perfect progressive I have been playing present perfect continuous I have been playing past simple I played past

past progressive I was playing past continuous I was playing past had been playing future simple I will play future progressive I will be playing future perfect I had played past perfect progressive I had been playing past perfect continuous I

I am playing present continuous I am playing present perfect I have played present

interrogative-negative emphatic tag questions present simple I play present progressive

verbs intransitive verbs tense aspect mood voice affirmative negative interrogative

Full verb lexical verbs dummy verbs primary auxiliaries modals semi-modals transitive

passive it is played present progressive passive it is being played present continuous

will have been playing future perfect continuous I will have been playing present simple

continuous I will be playing future perfect I will have played future perfect progressive I

passive it is being played present perfect passive it has been played present perfect being played past simple passive it was played past progressive passive it was being played

progressive passive it has been being played present perfect continuous passive it has been

A Look at:

past continuous passive it was being played past perfect passive it had been played past perfect progressive passive it had being played past perfect continuous passive it had been being played future simple passive it will be played future progressive passive it will be have been played future perfect progressive passive it will have been being played future

being played future continuous passive it will be being played future perfect passive it will

might play I might have played I may be playing I may have been playing I might be playing I might have been playing I shall play I shall have played I should play I should have

perfect continuous passive It will have been being played I may play I may have played I

CONSTRUCTING ENGLISH VERB FORMS

played I shall be playing I shall have been playing I should be playing I should have been I shall have been playing I should be playing I should have been playing I can play I can playing I shall play I shall have played I should play I should have played I shall be playing

could be playing I could have been playing I must play I must have played I must be playing negative I am not playing present continuous negative I am not playing present perfect I must have been playing present simple negative I do not play present progressive

have played I could play I could have played I can be playing I can have been playing I

Gramorak

playing past perfect continuous negative I had not been playing future simple negative I will not play future progressive negative I will not be playing future continuous negative I negative I will not have been playing future perfect continuous negative I will not have been will not be playing future perfect negative I will not have played future perfect progressive

past perfect negative I had not played past perfect progressive negative I had not been

play past progressive negative I was not playing past continuous negative I was not playing

present perfect continuous negative I have not been playing past simple negative I did not

negative I have not played present perfect progressive negative I have not been playing

playing present simple passive negative it is not played present progressive passive negative perfect passive negative it has not been played present perfect progressive passive negative it is not being played present continuous passive negative it is not being played present

being played past simple passive negative it was not played past progressive passive past perfect passive negative it had not been played past perfect progressive passive negative played future

it has not been being played present perfect continuous passive negative it has not been

negative it was not being played past continuous passive negative it was not being played

it had not been being played past perfect continuous passive negative it had not been being

Contents

1. Verb Classes 1.1. Auxiliary Verbs 1.2. Full (or lexical) verbs 2. Verb Tense, Aspect and Voice 2.1. Tense and Aspect 2.2. The Future 2.3. Active and Passive Voice 3. Forms of the Tenses/Aspects 3.1 The Present Simple 3.3. The Present Progressive (Present Continuous) 3.4. The Past Progressive (Past Continuous) 3.6. THE Past Perfect (Past Perfect Simple) 3.5. The Present Perfect (Present Perfect Simple) 3.7. The Present Perfect Progressive (Present Progressive Continuous) 3.8. The Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous) 3.9. The Future (Future Simple) 3.10-3.13. Other Future Forms. 4. Passive Forms 5. Modals 5.1. The Core Modals. 5.2. Other Modals? 5.3. Past Tense Forms 6. Some Potential Problems for Learners Charts and Tables Irregular Verbs Table 1 Irregular Verbs Table 2 Recognising Verb Forms Figure 1: Tense/Aspect Recognising Verb Forms Figure 2: Modals Pronunciation Symbols used in this paper 3.2. The Past Simple

2 2 4 5 4 2

5 6

11 14 13

16

15

19

18

17

20 22 22 23

24

25

29

28 30 32

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1. VERB CLASSES
In considering English verbs, it is useful to distinguish between two classes or types: 1.1. Auxiliary verbs The smaller of the two classes of verbs, auxiliary verbs (or simply auxiliaries) comprises only construct complex verb forms. This class is made up of two sub-classes: 1.1.a. The three primary (or grammatical) auxiliaries:
BE, which is used to construct progressive (or continuous) and passive forms, HAVE, which is used to construct perfect forms, DO, which is used to construct negative, interrogative, emphatic and dummy forms 1 .

twelve verbs. They have little meaning, but are used with full verbs (discussed in 1.2 below) to

1.1.b. The nine modals (or modal verbs or modal auxiliaries) [considered in section 5]:
CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, SHALL, SHOULD, WILL and WOULD 2

inference, intention, necessity, obligation, permission, possibility, volition, etc.

These express shades of meaning such as ability, certainty, determination, expectation,

1.2. The full (or lexical) verbs The vast majority of verbs are in the class of full or lexical verbs, which have a meaning (rather than just a grammatical function). They denote events, actions, states or processes, such as
EXPLODE, RUN, SEEM, CHANGE. 3 . Full verbs (except BE) have between three and five different forms: 5 a. b. c. d. e. I I I have I am Luke (grow (grew (grown (growing (grows 4 place placed placed placing places 3 put) put) put) putting) puts) flowers on my patio every year. flowers on my patio last year. flowers on my patio for ten years. flowers on my patio this year. flowers on his patio every year.

Paul is (primary auxiliary) being (full verb) rather difficult.

These three verbs are also used as full verbs:

Have (primary auxiliary) you had (full verb) tea yet? I did (primary auxiliary) not do (full verb) my laundry yesterday.
2 3

Some writers include DARE, NEED and OUGHT (TO) in the list of modals. These will be considered later. New verbs appear in the language frequently: OUT (1990), SPAM (1994), GOOGLE (2002) PHISH (2005).
2 . 2010,,J E Webb

entry form in dictionaries; for regular verbs, it is the form from which the other forms are constructed. The first form is used for:

The (a) form, the first form, often known as the base form, stem or (bare) infinitive, is the main

The (bare) infinitive: I cant speak Russian. The to- infinitive: I want to speak Russian fluently by the end of the year. The present simple tense: My children speak German at school and English at home. The imperative: Speak more slowly, please.

The (b) form, the second form, is often known as the past (simple) form of the verb. With regular verbs it is constructed by adding (e)d to the first form; with irregular verbs the form may be identical to the first form (BEAT), third form (COME), to both first and third forms (CUT), or may be 1 different from both (RIDE). The second form is used for:

the past simple tense: I spoke to Henry about the problem yesterday.

identical in appearance to the second form; with irregular verbs the form may be identical to the first form (COME), the second form (LEAD), to both first and second forms (CUT), or may be different from both (RIDE). The third form is used for:

The (c) form, the third form, is often known as the past participle. With regular verbs It is

the present and past perfect: Have/had you spoken to Andrea? passive constructions: Basque is spoken only in parts of Spain and France.

The (d) form, the s form of the verb, is constructed by adding (e)s to the base form. It is often known by the name of its only use:

third person singular present (simple) tense form: Mila speaks English and Czech.

The (e) form, the ing form, is used for:

progressive (or continuous) constructions: Those two people are speaking Hungarian, I think. the present participle: Speaking to himself softly, he left the room. the gerund: Speaking with your mouth full is generally considered impolite.

The verb BE is unique in having eight forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been.

The modals each have only one form, although some writers consider could, might, should and Section 5.

would to be the past tense forms of can, may, shall and will respectively. These are considered in

2010,,J E Webb

2. VERB TENSE, ASPECT and VOICE

2.1. Tense and Aspect In most languages, the tenses of a verb are forms of that verb that locate the event, action, state or process in relation to a point or period in time. In English the relationship between tense and past, present and future times:

time is much less apparent than in many languages; both present and past tenses can refer to

present tense for past time: Jane tells me you've not been too well since you got back. present tense for present time: My stomach hurts. present tense for 'general' time: Babies normally lose weight in the first two weeks.. present tense for future time: The UN General Assembly opens in New York next month. past tense for past time: Freda started school last year. past tense for present time: Excuse me. I wondered if you had a moment. past tense for 'general' time: If you were as poor as I am, youd feel differently. past tense for future time; Her daughter was going to a summer camp tomorrow. However, we continue to use such words as present and past in the naming of tenses,

of these forms is traditionally called the present simple, the second the past simple.

shown in the pairs play/played, work/worked, want/wanted, wash/washed, sing/sang. The first

Technically If we confine ourselves to the form, of the verb, then English has only two tenses, as

The perfect and progressive (or continuous) forms of the verb are considered by many writers to be aspects rather than tenses. However, many course books label them as tenses and, for know the names of the individual tenses/aspects: present simple: I play practical purposes in teaching, this is not important. It is, however, important for teachers to

present progressive/continuous: present perfect (simple): present perfect progressive/continuous: past simple:

I am playing

I have played

I have been playing

past progressive/continuous: past perfect (simple): past perfect progressive/continuous:

4

I played

I was playing

I had played

I had been playing

. 2010,,J E Webb

2.2. The Future Technically there are no future tenses in English, merely different ways of expressing the future. However, some course books refer to constructions with WILL as future tenses, and so we shall consider in this paper four constructions, without worrying about whether or not they are tenses: future (simple): I will play

future progressive/continuous: future perfect (simple): future perfect progressive/continuous:

I will have played

I will be playing

I will have been playing

We shall also consider a construction with GO and the to-infinitive, which some writers call the (BE) going to future: I am going to play

2.3. Active and Passive Voice All of the above forms are in the active voice, i.e. the event, action, state or process denoted by in the passive voice, it denotes what is done to the subject, or what the subject suffers. Thus: People (subject) drink (verb - active) a lot of beer in Bavaria. A lot of beer (subject) is drunk (verb passive) in Bavaria. All verbs have active voice forms. Verbs which can operate transitively (i.e. are followed by a grammatical object, also have passive voice forms: present simple passive:

the verb is what the grammatical subject of that verb is doing or experiencing. When the verb is

present progressive/continuous passive: present perfect (simple) passive: present perfect progressive/continuous passive : past simple passive: past progressive/continuous passive: past perfect (simple) passive: past perfect progressive/continuous passive : future (simple) passive: future progressive/continuous passive: future perfect (simple) passive: (BE) going to future passive future perfect progressive/continuous passive :

football is being played

football is played

football has been played football was played

football has been being played football was being played football had been being played

football had been played football will be played

football will be being played

football will have been being played football is going to be played

football will have been played

Some of these forms are very rare, but they do exist

2010,,J E Webb

3. FORMS OF THE TENSES/ASPECTS

3.1. The Present Simple

For most forms of the present simple we use the first form of the verb:
I run, you seem happy, we work hard, they change after work.

For the third person singular we use the s form of the verb:
Luke seems happy.

Spelling

-e is added before s in verbs ending in ss, -z, -sh, -ch x and o (but not oo):
hisses, buzzes, washes, catches, boxes, goes
but:

boos

-e is added before the s ending in verbs with word-final s; some writers double the final s of the first form before adding the e; this is optional:
gases or gasses, focuses or focuses

Verbs ending in y following a consonant change the y to i and add -es, but if the word-final y follows a vowel/diphthong sound, we simply add s:
carries, tries
but:

plays, employs

Pronunciation The final (e)s of this form is pronounced: /s/ after unvoiced consonants except /s, , /: /kIks, pts, kfs/ /z/ after voiced consonants except /z, , /, vowels and diphthongs: /hgz, siz, leIz/ /Iz/(or/z/) after /s, z, , , / and //: /bksIz, bzIz, wIz ruIz, kIz, Iz/

Exceptions One verb, BE has a completely irregular present simple: I am, he is, we/you/they are. One verb, HAVE has an irregular third person singular form: /hz/. Two verbs, DO and SAY, have pronunciation changes in the third person singular form: do, does /du, dz/, say, says /seI, sez/
6 . 2010,,J E Webb

The Primary Auxiliary DO is used with all full verbs except BE (and, for some speakers, HAVE) for:

Negative forms (with not):

I work I do not/dont work,

he works he does not/doesnt work

Note the pronunciation of do not - /dunt and dont - /dnt/

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion)

we work do we work?

she works does she work?

Weak forms of DO are frequently used in speech, except in formal oratory or for emphasis:
do we work? do you work? does he work? does she work?

/duwiwk, dwiwk, /dujuwk, /dzhiwk, /dziwk, djwk, dzhiwk, dziwk,

dwiwk/ djwk, dziwk, diwk/ wk/ dziwk/

Interrogative-negative forms: Except in very formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in negative questions:
Dont you work there any more? Doesnt Emma work there any more?
(Do you not work there any more?) (Does Emma not work there any more?)

Emphasis: In speech, do and does are always stressed, and the weak forms are not used:
I do like those shoes. Lindsay does work hard.

Dummy forms: DO is used as a dummy verb to replace the full verb in:

Question tags: Short answers:

He works hard, doesnt he? Do you like it here? Yes, I do. / No, I dont.

Contracted questions:

Mary likes living in Germany. Does Alan?

Contracted follow-up questions: I really like living in Prague.

Do you?

(Dis)agreement comments:

She looks smart today. Yes she does. / No, she doesnt.
7 . 2010,,J E Webb

Exceptions: BE, HAVE and HAVE TO

BE is the only full verb never to use DO as an auxiliary verb in the present simple or indeed in

any other form except for emphatic and negative imperative forms:
Be careful Do be careful. Dont be late.

HAVE, when used as a full verb, can operate in one of three ways:

1. Most American and many younger British speakers use HAVE as a normal full verb, which needs the primary auxiliary DO like all other full verbs:
I have a new car. Do you have a car? Yes, I do.

She doesnt have a car.

2. Some (often older) British and American speakers, especially in more formal speech and writing, do not use the primary auxiliary DO with HAVE:
I have a new car.

Have you a car?

Yes, I have.

She hasnt a car.

or

She has no car.

3. Many British, and some American speakers use HAVE GOT (technically the present perfect of
GET) instead of HAVE, especially in less formal speech and writing. DO is never used as an

auxiliary with this, and the contracted form is common:

Ive got a new car.

Have you got a car?

Yes, I have.

Shes got a new car

meaning similar to take or experience, or can be replaced by some other full verb such as eat:
I have a new shower in my bathroom. I have a shower twice a day I normally have breakfast in bed. Ive got a new shower in my bathroom. *Ive got a shower twice a day. *I have normally got breakfast in bed.

This is possible only when HAVE has a meaning similar to possess. It is not possible when it has a

HAVE TO, denoting some form of obligation, operates as a full verb, using DO as an auxiliary when

appropriate:

I have to leave.

Do you have to leave? Yes, I do.

She doesnt have to go.

Note that have to is pronounced in normal speech as /hft/, and has to as /hst/. In the less formal HAVE GOT TO, HAVE (normally contracted) operates as an auxiliary, and does not use DO:

Ive got to leave,

Have you got to leave?

Yes, I have.

She hasnt got to leave.

2010,,J E Webb

3.2. The Past Simple

For the past simple of regular verbs we use the second form of the verb, which is constructed from the first form plus ed for all persons:

I rented a car, Bruce seemed happy, They worked hard.

A number of verbs have irregular second forms, for example: have had, lead led, put- put. These simply have to be learnt. BE, uniquely, has two forms: I/he was,

we/you/they were.

Spelling The ed ending becomes simply d after verbs ending in e: hire hired,
free freed, hoe hoed

Verbs ending in y following a consonant change the y to i and add ed, but if the word-final y follows a vowel/diphthong sound, we simply add ed: carried, tried
but:

played,

employed

Verbs ending in a single consonant letter (except w, x , -c or -l ) following a single vowel letter such verbs do the same: robbed, knitted, referred, handbagged but revealed, rowed, Verbs ending in c add -k rather than doubling the c: picnicked, in a stressed syllable double that final consonant before adding ed; compound words containing
boxed

panicked.

In BrE, word-final l is always doubled after a short vowel sound, even in unstressed syllables:
levelled, travelled, cancelled

In verbs with a final unstressed syllable ending in s, some writers double the final s of the first form before adding the e; this is optional: biased or biassed,
focused or focussed bothered, visited

There is no doubling when the final syllable is unstressed: happened,

However, a few verbs double the final consonant even if the final syllable is unstressed, perhaps verb is not actually a compound: programmed, handicapped, hiccupped, kidnapped, worshipped

because the final syllable exists as a single-syllable (hence stressed) verb, even if the polysyllabic

Pronunciation The final (e)d of this form is pronounced: /t/ after unvoiced consonants except /t/: /kIkt, stpt, kft/ /d/ after voiced consonants except /d/, vowels and diphthongs: /hgd, lIvd, frid, pleId/ /Id/ (or /d/) after /t, d/: /wntId, wntd; nid Id, nidd/

2010,,J E Webb

small number of speakers, HAVE) for:

Did (the second form of the primary auxiliary DO) is used all full verbs except BE (and, for a very

Negative forms (with not): I worked I did not/didnt work,

he worked he did not/didnt work

or for emphasis. The final /t/ is often not fully exploded before consonants: /hidIdntwk, hidIdntwk/ /hidIdntIk, hidIdntIk,

Whether contracted or not in writing, did not is usually elided in speech, except in formal oratory hidIdnIk/

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): we work did we work? There may be assimilation:
did you work? /dIdjuwk,

she worked did she work?

dIdjwk,

dIwk,

wk/

Interrogative-negative forms: Except in formal speech and writing, the contracted form didnt is used in negative questions:

Didnt you work there any more?

(Did you not work there any more?).

Emphasis: In speech, did is always stressed: I did like those shoes.

Lindsay did work hard.

Dummy forms

Did is used as a dummy verb to replace the full verb in:

Question tags:

He worked hard, didnt he?

Short answers:

Did you like it here? Yes, I did. / No, I didnt.

Contracted questions:

Mary liked living in Germany. Did Alan?

Contracted follow-up questions:

I really liked living in Prague.

Did you?

(Dis)agreement comments:

She looked smart yesterday. Yes she did. / No, she didnt.
10

2010,,J E Webb

3.3. The Present Progressive (sometimes known as the Present Continuous)

To form the present progressive we use the ing form of the verb with the present simple of the primary auxiliary BE:

I am running, you are playing, she is working hard, they are arriving tomorrow.

Spelling of the ing form

-ing is added to the first form: playing,

working,

understanding,

preceded by y, -o or ng, or if the verb ends in ee, the e is retained: hiring, becoming,
reclining
but:

Most verbs ending in single mute -e drop the final e before ing, though if word-final e is
dyeing, toeing, whingeing, freeing

Polysyllabic verbs ending in ge generally drop the e; impinging, infringing Retention of the e in AGE is optional: aging or ageing Verbs ending in ie change this to y before ing: tying, dying Verbs ending in a single consonant letter (except w, x , -c and -l ) following a single vowel
robbing, knitting, referring
but

letter in a stressed syllable double that final consonant before adding the ing:
revealing, rowing, boxing.

Verbs ending in c add -k rather than doubling the c: picnicking,

panicking.

In BrE, word-final l is always doubled after a short vowel sound, even in unstressed syllables:
repelling, levelling, travelling, cancelling

In verbs with a final unstressed syllable ending in s, some writers double the final s of the first form before adding the e; this is optional: biasing or biassing,
focusing or focussing bothering, visiting

There is no doubling when the final syllable is unstressed: happening,

However, a small number of verbs double the final consonant even if the final syllable is verb, even if the polysyllabic verb is not actually a compound:

unstressed. This may be because the final syllable exists as a single-syllable (hence stressed)
programming, handicapping, hiccupping, kidnapping, worshipping.

Pronunciation In informal writing, the parts of BE are often contracted. In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, they are normally weakened or elided. In most dialects of BrE the final /r/ of

are is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel sound:

I am working, Im working

/aIjmwkI, aImwkI/
11 . 2010,,J E Webb

you are working, youre working he is working, hes working they are writing, theyre writing.

/juw(r)wkI, j(r)wkI, j(r)wkI, j(r)wkI/ /hiz wkI/

/eIjraItI, eraItI, eraItI/

Negative forms and contractions:

I am not working you/we/they are not working she is not working you/we/they arent working she isnt working Im not working youre/were/theyre not working shes not working

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): am I working?

is she working?

are you/we/they working?

Interrogative-negative forms: Except in the most formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in constructing

negative questions. Note that arent I is used in place of *amnt I

arent I working? arent you/we/they working? isnt she working? (am I not working?)

(are you/we/they not working? (is she not working?)

BE forms BE is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in:

Question tags: Short answers: Contracted questions:

Hes working hard, isnt he? Is Petra coming tonight? Yes, she is. / No, she isnt.

Mary is living in Germany. Is Alan? -

Contracted follow-up questions: I am really enjoying this weather. (Dis)agreement comments:

Theyre playing well today.

Are you?

- Yes they are. / No, they arent.

12

2010,,J E Webb

3.4. The Past Progressive (Past Continuous)

This is formed in the same way as the present progressive, but using second forms of BE instead

of first forms: I was running, you were playing, we were working hard, they were arriving the next day.

Pronunciation In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, BE is normally weakened. In most

dialects of BrE the final /r/ of were is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel sound: I was working, /aIwzwkI you were working, /juw(r)wkI/ they were writing, / eIwraItI/

Negative forms and contractions:

I/she was not working you/we/they were not working

I/she wasnt working you/we/they werent working

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): was I/he working?

were you/we/they working?

Interrogative-negative forms: Except in the most formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in constructing negative questions:
wasnt I /he working? werent you/we/they working? (was I/he not working?) (were you/we/they not working?

BE forms BE is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in:

Question tags: Short answers: Contracted questions:

He was working hard, wasnt he? Was Petra coming tonight? - Yes, she was. / No, she wasnt. Mary was living in Germany. was Alan?

Contracted follow-up questions: I was really enjoying that weather . (Dis)agreement comments:
They were playing well today.. Yes they were. / No, they werent.

Were you?

13

2010,,J E Webb

3.5. The Present Perfect (Present Perfect Simple)

For the present perfect we use the third form of the verb with the present simple of the primary auxiliary HAVE. With regular verbs, the third form is identical to the second form (see page 8)
I have played, you have worked hard, Maria has announced her engagement.

Some verbs have irregular third forms, e.g: have had, buy bought, These must simply be learnt.

Pronunciation In informal writing, HAVE is often contracted. In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided:
I have worked, Ive worked

/aIhvwkt, aIjvwkt, aIvwkt/

he has worked, hes worked

/hihzwkt, hijzwkt, hizwkt/

Negative forms and contractions:

. I/you/we/they have not worked she has not worked I/you/we/they havent worked she hasnt worked Ive/youve/theyve not worked shes not worked

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): have I/you/we/they worked?

Has she worked?

Interrogative-negative forms: Except in formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in negative questions.
. havent I/you/we/they worked? hasnt she worked? (have I/you/we/they not worked?) (has she not worked?) .

HAVE is used as alone to replace the full perfect form in:

Question tags: Short answers: Contracted questions:

Hes worked hard, hasnt he?

Has Petra arrived yet?

Yes, she has. / No, she hasnt.

Mary has lived in Germany. Has Alan? -

Contracted follow-up questions: I have really enjoyed this weather. (Dis)agreement comments:

Have you?

Theyve played well today. - Yes they have./No, they havent.

14 . 2010,,J E Webb

3.6. The Past Perfect (Past Perfect Simple)

The past perfect is formed in exactly the same way as the present perfect, but using past tense forms of HAVE instead of present tense forms:

I had played, you had worked hard, Maria had announced her engagement.

Pronunciation In informal writing, had is often contracted. In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided:
I had worked, Id worked
/aIhdwkt, aIjdwkt, aIdwkt/

Negative forms and contractions:

I/you/we/they had not worked I/you/we/they hadnt worked Ive/youve/theyd not worked

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): had I/you/we/they worked?

Had she worked?

Interrogative-negative forms: hadnt I/you/we/they worked?

(had I/you/we/they not worked?)

Had is used as alone to replace the full perfect form in:

Question tags: Short answers:

Hed worked hard, hadnt he?

Had Petra arrived at that time?

Yes, she had. / No, she hadnt.

Contracted questions:

Mary had lived in Germany. Had Alan?

Contracted follow-up questions: I had really enjoyed that weather

Had you?

(Dis)agreement comments:

Theyd played well the season before. Yes they had. / No, they hadnt.

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2010,,J E Webb

3.7. The Present Perfect Progressive (Present Perfect Continuous)

The present perfect progressive is formed in the same way as the present progressive, but using perfect constructions (HAVE + third form) of BE instead of present tense forms:

I have been playing, you have been working hard, Maria has been seeing George since last May.

Pronunciation In informal writing, HAVE is often contracted. In normal speech, apart from formal oratory or for

emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided; the weak form of been is common in speech.
I have been working, Ive been working he has been working, hed been working

/aIhvbinwkI, aIjvbInwkI, aIvbInwkI/ /hihzbinwkI, hijzbinwkI, hizbinwkI/

Negative forms and contractions: I have not been working

she has not been working

I havent / Ive not been working she hasnt / shes not been working

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): have I been working?

has she been working?

Interrogative-negative forms:

havent I been working? hasnt she working?

(have I not been working?) (has she not been working?)

HAVE forms:

HAVE is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in: Hes been working hard, hasnt he? Has Petra been drinking again? Yes, she has. / No, she hasnt.

Question tags: Short answers:

Contracted questions:

Mary has been living in Germany. Has Alan?

Contracted follow-up questions: I have been seeing Theresa again.

Have you?

(Dis)agreement comments:

Theyve been playing well recently. Yes they have. / No, they havent.
16 . 2010,,J E Webb

3.8. The Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous)

The past perfect progressive is formed in the same way as the present perfect progressive, but using the second form of HAVE instead of the first:

I had been playing, you had been working hard, Maria had been seeing George since last May.

Pronunciation In informal writing, had is often contracted. In normal speech, apart from formal oratory or to
/aIhdbinwkI, aIjdbInwkI, aIdbInwkI/ /hihdbinwkI, hijdbinwkI, hidbinwkI/

give emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided; the weak form of been is common in speech.
I had been working, Id been working he had been working, hed been working

Negative Forms and contractions: I had not been working I hadnt / Id not been working

Interrogative Forms (with S-V inversion): had I been working?

had she been working?

Interrogative-negative Forms: hadnt I been working?

(had I not been working?)

Had is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in:

Question tags: Short answers:

Hed been working hard, hadnt he? Had Petra been drinking again? Yes, she had. / No, she hadnt.

Contracted questions:

Mary had been living in Germany. Had Alan?

Contracted follow-up questions: I had been seeing Theresa again.

Had you?

(Dis)agreement comments:

Theyd been playing well for some time. Yes they had. / No, they hadnt.

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3.9. The Future (Future Simple)

As we noted on page 4, there are technically no future tenses in English. However, some course these. The so-called future simple is formed using will followed by the bare infinitive: I will go 1 . and grammar books refer to constructions with WILL as future and so we shall briefly consider

Pronunciation In informal writing, will is often contracted. In informal speech, it is normally weakened or elided;
They will work, theyll work
/eIlwk , elwk/

The contraction of will not is spelt wont, pronounced /wnt/

Negative Forms and contractions:

I will not work; I wont work;

Ill not work

/aIwIlntwk; aIwntwk; aIlntwk/

Interrogative Forms (with S-V inversion): will he work?

Interrogative-negative Forms:

Wont they work?

(will they not work?)

Will is used as alone to replace the full form in:

Question tags: Short answers: Contracted questions:

Hell been working hard, wont he? Will Petra see him again? Yes, she will. / No, she wont.

Mary will move to Germany. Will Alan? -

Contracted follow-up questions: Ill see Theresa again. (Dis)agreement comments:

Will you?

Theyll win tomorrow for sure. Yes they will. / No, they wont.

speakers use shall only for first person offers and suggestions:

Grammarians used to claim that shall replaced will with I and we. Today this is true only of a tiny minority Most native

Shall I take your coat?

Shall we go out to dinner this evening?

18 . 2010,,J E Webb

3.10. The Future Progressive (Future Continuous)

To form the future progressive we use the ing form of the verb following WILL be:

I will be running, he wont be playing, will they be working? wont we be sleeping?

3.11. The Future Perfect (Future Perfect Simple)

To form the future perfect simple we use the third form of the verb following WILL have:
I will have run, he wont have played, will they have worked? Wont they have slept?

3.12. The Future Perfect Progressive (Future Perfect Continuous)

To form the future perfect continuous we use the -ing form of the verb following WILL have been:
I will have been running, will they have been working? he wont have been playing, wont we have been sleeping?

3.13. The (BE) going to Future

To construct this, we use the present progressive of GO followed by the to-infinitive of the verb:
I am going to resign Are you going to leave? she isnt going to agree Arent they going to swim?

going to in casual speech is often pronounced /gInt, gIn, gn/ or/gn/ before verbs
beginning with a consonant sound, and /gIntu, gInu, gnu/ or/gnu/ before verbs beginning with a vowel sound

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4. Passive Forms

Verb forms in the passive voice are constructed with the appropriate tense/aspect form of the primary auxiliary BE and the third form of the verb.

Pronunciation In speech, weak forms and contractions of the auxiliaries are common, for example: I am, Im he is, hes it was I will, Ill /aIjm, aIm / /hijIz, hiz/ you are, youre /juw(r), j(r), j(r)/ /Ithzbin, Itzbin, ItsbIn/

it has been, its been they were

/Itwz, Itwz/ /aIwIl, aIl/

/eIw(r), eIw(r/ / aIwIlnt, aIlnt, aIwnt/

I will not, Ill not, I wont /aIhdbin, aIdbIn/ /aIwIlhvbin, aIlhvbIn/

I had been, Id been

I will have been, Ill have been

Forms
Present simple passive: football is played football is not played isnt football played?

is football played? football is being played is football being played?

Present progressive/continuous passive:

football is not being played isnt football being played? football has not been played

Present perfect (simple) passive:

has football been played?

football has been played

hasnt football been played?

Present perfect progressive/continuous passive :

football has been being played has football been being played? football has not been being played

hasnt football been being played? Past simple passive: football was played was football played? Past progressive/continuous passive: football was being played football was played wasnt football played?

football was not being played

wasnt football being played?

was football being played?

Some of these forms are very rare, but they do exist

20 . 2010,,J E Webb

Past perfect (simple) passive:

had football been played?

football had been played

football had not been played hadnt football been played?

Past perfect progressive/continuous passive :

football had been being played had football been being played? football had not been being played

hadnt football been being played? Future (simple) passive: football will be played football will not be played

will football be played?

wont football be played?

Future progressive/continuous passive:

football will be being played will football be being played? football will not be being played

wont football be being played? Future perfect (simple) passive: football will have been played

football will not have been played

will football have been played?

wont football have been played? Future perfect progressive/continuous passive : football will have been being played will football have been being played? football will not have been being played

wont football have been being played? (BE) going to future passive football is going to be played

football is not going to be played is football going to be played? isnt football going to be played?

Some of these forms are very rare, but they do exist

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5. MODALS
5. 1. The Core Modals The core modals (modal verbs/modal auxiliaries) are a closed set 1 of verbs that convey the

speaker's attitude to the likelihood of the event/state denoted by the following verb, or to express such concepts as ability, certainty, etc. They differ formally from other verbs in a number of ways:

1. They do not use DO their negative, interrogative or emphatic forms 2 :

I go I do not go do I go? I do go

I must ...

I must not ...

must I ...?

I must ....

2. They do not use DO as 'code 3 :

he goes, doesn't he? he can ... can't he? does he go? yes, he does. yes, he can. he goes, and so do I.

can he ...?

he can ..., and so can I. she goes she musts ... going, gone

3. They do not take (e)s in the 3rd person singular form: 4. They have no non-finite forms (infinitive, participle or gerund):
. .

*(to) may *maying *mayed they can go they will go *they can can ... *they will can...

(to) go,

5. They cannot co-occur with themselves or with other modals:

6. All of the modals except (in most dialects) MAY have a shortened negative form with n't :
can't couldn't mightn't mustn't shan't shouldn't won't wouldn't 4

WILL and WOULD, the core modals. Whether or not the italicised forms are the past-tense forms of

The only verbs that have all these properties are CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, SHALL, SHOULD,

the forms preceding them or are different modals will be considered later.

As the three dots following the modals in the examples above imply, modals cannot stand alone as verbs 5 they must collocate with another verb, though the other verb may be implied, as in:
May I? (some unexpressed verb such as sit here or smoke will be clear from the context of situation)

1 2

Closed set or closed class: i.e. no new verbs are ever added to the set

BE (in all forms except the negative imperative and emphatic affirmative imperative) and HAVE (always BE and HAVE (always when acting as an auxiliary verb, and in some dialects when acting as a full verb)

when acting as an auxiliary verb, and in some dialects when acting as a full verb) share this characteristic
3.

share this characteristic. 'Code' (also termed 'avoidance of repetition) is a term used for the use of DO to replace the full verb in question tags, short answers, etc, as in the examples in section 2 above
4

BE and, as auxiliaries, HAVE and DO share this characteristic. Many verbs, such as WANT, for example, cannot stand alone, but they no not have to collocate with a verb as the modals do. WANT can be used with a noun as well as a verb.
22 . 2010,,J E Webb

5.2. Other Modals?

NEED can operate as a full verb followed by a noun or to-infinitive, or as a modal: does he need money/to go? need he go? he doesn't need money/to go. he needn't go. he needs money/to go. *he need go

However, modal NEED is used mainly in (near- 1 ) negative, occasionally in interrogative and very rarely in affirmative constructions. Because of these restrictions on its use as a modal, and confusing for learners if NEED is introduced at a different time from the nine core modals.
DARE can also operate as a full verb followed by a to-infinitive, or as a modal: does he dare to ask her? he doesn't dare to ask her.

because it can operate as a full verb with little practical difference in meaning, it is perhaps less

dare he ask her?

he daren't ask her.

However, modal DARE is not common. Learners are better told that DARE normally operates as a full verb. Such expressions as I dare say can be taught as lexical chunks.

requires to before a following infinitive. Also, many speakers of English form its interrogative and negative with the past tense of DO.:

OUGHT (usually referred to as OUGHT TO) is a slight problem. Unlike the core modals, it normally

did he ought to go? Ought he do go?

He didn't ought to do that. (some speakers regard these forms as sub-standard) He oughtn't (to) do that.

SHOULD with virtually identical meaning. However, the reverse is not always true:
You ought to get up earlier. If I should die, think only this of me.. You should get up earlier.

A further complication for students is that whenever OUGHT is used, it can be replaced by

*If I ought to die, think only this of me..

Life is made simpler for students if they learn to understand OUGHT but always use SHOULD. USED TO has some of the characteristics of modals, but is so different in other ways that it is best considered separately.

IS TO 2 , HAVE TO, HAD BETTER, WOULD RATHER, and even BE ABLE TO and BE SUPPOSED TO have some of

the characteristics of modals, often convey very similar meanings to modals, and sometimes need to be used where appropriate modal forms do not exist. Some grammarians find it useful to use such terms as quasi-modals or near-modals for these and other verbs and verb phrases.

However, they are not modals.

Near-negatives, such expressions as rarely, hardly ever, seldom (= almost never) and only (= not unless).

There is no form *BE TO. IS TO is used here to stand for AM/ARE/IS/WAS/WERE TO

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5.3. Past Tense Forms In back-shifting, COULD, MIGHT, SHOULD and WOULD function as the past-tense form of CAN, MAY.

SHALL and WILL 1 :

"Can you swim?"

"Shall I make the tea?"

I asked Mary if I should make the tea

John asked me if I could swim.

However, in other contexts, they do not function as past-tense forms, for which substitutes forms need to be used; for example:
I can see him this afternoon.

*I could see him yesterday afternoon.

I was able to see him yesterday afternoon.

In addition, the past-tense forms can refer to the same time points/periods as their presenttense equivalents:

I can see him this afternoon.

I could see him this afternoon,

modals rather than as the past-tense forms of CAN, MAY. SHALL and WILL. This is a question for individual teachers to deal with in ways that seem most useful for their teachers.

This explains why some teachers prefer to present COULD, MIGHT, SHOULD and WOULD as separate

MUST is used as its own past-tense form, or it is replaced by HAD TO: "You must go." She said I must go.

She said I had to go.

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6. Some Potential Problems for Learners

How the tenses/aspects are used can cause serious problems for learners and beginning

teachers. Other papers in this series examine some of these problems. There are far fewer problems in the construction of the forms, which has been the subject of this paper. Some learners do experience a few difficulties, however, and we briefly consider some of these in this understand why their learners cannot see the obvious.

section largely as an awareness raising exercise for beginning teachers, who might otherwise not

Pronunciation

Some learners persist in pronouncing the ed ending of the second form of the verb of all verbs, so washed, for example, may be produced as /wed, wId,/ or /wd/. This is particularly common when the first form ends in /k/ and /g/. If this problem is not dealt with early, it may be difficult to eradicate later, and learners may need extra help and drilling with such words as

sagged, begged, rigged, hogged, mugged, sacked, pecked, tricked, locked, mucked.

Some of the problems learners encounter with the present perfect and past simple arise because weak form of the HAVE of the present perfect. So, when the second/third forms of the verb are and past simple forms of verbs beginning with consonants may sound the same to learners.
Ive bought/I bought youve demanded/you demanded

they simply cannot hear the difference in normal speech. Many native speakers produce a very

identical in appearance, as they are for all regular and many irregular verbs, the present perfect

and has/s is followed by verbs beginning with a /s, z,/ or // sound:

theyve vanished/they vanished shes zipped/she zipped weve followed/we followed Johns shaved/John shaved

This is particularly true when have/ve is followed by a verb beginning with a /f/ or /v/ sound,

hes sold/he sold

Similarly, some learners may not hear the BE of the present progressive when am/m /precedes and later produce: the sound/m/, is/s precedes /s, z,/ or //, or are/re precedes /r/. They may therefore hear,

Im moving as *I moving,

youre writing as *you writing

and shes skiing as *she skiing

In casual conversation, native speakers may produce both do you and did you in questions as

him? and did you see him?

//, making it difficult for a learner to hear, out of context, the difference between do you see

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The difference in pronunciation between the vowels/diphthongs of the uncontracted and can be unsettling for learners:

contracted negative forms of some auxiliaries is taken for granted by most native speakers, but

do not - dont /dunt - dnt/ shall not - shant /lnt - nt/

cannot - cant /knt - knt/ will not - wont /wIlnt - wnt/

Contractions

Both has and is are contracted to s in informal writing and to /z/ or /s/ in speech. Learners may be unsure which is intended and, as a consequence, completely misunderstand whats being with the following examples:
Hes taught French at home. Hes taught French at home.

heard/read (or whats been heard/read!) if insufficient context is provided. We can illustrate this

(By his mother: is: present simple passive) (To private students: has: present perfect [active])

Similar difficulties can arise with d which can stand for both had and would:
She asked me if Id let Tom go. She asked me if Id let Tom go.
(An enquiry: had: she asked. Did you let Tom go?) (A request: would: she asked, Will you let Tom go?)

Primary Auxiliary DO

Many other languages construct the negative and interrogative forms of their verbs without an auxiliary. Learners who speak these languages may produce such forms as;
*work they for do they work

*we work not / *we not work for we do not work

Others may not grasp that BE as a full verb, and the primary auxiliaries and modals do not use DO in these forms, and produce such forms as:
*Do they can swim? *They do not must go. *Does Tim be English?

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The 3rd person s ending Although most learners understand the principle of the 3rd person s, some may take a very long time to always use it correctly. Even upper intermediate students may occasionally make the sort of slips common among beginners: non-use: overuse: Misuse: *Mary work hard.

My teacher do not mark my homework.

*Does they speak Czech?

*I goes home after the lesson.

*Peter do not likes me. Frank cans see you now. *He wills come tomorrow.

Beginners frequently ad the s to modals:

Modals We have already noted above the incorrect use of DO with primary auxiliaries and modals, and the

first word in any verb phrase containing a modal; they cannot therefore co-occur:
*I will must see the Director tomorrow. *you must can drive.

incorrect use of s in the 3rd person. Many learners fail to appreciate that modals must be the

There can also be no perfect or continuous forms of the modals:

* I have must(ed) work late all this week. *He is canning lend me the money.

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IRREGULAR VERBS

Table 1 lists the first, second and third forms of some of the most common irregular verbs in English. Some verbs have both an irregular and a regular 2nd and 3rd form. There is a tendency for the regular form to be more common in AmE, and the irregular in BrE (though DIVE, LIGHT, and FIT are just three of the exceptions to this). These verbs are marked with an asterisk in Table 1, and listed separately in the Table 2. Table 1. Verbs with irregular second and third forms Note: Bracketed forms indicate compounding possibilities
(FOR)BEAR, bore, borne BET* BLEED, bled, bled BRING, brought, brought BUST* CHOOSE, chose, chosen CREEP, crept, crept DIVE* DRIVE, drove, driven (BREAST)FEED, fed, fed FIT* FORBID, forbade, forbidden (FOR)GIVE, gave, given HANG* BE, WITH)HOLD, held, held KNIT* LEAN* LEND, lent, lent LOSE, lost, lost MOW, mowed, mowed/mown PUT, put, put RIDE, rode, ridden SAY, said, said SEND, sent, sent SHED, shed, shed SHOOT, shot, shot SING, sang, sung (OVER)SLEEP, slept, slept SLIT, slit, slit SPEAK, spoke, spoken SPILL* SPREAD, spread, spread STICK, stuck, stuck STRIKE, struck, struck/stricken SWEEP, swept, swept (MIS)TAKE, took, taken THINK, thought, thought WEAR, wore, worn WET* (BROW)BEAT, beat, beaten BID, bid, bid BLOW, blew, blown BUILD, built, built BUY, bought, bought CLING, clung, clung CUT, cut, cut DRAW, drew, drawn DWELL* FEEL, felt, felt FLEE, fled, fled FORGET, forgot, forgotten (FOR)GO, went, gone (MIS)HEAR, heard, heard HURT, hurt, hurt KNOW, knew, known LEAP* LET, let, let MAKE, made, made PAY, paid, paid QUIT* RING* (FORE)SEE, saw, seen (OFF)SET, set, set SHINE* SHOW, showed, shown SINK, sank, sunk SLIDE, slid, slid SMELL* SPEED* SPIT* SPRING, sprang/sprung, sprung STING, stung, stung (HAM)STRING, strung, strung SWELL* TEACH, taught, taught THROW, threw, thrown WEAVE WIN, won, won BEGIN, began, begun BIND, bound, bound BREAK, broke, broken BURN* (FORE/BROAD/MIS)CAST* (BE/OVER)COME, came, come DEAL, dealt, dealt DREAM* EAT, ate, eaten FIGHT, fought, fought FLING, flung, flung FREEZE, froze, frozen GRIND, ground, ground HIDE, hid, hidden KEEP, kept, kept (MIS)LAY, laid, laid LEARN* LIE* MEAN, meant, meant PLEAD* (MIS)READ, read, read RISE, rose, risen SEEK, sought, sought SEW* SHIT* SHRINK, shrank, shrunk SIT, sat, sat SLING, slung, slung SNEAK* (MIS)SPELL* SPLIT, split, split (UNDER)STAND, stood, stood STINK, stank/stunk, stunk STRIVE* SWIM, swam, swum TEAR, torn, torn TREAD trod, trod/trodden WED* WIND, wound, wound BEND, bent, bent BITE, bit, bitten BREED, bred, bred BURST, burst, burst CATCH, caught, caught COST* DIG, dug, dug DRINK drank, drunk FALL, fell, fallen FIND, found, found FLY, flew, flew GET, got, got/gotten GROW, grew, grown HIT, hit, hit KNEEL* LEAD, led, led LEAVE, left, left LIGHT* MEET, met, met PROVE* RID, rid, rid RUN, ran run SELL, sold, sold SHAKE, shook, shaken SHOE, shod, shod SHUT, shut, shut SLAY, slew, slain SLINK, slunk, slunk SOW* SPEND, spent, spent SPOIL* STEAL, stole, stolen STRIDE, strode, SWEAR, swore, sworn SWING, swung, swung (FORE)TELL, told, told WAKE, woke, woken WEEP, wept, wept WRITE, wrote, written

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Table 2. Verbs with both regular and irregular second and third forms
Note: Unless otherwise shown (in blue), 2nd and 3rd forms are identical BET, betted or bet CAST (an actor), casted or cast COST (have a price), cost DWELL, dwelled or dwelt HANG (other meanings), hung LEAN, leaned (/lind/) or leant (/lent/) LIE (= tell an untruth), lied PLEAD, pleaded or pled RELAY (=transmit), relayed RING (= sound bells, call), rang/rung SEW, sewed or sewed/sewn SHIT, shitted or shit or shat SOW, sowed or sowed/sown SPILL, spilled or spilt STRIVE, strived or strove/striven WED, wedded or wed BURN, burned or burnt CAST (=throw), cast :DIVE, dived or dove FIT, fitted or fit KNEEL, kneeled, knelt LEAP, leaped (/lipt/) or leapt (/lept/) LIE (= recline) lay/lain PROVE, proved, or proved/ proven RELAY (=lay again), relaid SET (= put in sets), setted SHINE (trans.), shined or shone SMELL, smelled or smelt SPEED, speeded or sped SPIT, spat or spit SWELL, swelled or swelled/swollen WET, wetted or wet RING (=put a ring round) ringed SET (other meanings), set SHINE (intrans.), shone SNEAK, sneaked or snuck SPELL, spelled or spelt SPOIL, spoiled or spoilt WEAVE, weaved or wove/woven WREAK, wreaked or wrought LIGHT, lighted or lit QUIT, quitted or quit BUST, busted or bust COST (calculate a price), costed DREAM, dreamed or dreamt HANG (= execute), hanged or hung KNIT - knitted, knit LEARN, learned or learnt

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To recognise verb forms, identify the elements.

HAVE and the 3

If the tense/aspect is ....

... Continuous, it must have
BE and the ING form BE and the 3rd form (past participle)

.... Perfect, it must have

rd

form (past participle)

... Passive, it must have

He has played He had played

He is playing He was playing

It is played It was played

Note that it is the first element, the auxiliary (BE or HAVE) which shows the tense present or past. It follows from the information in the three boxes above, that: .... Perfect and Continuous, it must have (past participle) if the tense/aspect is ... .... Continuous and Passive, it must have
BE + -ING form BE + 3rd form (past participle)

HAVE + 3rd form

BE + -ING form

.... Perfect and Passive, it must have HAVE + 3rd form BE + 3rd form (past participle) (past participle)

He has been playing He had been playing and, if the tense/aspect is ...

It has been played It had been played

It is being played It was being played

HAVE + 3rd form (past participle)

.... Perfect and Continuous and Passive, it must have

BE + -ING form

BE + 3rd form (past participle)

Verb Form Recognition

Figure 1:

It It

has had

been been
30

being being

played played
J E Webb, 2006, 2010
. 2010,,J E Webb PHOTOCOPIABLE

Add a modal (for example will/would)

.... Perfect, we must have HAVE and the 3rd form (past participle)

If the original tense/aspect is .... modal

... Continuous, we must have
BE and the ING form

... Passive, we must have BE and the 3rd form (past participle)

modal

He will have played He would have played

He will be playing He would be playing

modal

It will be played It would be played

Note that we must use the bare infinitive of the first primary auxilliary It follows from the information in the three boxes above, that: .... Perfect and Continuous, we must have
HAVE + 3 form
rd

if the original tense/aspect is ... .... Continuous and Passive, we must have
BE + -ING form

BE + -ING form

modal

(past participle)

HAVE + 3 form (past participle)

.... Perfect and Passive, we must have

rd rd

BE + 3 form (past participle)

modal It will have been played It would have been played

modal

BE + 3rd form (past participle)

He will have been playing He would have been playing and, if the tense/aspect is ...

It will be being played It would be being played

HAVE + 3rd form (past participle)

.... Perfect and Continuous and Passive, it must have

BE + -ING form

Figure 2: Verb Form Recognition, Modals

BE + 3rd form (past participle)

modal It will It would have have been been

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being being

played played
J E Webb, 2010
.

PHOTOCOPIABLE 2010,,J E Webb

Pronunciation Symbols used in this paper

Voiceless Consonants
/p/ as in: /t/ as in: /k/ as in: /f/ as in: // as in: /s/ as in: // as in: // as in: /h/ as in: pat, happy, stop ten, night, subtle cot, succour, back fine, coffer, laugh mouth (noun), thick sit, listen, answer machine, dish, passion chin, hatch, picture has, who /m/ as in: mat, summer, lamb /n/ as in: not, knight, reign // as in: sing, sink /l/ as in: lead, poll, island /r/ as in: read, horror, write /j/ as in: yet, onion, new (BrE) /w/ as in: wet, what

Voiced Consonants
/b/ as in: bat, robbed, rub /d/ as in: dot, bladder, red /g/ as in: got, ghost, league /v/ as in: vine, of, have //as in: mouth (verb), the /z/ as in: zone, rose, xylophone // as in: rouge, measure // as in: gin, judge /i:/ as in: /e/ as in:

Vowels and Diphthongs

bead, key, see, deceive, people, quay, encyclopaedia, foetus, police bid, hymn, luggage, mountain, wanted, women, sieve, busy bed, said, head, any, leisure, leopard bad, plaid

/I/ as in:

// as in: // as in:

// as in: bard, barred, father, aunt, heart, clerk, catarrh*, palm, memoir bod, cough, want, because, knowledge, sausage look, put, woman // as in: bored, board, thought, law, awe, caught booed, boot, through, true, truth, whose, route, new bud, rough, money, flourish, flood, does

// as in:

/u/ as in: // as in:

// as in: bird, burred, turn, herd, heard, myrtle, myrrh*, worse // as in: /u/ as in: /j/ as in: to Africa I am

about, teacher*, ration, Russia, photography, thorough, bureaucrat

/w/ as in: // as in: /eI/ as in:

you are hell pagan, rain, gaol, gauge, ray, great, reign, weigh, they,

// as in: mauve, beau, sew, go, roast, toe, brooch, although, know, /aI/ as in: /I/ as in: /a/ as in: Macleod, loud, bough, now coin, toy, buoy, aisle, either, height, eye, I, die, high, island, cry, buy, dye,

/I/ as in: /e/ as in: Notes:

hero, idea, fear*, deer*, weird, here*, pierce, fakir*, air*, Mary, rare*, wear*, heir*, there*

* - In RP the final r is pronounced only when followed by a vowel. RP the r is not pronounced.

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Published by Gramorak

permission in writing of Gramorak except for the purposes expressly noted below: Downloading and Copying.

2010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the express

The publisher gives permission for the downloading, printing and/or photocopying of the whole or parts of this publication, or parts thereof for individual and/or class use subject to conditions [1] that the source is acknowledged and copyright notices are preserved

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Criticism of the work is welcomed. Any changes made to future editions as a result of criticism received will be acknowledged in such editions.

email contact: gramorak@gramorak.com

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