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Using "быть" in a sentence
I found this on another website for teaching Russian. I have a question about it though. Isn't the Russian verb "to be" only suppose to be used for the past, like in "You were..."? Or can it be used for future tenses also? This is the sentence I found on the other site:
"Если бы ты была медсестрой, ты бы работала в больнице."
Thank you for answering,
God bless you all in His Word Deeply.
Oct 18, 2012 11:32 PM
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Answers · 7
The verb normally isn't used in the Present tense, except for some particular (and quite strange) cases like this:
Это не есть хорошо. = Это плохо.
However, it's fine to use it both in the Past and the Future tenses:
Вчера он был в школе.
Раньше она была менеджером.
Завтра он будет в школе.
В будущем он будет менеджером.
In your example about the nurse, it's the Conditional.
October 19, 2012
быть или не быть ?- вот в чём загвоздка (был=быть=буду)
October 19, 2012
