Habitual be

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Habitual be is the use of an unchanged be common among Black people to indicate habitual or extended actions, in contrast to forms of be in Standard Engish (am/is/are, etc). For example, instead of "She is late" or "They are always doing that," "She do be late" and "They always be doing that" are used. [1][2][3]

References[change | change source]

  1. Jackson, Janice Eurana (1998). Linguistic aspect in African-American English-speaking children: An investigation of aspectual "be". Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Amherst. ISBN 9780591960327. ProQuest 304446674.
  2. "Do You Speak American. For Educators. Curriculum. High School. AAE". PBS. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  3. "SYNERGY – African-American English". Umass.edu. Retrieved 2012-05-23.