be

sein

To exist — As a copulative verb

• It has to be done.

  Das muss getan werden.

  Tatoeba · _undertoad · CC BY 2.0 FR

• It had to be done.

  Man musste es tun.

  Tatoeba · CK · CC BY 2.0 FR

sein

To exist; to have real existence, to be alive — As an intransitive lexical verb

sein

Used to declare the subject and object identical or equivalent — As a copulative verb

sein

Used to indicate that a predicate nominal applies to the subject — As a copulative verb

sein

Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by an adjective or prepositional phrase — As a copulative verb

sein

Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase — As a copulative verb

sein

Used to state the age of a subject in years — As a copulative verb

sein

Used to indicate the time of day — As a copulative verb

sein

Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event — As a copulative verb

sein

To pass or spend (time) — As a copulative verb