būti

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *bū́ˀtei; present tense forms are from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”); suppletive stem forms derive from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become”). Compare identical situation in Old Church Slavonic бꙑти (byti). Cognate to Latvian būt.

• IPA^(key):

bū́ti (third-person present tense yrà, third-person past tense bùvo)

1. to be
2. to exist
3. to become

The copular verb bū́ti may be omitted in the present tense. For example, the yrà is optional in the sentence:

• Lietuvà (yrà) labaĩ gražì šalìs.

  Lithuania is a very beautiful country.

When omitting the present-tense copula, it is possible to add emphasis through a change in intonation, the addition of the pronoun taĩ (“that; ”), or the writing of a dash symbol (–).

• Lietuvà – taĩ labaĩ gražì šalìs.

  Lithuania – now that's a very beautiful country.

• “būti”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas, lkz.lt, 1941–2024
• Vytautas Ambrazas (2006) “4. Syntax § 1.19 The copula”, in Lithuanian Grammar, 2nd revised edition, pages 469–470

būti

1. nominative masculine plural of būtas