быць

From Old Belarusian быти, from Old East Slavic бꙑти (byti), from Proto-Slavic *byti, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *bū́ˀtei, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-.

• IPA^(key): [bɨt͡sʲ]

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быць • (bycʹ) impf

1. to be
2. (auxiliary, future tense) used to form the future tense of imperfect verbs
3. (auxiliary, past tense) used to form the pluperfect tense of perfect verbs

   Ён пайшо́ў быў куды́сьці ― He had gone somewhere

• It is omitted in the present tense except in the third-person singular ёсць, which is used either to emphasise the existence of the subject, a predicate meaning “there is” or to express possession (English verb "to have").

  Ёсць які́-не́будзь стары́, што да вайны́ тут жыў? ― Joscʹ jakí-njébudzʹ starý, što da vajný tut žyŭ? ― Is there anyone old that lived here before the war?

  У мяне́ ёсць пыта́нне. ― U mjanjé joscʹ pytánnje. ― I have a question.

• It is usually expressed in the present tense as a pause, represented in the written language by a dash after nouns (but not after pronouns). It is not used if the predicate is an adjective.

  Мой ся́бар — белару́с, а ты украі́нец. ― My friend is Belarusian and you are Ukrainian.

  Хло́пчык ве́льмі гало́дны. ― Xlópčyk vjélʹmi halódny. ― The young man is very hungry.

• However, the dash is not written in third person impersonal adverbial phrases.

  Ця́жка вы́вучыць но́вую мо́ву. ― Cjážka vývučycʹ nóvuju móvu. ― It is difficult to learn a new language.

• Other verbs such as быва́ць (byvácʹ) and стаць (stacʹ) can also be used instead.

• “быць” in Belarusian–Russian dictionaries and Belarusian dictionaries at slounik.org

• I. I. Nosovič, editor (1870), “бы́тый”, in Slovarʹ bělorusskago narěčija (in Russian), volume 1–2, Saint Petersburg: The Imperial Academy of Sciences, page 75