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Helping verbs
1- Auxiliaries:
1-1 To be
1-1-1 The Present
POSITIVE:
I am = I'm
He/She/It is = He/She/It 's
We/You/They / are = We/You/They/ 're
He/She/It 's no
NEGATIVE:
I am not = I'm not
He/She/It is not = He/She/It isn’t
We/You/They / are not
We/You/They / ‘re not = We/You/They aren't
QUESTION:
Am I?
Is He/She/It?
Are We/You/They?
The use of apostrophe is called Contraction:
We can contract auxiliaries with pronouns and adverbs:
You're right. Everything's going okay.
That is: That's. There is. There’s. Who is? Who’s? What is? What’s?
Where is? Where's ?. How is? How’s?
1-1-2 The past:
POSITIVE:
I/He/She/It was
We/You/They / were
NEGATIVE:
I/He/She/It was not = I/He/She/It wasn’t
We/You/They / were not
QUESTION:
Was I/He/She/It?
Were We/You/They?
1-1- 3 There + (verb to be)
POSITIVE:
There is = there's
There are
There was
There were
There has been
There have been
There will be
NEGATIVE:
There is not = there isn't = There’s not
There are not = There aren't
There was not = There wasn't
There weren't
There hasn't been
There haven't been
There won't be
QUESTION:
is there ...?
Are there .... ?
was there...?
were there...?
Has been there ...?
Have been there ... ?
Will be there...?
Example:
Was there an earthquake yesterday?
- Yes! There have been lots of damages!
Maybe, there will be another tomorrow!
1-2 To have
1-2-1 The Present
POSITIVE:
I/We/You/ They / have = I/We/You/ They/ 've
He/She/ It has = He/She/It's
NEGATIVE:
I/We/You/They/ do not have = I/We/You/They / don’t have
He/She/It does not have = He/She/It doesn't have
QUESTION:
Do I/ We/You/They have?
Does He/She/It have?
Note: Do not use have not (or haven’t) for negative sentence or
have you … ? For a question. They are related to the present
perfect and the present perfect progressive.
Where have you been?
I haven’t seen him for ages.
Has he been living there?
1-2-2 The simple past:
POSITIVE :
I/He/She/It /We/You/They Had
NEGATIVE :
I/He/She/It/We/You/They did not have ( or Didn’t have)
QUESTION:
Did I/He/She/It/We/You/They have?
Note: Do not use had not (or hadn’t) for negative sentence or had you … ? For the
question. They are related to the past perfect and the past perfect progressive.
In the present and the simple past, to have is a verb.
2- Modals:
2-1 Can (present):
Could (past & future)
POSITIVE :
I/He/She/It/ We/You/They Can/Could + Base form
NEGATIVE:
I/He/She/It/ We/You/They / cannot (can’t) could not (couldn’t)+ base form
QUESTION:
can/could I/He/She/It / We/You/They + base form?
Can = know how to do, It's possible to do it. Could is the past of can
and couldn't (could not) the past of can't. (Could is used also for the future)
We use:
Can I ...? When we ask if it is ok to do something.
Can I have ...? To ask for something.
Can you ...? Or could you ...? When we ask people to do something
2-2 May and Might
May / might: Perhaps ...
Will … : It's possible that something will happen.
Examples:
-------
I am going to buy this book (sure).
I may buy this book (possible, maybe)
POSITIVE:
I/He/She/It/ We/You/They May/might + Base form
NEGATIVE:
I/He/She/It/ We/You/They may not+ base form
QUESTION:
May I/He/She/It/We/They + base form?
May I = can I = is it ok to do something?
2-3 Have to / Must
Have to = It's necessary, obliged to do something.
I'll be late for class tomorrow. I have to go to school.
2.3.1.Present:
POSITIVE:
I/We/You/They have to + base form
He/She/It has to + base form
NEGATIVE:
He/She/It doesn’t have to+ base form
I/We/You/They don't have to + base form
QUESTION :
does He/She/It/ have to + base form?
Do We/You/They have to + base form?
2.3.2.Past:
POSITIVE:
He/She/It/ I/We/You/They had to + Base form?
NEGATIVE:
He/She/It/ I/We/You/They didn’t have to + Base form
QUESTION:
did /I/We/You/TheyHe/She/It/ have to + base form?
Have to do something = must to do it = It's necessary to do it.
Especially In spoken English, have to is more often used than must.
I don't have to wait it. May I wait for him?
2-4 Should = ought to
POSITIVE:
I/He/She/It/ We/You/They Should + Base form
NEGATIVE:
I/He/She/It/ We/You/They should not (shouldn’t)+ base form
QUESTION:
Should I/He/She/It/We/You/They + base form?
Examples:
What should I do now?
You shouldn't listen to him so much.
Do you think I should go there? - No I think you shouldn't.
I ought to think very carefully about that.
(Someone) should do something = It is a good thing to do = The right thing to do.
We often use should with think.
Ought to (with to) = should
2-5 Would
2-5-1 Would like:
Would you like ... = Do you want.
We use:
- Would you like...? To offer
- Would you like to ...? To invite someone.
I'd like is a polite way of saying " I want "
Would you like some coffee? (An offer, now)
Do you like coffee? (Do you enjoy drinking coffee?) (En general)
2-5-2 Would rather
POSITIVE:
I/He/She/It/We/You/TheyWould ('d ) rather + Base form
NEGATIVE:
I/He/She/It/We/You/They would rather not (’d rather not)+ base form
QUESTION :
Would I/He/She/It/We/You/They rather + base form?
I would rather stay home, I'm exhausted.
What would you rather do after her call?
I 'd rather keep this car than buy another one.
I'd rather = I would rather = I'd prefer.
We say:
I would rather do, NOT I would rather to do.
But:
I prefer to do something.
We can say: I 'd rather.... than...
2-5-3 Used to
We use this expression only in the past. Used is the paste simple of to use.
He used to write letters, but right now he uses e-mails.
We use this expression for:
- An activity that we did regularly in the past (like a habit), or
- A situation that was true in the past.
But it is usually not true now.
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