El verbo to be
El verbo to be es el verbo más importante y posiblemente el más usado también. El verbo to be significa ser, estar o incluso tener según el contexto y es un verbo irregular así que cada forma es diferente, pero eso no es problema porque aquí vamos a ver cómo se conjuga en presente y pasado en modo afirmativo, negativo e interrogativo.
Como sabemos, el modo afirmativo en inglés se hace con Sujeto + Verbo + Predicado, el modo negativo con Sujeto + Auxiliar negación + Verbo + Predicado y el modo interrogativo con Auxiliar + Sujeto + Verbo + Predicado. Sin embargo, en el caso de los verbos to be, to have y to can no es así, sino que el modo afirmativo es igual, pero el modo negativo es con Sujeto + Verbo + not + Predicado y el modo interrogativo con Verbo + Sujeto + Predicado.
Presente
| Modo afirmativo | Modo negativo | Modo interrogativo |
| I am | I am not | Am I? |
| You are | You are not | Are you? |
| He/she/it is | He/she/it is not | Is he/she/it? |
| We are | We are not | Are we? |
| You are | You are not | Are you? |
| They are | They are not | Are they? |
Pasado
| Modo afirmativo | Modo negativo | Modo interrogativo |
| I was | I was not | Was I? |
| You were | You were not | Were you? |
| He/she/it was | He/she/it was not | Was he/she/it? |
| We were | We were not | Were we? |
| You were | You were not | Were you? |
| They were | They were not | Were they? |
El verbo to be en futuro es más fácil ya que siempre es igual. Ponemos will y luego be y se utiliza para hablar de algo que será o estará en el futuro. Ejemplo: I will be a football player (Seré futbolista).
Ejemplos con el verbo to be
A continuación, te proponemos algunas frases para que entiendas el uso del verbo to be en inglés.
Verbo to be en presente afirmativo, pregunta y negación:
| Afirmativo | Pregunta | Negación |
| Peter is very old. | Is Peter very old? | Peter is not very old. |
Verbo to be en pasado afirmativo, negativo y pregunta:
| Afirmativo | Negativo | Pregunta |
| John was good. | John was not good. | Was John good? |
Verbo to be en futuro afirmativo, negativo y pregunta:
| Afirmativo | Negativo | Pregunta |
| The dinner will be ready at ten o’clock. | The dinner will not be ready at ten o’clock. | Will the dinner be ready at ten o’clock? |
El verbo to have
Al igual que el verbo to be, el verbo to have es irregular, así que cada forma es diferente, pero eso no es problema porque aquí vamos a ver cómo se conjuga en presente y pasado en modo afirmativo, negativo e interrogativo.
Uso del verbo to have
Presente
| Modo afirmativo | Modo negativo | Modo interrogativo |
| I have | I have not | Have I? |
| You have | You have not | Have you? |
| He/she/it has | He/she/it has not | Has he/she/it? |
| We have | We have not | Have we? |
| You have | You have not | Have you? |
| They have | They have not | Have they? |
Pasado
| Modo afirmativo | Modo negativo | Modo interrogativo |
| I had | I had not | Had I? |
| You had | You had not | Had you? |
| He/she/it had | He/she/it had not | Had he/she/it? |
| We had | We had not | Had we? |
| You had | You had not | Had you? |
| They had | They had not | Had they? |
¡Ojo! porque el verbo to have también hace la negación y la pregunta de la siguiente manera cuando lo utilizamos propiamente como verbo tener:
| Negación en presente | Negación en pasado |
| I do not have | I did not have |
| You do not have | You did not have |
| He/she/it does not have | He/she/it did not have |
| We do not have | We did not have |
| You do not have | You did not have |
| They do not have | They did not have |
| Pregunta en presente | Pregunta en pasado |
| Do I have? | Did I have? |
| Do you have? | Did you have? |
| Does he/she/it have? | Did he/she/it have? |
| Do we have? | Did we have? |
| Do you have? | Did you have? |
| Do they have? | Did they have? |
En cuanto al futuro del verbo to have, al igual que el del verbo to be, se hace con base al auxiliar will. Por lo tanto, “tendré un millón de dólares” será “I will have a million dollars”
Ejemplos con el verbo to have
A continuación, te proponemos algunas frases para que entiendas el uso del verbo to have en inglés.
Verbo to have en presente afirmativo, pregunta y negación
| Afirmativo | Pregunta | Negación |
| Peter has a lot of money. | Do you have a pencil? | Carl does not have his keys with him. |
Verbo to have en pasado afirmativo, negativo y pregunta
| Afirmativo | Negativo | Pregunta |
| John had a good childhood. | Tom couldn't go to the party. | Did Amanda have time to do it? |
Verbo to have en futuro afirmativo, negativo y pregunta
| Afirmativo | Negativo | Pregunta |
| Marc will have a baby this year. | Tom will not have another opportunity. | Will Sarah have another child? |
El verbo to can
Como ya pasara con los verbos to be y to have, el verbo to can que es otro de los verbos principales en inglés, ya que se utiliza como verbo propio y como auxiliar, es un verbo irregular y tiene su propia conjugación aunque en este caso es muy fácil. No olvidemos que este verbo significa “poder” o “ser capaz de”.
Veamos por tanto cómo se conjuga el verbo to can.
Presente
| Modo afirmativo | Modo negativo | Modo interrogativo |
| I can | I can't | Can I? |
| You can | You can't | Can you? |
| He/she/it can | He/she/it can't | Can he/she/it? |
| We can | We can't | Can we? |
| You can | You can't | Can you? |
| They can | They can't | Can they? |
Pasado
| Modo afirmativo | Modo negativo | Modo interrogativo |
| I could | I couldn’t | Could I? |
| You could | You couldn’t | Could you? |
| He/she/it could | He/she/it couldn’t | Could he/she/it? |
| We could | We couldn’t | Could we? |
| You could | You couldn’t | Could you? |
| They could | They couldn’t | Could they? |
Este modo pasado también se usa como fórmula para preguntas formales con el verbo to can, lo que en español serían preguntas con la fórmula podría. Por ejemplo: ¿Podría usted repetir? en inglés sería ¿Could you repeat?
Ojo, que el verbo to can en futuro no es como los verbos to be o to have, sino que el verbo cambia radicalmente y obligatoriamente tendremos que usar la fórmula be able to, que se traduce literalmente al español como ser capaz de.
Futuro
| Modo afirmativo | Modo negativo | Modo interrogativo |
| I will be able to | I will not be able to | Will I be able to? |
| You will be able to | You will not be able to | Will you be able to? |
| He/she/it will be able to | He/she/it will not be able to | Will he/she/it be able to? |
| We will be able to | We will not be able to | Will we be able to? |
| You will be able to | You will not be able to | Will you be able to? |
| They will be able to | They will not be able to | Will they be able to? |
Ejemplos con el verbo to can
A continuación, te proponemos algunas frases para que entiendas el uso del verbo to can en inglés.
Verbo to can en presente afirmativo, pregunta y negación
| Afirmativo | Pregunta | Negación |
| Peter can run for one hour. | Can Samantha come? | Louise can't swim. (Louise no puede nadar.) |
Verbo to can en pasado afirmativo, negativo y pregunta
| Afirmativo | Negativo | Pregunta |
| I could stand awake. | Tom couldn’t go to the party. | Could John arrive on time? |
Verbo to can en futuro afirmativo, negativo y pregunta
| Afirmativo | Negativo | Pregunta |
| Technology will be able to help us all. | Cars will not be able to fly in 2030. | Will you be able to pass the exam? |
