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Indo-European copula - Wikipedia

Presence of the verb "to be" in Indo-European languages

A feature common to all Indo-European languages is the presence of a verb corresponding to the English verb to be.

This verb has two basic meanings:

In a less marked context it is a simple copula (I’m tired; That’s a shame!), a function which in non-Indo-European languages can be expressed quite differently.
In a more heavily marked context it expresses existence (I think therefore I am); the dividing line between these is not always easy to draw.

Some languages have shared these functions between several verbs: Irish, Spanish and Persian all have multiple equivalents of to be, making a variety of distinctions.

Many Indo-European languages also use the verb "to be" as an auxiliary for the formation of compound (periphrastic) tenses (I’m working; I was bitten). Other functions vary from language to language. For example, although in its basic meanings, to be is a stative verb, English puts it to work as a dynamic verb in fixed collocations (You are being very annoying).

The copula is the most irregular verb in many Indo-European languages. This is partly because it is more frequently used than any other, and partly because Proto-Indo-European offered more than one verb suitable for use in these functions, with the result that the daughter languages, in different ways, have tended to form suppletive verb paradigms.

This article describes the way in which the irregular forms have developed from a series of roots.

The Proto-Indo-European [PIE] roots[edit]

The root *h₁es- was certainly already a copula in Proto-Indo-European.

The e-grade *h₁es- (see Indo-European ablaut) is found in such forms as English is, Irish is, German ist, Latin est, Sanskrit asti, Persian ast, Old Church Slavonic jestĭ.

The zero grade *h₁s- produces forms beginning with /s/, like German sind, Latin sumus, Vedic Sanskrit smas, etc.

In PIE, *h₁es- was an athematic verb in -mi; that is, the first person singular was *h₁esmi; this inflection survives in English am, Pashto yem, Persian am, Sanskrit asmi, Bengali first-person verb ending -ām, Old Church Slavonic esmĭ, etc.

This verb is generally reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European thus:^[1]

Person Present
indicative Imperfect
indicative Subjunctive Optative Imperative 1st singular *h₁és-mi *h₁és-m̥ *h₁és-oh₂ *h₁s-iéh₁-m — 2nd singular *h₁és-i *h₁és *h₁és-esi *h₁s-iéh₁-s *h₁és, *h₁s-dʰí 3rd singular *h₁és-ti *h₁és-t *h₁és-eti *h₁s-iéh₁-t *h₁és-tu 1st dual *h₁s-uós *h₁s-ué *h₁és-owos *h₁s-ih₁-wé — 2nd dual *h₁s-tés *h₁s-tóm *h₁és-etes *h₁s-ih₁-tóm *h₁s-tóm 3rd dual *h₁s-tés *h₁s-tā́m *h₁és-etes *h₁s-ih₁-tā́m *h₁s-tā́m 1st plural *h₁s-m̥ós *h₁s-m̥é *h₁és-omos *h₁s-ih₁-mé — 2nd plural *h₁s-té *h₁s-té *h₁és-ete *h₁s-ih₁-té *h₁s-té 3rd plural *h₁s-énti *h₁s-énd *h₁és-onti *h₁s-ih₁-énd *h₁s-éntu

The root *bʰuH- or *bʰuh₂- (which did not have ablaut variations in the protolanguage^[2]) probably meant 'to grow', but also 'to become'.

This is the source of the English infinitive be and participle been. Also, for example, the Scottish Gaelic "future" tense bithidh; the Irish imperative bí, past bhí and future beidh; the Welsh bod (along with the other b- initial forms); Persian imperative bov, past bud and future bâš; and the Slavic infinitive and past, etc. for example Russian быть (byt’), был (byl).

PIE *bʰ became Latin /f/, hence the Latin future participle futūrus and perfect fuī; Latin fīō 'I become' is also from this root, as is the Greek verb φύω (phúō), from which physics and physical are derived.

*bʰuH- was a preterito-present verb, i.e. Imperfect endings for Present, and can be reconstructed as follows:^[1]

Person Indicative Subjunctive Optative Imperative 1st singular *bʰúH-m *bʰúH-oh₂ *bʰuH-yéh₁-m — 2nd singular *bʰúH-s *bʰúH-esi *bʰuH-yéh₁-s *bʰúH, *bʰuH-dʰí 3rd singular *bʰúH-t *bʰúH-eti *bʰuH-yéh₁-t *bʰúH-tu 1st dual *bʰuH-wé *bʰúH-owos *bʰuH-ih₁-wé — 2nd dual *bʰuH-tóm *bʰúH-etes *bʰuH-ih₁-tóm *bʰuH-tóm 3rd dual *bʰuH-tā́m *bʰúH-etes *bʰuH-ih₁-tā́m *bʰuH-tā́m 1st plural *bʰuH-mé *bʰúH-omos *bʰuH-ih₁-mé — 2nd plural *bʰuH-té *bʰúH-ete *bʰuH-ih₁-té *bʰuH-té 3rd plural *bʰuH-énd *bʰúH-onti *bʰuH-ih₁-énd *bʰuH-éntu

The root *h₂wes- may originally have meant "to live",^[1] and has been productive in all Germanic languages. The e-grade is present in the German participle gewesen, the o-grade (*wos-) survives in English and Old High German was, while the lengthened e-grade (*wēs-) gives us English were. (The Germanic forms with /r/ instead of /s/ result from grammatischer Wechsel.) See Germanic strong verb: Class 5.

This has been claimed as the origin of the Old Norse and later Scandinavian languages' present stem: Old Norse em, ert, er, erum, eruð, eru; the second person forms of which were borrowed into English as art and are.^[3]^{[page needed]} It has also been seen as the origin of the Latin imperfect (eram, eras, erat) and future tenses (ero, eris, erit).

However, other authorities link these forms with *h₁es- and assume grammatischer Wechsel (/s/→/r/), although this is not normally found in the present stem. Donald Ringe argues that the copula was sometimes unaccented in Pre-Proto-Germanic, which would have then triggered the voicing under Verner's law.^[1]^{[page needed]} He explains the Germanic first person singular form *immi as such, deriving it from earlier *ezmi, since -zm-, but not -sm-, was assimilated to -mm- in Germanic (for which other evidence exists as well). Furthermore, the third person plural form *sindi (from PIE *h₁sénti) shows that this word, too, was unaccented. If the accent had been preserved, it would have become *sinþi, but that form is not found in any Germanic language. In this view, it is likely that stressed and unstressed varieties of the copula (with corresponding voiceless and voiced fricatives) existed side by side in Germanic, and the involvement of a separate root *h₁er- is unnecessary.

The Latin forms could be explained by rhotacism.

The root *(s)teh₂- meant "to stand". From this root comes the present stem of the so-called "substantive verb" in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, tá and tha respectively, as well as taw in Welsh. On the absence of the initial s- in Celtic, see Indo-European s-mobile.

In Latin, stō, stare retained the meaning "to stand", until local forms of Vulgar Latin began to use it as a copula in certain circumstances. Today, this survives in that several Romance languages (Galician-Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan) use it as one of their two copulae, and there is also a Romance tendency for a past participle derived from *steh₂- to replace the original one of the copula (this occurs in French, Italian and the main dialects of Catalan). See also Romance copula.

Although in Dutch this verb retains its primary meaning of "stand", it is used in an auxiliary-like function that only has a secondary meaning of "standing", for example: ik sta te koken ("I am cooking", literally "I stand to cook"). While it is not a full copula (it can normally only be used as an auxiliary with another verb), it does have shades of meaning that resemble that of the Italian sto cucinando ("I am cooking"). The intransitive verbs zitten ("to sit"), liggen ("to lie") and lopen ("to walk/run") are used in similar ways.

In Swedish, which usually lacks gerund forms, the corresponding stå is often used similarly, along with sitta ("to sit"), ligga ("to lie") and gå ("to walk").

In Hindustani the past tense of the copula honā "to be" which are «tʰā», «tʰe», «tʰī» and «tʰī̃» are derived from Sanskrit «stʰā». Gujarati has a cognate verb «tʰavũ» "to happen"; cf. Bengali aorist «tʰā-» (to stay) as well.

The resulting paradigms[edit] Indo-Iranian languages[edit]

The Vedic Sanskrit root as (to be) is derived from the Indo-European root *h₁es-.

Mood/Tense Indicative Optative Imperative Present Perfect Imperfect Periphrasatic

Future

Voice Active Passive singular 1st asmi he āsa āsam asitāsmi syām asāni 2nd asi se āsitha āsīḥ asitāsi syāḥ edhi 3rd asti ste āsa āsīt asitā syāt astu dual 1st svaḥ svahe āsiva āsva asitāsvaḥ syāva asāva 2nd sthaḥ sāthe āsathuḥ āstam asitāsthaḥ syātam stam 3rd staḥ sāte āsatuḥ āstām asitārau syātām stām plural 1st smaḥ smahe āsima āsma asitāsmaḥ syāma asāma 2nd stha dhve āsa āsta asitāstha syāta sta 3rd santi sate āsuḥ āsan asitāraḥ syuḥ santu

bhū (to be) is derived from Indo-European *bʰuH-.

Mood/Tense Indicative Conditional Optative Aorist Injunctive Benedictive Imperative Present Perfect Imperfect Future Periphrasatic

Future

Voice Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive Active Passive singular 1st bhavāmi bhūye babhūva babhūve abhavam abhūye bhaviṣyāmi bhaviṣye bhavitāsmi abhaviṣyam bhaveyam bhūyeya abhūvam bhūvam bhūyāsam bhavāni bhūyai 2nd bhavasi bhūyase babhūvitha babhūviṣe abhavaḥ abhūyathāḥ bhaviṣyasi bhaviṣyase bhavitāsi abhaviṣyaḥ bhaveḥ bhūyethāḥ abhūḥ bhūḥ bhūyāḥ bhava bhūyasva 3rd bhavati bhūyate babhūva babhūve abhavat abhūyata bhaviṣyati bhaviṣyate bhavitā abhaviṣyat bhavet bhūyeta abhūt abhāvi bhūt bhāvi bhūyāt bhavatu bhūyatām dual 1st bhavāvaḥ bhūyāvahe babhūviva babhūvivahe abhavāva abhūyāvahi bhaviṣyāvaḥ bhaviṣyāvahe bhavitāsvaḥ abhaviṣyāva bhaveva bhūyevahi abhūva bhūva bhūyāsva bhavāva bhūyāvahai 2nd bhavathaḥ bhūyethe babhūvathuḥ babhūvāthe abhavatam abhūyethām bhaviṣyathaḥ bhaviṣyethe bhavitāsthaḥ abhaviṣyatam bhavetam bhūyeyāthām abhūtam bhūtam bhūyāstam bhavatam bhūyethām 3rd bhavataḥ bhūyete babhūvatuḥ babhūvāte abhavatām abhūyetām bhaviṣyataḥ bhaviṣyete bhavitārau abhaviṣyatām bhavetām bhūyeyātām abhūtām bhūtām bhūyāstām bhavatām bhūyetām plural 1st bhavāmaḥ bhūyāmahe babhūvima babhūvimahe abhavāma abhūyāmahi bhaviṣyāmaḥ bhaviṣyāmahe bhavitāsmaḥ abhaviṣyāma bhavema bhūyemahi abhūma bhūma bhūyāsma bhavāma bhūyāmahai 2nd bhavatha bhūyadhve babhūva babhūviḍhve abhavata abhūyadhvam bhaviṣyatha bhaviṣyadhve bhavitāstha abhaviṣyata bhaveta bhūyedhvam abhūta bhūta bhūyāsta bhavata bhūyadhvam 3rd bhavanti bhūyante babhūvuḥ babhūvire abhavan abhūyanta bhaviṣyanti bhaviṣyante bhavitāraḥ abhaviṣyan bhaveyuḥ bhūyeran abhūvan bhūvan bhūyāsuḥ bhavantu bhūyantām

In modern Hindi-Urdu (Hindustani), the Sanskrit verb अस् (as) (to be) which is derived from the Indo-European root *h₁es- has developed into the present indicative forms of the verb होना ہونا (honā) (to be).^[4] The infinitive होना ہونا (honā) itself is derived from the Sanskrit verb root भू (bʱū) which is derived from Indo-European root *b^huH-. The indicative imperfect forms of होना ہونا (honā) comes from Sanskrit स्थित (stʰita) "standing, situated" which are derived from the PIE root *steh₂- (“to stand”).^[5] होना ہونا (honā) is the only verb in Hindi-Urdu to have the present indicative, imperfect indicative, presumptive mood and the present subjunctive conjugations, and all the other verbs in Hindi-Urdu lack them.^[6]

The verb होना / ہونا (honā) can be translated as "to be", "to exist", "to happen" or "to have" depending on the context, and when used in the third person it could also be translated as "there is/are". Many verbs conjugations in Hindi-Urdu are derived from participles and hence are gendered and numbered, and they agree with either the object or the subject of the sentence depending on the grammatical case of the subject of the sentence. When the subject is in the ergative or the dative case (seeː dative construction & quirky subject) the verb agrees in gender and number with the object of the sentence and with the subject when the subject is in the nominative case.

PERSONAL FORMS of "honā (to be)" mood tense first person second person singular familiar^1,2 intimate formal^1,2,3 ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ indicative present hū̃ ho hai ha͠i perfect huā huī hue huī huā huī hue huī̃ imperfect thā thī the thī thā thī the thī̃ future hoū̃gā hoū̃gī hooge hoogī hoegā hoegī hoẽge hoẽgī presumptive all hū̃gā hū̃gī hoge hogī hogā hogī hõge hõgī subjunctive present hū̃ ho ho hõ future hoū̃ hoo hoe hoẽ future⁵ huā huī hue huī huā huī hue huī̃ contrafactual past hotā hotī hote hotī hotā hotī hote hotī̃ imperative present — hoo ho hoiye future — honā hoiyo hoiyegā IMPERSONAL FORMS of "honā (to be)" Stem ho Infinitive honā Oblique Infinitive hone Conjunctive hokar, hoke Progressive hote-hote PARTICIPLES ♂ ♀ singular plural singular plural Infinitive honā hone honī honī̃ Prospective honevālā honevāle honevālī honevālī̃ Agentive Habitual Aspect hotā hote hotī hotī̃ Perfective Aspect huā hue huī huī̃ Perfective Adjectival⁴ huā-huā hue-hue huī-huī huī-huī̃ Imperfective Adjectival⁴ hotā-huā hote-hue hotī-huī hotī-huī̃ ¹ the second person familiar and formal conjugations are grammatically plural and can be used in both singular and plural sense, akin to the English pronoun you. ² the third person singular and plural conjugations are respectively the same as the second person intimate and formal conjugations. ³ the first person plural pronoun conjugations are the same as the second person formal conjugations. ⁴ the second (adjoined) part of the adjectival participles -huā, -hue, -huī & -huī̃ are respectively shortened to -wā, -we, -wī & -wī̃ in speech. ⁵ the future perfective subjunctive has the same form as the indicative perfect. It is only used with if-clauses and relative clauses.^[7]^[8]

Bengali is considered a zero copula language, however there are notable exceptions. In the simple present tense there is no verb connecting the subject to the predicative (the "zero verb" copula) but when the predicate expresses ideas of existence, location, or possession, for such cases the verb আছ- (ach) can be roughly translated as "to exist" or "to be present".

In the past tense, the incomplete verb আছ- (ach) is always used as the copula, regardless of the nature of the predicative.
For the future tense and non-finite structures, the copula is supplied by the verb হওয়া (howa), with the exceptions being the possessive and locative predicatives for which the verb থাকা (thaka, "to remain") is utilized.
Bengali does not have a verb for possession (i.e. "to have", "to own"). Instead, possession in Bengali is expressed by the verb আছ- (āch) (for present and past tenses) and the verb থাকা (thaka) (for future tense) inflected with the possessed object and a genitive case for the possessor.

Bengali verbs are highly inflected and are regular with only few exceptions. They consist of a stem and an ending; they are traditionally listed in Bengali dictionaries in their "verbal noun" form, which is usually formed by adding -a to the stem: for instance, করা (kôra, to do) is formed from the stem কর (kôr). The stem can end in either a vowel or a consonant.

The copula verb of Nepali has two sets of conjugations. The हो (ho) set is used in sentences that equate two things, like त्यो किताब हो (tyo kitāb ho, “That is a book.”) The छ (cha) set is used in sentences that describe something, or locate where something is, like त्यो ठूलो छ (tyo ṭhūlo cha, “That is big.”). Singular present tense forms of the copulas in Nepali are shown in the table below:

Pronoun हो (ho, “define/identify”) छ (cha, “describe/qualify”) Positive Negative Positive Negative 1st म (ma) हुँ (hũ) होइन (hoina) छुँ (chũ) छैन (chaina) 2nd Familiar तिमी (timī) हौ (hau) होइनौ (hoinau) छौ (chau) छैनौ (chainau) Formal तपाईं (tapāīṃ) हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) हुनुहुन्न (hunuhunna) हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) हुनुहुन्न (hunuhunna) 3rd Familiar यो (yo) / त्यो (tyo) हो (ho) होइन (hoina) छ (cha) छैन (chaina) Formal वहाँ (vahā̃) हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) हुनुहुन्न (hunuhunna) हुनुहुन्छ (hunuhuncha) हुनुहुन्न (hunuhunna)

With regard to the function of the verb ‘to be’ as a copula, the most conspicuous feature of Modern Persian language is the evolution of an existential be, hast (exists), out of ast (is). In fact, when studying the forms and functions of ‘to be’, one might find certain characteristics specific to Persian that are worth pondering upon^[9]— i.e. even without considering the diachronic evolution of Modern Persian language and its relation to Ancient Iranian languages (such as Old Persian and Avestan) whose usage of the verb ‘to be’ seems more close to Sanskrit. Paradoxically, despite the fact that Persian is apparently the only Indo-European language that has created an existential be out of the copula, it has simultaneously made an extreme use of the latter to produce a general paradigm for conjugating all Persian verbs.

Historically speaking, like most of Indo-European languages that make use of suppletive roots to denote ‘to be’, Persian integrates Proto-Indo-European (PIE) verbs *h₁es- (to be) and *b^huH (to grow> to become> to be). Hence, while Persian infinitive būdan (to be) < PIE *b^huH forms the past stem of the verb (e.g. Persian būd- ‘was’) or acts as an auxiliary verb in formation of pluperfect of other verbs, its present tense is solely based on the derivatives of PIE *h₁es-. It is, in fact, from the declension of PIE *h₁es- (to be) that six present stems have been created and assigned to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person singular and plural to act as the present-tense conjugation of Persian būdan (to be), as shown in the following table.

Persian English Persian English 1st Person -am (I) am -īm (we) are 2nd Person -ī (thou) art -īd (you) are 3rd Person ast (a) (he/she/it) is -and (they) are

As an example, in the following sentences, the present forms of the verb 'to be' are used as copulas or predicates:

Persian English man doxtar-e to am. I am thy daughter. īn barādar-e man ast (a or e). This is my brother. to pedar-e man ī. Thou art my father.

Furthermore, as endings added to the stem of the verbs, these declensional forms have been grammaticalized to shape a general paradigm for the grammatical conjugation of all other verbs; these endings were once auxiliary verbs which evolved into an enclitic. This generalized conjugational paradigm is also applied to the past tense of the verb būdan (shown in the table below). However, what is linguistically notable, is the emergence of an existential be out of the copula, viz hast (exists) out of ast (is). The evolution of this exceptional form, might go back to ancient Iranian languages, where ast could have two variants (cf. Avestan which has both as- and has- <PIE *h₁es- ‘be’). In the next phase, what we may call a pseudo-verb appeared, vis. the verb hastan (to exist) has been analogically evolved from hast (exists) and has been conjugated like any other Persian verb (e.g. hast-am = literally: *‘(I) am existence’→ ‘I exist’).

The simple past conjugation of the verb būdan (to be) is in fact formed by a double-copula, in the sense that both the stem and the ending are copulas: the past stem of the verb būd- is derived from PIE *b^huH-, while the endings are from the suppletive form of PIE *h₁es- (to be) with the exception of 3rd person singular which has zero ending for the all Persian verbs in the past tense.

Singular English Enclitic copula Plural English Enclitic copula būdam I was ام -am būdīm we were ايم -īm būdī thou wast اى -ī būdīd you were اید -īd būd (būda) he/she/it was Ø (a) būdand they were اند -and

The present perfect conjugation of the verb būdan (to be) is a double copula paradigm as it is produced by addition of all enclitic copulas to the past participle of the verb: būde (been).

Singular English Enclitic copula Plural English Enclitic copula būdeam I have been -am būdeīm we have been -īm būdeī thou hast been -ī būdeīd you have been -īd būde ast (būde a) he/she/it has been ast (a) būdeand they have been -and

The pseudo-verb hastan (to exist) has only simple present tense; in addition, it is truly and purely existencial only in the case of third person singular (hast). The fact is that the verb has been the product of this very case, as an "existential is", hast (he/she/it exists). For other persons the conjugation has to use enclitic copulas. These copulas are, in turn, derived from the declension of PIE *h₁es- (to be); as if the predicative "to be" has been an auxiliary verb turned into enclitic, to provide six endings for 1st/2nd/3rd person (singular & plural). However, as it is said, the 3rd person singular has no ending in the case of hastan. That is to say that the existential hast (exists), which is like the alter-ego of the copula ast (is), takes no ending, while the present stem of all other verbs take an archaic ending -ad in their 3rd person singular.

Singular English Enclitic copula Plural English Enclitic copula hastam I exist -am hastīm we exist -īm hastī thou existest -ī hastīd you exist -īd hast he/she/it exists {ad} > Ø (a) hastand they exist -and Hellenic languages[edit]

The Ancient Greek verb eimi (I am) is derived from the Indo-European root *h₁es-.

Homeric Greek Classical Attic Modern Greek Present indicative 1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl. εἰμί (eimi)
εἶς, ἐσσί (eis, essi)
ἐστί(ν) (esti(n))
εἰμέν (eimen)
ἐστέ (este)
εἰσί(ν), ἔασι (eisi(n), easi) εἰμί (eimi)
εἶ (ei)
ἐστί(ν) (esti(n))
ἐσμέν (esmen)
ἐστέ (este)
εἰσί(ν) (eisi(n)) είμαι (ime)
είσαι (ise)
είναι (ine)
είμαστε (imaste)
είστε (iste)
είναι (ine) Preterite indicative 1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl. ἦα, ἔον (ēa, eon)
ἦσθα, ἔησθα (ēstha, eēstha)
ἦ(ε)ν, ἔην (ē(e)n, eēn)
ἦμεν (ēmen)
ἦτε (ēte)
ἦσαν (ēsan) ἦ(ν) (ē(n))
ἦς, ἦσθα (ēs, ēstha)
ἦν (ēn)
ἦμεν (ēmen)
ἦστε, ἔατε (ēste, eate)
ἦσαν ἔσαν (ēsan, esan) ήμουν (imun)
ήσουν (isun)
ήταν (itan)
ήμασταν (imaste, imastan)
ήσασταν (isaste, isastan)
ήταν, (ήσαν) (itan, [isan]) Subjunctive 1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl. ἔω (eō)
ἔῃς, ἔοις (eēis, eois)
ἔῃ(σι), ᾖσι(ν), ἔοι (eēi(si), ēisi(n), eoi)

ἔωσι(ν) (eōsi(n))

ὦ (ō)
ᾖς (ēis)
ᾖ (ēi)
ὦμεν (ōmen)
ἦτε (ēte)
ὦσι(ν) (ōsi(n)) να είμαι (na ime)
να είσαι (na ise)
να είναι (na ine)
να είμαστε (na imaste)
να είσαστε (na isaste)
να είναι (na ine) Optative 1st sg.
2nd sg.
3rd sg.
1st pl.
2nd pl.
3rd pl. εἴην (eiēn)
εἴης (eiēs)
εἴη (eiē)

εἶτε (eite)

εἶεν (eien) εἴην (eiēn)
εἴης (eiēs)
εἴη (eiē)
εἴημεν, εἶμεν (ei(ē)men)
εἴητε, εἶτε (ei(ē)te)
εἴησαν, εἶεν (eiēsan, eien) Imperative 2nd sg.
3rd sg.
2nd pl.
3rd pl. ἔσσο, ἴσθι (esso, isthi)

ἔστε (este)

ἴσθι (isthi)
ἔστω (estō)
ἔστε (este)
ἔστων, ὄντων (estōn, ontōn)
Infinitive εἶναι, ἔμ(μ)εν(αι) (einai, em(m)en(ai)) εἶναι (einai) Participle ἐών, ἐόντ- (eōn, eont-)
fem. ἐοῦσα (eousa) ὦν, ὄντ- (ōn, ont-)
fem. οὖσα (ousa) όντας (ontas)

Dual is not shown in the table.

The participles are based on the full-grade stem ἐσ- in Homeric, according to Smyth.

Except for Latin, the older Italic languages are very scarcely attested, but we have in Oscan set (they are), fiiet (they become), fufans (they have been) and fust (he will be), and in Umbrian sent (they are). This section will explain Latin, and the Romance languages that have evolved from it.

Esse and the forms beginning with (e)s- are from the root *h₁es-, while the forms beginning with f- are from the root *bʰuH-. For the forms beginning with er-, see *h₁er-. Stāre is derived from the root *steh₂-.

In Spanish, Catalan, Galician-Portuguese and to a lesser extent, Italian there are two parallel paradigms, ser/èsser/essere from Latin esse "to be" on the one hand, and estar/stare from Latin stare, "to stand" on the other.

In several modern Romance languages, the perfect is a compound tense formed with the past participle as in English, but the old Latin perfect survives as a commonly used preterite in Spanish and Portuguese, and as a literary "past historic" in French, Italian and Catalan.

There is a tendency for a past participle derived from stare (or more specifically its supine, statum) to replace that of the main copula derived from esse. For example, the French participle été comes from statum.

Latin Old French French Spanish Italian Portuguese Catalan Romanian Sicilian Occitan Infinitive esse stāre estre ester être ser estar essere stare ser estar ser, ésser estar a fi, fire siri stari estre,èsser Indicative Present sum

est

sumus

estis

sunt

stō

stās

stat

stāmus

stātis

stant

suis

est

sommes

estes

sont

este

estes

este

estons

estez

estent

suis

est

sommes

êtes

sont

soy

eres/sos

somos

sois

son

estoy

estás

está

estamos

estáis

están

sono

sei

siamo

siete

sono

sto

stai

sta

stiamo

state

stanno

sou

és

somos

sois

são

estou

estás

está

estamos

estais

estão

sóc

ets

és

som

sou

són

estic

estàs

està

estem

esteu

estan

sunt
eşti
este
suntem

sunteţi

sunt

sugnu

sì

esti

simu

siti

sù

staiu

stai

sta

stamu

stati

stannu

soi

sès

sèm

sètz

son

Preterite fuī

fuistī

fuit

fuimus

fuistis

fuērunt/fuēre

stetī

stetistī

stetit

stetimus

stetistis

stetērunt/stetēre

fui

fus

fumes

fustes

furent

estai

estas

esta

estames

estastes

esterent

fus

fut

fûmes

fûtes

furent

fui

fuiste

fue

fuimos

fuisteis

fueron

estuve

estuviste

estuvo

estuvimos

estuvisteis

estuvieron

fui

fosti

fummo

foste

furono

stetti

stesti

stette

stemmo

steste

stettero

fui

foste

foi

fomos

fostes

foram

estive

estiveste

esteve

estivemos

estivestes

estiveram

fui

fores

fou

fórem

fóreu

foren

estiguí

estugueres

estigué

estiguérem

estiguéreu

estigueren

fusei/fui

fuseși/fuși

fuse/fu

fuserăm/furăm

fuserăți/furăți

fuseră/fură

fui

fusti

fumu

fùstivu

furu

stesi

stasti

stesi

stèsimu

stàsivu

stèsiru

foguèri

foguères

foguèt

foguèrem

foguèretz

foguèron

Imperfect eram

erās

erat

erāmus

erātis

erant

stābam

stābās

stābat

stābāmus

stābātis

stābant

ier

iers

iert

iermes

seroiz

ierent

estoie

estoies

estoit

estiens

estiez

estoient

étais

était

étions

étiez

étaient

era

eras

era

éramos

erais

eran

estaba

estabas

estaba

estábamos

estabais

estaban

ero

eri

era

eravamo

eravate

erano

stavo

stavi

stava

stavamo

stavate

stavano

era

eras

era

éramos

éreis

eram

estava

estavas

estava

estávamos

estaveis

estavam

era

eres

era

érem

éreu

eren

estava

estaves

estava

estàvem

estàveu

estaven

eram

erai

era

eram

erați

erau

era

eri

era

èramu

èravu

èranu

stava

stavi

stava

stàvamu

stàstivu

stàvanu

èri

èras

èra

èram

èratz

èran

Pluperfect fueram

fuerās

fuerat

fuerāmus

fuerātis

fuerant

steteram

steterās

steterāt

steterāmus

steterātis

steterant

fora

foras

fora

fôramos

fôreis

foram

estivera

estiveras

estivera

estivéramos

estivéreis

estiveram

fusesem

fuseseși

fusese

fuseserăm

fuseserăți

fuseseră

Future erō

eris/ere

erit

erimus

eritis

erunt

stābō

stābis

stābit

stābimus

stābitis

stabunt

serai

seras

sera

serons

serez

seront

esterai serai

seras

sera

serons

serez

seront

seré

serás

será

seremos

seréis

serán

estaré

estarás

estará

estaremos

estaréis

estarán

sarò

sarai

sarà

saremo

sarete

saranno

starò

starai

starà

staremo

starete

staranno

serei

serás

será

seremos

sereis

serão

estarei

estarás

estará

estaremos

estareis

estarão

seré

seràs

serà

serem

sereu

seram

estaré

estaràs

estarà

estarem

estareu

estaran

voi fi

vei fi

va fi

vom fi

veți fi

vor fi

serai

seràs

serà

serem

seretz

seràn

Future Perfect fuerō

fueris

fuerit

fuerimus

fueritis

fuerint

steterō

steteris

steterit

steterimus

steteritis

steterint

Subjunctive Present sim

sīs

sit

sīmus

sītis

sint

stem

stēs

stet

stēmus

stētis

stent

soie

soies

soit

soions

soiiez

soient

estoise

estoises

estoise

estons

estez

estoisent

sois

soit

soyons

soyez

soient

sea

seas

sea

seamos

seáis

sean

esté

estés

esté

estemos

estéis

estén

sia

siamo

siate

siano

stia

stiamo

stiate

stiano

seja

sejas

seja

sejamos

sejais

sejam

esteja

estejas

esteja

estejamos

estejais

estejam

sigui/siga

siguis/sigues

sigui/siga

siguem

sigueu

siguin/siguen

estigui/estiga

estiguis/estugues

estugui/estiga

estiguem

estigueu

estiguin/estiguen

să fiu

să fii

să fie

să fim

să fiți

să fie

fussi

fùssimu

fùssivu

fùssiru

stassi

stàssimu

stàssivu

stàssiru

siá

siás

siá

siam

siatz

sián

Imperfect essem/forem

essēs/forēs

esset/foret

essēmus/forēmus

essetis/forētis

essent/forent

stārem

stārēs

stāret

stārēmus

stārētis

stārent

fusse

fusses

fust

fussons

fussiez

fussent

esteüsse

esteüsses

esteüst

esteüssons

esteüssoiz

esteüssent

fusse

fusses

fût

fussions

fussiez

fussent

fuera/fuese

fueras/fueses

fuera/fuese

fuéramos/fuésemos

fuerais/fueseis

fueran/fuesen

estuviera/estuviese

estuvieras/estuvieses

estuviera/estuviese

estuviéramos/estuviésemos

estuvierais/estuvieseis

estuvieran/estuviesen

fossi

fosse

fossimo

foste

fossero

stessi

stesse

stessimo

steste

stessero

fosse

fosses

fosse

fôssemos

fôsseis

fossem

estivesse

estivesses

estivesse

estivéssemos

estivésseis

estivessem

fos

fossis

fos

fóssim/fóssem

fóssiu/fósseu

fossin/fossen

estigués

estiguessis

estigués

estiguéssim/estiguéssem

estiguéssiu/estiguésseu

estiguessin/estiguessen

să fi fost

fussi

fùssimu

fùssivu

fùssiru

stassi

stàssimu

stàssivu

stàssiru

foguèsse

foguèsses

foguèsse

foguèssem

foguèssetz

foguèsson

Future -

fuere

fueres

fuere

fuéremos

fuereis

fueren

estuviere

estuvieres

estuviere

estuviéremos

estuviereis

estuvieren

for

fores

for

formos

fordes

forem

estiver

estiveres

estiver

estivermos

estiverdes

estiverem

Conditional -

seroie

seroies

seroit

seriens

seriez

seroient

esteroie

esteroies

esteroit

esteriiens

esteriiez

esteroient

serais

serait

serions

seriez

seraient

sería

serías

sería

seríamos

seríais

serían

estaría

estarías

estaría

estaríamos

estaríais

estarían

sarei

saresti

sarebbe

saremmo

sareste

sarebbero

starei

staresti

starebbe

staremmo

stareste

starebbero

seria

serias

seria

seríamos

seríeis

seriam

estaria

estarias

estaria

estaríamos

estaríeis

estariam

seria/fóra

series/fores

seria/fóra

seríem/fórem

seríeu/fóreu

serien/foren

estaria

estaries

estaria

estaríem

estaríeu

estarien

aș fi

ai fi

ar fi

am fi

ați fi

ar fi

fora

fori

fora

fòramu

fòravu

fòranu

Imperative Present -

este

stā

stāte

soies

soiiens

soiiez

esta

estons

estez

sois

soyons

soyez

sé

seamos

sed/sean

está

estemos

estad/estén

sii

siate

sta

state

sê

sede

está

estai

sigues

sigueu/sigau

estigues

estigueu/estigau

fii

fiți

sì

siti

stai

stati

siá

siam

siatz

Future -

estō

estōte

suntō

stātō

stātōte

stantō

Past participle fuisse statum esté esté été sido estado stato/essuto stato sido estado estat/sigut/sét estat fost statu statu estat, estada Present Participle esse stāns estant estant étant siendo estando essendo stando sendo estando sent/essent estant fiind sennu sannu essent Latin Old French French Spanish Italian Portuguese Catalan Romanian Sicilian Occitan Germanic languages[edit]

The proto-Germanic verb for 'to be', *wesaną, and its conjugations are mostly derived from the Proto-Indo-European verb *h₂wes (‘stay overnight, camp’). The present subjunctive stem is derived from the optative of *h₁es-. West Germanic languages also have an additional stem *bi- (such as 'to be' in English), which is thought to derive from the PIE stem *bʰuh₂- ('become').^[10] Proto-Germanic retained the dual, but only in the first and second person.

Proto-Germanic
(reconstructed) Gothic Old Norse Icelandic Faroese Norwegian
Nynorsk Norwegian
Bokmål +
Danish Old Swedish Swedish Old English English Old High
German German Luxem-
burgish Old Saxon Dutch Infinitive *wesaną *beuną? wisan vera vera vera vera/vere være vara vara wesan bēon be wesan sein sinn wesan zijn/wezen Present
indicative *immi
*izi
*isti
*izū
*izudiz
*izum
*izud
*sindi *biumi
*biusi
*biuþi
*beū?
*biuþiz
*beum
*beuþ
*biunþi im
is
ist
siju
sijuts
sijum
sijuþ
sind em
ert (est)
er (es)
–
–
erum
eruð
eru er
ert
er
–
–
erum
eruð
eru eri
ert
er
–
–
eru
eru
eru er
er
er
–
–
er
er
er er
er
er
–
–
er
er
er æm/ær
æst
ær
–
–
ærum
ærin
æru är (äm)
är (äst)
är
–
–
är (äro)
är (ären)
är (äro) eom
eart
is
–
–
sint
sint
sint bēo
bist
biþ
–
–
bēoþ
bēoþ
bēoþ am
art
is
–
–
are
are
are bim, bin
bist
ist
–
–
birum, bir(e)n
birut, bir(e)t
sint bin
bist
ist
–
–
sind
seid
sind si(nn)
bass
ass
–
–
si(nn)
sidd
si(nn) bium
bist
is
–
–
sind
sind
sind ben
–
is
–
–
zijn
bent/zijt*
zijn Present
subjunctive *sijǭ
*sijēs
*sijē
*sīw
*sīþiz
*sīm
*sīþ
*sīn *biwjǭ?
*biwjēs?
*biwjē?
*biwīw
*biwīþiz
*biwīm
*biwīþ
*biwīn
sijau
sijais
sijai
sijaiwa
sijaits
sijaima
sijaiþ
sijaina sjá
sér
sé
–
–
sém
séð
sé sé
sért
sé
–
–
séum
séuð
séu veri
veri
veri
–
–
veri
veri
veri –
–
(vere)
–
–
–
–
– –
–
(være)
–
–
–
–
– –
–
sē(i)/vari
–
–
–
–
sēi(n)/vari(n) –
–
(vare)
–
–
–
–
– sīe
sīe
sīe
–
–
sīen
sīen
sīen bēo
bēo
bēo
–
–
bēon
bēon
bēon be
be
be
–
–
be
be
be sī
sīs(t)
sī
–
–
sīm, sīn
sī(n)t
sīn sei
sei(e)st
sei
–
–
seien
seiet
seien –
–
sief
–
–
–
–
– sī
sīs(t)
sī
–
–
sīn
sīn
sīn zij
–
zij
–
–
zijn
zij
zijn Preterite
indicative *was
*wast
*was
*wēzū
*wēzudiz
*wēzum
*wēzud
*wēzun was
wast
was
wēsu
wēsuts
wēsum
wēsuþ
wēsun var
varst
var
–
–
várum
várið
váru var
varst
var
–
–
vorum
voruð
voru var
vart
var
–
–
vóru
vóru
vóru var
var
var
–
–
var
var
var var
var
var
–
–
var
var
var var
vast
var
–
–
vārum
vārin
vāru var
var
var
–
–
var (voro)
var (voren)
var (voro)
wæs
wǣre
wæs
–
–
wǣron
wǣron
wǣron was
wast
was
–
–
were
were
were was
wāri
was
–
–
wārum
wārut
wārun war
warst
war
–
–
waren
wart
waren war
waars
war
–
–
ware(n)
waart
ware(n) was
wāri
was
–
–
wārun
wārun
wārun was
–
was
–
–
waren
was/waart*
waren Preterite
subjunctive *wēzį̄
*wēzīz
*wēzī
*wēzīw
*wēzīdiz
*wēzīm
*wēzīd
*wēzīn wēsjau
wēseis
wēsi
wēseiwa
wēseits
wēseima
wēseiþ
wēseina væra
værir
væri
–
–
værim
værið
væri væri
værir
væri
–
–
værum
væruð
væru væri
væri
væri
–
–
væri
væri
væri –
–
–
–
–
–
–
– var
var
var
–
–
var
var
var –
–
vāri
–
–
–
–
vāri(n) vore
vore
vore
–
–
vore
vore (-en)
vore wǣre
wǣre
wǣre
–
–
wǣren
wǣren
wǣren were
wert
were
–
–
were
were
were wāri
wārīs
wāri
–
–
wārīm
wārīt
wārīn wäre
wärest
wäre
–
–
wären
wäret
wären wier
wiers
wier
–
–
wiere(n)
wiert
wiere(n) wāri
wāris
wāri
–
–
wārin
wārin
wārin ware
–
ware
–
–
waren
ware
waren Imperative -
*wes
*wesadau
-
*wesadiz
-
*wisid
*wesandau -
wis
wisadau
–
wisats
-
wisiþ
wisandau -
ver
ver
–
–
–
verið
verið -
vertu
vertu
–
–
-
verið
verið -
ver
ver
–
–
-
verið
verið –
ver
ver
–
–
–
ver
ver -
vær
vær
–
–
-
vær
vær –
-
-
–
–
–
–
- -
var
var
–
–
-
var
var -
wes
wes
–
–
-
wesaþ
wesaþ -
be
be
–
–
-
be
be -
wes
wes
–
–
-
wesit
wesit -
sei
sei
–
–
-
seid
seid -
-
-
–
–
-
-
- -
wes
wes
–
–
-
wesad
wesad -
wees
-
–
–
-
weest
- Past participle – – verit verið verið vore (vori) vært været varin varit – been giwesan gewesen gewiescht (gi)wesan geweest

Old English kept the verbs wesan and bēon separate throughout the present stem, though it is not clear that the kind of consistent distinction in usage was made that we find, for example in Spanish. In the preterite, however, the paradigms fell together. Old English has no participle for this verb.
The plural forms in Modern Swedish (indicated in brackets) were in common use in formal written language until the mid-20th century, but are now no longer in use except in deliberately archaising texts. The preterite subjunctive is also increasingly being replaced by the indicative, or past participle.
Dutch, like English, has abandoned the original second-person singular forms, replacing them with the second-person plural forms. However, while in English the old forms are still in limited and deliberately archaic use, in Dutch they have disappeared entirely and are no longer known or used at all. The forms listed in the plural are the historical plural forms, the 'jij' and 'gij' forms. Dutch formed a new plural pronoun 'jullie' with inflection similar to the 1st and 3rd person plural, but it would be redundant to list them here.

Proto-Slavic
(reconstructed) Old Church Slavonic Ukrainian Russian Old Polish Polish Czech Slovak Slovenian Serbo-Croatian Bulgarian Present *(j)esmĭ
*(j)esi
*(j)estĭ
*(j)esvě
*(j)esta
*(j)este
*(j)esmŭ
*(j)este
*sǫtĭ ѥсмь, jesmĭ
ѥси, jesi
ѥстъ, jestŭ
ѥсвѣ, jesvě
ѥста, jesta
ѥсте, jeste
ѥсмъ, jesmŭ
ѥсте, jeste
сѫтъ, sǫtŭ (є[сь]м, je[ś]m)
(єси, jesy)
є, je /{єсть, jesť}
–
–
–
((є)сьмо, (je)śmo)
((є)сте, (je)ste)
(суть, suť) (есмь, jesm')
(еси, jesi)
есть, jest'
–
–
–
(есмо, jesmo)
(есте, jeste)
(суть, sut') jeśm
jeś
jest, jeść
–
–
–
jeśmy
jeście
są jestem, -m
jesteś, -ś
jest
–
–
–
jesteśmy, -śmy
jesteście, -ście
są jsem
jsi
je
–
–
–
jsme
jste
jsou som
si
je
–
–
–
sme
ste
sú sem
si
je
sva
sta
sta
smo
ste
so jesam, sam/budem*
jesi, si/budeš
jest, je/bude
–
–
–
jesmo, smo/budemo
jeste, ste/budete
jesu, su/budu съм, səm
си, si
е, e
–
–
–
сме, sme
сте, ste
са, sə Imperative –
*bǫdi
*bǫdi
*bǫděvě
*bǫděta
–
*bǫděmŭ
*bǫděte
*bǫdǫ –
бѫди, bǫdi
бѫди, bǫdi
бѫдѣвѣ, bǫděvě
бѫдѣта, bǫděta
–
бѫдѣмъ, bǫděmŭ
бѫдѣте, bǫděte
бѫдѫ, bǫdǫ –
будь, buď
–
–
–
–
будьмо, buďmo
будьте, buďte
– –
будь, bud’
–
–
–
–
–
будьте, bud’te
– –
bądź
–
–
–
–
bądźmy
bądźcie
– –
bywaj/bądź
–
–
–
–
bywajmy/bądźmy
bywajcie/bądźcie
– –
buď
–
–
–
–
buďme
buďte
– –
buď
–
–
–
–
buďme
buďte
– –
bodi
–
bodiva
bodita
–
bodimo
bodite
– –
budi
(neka bude)
–
–
–
budimo
budite
(neka budu) –
бъди, bədi
–
–
–
–
–
бъдете, bədete
–
Future *bǫdǫ
*bǫdešĭ
*bǫdetĭ
*bǫdevě
*bǫdeta
*bǫdete
*bǫdemŭ
*bǫdete
*bǫdǫtĭ бѫдѫ, bǫdǫ
бѫдеши, bǫdeši
бѫдетъ, bǫdetŭ
бѫдевѣ, bǫdevě
бѫдета, bǫdeta
бѫдете, bǫdete
бѫдемъ, bǫdemŭ
бѫдете, bǫdete
бѫдѫтъ, bǫdǫtŭ буду, budu
будеш, budeš
буде, bude
–
–
–
будемо, budemo
будете, budete
будуть, buduť буду, budu
будешь, budeš'
будет, budet
–
–
–
будем, budem
будете, budete
будут, budut będę
będziesz
będzie
–
–
–
będziemy
będziecie
będą będę
będziesz
będzie
–
–
–
będziemy
będziecie
będą budu
budeš
bude
–
–
–
budeme
budete
budou budem
budeš
bude
–
–
–
budeme
budete
budú bom, bodem
boš, bodeš
bo, bode
bova, bodeva
bosta, bodesta
bosta, bodesta
bomo, bodemo
boste, bodeste
bodo, bojo budem
budeš
bude
–
–
–
budemo
budete
budu ще бъда, šte bədə
ще бъдеш, šte bədeš
ще бъде, šte bəde
–
–
–
ще бъдем, šte bədem
ще бъдете, šte bədete
ще бъдат, šte bədət Imperfect *běaxŭ
*běaše
*běaše
*běaxově
*běašeta
*běašete
*běaxomŭ
*běašete
*běaxǫ бѣахъ, běaxŭ
бѣаше, běaše
бѣаше, běaše
бѣаховѣ, běaxově
бѣашета, běašeta
бѣашете, běašete
бѣахомъ, běaxomŭ
бѣашете, běašeте
бѣахѫ, běaxǫ biech
biesze
biesze
–
–
–
biechom
bieszecie
biechą bijah, b(j)eh
bijaše, b(j)eše
bijaše, b(j)eše
–
–
–
bijasmo, b(j)esmo
bijaste, b(j)este
bijahu, b(j)ehu бях, bjah
бе[ше], be[še]
бе[ше], be[še]
–
–
–
бяхме, bjahme
бяхте, bjahte
бяха, bjahə Aorist *byxŭ
*by(stŭ?)
*by(stŭ?)
*byxově
*bysta
*byste
*byxomŭ
*byste
*byšę бꙑхъ, byxŭ
бꙑ(стъ), by(stŭ)
бꙑ(стъ) by(stŭ)
бꙑховѣ, byxově
бꙑста, bysta
бꙑсте, byste
бꙑхомъ, byxomŭ
бꙑсте, byste
бꙑшѧ, byšę bych
by
by
–
–
–
bychom
byście
bychą Conditional copula bym
byś
by
–
–
–
byśmy
byście
by bych
bys
by
–
–
–
bychom
byste
by (bi)
bi
bi
(bi)
(bi)
(bi)
(bi)
(bi)
(bi) bih
bi
bi
–
–
–
bismo
biste
biše бих, bih
би, bi
би, bi
–
–
–
бихме, bihme
бихте, bihte
биха, bihə Present active participle *sy m.
*sǫťi f.
*sy n. сꙑ, sy m.
сѫщи, sǫšti f.
сꙑ, sy n. sący m.
sąca f.
sące n. jsoucí (същ, səšt m.)
(съща, səšta f.)
(също, səšto n.) Future active participle *bǫdy m.
*bǫdǫťi f.
*bǫdy n. бѫдꙑ, bǫdy m.
бѫдѫщи, bǫdǫšti f.
бѫдꙑ, bǫdy n. будущий, buduščij m.
будущая, buduščaja f.
будущее, buduščeje n. będący m.
będąca f.
będące n. będący m.
będąca f.
będące n. budoucí m.
budoucí f.
budoucí n. budúci m.
budúca f.
budúce n. bodoči m.
bodoča f.
bodoče n. budući m.
buduća f.
buduće n. (бъдещ, bədešt m.)
(бъдещa, bədeštа f.)
(бъдещо, bədeštо n.) Present gerund будучи sąc
będąc będąc jsa

jsouc jsouce

бъдейки Past active participle *byvŭ m.
*byvŭši f.
*byvŭ n. бꙑвъ, byvŭ m.
бꙑвъши, byvŭši f.
бꙑвъ, byvŭ n. бывший, byvšij m.
бывшая, byvšaja f.
бывшее, byvšeje n. bywszy m.
bywsza f.
bywsze n. bywszy m.
bywsza f.
bywsze n. byvší m.
byvšia f.
byvšie n. bivši m.
bivša f.
bivše n. bivši m.
bivša f.
bivše n. (бивш, bivš m.)
(бивша, bivša f.)
(бивше, bivše n.) Past gerund бувши bywszy bywszy byv

byvši byvše

- Resultative participle *bylŭ m.
*byla f.
*bylo n. бꙑлъ, bylŭ m.
бꙑла, byla f.
бꙑло, bylo n. був, buw m.
була, bula f.
було, bulo n. был, byl m.
была, byla f.
было, bylo n. był m.
była f.
było n. był m.
była f.
było n. byl m.
byla f.
bylo n. bol m.
bola f.
bolo n. bil m.
bila f.
bilo n. bio m.
bila f.
bilo n. бил, bil m.
била, bila f.
било, bilo n. Verbal or deverbal noun *bytĭje бꙑтиѥ, bytije буття́, buttja бытьё, bytʹjó bycie bycie bytí bytie bītje biće - Infinitive *byti бꙑти, byti бути, buty быть, byt' być być být byť biti biti - Supine - - - - - - - - bit - -

In Russian, the present forms are archaic and no longer in common use, except for the third person forms, which are used in "there is/are" type phrases.
In Ukrainian, the present tense forms of the verb "бути" have all but disappeared from contemporary language, except for the third person form which is used in existential phrases; єсть (jesť) is archaic and encountered only in poetry. All participles have turned into other parts of speech, future and past active participles becoming present and past active adverbial participle respectively,^[11] and resultative pariciple becoming past tense of verbs.
In Serbo-Croatian the forms jesam, jesi, jeste and so on are used as the basic form of the Present Tense "to be" (i.e. I am, you are etc.), while the forms budem, budeš, bude etc. are used only for the formation of the Future Perfect.
In Bulgarian, forms бъда, бъдеш, etc. are not used by themselves but only in compound forms (future ще бъда, subjunctive да бъда). In this respect they closely follow the usage (and non-usage) of perfective verbs. As such it has its own forms for the aorist (бидох, биде, биде, бидохме, бидохте, 'бидоха), the imperfect (бъдех, бъдеше, бъдеше, бъдехме, бъдехте, бъдеха) and the resultative participle (бъдел). Another verb - бивам with fully regular conjugation type III paradigm - completes an aspect triple: imperfective съм, perfective бъда, secondary imperfective бивам. The perfective aorist has lost its original meaning and is now used only to form the compound conditional mood (бих чел = I would read). All participles except the resultative participle (бил) have lost their function and are now used as regular adjectives with changed meanings (същ = same, бивш = previous, ex-, бъдещ = future).
In Polish, the present forms, except for jest and są, have turned into suffixes (-m, -ś, -śmy, -ście) used primarily to construct the past tense and the conditional clitic. The modern conjugation comes from attaching these suffixes onto the third person singular form jest.

Lithuanian Latvian Infinitive būti būt Present esu, esmi (rare), esmì (obsol.), būnu
esì, būni (rare)
yra, esti, estì (obsol.), esa (rare), būna
esmè (obsol.), esame, būname (rare)
estè (obsol.), esate, būnate (rare)
yra, esti (rare), esa (rare), būna (rare) esmu, esu (vernacular)
esi
ir
esam
esat
ir Past simple buvau
buvai
buvo
buvome
buvote
buvo biju
biji
bija
bijām
bijāt
bija Past active participle buvęs (m. sg.)
buvusi (f. sg.)
buvę (m. pl.)
buvusios (f. pl.) bijis (m. sg.)
bijusi (f. sg.)
bijuši (m. pl.)
bijušas (f. pl.) Future būsiu
būsi
bus
būsime
būsite
bus būšu
būsi
būs
būsim
būsiet, būsit
būs Imperative –
būk
–
būkime
būkite
– –
esi
–
būsim
esiet
– Quotative esot, būšot Conditional būčiau
būtum
būtų
būtumėme
būtumėte
būtų būtu

In Lithuanian, the paradigm būnu, būni, būna, etc. is not considered archaic or dialectal but rather a special use of the verb būti, to be, mostly used to describe repeated actions or states, or habits.

In the Celtic languages there is a distinction between the so-called substantive verb, used when the predicate is an adjective phrase or prepositional phrase, and the so-called copula, used when the predicate is a noun.

The conjugation of the Old Irish and Middle Welsh verbs is as follows:

Old Irish substantive verb Old Irish copula Middle Welsh Present (at)·tó
(at)·taí
(at)·tá
(at)·taam
(at)·taïd
(at)·taat am
at
is
ammi
adib
it wyf
wyt
yw, mae, taw, oes
ym
ych
ynt, maen(t) Preterite ·bá
·bá
·boí
·bámmar
·baid
·bátar basa
basa
ba
bommar
unattested
batar buum
buost
bu
buam
buawch
buant Future bia
bie
bieid, ·bia
beimmi, ·biam
bethe, ·bieid
bieit, ·biat be
be
bid
bimmi
unattested
bit bydaf
bydy
byd
bydwn
bydwch
bydant

The forms of the Old Irish present tense of the substantive verb, as well as Welsh taw, come from the PIE root *stā-. The other forms are from the roots *es- and *bhū-. Welsh mae originally meant "here is" (cf. yma 'here').

Irish and Scottish Gaelic[edit]

In modern Gaelic, person inflections have almost disappeared, but the negative and interrogative are marked by distinctive forms. In Irish, particularly in the south, person inflections are still very common for the tá/bhí series. ^{[note 1]}

Scottish Gaelic Irish (analytic) (synthetic) Present affirmative tha tá 1 táim, 2 †táir, 3 tá, 1pl táimíd, 2pl †táthaoi, 3pl táid negative chan eil níl (< ní fhuil) 1 nílim, 2 †nílir, 3 níl, 1pl nílimíd, 2pl †níltí, 3pl nílid interrogative a bheil an bhfuil 1 an bhfuilim, 2 †an bhfuilir, 3 an bhfuil, 1pl an bhfuilimíd, 2pl †an bhfuiltí, 3pl an bhfuilid negative interrogative nach eil nach bhfuil 1 nach bhuilim, 2 †nach bhfuilir, 3 nach bhfuil, 1pl nach bhfuílimíd, 2pl †nach bhfuiltí, 3pl nach bhfuilid Past affirmative bha bhí 1 bhíos, 2 bhís, 3 bhí, 1pl bhiomair, 2pl bhíobhair, 3pl bhíodar negative cha robh ní raibh ní 1 rabhas, 2 rabhais, 3 raibh, 1pl rabhamair, 2pl rabhabhair, 3pl rabhadar interrogative an robh an raibh an negative interrogative nach robh nach raibh nach Future affirmative bidh (or "bithidh") beidh 1 bead, 2 beir, 3 beidh, 1pl beimíd, 2pl beidh sibh, 3pl beid negative cha bhi ní bheidh ní 1 bhead, 2 bheir, 3 bheidh, 1pl bheimíd, 2pl bheidh sibh, 3pl bheid interrogative am bi an mbeidh an 1 mbead, 2 mbeir, 3 mbeidh, 1pl mbeimíd, 2pl mbeidh sibh, 3pl mbeid negative interrogative nach bi nach mbeidh nach

† archaic forms

Gaelic (bh)eil and Irish (bh)fuil are from Old Irish fuil, originally an imperative meaning "see!" (PIE root *wel-, also in Welsh gweled, Germanic wlitu- "appearance", and Latin voltus "face"), then coming to mean "here is" (cf. French voici < vois ci and voilà < vois là), later becoming a suppletive dependent form of at-tá. Gaelic robh and Modern Irish raibh are from the perfective particle ro (ry in Welsh) plus ba (lenited after ro).

^[12] Scottish Gaelic Irish Before a consonant Before a vowel Before a consonant Before a vowel Present affirmative
interrogative
negative
negative interrogative is is
an
ní
nach is
an
ní
nach Past/Conditional affirmative
interrogative
negative
negative interrogative bu ba
ar
níor
nár b'
arbh
níorbh
nárbh

The present tense in particular shows a split between the North and the South. Though the situation is undoubtedly more complicated, King (2003) notes the following variations in the present tense as spoken (not as written according to the standard orthography):

Affirmative (I am) Interrogative (Am I?) Negative (I am not) Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural North First person dw dan ydw? ydan? (dy)dw (dy)dan Second person —, (r)wyt dach wyt? (y)dach? dwyt (dy)dach Third person mae maen ydy? ydyn? dydy dydyn South First person rw, w ŷn, — ydw? ŷn? (d)w ŷn Second person —, (r)wyt ych wyt? ych? — (ych) Third person mae maen ydy?, yw? ŷn? dyw ŷn

For example, the spoken first person singular dw i'n is a contraction of the formal written yr ydwyf fi yn . The Welsh F /v/ is the fricative analogue of the nasal /m/, the PIE suffix consonant for the first person singular.

Affirmative (I am) Interrogative (Am I?) Negative (I am not) Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Preterite First person bues buon fues? fuon? fues fuon Second person buest buoch fuest? fuoch? fuest fuoch Third person buodd buon fuodd? fuon? fuodd fuon Imperfect First person roeddwn roedden oeddwn? oedden? doeddwn doedden Second person roeddet roeddech oeddet? oeddech? doeddet doeddech Third person roedd roeddyn oedd? oeddyn? doedd doeddyn Future First person bydda byddwn fydda? fyddwn? fydda fyddwn Second person byddi byddwch fyddi? fyddwch? fyddi fyddwch Third person bydd byddan fydd? fyddan? fydd fyddan

Bod also has a conditional, for which there are two stems. The bas- stem is more common in the North, and the bydd- stem is more common in the South:

Affirmative Interrogative Negative Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural bydd- First person byddwn bydden fyddwn fydden fyddwn? fydden? Second person byddet byddech fyddet fyddech fyddet? fyddech? Third person byddai bydden fyddai fydden fyddai? fydden? bas- First person baswn basen faswn fasen faswn? fasen? Second person baset basech faset fasech faset? fasech? Third person basai basen fasai fasen fasai? fasen?

The Hittite verb "to be" is derived from the Indo-European root *h₁es-.

Present indicative Preterite indicative Imperative 1st sg. ēšmi ešun ēšlit
ēšlut
ašallu 2nd sg. ēšši ēšta ēš 3rd sg. ēšzi ēšta ēšdu 1st pl. (ašweni) ēšwen – 2nd pl. ēšteni ēšten ēšten 3rd pl. ašanzi ešer ašandu

The Classical Armenian present tense derives from PIE *h₁es- (cf. sg. h₁esmi, h₁essi, h₁esti; 3rd pl. h₁s-énti).^[13]

present 1st sg. em 2nd sg. es 3rd sg. ē 1st pl. enkʿ 2nd pl. ēkʿ 3rd pl. en

The Albanian copula shows two distinct roots. The present jam ‘I am’ is an athematic root stem built from PIE *h₁es-. The imperfect continues the PIE imperfect of the same root but was rebuilt based on the 3rd person singular and plural. The preterite, on the other hand, comes from the thematic aorist of PIE *kʷel- ‘turn’ (cf. Ancient Greek épleto ‘he turned’, Armenian eɫew ‘he became’, Old Irish cloïd ‘turns back, defeats’). Analogical or otherwise indirect reflexes are italicized below.

PIE present PIE → PAlb rebuilt imperfect (NE Arvanitic) imperfect (standard Alb) PIE → PAlb preterite 1st sg. *h₁ésmi jam *h₁és-m̥ → *eham *eśen jeshë isha *kʷl-e-m̥ → *klen^† qeshë, OAlb qeva 2nd sg. *h₁ési je *h₁és → *eh *eśeh jeshe ishe *kʷl-e-s → *kleh qe 3rd sg. *h₁ésti ishtë (dial.)
ësht (standard) *h₁és-t → *eśt *eśt je ish → ishte *kʷl-e-to → *kleta kle → qe 1st pl. *h₁s-méi jemi *h₁s-m̥é → *emma/e *eśema/e jeshëmë ishim *kʷl-e-mé → *klema/e qemë 2nd pl. *esi (2nd sg.) + -ni jeni *h₁s-té → *eśtā *eśetā jeshëtë ishit *kʷl-e-té → *kletā qetë 3rd pl. *h₁s-nti janë *h₁s-énd → *eśend *eśend ishinë ishin *kʷl-e-nd → *klend qenë

^ Colin Mark has suggested that the Scots Gaelic substantive verb forms can be treated as assertive forms of the copula;^[14] since the verb is in any case suppletive, this is a matter of perspective.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ringe, Don (2006). From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (PDF). A Linguistic History of English (1st ed.). New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928413-9. OCLC 64554645. OL 7405151M. Wikidata Q131605459.
^ Jasanoff, Jay (2003). Hittite and the Indo-European Verb. Oxford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-19-928198-X.
^ Calvert Watkins, American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
^ "Learner's Hindi-English Dictionary: होना". Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
^ Pokorny, J. (2007). Proto-Indo-European Etymological Dictionary. Indo-European Language Revival Association. pp. 2906–2914.
^ Kachru, Yamina (2006). Hindi. Amsterdam/Philadelphia. pp. 73–94. ISBN 90-272-3812-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ VAN OLPHEN, HERMAN (1975). "Aspect, Tense, and Mood in the Hindi Verb". Indo-Iranian Journal. 16 (4): 296. doi:10.1163/000000075791615397. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 24651488. S2CID 161530848.
^ McGregor, R. S. (1986). Outline of Hindi Grammar. United States: Oxford University Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN 0-19-560797-X.
^ Toofan, M. Zabān: ast yā hast? (Language: Is or Exists?). Ketāb-e Iran, 2000
^ Ringe, Don (13 July 2017). From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic. A Linguistic History of English (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 220. doi:10.1093/OSO/9780198792581.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-879258-1. OCLC 972772031. OL 27415350M. Wikidata Q119269648.
^ "Дієприкметники". «Як ми говоримо».
^ Bräsicke, Lars. "Gramadach na Gaeilge - Irish Grammar". Retrieved 9 February 2013.
^ Hrach K. Martirosyan, Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon, s.v. “em” (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 255.
^ Colin Mark, Gaelic Verbs systemised and simplified, Savage (London & Edinburgh) 1986, p21ff.

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