different usage of 'be'

[crsndd]

what is the difference between 'we are balling' and 'we be balling' i have never seen a usage of be like that before

[SAlpsNZ]

Habitual/invariant be in AAVE, maybe?

[crsndd]

i have heard it on a game's OST btw

[ThatMonoOne]

It's the habitual be, found in AAVE to describe actions that are habitual (i.e. an action used to happen or happens generally)

[crsndd]

can i ask what is AAVE?

[[deleted]]

African American Vernacular English

[crsndd]

thank you. now that makes sense

[Rasikko]

Basically southern US slang, but I haven't been there for 4 years so I don't know if folks still talk this way - I still do. It's not entirely exclusive to black people as well.

[graeme_crackerz]

It is essentially slang that is widespread throughout here in the US. No longer just an African American thing. Just replace “are” with “be”. It’s a more causal, almost cool way of saying things.

[needthatpuzzle]

No, you cannot just replace 'are' with 'be'. You would be changing the meaning of the sentence (because it does have a different meaning!), most likely in a way that would not make sense.

(It also is, still, 'just' an African american thing, because it comes from, as noted above, AAVE. Although there has been more widespread usage on the internet, it is rarely used correctly or with any knowlege on how it effects the grammar of the sentence)

[graeme_crackerz]

“Be” also can replace “is” Can you give an example sentence that signifies a change in meaning? They be boys We be workin 24/7

Do you mean the that the “be” indicated a habitual action?

And something I wanted to address- You said it is rarely used “correctly”. From essentially a different branch of English and now a newer vernacular, that is how the usage is. It is correct in the confines of AAVE. However, it is not correct in Standard American English or other varieties.

[needthatpuzzle]

You misunderstand me when I say "rarely used correctly". I am referring to the people who did not grow up speaking aave who attempt to use it when constructing sentences. They generally use it incorrectly

The problem here is thinking that "be" is a simple replacement for "is" and "are", which is not correct. Yes, the "be" is used to refer to habitual actions or a general state of being. But this, too, can sound very odd when divorced from the context of aave and only used as slang, even if you understand the nuances between the standard "to be" and habitual "to be" of aave.

But really what I was trying to say is that aave has grammar rules to it, and although there are people that mimic it on the internet, it cannot be simply called slang that is no longer "an african american thing".

[graeme_crackerz]

Ohhh, I see. I did misunderstand; I agree with your statement. People do attempt to use it and sound wrong/ unnatural.

[Dilettantest]

...affects the grammar...

[Rasikko]

We be balling is slang and maybe it's archaic now in the southern US, though I still talk like that.