Habitual be

[Space60]

Something people have difficulty with when trying to imitate AAVE is the habitual be. They tend to think "be" is used as a substitute for "is". No. "She be drinking tea" and "she is drinking tea" mean different things in AAVE.

[Linguoboy]

Do speakers of AAVE often say “she is drinking tea”? What I generally hear is “she drinkin’ tea” (copula deletion being one of the most characteristic features of the variety).

[Space60]

Do speakers of AAVE often say “she is drinking tea”? What I generally hear is “she drinkin’ tea” (copula deletion being one of the most characteristic features of the variety).

Yes. However if the "is" is stressed, copula deletion doesn't occur. "She IS drinkin' tea!".

[Space60]

There was this game show that once asked the question "what is Ebonics?" and someone jokingly said "what be Ebonics?". This is ungrammatical in AAVE because "be" is not a substitute for "is", but used for things that are habitual.