作为助动词，be没有具体含义，而是与主要动词一起构成句子的谓语动词。这种情况下，be主要用来构成进行时和被动语态。下面小编告诉你英语语法be动词的用法，大家一起来看看吧!
英语语法be动词的用法:
(一)进行时态中的be
此时，be可以与主要动词的现在分词一起，构成各种进行时态。如:
He is reading in the library now. (现在进行时)
She wasswimming in the river this time yesterday. (过去进行时)
They will be arriving in Beijing tomorrow. (将来进行时)
We have been learning English for ten years. (现在完成进行时)
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(二)被动语态中的be
助动词be能够与主要动词的过去分词一起构成被动语态，即be done结构。如:
Chinese iswidely used around the world nowadays.
The window wasbroken by the naughty boy just now.
Your watch has already beenrepaired.
【注意】
助动词be能够构成特殊句型。如:
1、be going to do
be going to do表示“打算或将要”。如:
He isgoing to visit us next week.
It isgoing to rain soon.
2、be about to do
be about to do表示“刚要，即将”。与be going to do表“将要”不同的是，be about to do表示的是说完话后马上就要去做或是短期内马上就要去做。如:
The plane isabout to take off in five minutes' time.
3、be to do
be to do表示“按计划要做”。如:
One night an angel came to Mary and told her that she wasto have this special boy.
The new store isto be opened tomorrow.
be的一种特殊用法:
在新课标人教版选修六第5单元中，有这样一个句子:I’ll never forget my first sight of an eruption. It was in the second week after I arrived in Hawaii. 第2句中的 was 是系动词无疑，但没有“是”的意思。那么，在这里是什么含义呢?回答这个问题，首先要搞清楚主语It指代什么。显然 It 指代上文的 eruption。既如此，was 应该是“发生”的意思，相当于 happened 或 broke out。
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这就是动词be 的一个特殊用法，其主语往往是表示“事件”的名词，如:meeting, talk, lecture, report, discussion, match, game, party, concert, play, accident, eruption, event等。因此，上句译成汉语应该是:我永远忘不了我第一次看见火山喷发时的情景，那(指“火山爆发”)是发生在我抵达夏威夷的第二个星期之后。又如:
---When was her birthday party? ---It was the night before last. 她的生日派对(聚会)是何时举办的?前天晚上。(was 等于 was held)
Our school sports meet will be next week. 我们学校的运动会将在下周举行。(be等于take place)
It was reported that the accident was on Tuesday and five people were killed. 据报道事故发生在星期二，有五人丧生。(was等于happened)
This is when small amounts of gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor, trap heat from the sun and therefore warm the earth. (选修6第四单元，Reading) 这种现象(温室效应)发生在大气层中少量的气体，如二氧化碳，甲烷，水蒸气等，吸收太阳的热量，因而使地球变暖的时候。(is等于takes place)
下列两句很有意思，一字之差，但意思相差甚远。请比较:
It was Sunday. We went out for a picnic.
It was on Sunday. We stayed at home and didn’t know anything about the accident.
有人把 It was Sunday. 和 It was on Sunday. 混为一谈，认为意思没什么区别。其实，这两个句子的含义大不一样。前者译为“时间是星期天”，It 指时间;后者译为“事情发生在星期天”，It 指某个事件。
一般说来，be 表示“发生”意义时，除了它的主语表示“事件”概念外，还往往有一时间状语跟它连用。
哪些动词后面可以接there to be结构:
英语中能接there to be结构的动词不多，比较常见的有believe, cause, consider, expect, hate, intend, like, love, mean, prefer, understand, want, wish等。如:
I didn’t expect there to be such a crowd. 我没想到会那么大一群人。
Students hate there to be too much homework. 学生讨厌做太多的家庭作业。
We’d prefer there to be an adult in charge. 我们宁愿有个成年人来负责。
We understood there to be money available. 我们认为有钱可用。
We don’t want there to be any misunderstandings. 我们不希望有任何误解。
You wouldn’t like there to be another war, would you? 你不会愿意再有一次战争吧，是吗?
The tree caused there to be a long shadow on the grass. 那棵树在草地上投下长长的影子。
注:动词let也可以用以上结构，但不定式不带to，即用let there be这样的形式。如:
Let there be no mistake about it. 不要对此有任何误解。
there be 句式的语法要点:
一、概说
英语中的there be结构主要表示某处存在有某物，所以通常被称为存在句。其中的there为引导词，无词义，be为谓语动词，there be后面的名词为句子主语。
二、there be结构的主谓一致问题
在there be句型中，若句子只有一个主语，谓语的数则取决于该主语的数;若有几个主语并列，则通常是与靠近的主语保持一致。如:
There is no cause for anxiety. 不必焦虑。
There is some dirt on your coat. 你的外套上有灰尘。
There are twenty children present. 在座的有20个孩子。
There is a teacher and some students over there. 那边有一位老师和一些学生。
三、there be结构的时态问题
there be结构的时态由其中的谓语动词be来体现，它可以有一般现在时、一般将来时、一般过去时、现在完成时以及过去完成时等多种时态形式。如:
There will be a rise in unemployment next year. 明年失业人数将会增加。
There have been a series of car accidents at the crossing. 在这个交叉路口已发生了一连串的车祸。
There had been two sea fights between them. 他们之间发生了两场海战。
四、there be结构与情态动词连用
there be结构有时可以与情态动词连用。如:
There may be an opportunity for you to see the premier. 你可能有机会见到总理。
There must be something wrong with my left arm, which is asleep.我的左臂发麻，一定出什么问题了。
There used to be a lot of troubles in that region. 那个地区过去动乱不断。
五、there be结构的非谓语形式
there be结构的非谓语形式有两种基本结构，即there being和there to be。一般说来，there being结构主要用作状语或介词宾语;There to be 结构主要用作动词宾语。如:
There being no further business, I declared the meeting closed. 没有更进一步的情况(讨论)，我就宣布闭会。
There is now some hope of there being a settlement of the dispute. 现在有点希望可以解决这次争端。
We expect there to be more discussion about this. 我们期望能对此展开更多的讨论。
注:用作介词宾语一般用there being，但用作介词for的宾语时，只能用there to be。比较:
They planned on there being another meeting. 他们打算再开一次会议。
They planned for there to be another meeting. 他们打算再开一次会议。