{
    "term": "be",
    "partOfSpeech": "verblinking verblinking verblinking verblinking verblinking verblinking verblinking verblinking verb",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "am/​are",
            "heSheIt": "is"
        },
        "pastSimple": "past simple was",
        "pastParticiple": "been",
        "ingForm": "being"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "used when you are naming people or things, describing them or giving more information about them",
            "sensetop": "+ noun+ adj.be (that)…be doing somethingbe to do something",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Today is Monday.",
                    "contextForm": "+ noun"
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Who is that?’ ‘It's my brother.’"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She's a great artist."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Susan is a doctor."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He wants to be *(= become)* a pilot when he grows up."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's beautiful!",
                    "contextForm": "+ adj."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Life is unfair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He is ten years old."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘How are you?’ ‘I'm very well, thanks.’"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Be quick!"
                },
                {
                    "text": "**The fact is** (that) we don’t have enough money.",
                    "contextForm": "be (that)…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The problem is getting it all done in the time available.",
                    "contextForm": "be doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The problem is to get it all done in the time available.",
                    "contextForm": "be to do something"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "used when you are describing a situation or saying what you think about it",
            "sensetop": "it is/was+ adj.+ noun",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It was really hot in the sauna.",
                    "contextForm": "+ adj."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's strange how she never comes to see us any more."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He thinks it's clever to make fun of people."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It would be a shame if you lost it.",
                    "contextForm": "+ noun"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's going to be a great match."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to exist; to be present",
            "sensetop": "there is/are + noun",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Is there a God?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Once upon a time there was a princess…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I tried phoning but there was no answer."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There's a bank down the road."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Was there a pool at the hotel?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to be located; to be in a place",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The town is three miles away."
                },
                {
                    "text": "If you're looking for your file, it's on the table."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Mary's upstairs."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "used to say where somebody was born or where their home is",
            "sensetop": "be from…",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She's from Italy."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "to happen at a time or in a place",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The party is on Friday evening."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The meetings are always in the main conference room."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 7,
            "definition": "to remain in a place",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She has been in her room for hours."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They're here till Christmas."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 8,
            "definition": "to attend an event; to be present in a place",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I'll be at the party."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He'll be here soon *(= will arrive soon)*."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 9,
            "definition": "used to talk about time",
            "sensetop": "it is/was+ noun+ adj.",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It's two thirty.",
                    "contextForm": "+ noun"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It was late at night when we finally arrived.",
                    "contextForm": "+ adj."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 10,
            "definition": "to cost",
            "sensetop": "+ noun",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "‘How much is that dress?’ ‘Eighty dollars.’"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 11,
            "definition": "to be equal to",
            "sensetop": "+ noun",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Three and three is six."
                },
                {
                    "text": "How much is a thousand pounds in euros?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Let x be the sum of a and b."
                },
                {
                    "text": "London is not England *(= do not think that all of England is like London)*."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 12,
            "definition": "to visit or call",
            "sensetop": "+ adv./prep.",
            "labels": "(British English)North American English",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I've never been to Spain."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He had been abroad many times."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Has the postman been yet?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 13,
            "definition": "used to say what something is made of",
            "sensetop": "+ noun",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Is your jacket real leather?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 14,
            "definition": "used to say who something belongs to or who it is intended for",
            "sensetop": "be mine, yours, etc.be for me, you, etc.",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The money's not yours, it's John's.",
                    "contextForm": "be mine, yours, etc."
                },
                {
                    "text": "This package is for you.",
                    "contextForm": "be for me, you, etc."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 15,
            "definition": "used to say how important something is to somebody",
            "sensetop": "be everything, nothing, etc. (to somebody)",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Money isn't everything *(= it is not the only important thing)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "A thousand dollars is nothing to somebody as rich as he is."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "as somebody/something used to be called",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Jill Davis that was *(= before her marriage)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the Soviet Union, as was"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "the most important part; all that matters",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Her career is the be-all and end-all of her existence."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to show that you are surprised and annoyed by something that somebody has done",
            "labels": "(British English, informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Someone's been and parked in front of the entrance!"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to say that somebody/something stopped somebody/something from happening",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive today."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to show that you accept that something negative cannot be changed",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I never imagined that our company share prices would fall so low, but it is what it is."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to leave somebody/something alone without bothering them/it",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Leave her be, she obviously doesn't want to talk about it."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Let the poor dog be *(= don't annoy it)*."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "future",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "his bride-to-be"
                },
                {
                    "text": "mothers-to-be *(= pregnant women)*"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/bi//biː/",
                "audio": "be/be/be__gb_7.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/æm//ɑː(r)/",
                "audio": "am/be/am__gb_3.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪz/",
                "audio": "is/be/is__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/wəz//wɒz/",
                "audio": "wa/be/was__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɒznt/",
                "audio": "wa/be/wasn_t_1_gb_2.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/wə(r)//wɜː(r)/",
                "audio": "we/be/were__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/biːn//bɪn/",
                "audio": "be/be/been__gb_5.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbiːɪŋ/",
                "audio": "be/be/being__gb_3.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/bi//biː/",
                "audio": "be/be/be__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/æm//ɑːr/",
                "audio": "am/be/am__us_3_rr.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪz/",
                "audio": "is/be/is__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/wəz//wʌz/",
                "audio": "wa/be/was__us_3_rr.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwʌznt/",
                "audio": "wa/be/wasn_t_1_us_2.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/wər//wɜːr/",
                "audio": "we/be/were__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/bɪn/",
                "audio": "be/be/been__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbiːɪŋ/",
                "audio": "be/be/being__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English bēon, an irregular and defective verb, whose full conjugation derives from several originally distinct verbs. The forms am and is are from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sum and est. The forms was and were are from an Indo-European root meaning ‘remain’. The forms be and been are from an Indo-European root shared by Latin fui ‘I was’, fio ‘I become’, and Greek phuein ‘bring forth, cause to grow’. The origin of are is uncertain."
}