Some verbs do not show action. For our purposes we will examine only State-of-Being and Linking Verbs. Both are non-action verbs.

The most commonly used non-action verb is the verb “to be.” This verb can be used as a helping verb, a State-of-Being verb, and a Linking verb. The chart below shows “to be” in five verb tenses.

To Be:

Present Tense

I am

You are

He/She/It is

We are

They are

Past Tense

I was

You were

He/She/It was

We were

They were

Future Tense

I will be

You will be

He/She/It will be

We will be

They will be

Other forms of “to be” can be used as helping verbs, so be careful that you don’t just memorize a list of words and dismiss any other forms of “to be.” You must look at the use of the word(s).