she's pregnant/tired/ill = está embarazada/cansada/enferma I'm cold/hot/hungry/thirsty = tengo frío/calor/hambre/sed he's dead = está muerto he's blind = es or (Esp tb) está ciego he's short = es bajo Tony is married/divorced = Tony está or (esp AmL) es casado/divorciado these shoes are new = estos zapatos son nuevos she was very rude to me = estuvo or fue muy grosera conmigo she's very rude = es muy grosera be good = sé bueno b (followed by a noun) ser* if I were you, I'd stay = yo que tú me quedaría c (talking about age) tener* how old are you? = ¿cuántos años tienes? I'm 31 = tengo 31 años Paul was four last Monday = Paul cumplió cuatro años el lunes pasado our house is over 100 years old = nuestra casa tiene más de 100 años • (giving cost, measurement, weight) they are $15 each = cuestan or valen 15 dólares cada una two plus two is four = dos más dos son cuatro how tall is he? = ¿cuánto mide? Jim's over six feet tall = Jim mide más de seis pies

• 2 a (exist, live) to let sth/sb be = dejar tranquilo algo/a algn • (in expressions of time) I'm drying my hair, I won't be long = me estoy secando el pelo, enseguida estoy the party is tomorrow = la fiesta es mañana b (be situated, present) estar* where is the library? = ¿dónde está la biblioteca? c (only in perfect tenses) (visit) estar* I've never been to India = nunca he estado en la India

B. v impers

• 1 a (talking about physical conditions, circumstances) it's cold/hot = hace frío/calor it's so noisy in here! = ¡qué ruido hay aquí! b (in expressions of time) ser* it's three o'clock = son las tres it's Wednesday today = hoy es miércoles c (talking about distance) estar* it's 500 miles from here to Detroit = Detroit queda a 500 millas de aquí

• 2 (introducing person, object) ser* it's me/Daniel = soy yo/es Daniel

C. v aux

• 1to be -ing = estar* + ger I'm working = estoy trabajando how long have you been waiting? = ¿cuánto (tiempo) hace que esperas? when are you seeing her? = ¿cuándo la vas a ver?

• 2 (in the passive voice) ser* The passive voice, however, is less common in Spanish than it is in English it was built in 1903 = fue construido en 1903, se construyó en 1903, lo construyeron en 1903 it is known that … = se sabe que …

• 3to be to + inf a (with future reference) the dessert is (still) to come = todavía falta el postre b (expressing possibility) what are we to do? = ¿qué podemos hacer? it was nowhere to be found = no se lo pudo encontrar por ninguna parte

• 4 a (in tag questions) she's right, isn't she? = tiene razón, ¿no? or ¿verdad? b (in elliptical uses) are you disappointed? — yes, I am/no, I'm not = ¿estás desilusionado? — sí (, lo estoy)/no (, no lo estoy) she was told the news, and so was he/but I wasn't = a ella le dieron la noticia, y también a él/pero a mí no