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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

The verb "be"

Hello,
I'm reading a book on language and there's something I don't understand:

"the infinitive in English is teh same as the base or root form of the verb except with the verb "to be": I will be the best (example sentence)"

Can you please explain why the base form of the verb "be" is different from the infinitive form?
  

Top answer

I don't understand the example, but I think what they are trying to get to is that the base or infinitive form is normally the same as the simple present 1st person form: go - to go - I go see - to see - I see extinguish - to extinguish - I extinguish But with 'be', it is not: be - to be - I am Be' doesn't really have a base form in the same sense as other verbs, since it is not the base for any of the common finite forms ( am, is, are, was, were )

— Mister Micawber

  • I don't understand the example, but I think what they are trying to get to is that the base or infinitive form is normally the same as the simple present 1st person form: go - to go - I go see - to see - I see extinguish - to extinguish - I extinguish But with 'be', it is not: be - to be - I am Be' doesn't really have a base form in the same sense as other verbs, since it is not the base for any of the common finite forms ( am, is, are, was, were )
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1 Answers
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I don't understand the example, but I think what they are trying to get to is that the base or infinitive form is normally the same as the simple present 1st person form:

go - to go - I go
see - to see - I see
extinguish - to extinguish - I extinguish

But with 'be', it is not:

be - to be - I am

Be' doesn't really have
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