How the habitual be works in AAE
Total time for this activity: 20 minutes
Watch this short video about how the habitual be is used in AAE. Then, indicate whether the statements about the habitual be are true or false.
Complete the table below by indicating whether the statements about the habitual be in AAE are true or false. Once you have finished, compare your answers to those of the rest of your group.
| Statement about the habitual be in AAE | True | False |
| Speakers of AAE use be where speakers of SE use an inflected form of the verb to be (like is or are). | ||
| Speakers of AAE use be to indicate that something happens repeatedly. | ||
| The habitual be exists in AAE, but is not very common. | ||
| The sentence I wanna be like my brother uses the habitual be. | ||
| The sentence The water in yo shower don’t be gettin’ hot uses the habitual be. | ||
| The habitual be in AAE expresses a grammatical category that does not exist in SE. | ||
| Speakers of AAE can use be before a present participle (as in We be working) to indicate that an action happens frequently. | ||
| The habitual be and the preverbal marker been are used by speakers of AAE interchangeably. |
Compare the text in the two signs below. Do the two sentences mean the same thing, or is there a difference in meaning? If so, what is the difference?
