The verb быць (to be)

A1 — Дзеясловы

Belarusian drops to be in the present, keeps ёсць for existence and possession, and marks the past by gender: быў, была, было, былі.

I can say who and what someone is, say what I have and do not have, and talk about where people were.

Examples

Я студэнт. Я з Мінска. — I am a student. I am from Minsk.
У мяне ёсць вялікая сям'я. — I have a big family.
Ён быў у Мінску ўчора. — He was in Minsk yesterday.
Дранікі былі вельмі смачныя! — The draniki were really tasty!
У нас няма часу, але заўтра будзем вольныя. — We have no time, but tomorrow we will be free.

VerbsA1

The verb быць (to be)

Belarusian drops to be in the present, keeps ёсць for existence and possession, and marks the past by gender: быў, была, было, былі.

Learning Goal

I can say who and what someone is, say what I have and do not have, and talk about where people were.

Exam Skills:BSU · WritingBSU · Speaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Я студэнт. Я з Мінска.

I am a student. I am from Minsk.

У мяне ёсць вялікая сям'я.

I have a big family.

Ён быў у Мінску ўчора.

He was in Minsk yesterday.

Дранікі былі вельмі смачныя!

The draniki were really tasty!

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

The verb быць

The present has no verb at all

Belarusian simply leaves the copula out:

Я студэнт. — I am a student.
Яна настаўніца. — She is a teacher.
Мінск - сталіца Беларусі. — Minsk is the capital of Belarus.

In writing, a dash often stands where the verb would be, especially between two nouns.

Ёсць: there is, and having

Ёсць is the surviving present-tense form, used when the point is that something exists rather than what it is like:

У мяне ёсць сястра. — I have a sister (literally: at me there is a sister).
Тут ёсць кавярня? — Is there a cafe here?

Belarusian does have мець — it is normal in мець рацыю, мець на ўвазе, мець магчымасць, and in the greeting Як маецеся? — but for concrete possession it prefers у plus the genitive of the owner plus ёсць. The negative counterpart is няма with the genitive: У мяне няма сястры.

The past: four forms, chosen by gender

Subject	Form	Example
masculine	быў	Ён быў тут.
feminine	была	Яна была там.
neuter	было	Яно было добра.
plural	былі	Яны былі ў Мінску.

Note the masculine быў with ў, not -л. Unlike the present, the past is never omitted: Я быў студэнтам needs the verb.

The future

буду, будзеш, будзе, будзем, будзеце, будуць — used both on its own (Заўтра буду дома) and as the auxiliary of the compound future (буду чытаць).

If your first language is English

English cannot build a sentence without a verb, so Я студэнт feels unfinished and the temptation is to insert ёсць. Resist it: Я ёсць студэнт is wrong. And there is no have to reach for either - possession runs through у мяне ёсць.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Typical errors: inserting ёсць as a copula because an English sentence needs a verb (Я ёсць студэнт); and reaching for мець where Belarusian builds у мяне ёсць.

Common Error Patterns

Inserting ёсць as a present-tense copula

Я студэнт, not Я ёсць студэнт. The present has no copula.

Writing был, были instead of быў, былі

Masculine ends in ў; the plural takes і.

Looking for a verb meaning to have

There is none. Use у plus the genitive plus ёсць: У мяне ёсць.

Confusing ёсць with есці

Ёсць is there is; есці is to eat. У мяне ёсць хлеб, but Я буду есці хлеб.

Я студэнт. Я з Мінска.

I am a student. I am from Minsk.

Two sentences, no verb in either. Inserting ёсць here would be wrong.

У мяне ёсць вялікая сям'я.

I have a big family.

The have-construction: у plus the genitive plus ёсць. Note the apostrophe in сям'я, where Russian writes a separating soft sign.

Ён быў у Мінску ўчора.

He was in Minsk yesterday.

Masculine past быў, and ў once more, in ўчора after the vowel of Мінску.

Дранікі былі вельмі смачныя!

The draniki were really tasty!

Plural былі with і, and the adjective in -ыя.

У нас няма часу, але заўтра будзем вольныя.

We have no time, but tomorrow we will be free.

The negative няма with the genitive, then the future будзем with its дз.

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use The verb быць (to be)?: In writing, a dash often stands where the verb would be, especially between two nouns.
How do you form The verb быць (to be)?: Ёсць is the surviving present-tense form, used when the point is that something exists rather than what it is like: Belarusian does have мець — it is normal in мець рацыю , мець на ўвазе , мець магчымасць , and in the greeting Як маецеся? — but for concrete possession it prefers у plus the genitive of the owner plus ёсць . The negative counterpart is няма with the genitive: У мяне няма сястры . Note the masculine быў with ў , not -л . Unlike the present, the past is never omitted: Я быў студэнтам needs the verb. буду, будзеш, будзе, будзем, будзеце, будуць — used both on its own ( Заўтра буду дома ) and as the auxiliary of the compound future ( буду чытаць ).
What are common mistakes with The verb быць (to be)?: Typical errors: inserting ёсць as a copula because an English sentence needs a verb ( Я ёсць студэнт ); and reaching for мець where Belarusian builds у мяне ёсць .

Sources

Кароткая граматыка беларускай мовы. У 2 ч. Ч. 1: Фаналогія. Марфаналогія. Марфалогія / навук. рэд. А. А. Лукашанец — НАН Беларусі, Інстытут мовазнаўства імя Якуба Коласа; Мінск: Беларуская навука, 351 с., 2007
The current academic reference grammar; the linked edition serves the full text. Cited for its verb section, which treats the infinitive, transitivity and reflexivity before the conjugation paradigms, and gives the participle suffixes -уч- (-юч-), -ач- (-яч-) and -ш-, -ўш-, -т-, -н- alongside the gerund suffixes -ўшы, -шы and -учы (-ючы), -ачы (-ячы).
Беларуская граматыка. У 2 ч. Ч. 1: Фаналогія. Арфаэпія. Марфалогія. Словаўтварэнне. Націск / рэд. М. В. Бірыла, П. П. Шуба — АН БССР, Інстытут мовазнаўства імя Якуба Коласа; Мінск: Навука і тэхніка, 1985
The academic reference grammar behind the phonology, orthoepy and morphology sections: the 32-letter inventory, дж and дз as digraphs rather than letters, and the normative description of akanne and jakanne. A print work; no URL is given, because the only one available is a library catalogue record that carries none of the text.

Subject

Form

Example

masculine

быў

Ён быў тут.

feminine

была

Яна была там.

neuter

было

Яно было добра.

plural

былі

Яны былі ў Мінску.

Frequently asked questions

When do you use The verb быць (to be)?

In writing, a dash often stands where the verb would be, especially between two nouns.

How do you form The verb быць (to be)?

Ёсць is the surviving present-tense form, used when the point is that something exists rather than what it is like: Belarusian does have мець — it is normal in мець рацыю , мець на ўвазе , мець магчымасць , and in the greeting Як маецеся? — but for concrete possession it prefers у plus the genitive of the owner plus ёсць . The negative counterpart is няма with the genitive: У мяне няма сястры . Note the masculine быў with ў , not -л . Unlike the present, the past is never omitted: Я быў студэнтам needs the verb. буду, будзеш, будзе, будзем, будзеце, будуць — used both on its own ( Заўтра буду дома ) and as the auxiliary of the compound future ( буду чытаць ).

What are common mistakes with The verb быць (to be)?

Typical errors: inserting ёсць as a copula because an English sentence needs a verb ( Я ёсць студэнт ); and reaching for мець where Belarusian builds у мяне ёсць .

Sources

Кароткая граматыка беларускай мовы. У 2 ч. Ч. 1: Фаналогія. Марфаналогія. Марфалогія / навук. рэд. А. А. Лукашанец — НАН Беларусі, Інстытут мовазнаўства імя Якуба Коласа; Мінск: Беларуская навука, 351 с., 2007

The current academic reference grammar; the linked edition serves the full text. Cited for its verb section, which treats the infinitive, transitivity and reflexivity before the conjugation paradigms, and gives the participle suffixes -уч- (-юч-), -ач- (-яч-) and -ш-, -ўш-, -т-, -н- alongside the gerund suffixes -ўшы, -шы and -учы (-ючы), -ачы (-ячы).

Беларуская граматыка. У 2 ч. Ч. 1: Фаналогія. Арфаэпія. Марфалогія. Словаўтварэнне. Націск / рэд. М. В. Бірыла, П. П. Шуба — АН БССР, Інстытут мовазнаўства імя Якуба Коласа; Мінск: Навука і тэхніка, 1985

The academic reference grammar behind the phonology, orthoepy and morphology sections: the 32-letter inventory, дж and дз as digraphs rather than letters, and the normative description of akanne and jakanne. A print work; no URL is given, because the only one available is a library catalogue record that carries none of the text.