States of Being
Indicating existence and changes in states of existence
States of "being"
- are conditions or situations that exist "be"
- are inactive states; no action is performed
- are typically followed by adjectives
- cannot be progressive (with few exceptions).
My name is Albert. I am a sleepwalker. I know the condition seems very unusual. As you can guess, I never know where I will wake up in the morning. I am tired much of the time. I have medicine to suppress my sleepwalking, but it doesn't work well. My footsteps in the middle of the night surprise people.
Stative versus Dynamic Verbs
| STATIVE (INACTIVE( | DYNAMIC | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A "stative verb" relates information after it to the subject noun. In the examples below, the infomration after the verb is descriptive. A stative verb does not indicate activity and does not take a progressive verb form. |
Dynamic verbs relate activities that we take action to do or perform. They use both progressive and nonprogressive verb form , and they slightly differ in meaning from the stative verb. |
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NOUN Albert |
STATIVE VERB is |
ADJECTIVE twenty-five/ good / quiet / difficult. |
NOUN Albert |
DYNAMIC VERB is being |
ADJ / NOUN / PREP – PHRASE good. (is behaving properly) |
is |
difficult. |
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is being |
difficult. (is behaving in a contrary manner) |
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looks |
tired. |
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is looking |
at you. (watching you) |
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seems |
upset. |
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appears |
happy. |
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is appearing |
on stage. (is performing or acting) |
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becomes |
excited. |
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is becoming |
a good technician. (is working to become) |
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acts |
strange. |
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is acting |
in a movie. (performing) |
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gets |
angry/ bored/ tired. |
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is getting† |
better. (is improving in health) |
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older. (is aging) |
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angry/ bored/ tired. (is becoming) |
† is getting – an action is not being taken, but someing is happening gradually (little by little),
is looking – In modern usage: He's looking good, You're looking
well, The situation was looking bad.
look – face, have a view: These windows look south.
is becoming (adj.) – attractive: That suit is becoming on you.
Also see Get Passives
Describing vs. specifying "be"
| DESCRIBING "BE" | SPECIFYING "BE" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A stative verb such as be may be used with the meaning of "describing". In this case, it is followed by an adjective phrase that states the quality or character of the noun or noun phrase before be. |
A stative verb such as be may also be used with the meaning of "specifying". In this case, it is followed by an by a noun or a clause that identifies the noun before be. |
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NOUN Alberto |
BE – DESC. is |
ADJECTIVE tired. (describing) |
NOUN Alberto |
BE – SPEC. is |
NOUN PHRASE / CLAUSE my brother. (identifying) |
The problem |
is |
unusual. (describing) |
The problem |
is |
his sleep-walking. (identifying) |
Also see Specifying "be"
Common Mistakes
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
I sleepy. |
I am sleepy. (Use be as the main verb.) |
It strange to see that. |
It is strange to see that. (Use be as the main verb.) |
He have twenty-one years. |
He is twenty-one-years old. (Use be not have.) |
I have cold. |
I am cold. cold (adj.) – chilly / I have a cold. a cold (n.) – a common illness that affects the nose |
She is seeming upset. |
She seems upset. (Do not use progressive with seem.) |
The crowd went wildly. |
The crowd went wild. went (expression) – behaved, acted. |
Hello. May I speak to Albert. |
This is he. / This is him. See Pronouns after "be". |
Practice 1
- Select the response from the menu that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.
nervous (adj.) – unable to relax
sweaty (adj.) – covered or wet with sweat; perspiration
jumpy (adj.) – worried or nervous especially because you are expecting something bad to happen
bumble (v.) – speak in a confused way so that no one can understand you
fumble (v.)
– try to hold, move, or find something with your hands in an awkward way
attack (v.) – try to hurt
appearance (n.) – the way someone or something looks to other people
character (n.) – the particular combination of qualities that makes someone a particular type of person; "He has a cheerful but quiet character."
Answers
Text View
Alberto gets nervous whenever he takes a test. His head feels light and his hands become sweaty. He worries that the teacher looks at him. Other people notice that Alberto appears upset because he acts so 'jumpy'.
Alberto Benigni is a very funny Italian actor. Presently, he appears in a movie called "Il Monstro" , the monster. He seems to have a natural gift for comedy . In this movie, the police think he, Loro, is a dangerous serial killer, but this is a case of mistaken identity. The police try to catch him by having a beautiful woman, a cop, invite him to her apartment. He is delighted to be in her company. However, Loro is a person who acts strange. He bumbles, and fumbles, which causes the police to think he is going to attack her at any moment. Instead, the woman appears to fall in love with him. Meanwhile another man, the real serial killer, is caught. He resembles Loro in appearance, but not in character.