VERBS

When you use a verb you are focusing on the action that takes place within a sentence.
Without a verb you do not have a sentence.

STRUCTURE OF VERBS

In the section on tenses you will have observed there are simple and compound tenses (ie
composed of more than one part). In a simple tense you only have the main verb)

For example: in he speaks, speaks is the main verb of to speak

in they arrived, arrived is the main verb of to arrive

In a compound tense you will find, as well as the main verb, an auxiliary (or ‘helping’) verb

For example: He has spoken They are arriving

auxiliary main verb: auxiliary main verb:

verb: present past verb: present gerund of ‘to
tense of ‘to participle of tense of ‘to arrive’
have’ ‘to speak’ be’

Having studied the tenses of English already, can you say which other tenses make use of
the verb ‘to have’?

Answer: the past perfect (or pluperfect)

eg He had refused

auxiliary main verb:

verb: past past
simple of ‘to participle of
have’ ‘to refuse’

NB The past participle occurs only in compound tenses.

There is a third auxiliary verb: the verb ‘to do’ which is used to make questions and
negatives in simple tenses.

eg Does she take sugar? Did I leave my umbrella behind? She doesn’t take sugar

auxiliary main verb: auxiliary main verb: negative main verb:

verb: present infinitive verb: past infinitive auxiliary infinitive
tense of ‘to without ‘to’ simple of ‘to without ‘to’ verb without ‘to’
do’ do’

All three of the above verbs (have, be and do) can also be used as main verbs.

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eg We have had an argument Look what the clown is doing

auxiliary main verb: auxiliary main verb:

verb: past
present verb: present gerund of ‘to
tense of ‘to participle of tense of ‘to do’
have’
‘to have’ be’

eg He is being silly

auxiliary main verb:

verb: present gerund of ‘to
tense of ‘to be’
be’

There are occasions when you may have more than one main verb. This is usually in a
sentence where the passive voice is being used; here the subject of the sentence is not
responsible for the action described by the verb, but instead is on the receiving end of that
action.

eg The boy is being questioned by the policeThe artefacts have been stolen

auxiliary Main Past auxiliary main verb: main verb:

verb verb: participle verb past past
gerund of ‘to participle of participle of
of ‘to be’ question’ ‘to be’ ‘to steal’

SELF-CHECK: VERBS

Identify each of the underlined words saying whether they are main or auxiliary verbs,
giving any extra information necessary, as in the course notes.

1. They are having a party.

2. We sell shrimps.
3. Do you take American Express?
4. We have had the most wonderful time.
5. My application has been rejected.
6. They are being watched by the Secret Service.
7. Have you read that story?
8. They don’t shoot rabbits, do they?

SELF-CHECK: VERBS

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 ANSWERS

1 are: auxiliary, present tense of ‘to be’

having: main verb, gerund of ‘to have’

2 sell: main verb, present tense of to ‘sell’

3 Do: auxiliary, interrogative form, present tense of ‘to do’

take: main verb, infinitive

4 have: auxiliary, present tense of ‘to have’

had: main verb, past participle of ‘to have’

5 has: auxiliary, present tense of ‘to have’

been: main verb, past participle of ‘to be’
rejected: main verb, past participle of ‘to reject’

6 are: auxiliary, present tense of ‘to be’

being: main verb, gerund of ‘to be’
watched: main verb, past participle of ‘to watch’

7 Have: auxiliary, present tense of ‘to have’

read: main verb, past participle of ‘to read’

8 don’t: auxiliary, negative form, present tense of ‘to do’

shoot: main verb, infinitive
do: auxiliary, question tag, present tense of ‘to do’

Modal Auxiliary Verbs

This group of verbs has no infinitive – you cannot say ‘to must’ - and has no ‘s’ on the 3rd
person singular. Questions are constructed by reversing the order of the subject and the
verb, and ‘do’ is not used to form a negative.

By doing the self-check you will be able to see which verbs are modals.

NB Most modal verbs have no past forms, could and would being the exceptions.

eg She must cancel her appointment

would become in the past:

She had to cancel her appointment

‘Must have cancelled’ means something completely different.

I may not visit the museum today (indicating possibility)

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would become in the past:

I wasn’t sure if I was going to visit the museum on that day

I may not visit the museum today (indicating prohibition)

would become in the past:

I was not allowed to visit the museum on that day

SELF-CHECK: MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

Exercise 1(a)

Identify the modal auxiliary verbs from the following:

1. must 8. could
2. should 9. shall
3. would 10. find
4. swim 11. will
5. may 12. can
6. read 13. write
7. ought 14. might

Exercise 1(b)

Which four of the above are not modal verbs? Can you say why?

Exercise 2

Try placing another verb after each of the ten modal auxiliaries you have identified above.
Which modal is the exception to the rule given, and can be followed by ‘to’?

SELF-CHECK: MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

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 ANSWERS

Exercise 1(a)

can must would

could ought should
may will
might shall

Exercise 1(b)

The four that are not modal verbs are: swim, read, find and write.

Why? – You can add ‘s’ to each of these to form the 3rd person singular

eg she swims - but NOT she mights!

You can also say ‘to read’, ‘to write’ etc, but you CANNOT say ‘to could’!

Exercise 2

The answer is ought

eg You ought to see a doctor.

Phrasal Verbs

There are thousands of phrasal verbs in the English language which for foreigners can be
quite difficult to learn and take some time getting used to.
These verbs consist of two or more parts: an ordinary verb (eg put, take, look) and a
small word or particle such as off, down, up, aside etc.

For example: What phrasal verb can you use instead of the underlined word in the
following sentence?

They have postponed the meeting until Friday.

Answer: put off

Some phrasal verbs have more than one particle, eg get on with, go through with,
snap out of

One final point to note about the particle is that it does not always come immediately after
the verb.

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eg Are you going to give back the ladder you borrowed?

I’ll give it back as soon as possible.

If the object is a pronoun, the particle will come after.

SELF-CHECK: PHRASAL VERBS

Exercise 1

Find a phrasal verb from the list on the right for each of the single words on the left.

1 continue a look over

2 reduce (prices) b set off
3 extinguish c look into
4 alight d give back
5 depart e put out
6 return f put down
7 inspect g carry on
8 criticise (someone) h back away
9 investigate (the matter) i get off
10 retreat j bring down

Exercise 2

Think of a synonym in the form of a phrasal verb for each of the following words.
Each phrasal verb will end in one of the particles listed.

1. seek 6. demolish
2. wait 7. ridicule
3. maintain (payments) 8. remove
4. discover 9. withdraw (money)
5. inherit 10. enter

Particles

up down out in off

on into at for

(both lists can be used more than once)

SELF-CHECK: PHRASAL VERBS

ANSWERS

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Exercise 1

1 continue …………………………….g carry on

2 reduce (prices) ……………………..j bring down
3 extinguish…………………………...e put out
4 alight………………………………... I get off
5 depart………………………………..b set off
6 return……………………………….. d give back
7 inspect……………………………… a look over
8 criticise (someone)………………….f put down
9 investigate (the matter)…………….c look into
10 retreat………………………………..h back away

Exercise 2

1 look for 6 knock down

2 hold on 7 laugh at
3 keep up 8 take off
4 find out 9 take out
5 come into 10 go into

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