archaic or dialect a form of the second person singular of be1
be in British English1
(biː, unstressed bɪ)
verbWord forms: 1st person singular present tenseamWord forms: 2nd personareWord forms: 3rd personisWord forms: plural present tenseareWord forms: 1st person singular past tensewasWord forms: 2nd personwereWord forms: 3rd personwasWord forms: plural past tensewereWord forms: present participlebeingWord forms: past participlebeen(intransitive)
1.
to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; live
I think, therefore I am
not all that is can be understood
2. (used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only)
to pay a visit; go
have you been to Spain?
3.
to take place; occur
my birthday was last Thursday
4. (copula)
used as a linking verb between the subject of a sentence and its noun or adjective complement or complementing phrase. In this case be expresses the relationship of either essential or incidental equivalence or identity (John is a man; John is a musician) or specifies an essential or incidental attribute (honey is sweet; Susan is angry). It is also used with an adverbial complement to indicate a relationship of location in space or time (Bill is at the office; the dance is on Saturday)
5. (takes a present participle)
forms the progressive present tense
the man is running
6. (takes a past participle)
forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive ones
the film is being shown in many schools
I am done
7. (takes an infinitive)
expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligation
the president is to arrive at 9.30
you are not to leave before I say so
8. (takes a past participle)
forms the perfect or past perfect tense of certain intransitive verbs of motion, such as go or come
the last train is gone
9. be that as it may
Word origin
Old English bēon; related to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, Greek phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit bhavati he is
Examples of 'bist' in a sentence
bist
But what he seemed particularly interested in was me finding Charley Penn's translation of ``Du bist wie eine Blume '.
Anthony Masters CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)