Conjugation

(Modern conjugation) {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" , infinitive , colspan="5" , be , - ! colspan="2" , present participle/gerund , colspan="5" , , - ! colspan="2" , past participle , colspan="5" , , - ! rowspan="2" , ! colspan="2" , indicative ! colspan="2" , subjunctive ! colspan="2" , imperative , - ! colspan="1" , singular ! colspan="1" , plural ! colspan="1" , singular ! colspan="1" , plural ! colspan="1" , singular ! colspan="1" , plural , - ! rowspan="3" , present , I ) , we ) , I be , we be , — , be , - , you ) , you ) , you be , you be , be , be , - , he/she/it ) , they ) , he/she/it be , they be , — , — , - ! rowspan="3" , preterite , I * , we , I ** , we , rowspan="3" colspan="2" bgcolor="lightgray", , - , you , you , you , you , - , he/she/it * , they , he/she/it ** , they , } *Some non-standard dialects use in these instances.
**Some non-standard dialects use in these instances. (Archaic conjugation) {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" , infinitive , colspan="5" , be , - ! colspan="2" , present participle/gerund , colspan="5" , , - ! colspan="2" , past participle , colspan="5" , , - ! rowspan="2" , ! colspan="2" , indicative ! colspan="2" , subjunctive ! colspan="2" , imperative , - ! colspan="1" , singular ! colspan="1" , plural ! colspan="1" , singular ! colspan="1" , plural ! colspan="1" , singular ! colspan="1" , plural , - ! rowspan="3" , present , I ) , we ) , I be , we be , — , be , - , thou , ye , thou , ye be , be (thou)*** , be (ye)*** , - , he/she/it ) , they ) , he/she/it be , they be , — , — , - ! rowspan="3" , preterite , I * , we , I ** , we , rowspan="3" colspan="2" bgcolor="lightgray", , - , thou , ye , thou , ye , - , he/she/it * , they , he/she/it ** , they , } *Some non-standard dialects will have in these instances.
**Some non-standard dialects will have in these instances.
***It is optional to include the subject which is to be stated after the imperative. * The verb distinguishes eight: ** itself is the plain form, used as the infinitive, as the imperative, and as the present subjunctive. **:: I want to be a father someday. (infinitive) **:: If that be true... (present subjunctive) **:: Allow the truth to be heard! (infinitive) **:: Please be here by eight o'clock. (imperative) **:: The librarian asked that the rare books not be touched. (present subjunctive) **: is also used as the present tense indicative form in the alternate, dynamic / lexical conjugation of be : **:: What do we do? We be ourselves.'' '' (first-person plural present indicative, lexical be) **:: but: Who are''' we? We '''are human beings. (first-person plural present indicative, copula be) **: It is also an archaic alternative form of the indicative, especially in the plural[http://books.google.fr/books?id=q3QSAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA357&lpg=PA357&dq=mood+tense+of+be+in+%22I+be%22&source=bl&ots=mjI9wpNsbf&sig=mCMwoBB65B9i6GvFTaOhErLON78&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZUogT7TkGKaksQLgyoSTDg&redir_esc=y

v=onepage&q=mood%20tense%20of%20be%20in%20%22I%20be%22&f=false]:

**:: The powers that be , are ordained of God. (Romans 13:1, Tyndale Bible, 1526) **:: We are true men; we are no spies: We be twelve brethren... (Genesis 42:31-2, King James Version, 1611) **:: I think it be thine indeed, for thou liest in it. (Hamlet, Act V, Scene 1, circa 1600) ** , and any other plural subjects). **: Am I in the right place? (first-person singular present indicative) **: You are even taller than your brother! (second-person singular present indicative) **: Where is the library? (third-person singular present indicative) **: These are the biggest shoes we have. (plural present indicative) ** . **: I was out of town. (first-person singular past indicative) **: You were the first person here. (second-person singular past indicative) **: The room was dirty. (third-person singular past indicative) **: We were angry at each other. (plural past indicative) **: I wish I were more sure.'' (first-person singular past subjunctive; ''was is also possible, though considered less correct) **: If she were here, she would know what to do.'' (third-person singular past subjunctive; ''was is also possible, though considered less correct) ** ). (It's also used as an actual noun; for those senses, see the entry for being itself.) **: I don't like being here. (gerund) **: All of a sudden, he's being nice to everyone. (present participle in the progressive aspect) **: It won't stop being a problem until someone does something about it. (present participle in the progressive aspect) ** is the past participle, used in the perfect aspect. In Middle English, it was also the infinitive. **: It's been that way for a week and a half. * In archaic or obsolete forms of English, with the pronoun thou, the verb has a few additional forms: ** When the pronoun was in regular use, the forms art, wast, and wert were the corresponding present indicative, past indicative, and past subjunctive, respectively. ** As , previously a past subjunctive form, came to be used as a past indicative as well. * The forms contracts quite freely with a variety of subjects. These contracted forms, however, are possible only when there is an explicit, non-preposed complement, and they cannot be stressed; therefore, contraction does not occur in sentences such as the following: *: Who's here? —I am . *: I wonder what it is . *: I don't want to be involved. —But you ''are'' involved, regardless. * Several of the finite forms of , but all of these are in restricted use; see their entries for details. * Outside of Standard English, there is some variation in usage of some forms; some dialects, for example, use ).