ALWAYS Add “BE” To These 16 Common Words

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]In English, you would say  she completed the report.

[00:00:04]Paul is the manager. But what about these sentences?

[00:00:09]The report was completed. Paul is to be the manager.

[00:00:15]Today you'll learn why you should always  add B to these common but advanced words.

[00:00:22]Welcome back to JForrest English. Of course, I'm Jennifer.

[00:00:25]Now let's get started. You already understand the sentence.

[00:00:29]She completed the report. Let's review.

[00:00:34]The report was completed yesterday. So notice in this sentence you need to use the verb to be. Of course, you're going to conjugate your verb to be based on the subject and time reference. Now, do you know why the sentence requires the verb to be? Because it's the passive voice, and the structure for the passive is subject  be conjugated and the past participle.

[00:01:05]So you cannot say the report completed yesterday  because the report is not doing the action.

[00:01:14]Of course, you can change the subject and you can  change the verb that's in the past participle.

[00:01:20]You could say the report was submitted  yesterday, the report was approved yesterday, or this lesson was prepared last week. But all of these sentences require the verb to be.

[00:01:33]Don't worry about taking these notes. I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

[00:01:38]You can find the link in the description. Now of course you understand the sentence Paul is the manager. Here you need the verb to be because you're using a noun compliment the manager. That describes Paul's current state.

[00:01:53]Well, what if I were to say  Paul is to be the manager?

[00:02:00]This sentence might look a little awkward  because we have the verb to be conjugated.

[00:02:05]Paul is. But then we have the verb to be again in the infinitive, and then  we have the same noun compliment the manager.

[00:02:15]This is a formal way to describe an  official future plan or decision.

[00:02:21]Just know it does sound quite formal, so  you may hear it in official announcements.

[00:02:27]For example, the new bridge  is to be completed in 2027.

[00:02:34]The President is to visit our office next  week, but remember, those are formal.

[00:02:42]It is more common to use the future  simple and say the president will visit our office next week or the  president will be here next week.

[00:02:54]So let's review these side by side  so you understand the difference.

[00:02:58]Paul is the manager, present fact. Paul will be the manager future fact.

[00:03:06]Paul is to be the manager official future  plan often used in formal announcements.

[00:03:14]Maybe you say to your friend,  we missed you at the party.

[00:03:19]Now how could you take this sentence and write  it in a way where the verb to be is required?

[00:03:27]Well, you could say you were missed at the party. This is the past passive.

[00:03:34]Now you might be wondering why you is the passive. Well, because it focuses more on the person receiving the action, in this case you. You were missed at the party, so it sounds more about you and less about us. We missed you.

[00:03:56]You were missed so you can use the  passive when you want to shift the focus.

[00:04:02]I could ask you do you need  to improve your grammar?

[00:04:07]Do you notice this question  uses do as the auxiliary verb?

[00:04:13]I could ask you a different question and say  are you interested in improving your grammar?

[00:04:21]Now notice this question uses  be as the auxiliary verb.

[00:04:27]In the first sentence, the verb is to need, and  in question form it requires the auxiliary verb.

[00:04:36]In the second sentence, the  structure is to be interested in.

[00:04:43]Now, because in is a preposition,  you need a noun or a gerund.

[00:04:48]I used a gerund. Are you interested in improving because it's focused on the action? I've said this before, but remember you need to conjugate your verb according  to the subject and time reference.

[00:05:03]In the present, you could say  where we are, we're interested.

[00:05:08]That's always in the Ed form. We're interested in learning natural expressions.

[00:05:14]In the past, you could say we were interested  in joining, but we had plans that day and in the future you could say she will be  interested in improving her English, maybe once she has more time. Let's review.

[00:05:34]Those answers differ and  those answers are different.

[00:05:42]In the first sentence, there's no verb  to be because the verb is to differ.

[00:05:49]Those answers differ. In the second sentence, you must use the verb to be because the  sentence structure is to be different.

[00:05:58]Different functions as the  adjective that describes it.

[00:06:01]Now of course you could form a negative sentence. Those answers aren't different.

[00:06:07]Or you could ask a question. Are those answers different?

[00:06:11]You understand the sentence structure. She needs to finish the report.

[00:06:16]We have our main verb conjugated  and then the infinitive.

[00:06:20]You cannot say the report needs to finish. Why?

[00:06:27]Well, because the report is not doing the action.

[00:06:30]So you need the passive and you need to use  the verb to be the report needs to be finished.

[00:06:37]So here is the infinitive  passive in this sentence.

[00:06:41]The paint needs to dry. The paint is doing the action because it's in the active voice. But if you say the paint needs to be dried, now the paint is receiving the action. So it sounds like someone or something like a fan will dry the paint. Have you ever said, yes, I'll marry you?

[00:07:11]Or maybe you say to someone I didn't know  you married your high school sweetheart.

[00:07:18]Your high school sweetheart is the  person you were in a relationship with when you were in high school 15161718 years old. Now here in both examples, the verb is to marry.

[00:07:34]But what about this? Are you married?

[00:07:38]Are you married? And then to answer, yes, I'm married or no, I'm not married. Or you could even talk about a past and say I was married for over 20 years. Notice all of those use the verb to be because it's to be married. This describes a state, whether it's current or past. I was married, now to marry.

[00:08:10]That's the verb. This describes an action.

[00:08:14]So after you say yes, I'll marry you,  you can announce to people we're engaged.

[00:08:22]So notice that sentence structure  to be engaged, to be engaged.

[00:08:28]This describes a state, but if you want  to focus on the action, you would have to ask when did he propose, propose. That describes an action because to engage is not used in this context, the  context of agreeing to marry someone.

[00:08:49]But the verb does exist to  engage in a business context.

[00:08:53]You might say we engaged A consultant  to review our sales process.

[00:08:59]This has nothing to do with getting married. In this context, to engage is a formal way specifically in the business  world to mean hire or contract.

[00:09:10]Sometimes I hear students say I supposed to  be there at 7:00 PM, but this is incorrect.

[00:09:18]Yes, you have the verb to be in that sentence, but  another verb to be is required and you need to say I am or I was supposed to be there at 7:00. So the structure is to be supposed to and then the base verb in this sentence. The base verb just happens to be the verb to be, and this means that you're  expected or required to do something.

[00:09:49]Be there at 7. Now you can use the verb expect and say my mom expects me to be there at 7:00. That's the active voice.

[00:10:00]Or you could talk more, focus on you, and  say I'm supposed to be there at 7:00 PM.

[00:10:07]This is a fixed expression. What if I said I'd quit?

[00:10:12]I'd quit. I would quit.

[00:10:15]I'd quit. Now, maybe you add to that.

[00:10:19]I'd quit if I were you. If I were you, of course, were is the verb to be.

[00:10:28]Now this is the subjunctive form, and is  used for hypothetical unreal situations.

[00:10:35]But did you notice if I were? That's because in the subjunctive, all subgenics use were. Keep in mind native speakers don't always follow this rule, so it is very common to hear a  native speaker say, if I was you, if I was you, I'd quit before your language exam. Just remember the grammatical rule is.

[00:11:01]If I were you, I'd quit. Of course you understand the meeting is starting.

[00:11:08]This uses the verb to be because  is the present continuous.

[00:11:13]You know that What if I said  the meeting is about to start?

[00:11:19]So here this sentence structure is to  be about and then infinitive to start, and this describes an immediate future. This looks similar to a past sentence structure.

[00:11:33]We already learned the meeting is to start in  10 minutes, but remember that's for an official decision and it sounds quite formal. But the meeting is about to start is very commonly used. Maybe I ask you, can you use B correctly?

[00:11:54]But I could equally ask you,  are you able to use B correctly?

[00:12:01]So we have can plus base verb. This is for general ability, but the other structure is be able and  then infinitive to use to go to work.

[00:12:15]This is specific ability and it requires  the verb to be in the structure.

[00:12:20]In the past, you might say I was  able to complete the project by 5.

[00:12:26]In the future I'll be able  to complete the project by 5.

[00:12:31]You can absolutely say I agree  with you, I agree with you.

[00:12:36]Just don't add the verb to be here. Don't say I am agree with you.

[00:12:42]That's grammatically incorrect because  the sentence structure is simply to agree with someone. No be required.

[00:12:51]You could ask someone, are we in agreement? So the sentence structure is to be.

[00:12:59]The verb to be is required to be in agreement. Agreement is a noun.

[00:13:04]That's possible. More commonly though, you would ask, do we have an agreement? Do we have an agreement?

[00:13:13]So an agreement is the noun and have is your verb. Maybe you tell your friend it's worth improving your English. You could also say to your friend, improving your English is worth it. So this sentence structure is to be worth it.

[00:13:34]So the verb to be is required. And this means that you receive more value compared to the cost, whether that cost  is financial, time, energy, whatever the cost is.

[00:13:49]So you might ask a friend, was  getting a master's degree worth it?

[00:13:56]So was your verb to be was getting  a master's degree worth it?

[00:14:01]And your friend could reply,  it was definitely worth it.

[00:14:05]Notice you need that object it. Or maybe you're in school and you say to a fellow student, I hope the test will be a piece of cake. So in this case, I'm using an idiom to be a piece of cake. And this means easy.

[00:14:25]Now, certain idioms and fixed  expressions require the verb to be.

[00:14:30]So when you have that idiom, you need to memorize  the structure and also conjugate your verb.

[00:14:38]So you would say, Jennifer,  this lesson was a piece of cake.

[00:14:44]What do you think? Was this lesson easy?

[00:14:46]Well, don't worry if it wasn't  because this is an advanced topic.

[00:14:49]Do you want me to keep helping  you with your grammar if you do?

[00:14:53]Put yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,  put yes, yes, yes in the comments below.

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[00:15:12]And here's another lesson I know you'll love. Watch it now.