VERBS

Verbs are described as "action words". Many verbs give the idea of action, of "doing" something. For
example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action.

But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of "being". For
example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.

Verbs
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Regular/Irregular Auxiliary Modal Tenses
Regular/Irregular verbs

• English regular verbs change their form very little (unlike irregular verbs). The past tense and past
participle of regular verbs end in -ed, for example:

work, worked, worked

But you should note the following points:

1. Some verbs can be both regular and irregular, for example:

learn, learned, learned

learn, learnt, learnt

2. Some verbs change their meaning depending on whether they are regular or irregular, for example "to
hang":

hang, hanged,
regular to kill or die, by dropping with a rope around the neck
hanged

to fix something (for example, a picture) at the top so that the lower part
irregular hang, hung, hung
is free

3. The present tense of some regular verbs is the same as the past tense of some irregular verbs:

regular found, founded, founded

irregular find, found, found

• Irregular verbs are an important feature of English. We use irregular verbs a lot when speaking, less
when writing. Of course, the most famous English verb of all, the verb "to be", is irregular.

What is the difference between regular verbs and irregular verbs?

 Base Form Past Simple Past Participle

With regular verbs, the rule is simple...

finish finished finished

The past simple and past participle always end in -ed: stop stopped stopped

work worked worked

But with irregular verbs, there is no rule...

Sometimes the verb changes completely: sing sang sung

Sometimes there is "half" a change: buy bought bought

Sometimes there is no change: cut cut cut

One good way to learn irregular verbs is to try sorting them into groups, as above.

Auxiliary verb
Auxiliary verbs are used together with a main verb to give grammatical information and therefore add extra
meaning to a sentence, which is not given by the main verb.

Be, Do and Have are auxiliary verbs, they are irregular verbs and can be used as main verbs.

To be: Be is the most common verb in the English language. It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. It is
used a lot in its other forms.

Present tense form Past tense form

am/is/are was/were

Uses:

Am/Is/Are:

Question Positive Statement Negative Statement

Singular
Am I? I am (I'm) I am not (I'm not)
Are you? You are (You're) You are not (You're not/You aren't)
Is he/she/it? He/she/it is (He's/She's/It's) He/she/it is not (He/she/it isn't// He/she/it's not)
Plural
Are we? We are (We're) We are not (We aren't/We're not)
Are you? You are (You're) You are not (You aren't/You're not)
Are they? They are (They're) They are not (They aren't/They're not)

Examples:

Am/Are Is
Question - ? "Am I disturbing you?" "Is this your coat"
Positive Answer - Yes "Yes you are." "Yes it is"
Negative Answer - No "No you're not." "No it isn't"
Note: The auxiliary verb 'be' can be followed either by the -ed form or by the -ing form.
To do: The verb do is one of the most common verbs in English. It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. It
is often used in questions.

Uses:

Do / Does

Question Positive Statement (spoken) Negative Statement (spoken)

Singular
Do I? I do I do not (I don't)
Do you? You do You do not (You don't)
Does he/she/it? He/she/it does He/she/it does not (He/she/it doesn't)
Plural
Do we? We do We do not (We don't)
Do you? You do You do not (You don't)
Do they? They do They do not (They don't)

Examples:

Do Does
"Do you always take the bus to "Does she ever do her homework on
Question - ?
work?" time?"
Positive Answer -
"Yes I do." "Yes she does."
Yes
Negative Answer -
"No I don't." "No she doesn't."
No

Note: The auxiliary verb 'do' is always followed by the base form (infinitive).

To have: Have is one of the most common verbs in the English language. Have is used in a variety of ways.

Uses:

Have/Has

Question Positive Statement (spoken) Negative Statement (spoken)

Singular
Have I? I have (I've) I have not (I haven't/I've not)
Have you? You have (You've) You have not (You haven't/You've not)
Has he/she/it? He/she/it has (He/she/it 's) He/she/it has not (He/she/it hasn't)
Plural
Have we? We have (We've) We have not (We haven't/We've not)
Have you? You have (You've) You have not (You haven't/You've not)
Have they? They have (They've) They have not (They haven't/They've not)

Have is often used to indicate possession (I have) or (I have got).

Examples:
Have Have got
Question - ? "Do you have a car?" or "Have you a car?" "Have you got a car?"
Positive Answer - Yes "Yes I have a car." "Yes I've got a car."
Negative Answer - No "No I don't have a car." "No I haven't got a car."

Have is also used to indicate necessity (I have to) or (I have got to).
Have to Have got to
Question - ? "Do you have to leave early?" "Have you got to leave early?"
 Positive Answer - Yes "Yes I have to." or "Yes I do" "Yes I've got to."
Negative Answer - No "No I don't have to." "No I haven't got to."

Have is used to show an action.

Question - ? "Have you washed your face?"
Positive Answer - Yes " Yes I have."
Negative Answer - No " No I haven't."

Note: When showing an action the auxiliary verb 'have' is always followed by the past participle form.

Modal verbs

All the auxiliary verbs except be, do and have are called modals. Unlike other auxiliary verbs modals only exist in
their helping form; they cannot act alone as the main verb in a sentence.

Be, do, and have also differ from the other auxiliaries in that they can also serve as ordinary verbs in a given
sentence.

The modal verbs are:-

CAN / COULD / MAY / MIGHT / MUST / SHALL / SHOULD / OUGHT TO / WILL / WOULD

Modal Example Uses

Can They can control their own budgets. Ability / Possibility

We can’t fix it. Inability / Impossibility

Can I smoke here? Asking for permission

Can you help me? Request

Could Could I borrow your dictionary? Asking for permission.

Could you say it again more slowly? Request

We could try to fix it ourselves. Suggestion

I think we could have another Gulf War. Future possibility

He gave up his old job so he could work for us. Ability in the past

May May I have another cup of coffee? Asking for permission

China may become a major economic power. Future possibility

Might We'd better phone tomorrow, they might be eating their dinner Present possibility
now.
Future possibility
They might give us a 10% discount.
 Must We must say good-bye now. Necessity / Obligation

They mustn’t disrupt the work more than necessary. Prohibition

Ought to We ought to employ a professional writer. Saying what’s right or correct

Shall Shall I help you with your luggage? Offer

(More
common in Shall we say 2.30 then? Suggestion

the UK than
Shall I do that or will you? Asking what to do
the US)

Should We should sort out this problem at once. Saying what’s right or correct

I think we should check everything again. Recommending action

Profits should increase next year. Uncertain prediction

Will I can’t see any taxis so I’ll walk. Instant decisions

I'll do that for you if you like. Offer

I’ll get back to you first thing on Monday. Promise

Profits will increase next year. Certain prediction

Would Would you mind if I brought a colleague with me? Asking for permission

Would you pass the salt please? Request

Would you mind waiting a moment? Request

"Would three o`clock suit you?" - "That’d be fine." Making arrangements

Would you like to play golf this Friday? Invitation

"Would you prefer tea or coffee?" - "I’d like tea please." Preferences

Tenses