Word Confusion: Be versus Bee

Posted October 27, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Editing, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of 8 May 2021

I suspect this is another instance of the oblivious spellcheck, as I cannot imagine an author not understanding the difference in this word “confusion” of be versus bee.

The to be is ubiquitous and flavors almost every sentence written. If you don’t believe me, have a peek at the variety of words in the list of conjugations below!

Bee, of course, is another familiar word, although there may be some definitions with which you won’t be familiar. I’ve been involved in sewing and quilting bees, but the whole nautical aspect was an eye-opener for me.

Word Confusions…

…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.

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Be Bee
Credit to: Dictionary.com: be and bee

Beryllium by Alchemist-hp = Alchemist-hp (pse-mendelejew.de) is under the FAL or CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

Beryllium (that’s Be when it’s abbreviated) is quite pretty, isn’t it?


A bee pollinating a flower

Bath of Pollen by OliBac from France is under the CC-BY-2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

This bee is taking a bath in pollen.

Part of Grammar:
Abbreviation 1; Noun 1; Prefix 2;
Verb 3, intransitive and linking

Plural for the noun: be
Third person present verb: is
Past tense: was
Past participle: been
Gerund or present participle: being

See Conjugations below.

Abbreviation1; Noun 2, 3, 4, 5

Plural for noun: bees

Abbreviation:
Symbol for chemistry for beryllium

Bill of exchange, bill of entry

[College degrees] Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Engineering

Bank of England

Board of Education

barium enema

Belgium (and its country code)

Noun:
See “abbreviations” and “prefixes

Prefix:
A native English prefix formerly used in the formation of verbs

  • [From nouns]:
    • To surround completely
    • Cover on all sides
    • To affect completely or excessively
    • To consider as or cause to be
    • To provide or cover with
  • [From verbs] At, for, against, on, or over

Verb, intransitive:
To exist or live

To take place

  • Happen
  • Occur

To occupy a place or position

To continue or remain as before

To belong

  • Attend
  • Befall

[Used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only] To pay a visit

  • To go

Verb, linking:
Used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense

Used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action

Used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice

Used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense

Used as a linking verb to connect the subject with its predicate adjective or subject complement, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject

Used as a linking verb to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences

Abbreviation:
Bachelor of Electrical Engineering

[In South Africa] Black Economic Empowerment

Noun:
Any hymenopterous insect of the superfamily Apoidea, including social and solitary species of several families, as the bumblebees, honeybees, etc. 2

The common honeybee, Apis mellifera

Also called bee block 3

[Nautical] A piece of hardwood, bolted to the side of a bowsprit, through which to reeve stays

[Obsolete] A metal ring or bracelet

[Nautical] A small sheave with one cheek removed and the pulley and other cheek fastened flat to a boom or another spar, used for reeving outhauls or stay 4

A social gathering for a specific purpose, as to carry out a communal task or hold competitions 5

Examples:
Abbreviation:
Be is a metal that can damage the lungs and cause pneumonia when humans breathe it in.

Those B/Es are becoming less popular what with online banking.

He graduated with a B.E., and he intends to go for a master’s.

All BE meetings are scheduled in advance.

Registering a .BE domain is the perfect way to show your business is localized in Belgium.

Noun:
See “abbreviations” and “prefixes

Prefix:
Verbs created from nouns:


He was befogged from the start.

Roberts is not bedazzled by the red carpet.

They’re novels that befool almost every intelligence.

He gave wave of his bejeweled hand.

Verbs created from verbs:


That color becomes her.

The castle has been besieged for two years.

There were a dozen maidens, all bedaubed with paint.

He bewailed the fact that heart trouble had slowed him down.

Don’t berate the girl!

Verb, intransitive:
“To be or not to be.” – Shakespeare, Hamlet

“I think, therefore I am, not all that is can be understood.” – Descartes

The wedding was last week.

The book is on the table.

Let things be.

May good fortune be with you.

Martha is tall.

Is that right?

Be quiet!

Don’t be facetious.

Have you been to Spain?

My birthday was last Thursday.

Verb, linking:
I am waiting.

She is visiting there next week.

He is to see me today.

The date was fixed.

It must be done.

He is come.

Agamemnon to the wars is gone.

Abbreviation:
Jane has her B.E.E. and wants to work on self-driving cars.

The BEE is intended to redress the inequalities of Apartheid.

Noun:
I’m allergic to bees.

Bees pollinate flowers and produce honey.

A cheek with a sheave in it is secured on the top side of the bees, on each side, to form a lead for the fore guys.

Plant a pollinator garden, build a bee block, or simply reduce your pesticide use.

Cam won at the Browns’ husking bee and kissed Amelia.

She won the school spelling bee.

We held a quilting bee last week at Margaret’s.

Conjugations for Be
Infinitive to be
Present Singular
1st person am
2nd person are
[Archaic] art
3rd person is
Present Plural are
Past Singular
1st person was
2nd person were
[Archaic][Archaic] wast
wert
3rd person was
Past Plural were
Present Subjunctive be
Past Subjunctive Singular
1st person were
2nd person were
[Archaic] wert
3rd person were
Past Subjunctive Plural were
Present Participle being
Progressive Participle being
Gerund being
Past Participle been
Perfect Participle been
Imperative be
Derivatives:
Adjective: being
Conjunction: being
Noun: being
Adjective: beelike, beeswaxed
Noun: beebread, beehive, beekeeper, beekeeping, beeswax
Verb: beeswax
Phrasal Verb
be across
be off
History of the Word:
  1. Unknown.
  2. Middle English, Old English be-, bi-, is an unstressed form of .
  3. Old English beon, beom, bion meaning be, exist, come to be, become, and happen come from the Proto-Germanic biju-, a b-root, meaning I am, I will be.

    This “b-root” (from PIE root bheue- meaning to be, exist, grow, and come into being) is represented by be and the am/was verb (itself a conglomerate).

    Both were two distinct verbs which merged to become the modern verb to be and has caused the to be being the most irregular verb and the most common in Modern English.

  1. Unknown.
  2. The first known use is before 1000.

    The Old English bīo or bēo or the Middle English be.

    It’s related to the Dutch bij; the Old Saxon or bini; the Old High German bīa, or bini; the German Biene; and, the Old Norse .

    It may be used with other suffixes: the Lithuanian bìtė, the Old Prussian bitte, the Old Church Slavonic b&icaron;chela, or the Old Irish bech.

  3. The first known use is before 1050.

    The Old English bēag, bēah, the Middle English beh meaning ring.

    It’s related to the Old Frisian bāg, the Old Saxon, the Middle Low German bōg, the Old High German boug, the Old Norse baugr, and the Sanskrit bhoga-.

  4. Old English bēag is related to the Old High German boug meaning ring, the Old Norse bogi meaning a bow.
  5. Perhaps from the dialect bean meaning neighborly help, from the Old English bēn meaning boon.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Pinterest Photo Credits

A still of performance artist Antonia Wright, in her cutting edge video Be, was photographed by Rudy Duboue under the CC-BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

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