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Bes vs. Be: What's the Difference?

Bes and Be Definitions

Bes

The Egyptian god of music and revelry and the guardian deity of women in labor, often depicted as a dwarf.

Be

To exist in actuality; have life or reality
I think, therefore I am.

Bes

Present tense inflected form of be: am or are.

Be

To occupy a specified position
The food is on the table.

Bes

A bronze coin of the Roman Republic, worth two thirds of an as.
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Be

To remain in a certain state or situation undisturbed, untouched, or unmolested
Let the children be.

Be

To take place; occur
The test was yesterday.

Be

To go or come
Have you ever been to Italy? Have you been home recently?.

Be

To equal in identity
“To be a Christian was to be a Roman” (James Bryce).

Be

To have a specified significance
A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity.
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Be

To belong to a specified class or group
The human being is a primate.

Be

To have or show a specified quality or characteristic
She is witty. All humans are mortal.

Be

To seem to consist or be made of
The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite.

Be

To belong; befall
Peace be unto you. Woe is me.

Be

Used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice
The mayoral election is held annually.

Be

Used with the present participle of a verb to express a continuing action
We are working to improve housing conditions.

Be

Used with the infinitive of a verb to express intention, obligation, or future action
She was to call before she left. You are to make the necessary changes.

Be

Used with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form a perfect tense
Those days are gone. Let me know when you are finished.

Be

To exist; to have real existence, to be alive.
The Universe has no explanation: it just is.

Be

To exist.
There is just one woman in town who can help us.

Be

(intransitive) To occupy a place.
The cup is on the table.

Be

(intransitive) To occur, to take place.
When will the meeting be?

Be

Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar, also extending to certain other senses of "go".
The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come.
I have been to Spain many times.
We've been about twenty miles.
I have terrible constipation – I haven't been for several days.
They have been through a great deal of trouble.

Be

(copulative) Used to indicate that the subject and object are the same.
Knowledge is bliss.
Hi, I’m Jim.

Be

Used to indicate that the values on either side of an equation are the same.
3 times 5 is fifteen.

Be

(copulative) Used to indicate that the subject is an instance of the predicate nominal.
A dog is an animal.
Dogs are animals.

Be

(copulative) Used to indicate that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal.
François Mitterrand was president of France from 1981 to 1995.

Be

(copulative) Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by an adjective.
The sky is blue.
Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42)

Be

(copulative) Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase.
The sky is a deep blue today.

Be

(auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice.
The dog was saved by the boy.

Be

(auxiliary) Used to form the continuous aspect.
The woman is walking.
I shall be writing to you soon.
We liked to chat while we were eating.

Be

Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs; this was more common in archaic use, especially with verbs indicating motion. "He is finished", and "He is gone" are common, but "He is come" is archaic.

Be

Used to express future action as well as what is due to, intended to, or should happen.
They are to be married next month.
They are to stay here until I return.
They are not to be blamed.
How are they to get out of this mess?
I am to leave tomorrow.
I would drive you, were I to obtain a car.

Be

(copulative) Used to link a subject to a measurement.
This building is three hundred years old.
I am 75 kilograms.
He’s about 6 feet tall.

Be

Used to state the age of a subject in years.
I’m 20 (years old).

Be

Used to indicate the time of day.
It is almost eight (o’clock).
It’s 8:30 [read eight-thirty] in Tokyo.
What time is it there? It’s night.

Be

Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event.
It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to "My grandmother died three years ago", but emphasizes the intervening period)
It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him.

Be

Used to link two noun clauses, the first of which is a day of the week, recurring date, month, or other specific time (on which the event of the main clause took place), and the second of which is a period of time indicating how long ago that day was.
I saw her Monday was a week: I saw her a week ago last Monday (a week before last Monday).
On the morning of Sunday was fortnight before Christmas: on the morning of the Sunday that was two weeks before the Sunday prior to Christmas.

Be

Used to indicate weather, air quality, or the like.
It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid.
Why is it so dark in here?

Be

To exist or behave in a certain way.
"What do we do?" "We be ourselves."
Why is he being nice to me?

Be

To tend to do, often do; marks the habitual aspect.

Be

. Also found in compounds, especially oaths, e.g. begorra.

Be

To exist actually, or in the world of fact; to have existence.
To be contents his natural desire.
To be, or not to be: that is the question.

Be

To exist in a certain manner or relation, - whether as a reality or as a product of thought; to exist as the subject of a certain predicate, that is, as having a certain attribute, or as belonging to a certain sort, or as identical with what is specified, - a word or words for the predicate being annexed; as, to be happy; to be here; to be large, or strong; to be an animal; to be a hero; to be a nonentity; three and two are five; annihilation is the cessation of existence; that is the man.

Be

To take place; to happen; as, the meeting was on Thursday.

Be

To signify; to represent or symbolize; to answer to.
The field is the world.
The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Be

A light strong brittle gray toxic bivalent metallic element

Be

Have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun);
John is rich
This is not a good answer

Be

Be identical to; be someone or something;
The president of the company is John Smith
This is my house

Be

Occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere;
Where is my umbrella?
The toolshed is in the back
What is behind this behavior?

Be

Have an existence, be extant;
Is there a God?

Be

Happen, occur, take place;
I lost my wallet; this was during the visit to my parents' house
There were two hundred people at his funeral
There was a lot of noise in the kitchen

Be

Be identical or equivalent to;
One dollar equals 1,000 rubles these days!

Be

Form or compose;
This money is my only income
The stone wall was the backdrop for the performance
These constitute my entire belonging
The children made up the chorus
This sum represents my entire income for a year
These few men comprise his entire army

Be

Work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function;
He is a herpetologist
She is our resident philosopher

Be

Represent, as of a character on stage;
Derek Jacobi was Hamlet

Be

Spend or use time;
I may be an hour

Be

Have life, be alive;
Our great leader is no more
My grandfather lived until the end of war

Be

To remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted -- used only in infinitive form;
Let her be

Be

Be priced at;
These shoes cost $100

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