English Grammar

Auxiliary verbs

What are auxiliary verbs?

1. Auxiliary verbs (sometimes known as helping verbs) are

verbs that are used to assist the verb.

2. Auxiliary verbs can not be used without a main verb.

3. Auxiliary verbs can not be used with modal verbs.

4. Auxiliary verbs are used to make sentences negative.

5. Auxiliary verbs are used to ask questions.

6. Auxiliary verbs are used in the sentence structure of the

verb sentence.1. The 3 most common auxiliary verbs are:

Do - Does - Did

Do is used with the present simple tense. Do-Does are

used as part of the sentence structure for negative

statements/sentences with the present simple tense

Do- Does are used as part of the sentence structure for

questions, with the present simple tense.

Did is used with the past simple tense.

Did is used as part of the sentence structure for negative

statements/sentences with the past simple tense

Did is used as part of the sentence structure for

questions, with the past simple tense.

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Be - Am - Is - Are -Was - Were

Have - Has -Had

DO', 'BE' and 'HAVE' are the English auxiliary verbs used in a

negative structure, a question or to show tense.

DESCRIPTIONS OF ENGLISH AUXILIARY VERBS:

1. 'DO', 'DON'T', 'DOES' and 'DOESN'T' are used for questions

and negatives in the Present Simple Tense, and 'DID' and

'DIDN'T' are used in the Past Simple Tense.

2. 'BE' is used with the Present Participle in Continuous

(Progressive) Verbs. It is also used with the Past Participle in

the Passive.

3. 'HAVE' is used with the Past Participle to form the Perfect

Aspect.

Verb tense group

What is a verb tense group?

A verb tense group consists of a main verb tense and

anauxiliary verb or a verb.

Any combination on of verbs can be used to create a verb

tense group.

Verb groups are needed in certain kinds of sentence

structures according to the type of verb.

Examples:

I am going to the store.

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The teachers have been teaching for many years.

The have sung for a long time.

Modal Verbs

Eveyone can understand Modal Verbs!

What are model verbs?

Model verbs are also called auxiliary verbs, helping verbs and

model auxiliaries.

Model verbs are not complete verbs, and they can only be

used with a verb.

The usage of model verbs:

Model verbs stay in the base form - bare infinitive - the bare

infinitive is the infinitive without "to" before the verb.

The following model verbs are used to with the present tense:

can, will, shall, ought to, must, need, may

The following model verbs are used in the past tense:

would, should, could, might

Model verbs are used to answer questions in the short form

yes, I do.

yes, we can.

No, I don't.

Model verbs can be used as part of the grammar structure of

the sentence, such as when used with the perfect tenses.

When are model verbs used:

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Prediction - Will and Shall

Will and shall can be used to state predict that an event or an

action will take place or will occur The model verbs can used

to make a prediction about an event or action about the

future.

I think we will be able to go and see the move

tonight.

My mother thinks we will not get home be it starts

to rain.

Requests - Offers - Suggestions - Can - Could - May -

Shall

To make requests, offers or suggestions can be stated with

the model verbs

Permission - Can - Could - May - Might

Can, could, may and might are model verbs that can be used

to give permission or deny permission to do something or to

someone.

Can I help you cook dinner?

You may not watch T. V. after dinner.

Certainty - Possibility - Can - Might - may- Could - Shall

-Can, might

- and could are model verbs that can be used to state

certainty and possibility.

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Do you think it might rain tomorrow night?

I might be home before midnight.

You can come over tonight if you would like to.

Ability - Inability - Can - Could - Able to

My father hopes that we will be able to go to the moves.

I can not go to Europe with you.

The main verb tense

What is a Main Verb Tense?

The main verb tense states the action of the subject. The

main verb can be the only verb in the sentence, but the main

verb can also be used with an auxiliary verb or a verb.

The auxiliary verb and the modal verb must be used with a

main verb tense.

The main verb tense is:

The main verb tense can be in its infinitive/basic form (simple

past/v2), past participle/v3.

The main verb tense states what the action of the subject.

-ed -ing -s -es are some common endings that can be added

to the main verb according to the tense.

It is common that the main verb doesn't change form,

because the auxiliary words change form.

When using the continuous tense and the perfect verb

tense auxiliary verb(s) are used with the main verb tense.

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When an auxiliary verb is used the main verb doesn't change

form according to the subject.

The main verb tense can change form when an auxiliary

verb is used to according to the verb form.

Examples:

The cat eats fish.

The cats eat the fish

The cat has eaten the fish.

The cat ate the fish.

The cat has been eating the fish.

Tense & Time

It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk abouttime.

For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:

I hope it rains tomorrow."rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)

Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:

If I had some money now, I could buy it."had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)

The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different times.

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Basic Tenses

For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary verbs). To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using modal auxiliary verbs will/shall). This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice. So now we have 24 tenses.

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24 Tenses past present future*

ACTIVE simple tenses

past present future

complex tensesformed withauxiliary verbs

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect continuous

present perfect continuous

future perfect continuous

PASSIVE past present future

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect continuous

present perfect continuous

future perfect continuous

 

Some grammar books use the wordprogressive instead of continuous. They are exactly the same.

The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

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An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification.) The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.

structure past present future*

auxiliary main verb

simple normal     I worked

I work I will work

intensive do base I did work

I do work

 

perfect have past participle

I had worked

I have worked

I will have worked

continuous be present participle -ing

I was working

I am working

I will be working

continuous perfect

have been

present participle -ing

I had been working

I have been working

I will have been working

* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.

Basic Tenses: Regular Verb

This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work. It includes the affirmative or positive form

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(+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).

The basic structure is: 

positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verbnegative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main

verbquestion: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:

base verb

past past participle

present participle -ing

work worked worked working

See the regular verb list

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Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb

Irregular verbs list

This page shows the basic tenses with the irregular verb sing. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).

The basic structure is:

positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb

question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:

base verb past past participle present participle -ing

sing sang sung singing

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The basic structure of tenses for regular verbs and irregular verbs is exactly the same (except to be). The only difference is that with regular verbs the past and past participle are always the same (worked, worked), while with irregular verbs the past and past participle are not always the same (sang, sung). But the structure is the same! It will help you a great deal to really understand that.

Basic Tenses: Be

This page shows the basic tenses with the verb be. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).

The basic structure is:

positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main

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verbnegative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not +

main verbquestion: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main

verb

But for simple past and simple present tenses, the structure is not the same. In fact, it's even easier. There is no auxiliary verb. Here is the structure:

positive: + subject + main verbnegative: - subject + main verb + notquestion: ? main verb + subject

These are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses:

base past simple

past participle

present participle

present simple

be was, were

been being am, are, is

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In the following table, we see be conjugated for 12 basic tenses.

past present future

I was I am I will be

I was not I am not I will not be

Was I? Am I? Will I be?

I had been I have been I will have been

I had not been I have not been I will not have been

Had I been? Have I been? Will I have been?

I was being I am being I will be being

I was not being I am not being I will not be being

Was I being? Am I being? Will I be being?

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I had beenbeing I have beenbeing I will have beenbeing

I had not beenbeing

I have not beenbeing

I will not have beenbeing

Had I beenbeing? Have I beenbeing? Will I have beenbeing?

In the following table, we see be conjugated for 12 basic tenses.

SIMPLE past present future

singular I was am will be

you were are will be

he/she/it was is will be

plural we were are will be

you were are will be

they were are will be

PERFECT past present future

singular I had been

have been will have been

you had been

have been will have been

he/she/it had been

has been will have been

plural we had been

have been will have been

you had have been will have

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been been

they had been

have been will have been

CONTINUOUS past present future

singular I was being

am being will be being

you were being

are being will be being

he/she/it was being

is being will be being

plural we were being

are being will be being

you were being

are being will be being

they were being

are being will be being

CONTINUOUS PERFECT

past present future

singular I had been being

have been being

will have been being

you had been being

have been being

will have been being

he/she/it had been being

has been being

will have been being

plural we had been

have been being

will have been being

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being

you had been being

have been being

will have been being

they had been being

have been being

will have been being

Simple Present Tense

Grammar rules for the present simple tense:

In positive sentences the  auxiliary verb  is not used.

In positive sentence the main verb changes form according to

the subject.

In negative statements the auxiliary verb "do-does" is added

after the subject.

In negative statements and questions the main verb stays in its

base form.

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb    do   base

There are three important exceptions:

1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.

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2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.

3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

  subject auxiliary verb

  main verb

 

+ I, you, we, they

  like coffee.

He, she, it   likes coffee.

- I, you, we, they

do not like coffee.

He, she, it does not like coffee.

? Do I, you, we, they

  like coffee?

Does he, she, it   like coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

  subject main verb    

+ I am   French.

You, we, they are   French.

He, she, it is   French.

- I am not old.

You, we, they are not old.

He, she, it is not old.

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? Am I   late?

Are you, we, they   late?

Is he, she, it   late?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

the action is general the action happens all the time, or habitually, in

the past, present and future the action is not only happening now the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.

past present future

It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

I live in New York. The Moon goes round the Earth. John drives a taxi. He does not drive a bus. We do not work at night. Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the

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simple present tense - some of them are general, some of them arenow:

Am I right?Tara is not at home.

You are happy.

past present future

The situation is now.

 

I am not fat.Why are you so beautiful?

Ram is tall.

past present future

The situation is general. Past, present and future.

 

Present Simple Tense with the verb “To be”

What is the structure of the present simple tense with the verb

"to be"?

Subject +Auxiliary

Verb+ Main Verb --

-- do - doesVerb in the base form

(-s/-es

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Grammar rules for the present simple tense with the verb "to

be":

The verb "to be"   is the main verb used in the sentence.

When the verb "to be" is used as the main verb, no auxiliary

verb is used.

The main verb "to be" changes forms according to the subject.

In order to form negative statements "not" is added between the

the verb "to be" and the main verb.

How is the present simple tense used?

The present simple is the tense used to describe actions that

are timeless. If the time of the action can be defined, then the

present simple tense is used. The time and/or place is stated

or understood. 

The Present Simple Tense is used in the following situations:

permanent actions -

actions that happen on a regular basis

facts

statements that are always true

to state existence

to state feeling

static verbs

general actions

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