| |
Types of
auxiliaries
| a.
modal auxiliaries |
can,
could; shall, should; will, would;must; may,
might |
| b.
auxiliary and full have (have, has, had); do (do,
does, did); verbs |
be (am,
are, is, was, were) |
| c.
marginal auxiliaries |
need,
dare, used to, ought to |
|
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Comparison
of usage with modal auxiliaries and full verbs
The next table lists the criteria for auxiliaries
and the differences between auxiliaries and main verbs.
| |
modal auxiliary
(can) |
full
verb(sing) |
| 1. inversion in
questions |
Can he sing? |
-
|
| 2. negative n't |
He can't sing. |
-
|
| 3. tag
questions |
(He can't), can
he? |
-
|
| 4. short
answers |
Yes, he can. |
-
|
| 5. 3rd pers
sing + s |
- |
He sings. |
| 6. past
+ ed |
- |
He walked. |
| 7. do
construction |
-
|
Does he sing? He doesn't sing.
|
| 8. non-finite
forms |
-
|
(to) sing,
singing, sung. |
|
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Modal
auxiliaries
Modal auxiliaries - all of the verbs
listed in the next table follow all of the criteria for auxiliaries given in Table
2 above, except for may in the negative: mayn't is
old-fashioned.
| can |
May can speak
several languages. (ability) You can meet some
interesting people in
Delaney’s.(possibility)
You can borrow
my notes , if you like.(permission)
|
| shall /
should |
I shall be
there by 10.0. (future: prediction or promise)
You
should apply for a visa right away. (obligation,
duty)
|
| will /
would |
John &
Mary said they would arrive early.(future in the
past)
If you watch
carefully, I'll show you how to do it
(willingness)
I tried to
explain why I was late but she wouldn’t
believe me.(unwillingness)
|
| must |
You must hand
in your assignment by Monday(obligation) You must be joking
(necessity: a necessary logicalconclusion)
|
| may /
might |
May I borrow
your notes for the lecture I missed? (permission) Yes, but you might not
understand them. (possibility)
|
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|
Auxiliary and full verbs
The verbs have, be,
and do
have special functions in English as auxiliary verbs known as operators.
They are used to form tenses, questions and negatives. They also can
be full verbs on their own.
as auxiliaries
|
as full verbs
|
| have: Bill has been to Gloucester, hasn't he? |
Bill has
James doesn't have |
} |
a swim before breakfast |
|
| do: Naomi doesn't read novels. - Yes, she does.
|
| Georgina does Marilyn doesn't do
|
} |
her homework |
|
| be:
Paul is shouting. He isn't singing.
|
| Paul is Pat isn't
|
} |
a star pupil |
|
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Marginal
auxiliaries
need,
dare and
used to
normally take the do construction
for questions and negatives in modern English. Both need
and dare take
the normal present and past tense inflections.
| need |
You don't need
to be at the station before 9.30.
She
needs
to be there by 9.30. (3rd pers
sing + s) |
| dare |
Emmy{ didn't
dare / didn't dare to } sleep in the haunted
house.
He dared
to pick up the snake. (past + ed) |
| used to |
Raymond didn't{use to
/ used to}smoke a pipe. |
| ought to |
is normally
replaced by should in the negative and in
questions in modern English.
Shouldn't we tell the
police? |
|
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have (= possess)what
Have you a
book? He hasn't a book. (formal, old-fashioned)Do you have a book? He doesn't
have a book. (modern, esp. American)
Have you got a book? He
hasn't got a book. (standard British English)
|
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will and
shall
shall
is used to make suggestions and indicate the speaker's intention, will
is used to express future
meaning
| will |
shall |
| I will / I'll be there |
Shall I shut the window? ( Do
you want me to? ) Shall
we leave the rest till after lunch?
|
| They won't be there. |
You shall have the money on
Tuesday. (I promise you will) |
| The train will come soon. |
I shall return. |
When will
is used to talk about the future it can also be used in continuous
and perfect forms. Often used with time adverbials such as 'by'.
| continuous |
use |
| This time next week I will
be lying on the beach at Phuket. |
refers to what you will be doing at a
specific time in the future
|
| I'll be seeing
John tomorow - I'll tell him to call you.
I'll be waiting
for you by the clock tower.
|
future arrangement |
| I'll be seeing
you. |
commonly said informally as "goodbye" |
| perfect |
use |
| I will have finished by
6 o'clock.
By October I will
have been here for 7 years. |
something completed by a
particular time in the future |
|
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|
would and should
| would |
should |
| I said I would / I'd be there |
Should I tell the police?
(What do you think?) You
shouldn't tell the police.(I don't think you
ought to.)
|
should expresses the will or
attitude of someone, similar to the meaning of ought. |
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Main uses
of would) ('d always possible)
| a. |
in
subordinate clauses (future
in the past)
They
knew he would find a solution. (indirect
statement)
from:
They know he will find .... (direct: He will find....)
|
| |
I
wondered if he would find a solution. (indirect
question)
from:
I wonder if he will. (direct question: Will he find ... ?)
|
| b. |
in
main clauses (with a
conditional clause) If it rained / In
that case, I would stay at home.
If it had
rained, I would have stayed at home.
|
|
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|
Would
+ rather / prefer
Both would
rather and would
prefer are used to indicate the speaker's
preference. The structure for rather
is:
would
+ rather
(+ object) + infinitive verb
The structure for prefer
is:
would
+ prefer
(+ object) + to
+ infinitive verb
The object is used when
it is not the same as the subject.
| rather |
He would
rather finish
the job himself. (= no object)
He would
rather you finish
the job yourself. (= with object)
|
| prefer |
He would
prefer to
finish the job himself. (= no
object)
He would
prefer you to
finish the job yourself. (= with
object)
|
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Would
+ like
This is one of the most
common uses of would in
English, and would like is
used generally to express what the speaker wants to have or do. The
complementation structure for would
like is:
would
+ like
+ object
or
would
+ like
(+
object) + to
+ infinitive verb
The object is used when
it is not the same as the subject.
One of the main uses of
would like
is to make invitations and offers to other people.
|
Function |
Examples
|
|
Expressing
what someone wants to do
would
+ like
(+
object) + to
+ infinitive verb
|
He would
like to
finish
the job himself. (= no object + to infinitive)
He would
like you to
finish
the job yourself. (= with object + to infinitive)
|
|
Expressing
what someone wants
would
+ like
+
object
|
I would
like a piece
of cheesecake.
She would
like a glass
of red wine.
|
|
Making
an invitation to someone
would
+ subject + like
+ to
+ infinitive verb
|
Would
you like to
go for a meal tonight? (= no object + to infinitive)
|
|
Making
an offer to someone would
+ subject + like
(+
object) + to
+ infinitive verb
|
Would
you like me to
help with this? (= with object + to infinitive)
|
|
Making
an offer to someone would
+ subject + like
+
object
|
Would
you like another
glass of red wine?
|
** Note
that would like
does not change its form in reported speech.
| eg |
He said that he would
like a gin and tonic,
with no ice. |
|
She asked if I would
like to go for a
drink. |
|
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Main
uses of should ('d never possible)
| a) You should
have been there. |
(weaker form
of ought to) |
| b) It's a pity
you should always be so busy. |
(expression of the speaker's
attitude, especially regret) |
| c) If you
should see Peter, tell him about the match. |
(improbable
condition) |
a)
and b) express the opinion of the speaker, in c)
the speaker thinks it is not very likely.
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had
better + infinitive ('d possible)
The phrase 'had
better' is used to express the opinion of the
speaker, similar in meaning to should
or ought
when used to express the speaker's attitude. Often used in giving
advice or saying what needs to be done.
| a) I had
better take my umbrella
as it looks like rain. |
(I should take) |
| b) You had
better see a doctor
about that cough. |
(expression of attitude,
giving advice) |
| c) We had
better hurry or we'll
miss the start of the match. |
(probable outcome "if
we don't" ....) |
a)
and b) and c) all express what the speaker thinks is the
best thing to do, and in c)
the speaker says what is necessary if a certain outcome is to be avoided.
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Other
uses of would ('d possible when unstressed)
| Would
you please help me?
If you would only work a
little harder...
|
(willingness) |
| He would keep playing
with my watch. |
(= insisted on) |
| They wouldn't believe me. |
(= refused to) |
| As a child, I would sit
for ages staring into the fire. |
(= used to) |
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| Main
types of conditions Conditional
clauses are expressed with the conjunction 'if'
and are usually listed in three types, according to the verb forms
used.
1. Open (future time - future tense
in main clause)
| If |
} |
it rains,
I will (I'll) stay at home.
I see John, I'll
give him your message.
the film is still showing,
we can go to see it. |
2. Improbable
(future time - conditional (past) tense in main clause, use of would
in conditional clause)
| If |
} |
it
should rain,
it
were to rain,
it rained, |
I
would (I'd) stay at home. |
3.
Impossible or unfulfilled (past time - perfect conditional
tense in main clause, would + have done
perfect infinitive in conditional clause)
| If |
} |
it had
rained, I would (I'd) have stayed at home.
I had seen John, I would
(I'd) have given him your
message.
the film had still been
showing, we could have gone
to see it. |
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Types of 'if' clauses
| 1 |
Conditional
clauses |
a. If you should happen
to see John, ask him to phone me.
b. If you would only
work a little harder, you could pass the exam.
c. If there is a fire, don't use the
lift.
|
| 2 |
Polite requests |
I wonder if I could borrow your
pen a moment. |
| 3 |
Consequence |
a. If you eat too much of that cream
cake you'll be sick.
b. If you don't cook the meat
properly you may get food poisoning.
|
| 4 |
Imaginary future |
I wonder if we'll see her again. |
| 5 |
Reported questions |
a. I asked him if
he had finished the report.
b. She asked me if
I would like a sandwich. |
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| Special
use of 'used to' The
marginal auxiliary used to
normally takes the do construction in modern
English to form questions and negatives, and is usually written in the
base verb form (without the -d). It is used to refer to habitual and
regular action in the past that is no longer done in the present. The n't
contraction is possible but rarely used in modern English.
| I used
to play the guitar. |
| Emmy didn't
use to like science but
she does now. |
| Where did
you use to
live in London?. |
| I used
to live in Notting Hill. |
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|
The
verb 'be' + used to
+ -ing When
used with the verb 'be'
or sometimes 'get',
used to
is one of a few verbs in English which have the structure:
be
+ past participle +
to
+ -ing.
It is used to refer to habitual and
customary action that someone does regularly so is or will become
familiar.
| I am
used
to jogging
in the morning so it doesn't make me feel tired if I have to
run. |
| Emmy isn't
used to
eating
with chopsticks so she isn't very good at it. |
| I am
used to
living
in a big city. |
| You'll get
used
to working
in a warm climate. |
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|
The
perfect infinitive
The auxiliary verb + perfect infinitive
structure is used in a variety of ways, often in complex clauses such
as conditionals or in combination with past tenses. The main functions
are to express a hypothetical notion in the present or past, logical
certainty or possibility in the present, future outcomes
and future in the past. The structure of the perfect infinitive
is:
auxiliary + have
+ past participle
| auxilary |
example |
function |
| will |
By this time next month we will
have lived
here for 20 years. |
future
outcome |
| would |
We didn't go because by the
time we arrived at the cinema the film would
have started. |
future in the
past |
| would |
If I hadn't been so lazy I would
have got
a higher grade. |
hypothetical
conditional |
| could |
when I was younger I could
have run
up that hill, but I can't now. |
hypothetical
past possibility |
| might / may |
I don't know where they are
- they might have
been delayed
in heavy traffic. (= passive) |
hypothetical
present possibility |
| can't |
You can't
have seen
a wolf in the park - there aren't any wolves running around
loose. |
logical
certainty / impossibility |
| must |
It must
have been
a big dog. |
logical
certainty |
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