CHAPTER 2: THE AUXILIARY

AND THE MAIN VERBS

Inglês 2024

1
Cabinda, Faculty of Economy december, 2024
THE AUXILIARY VERBS:
These verbs “help” the main verb, for example, changing
tense, probabilities etc.
There are two types of auxiliary verbs.
Primary auxiliary, Modal auxiliaries/modal verbs´/modals´
PRIMARY AUXILIARY: do, have and be
Do, is used to form the negative and interrogative in the
simple present and simple past and also to emphasize an
affirmation in the two mentioned verb tenses.
One of the most important functions of have and be is that,
together with the main verb, form tenses, such as the present
perfect and present continuous. Be also auxiliary in the
passive voice.
Like this:
Do you enjoy your work? Yes, I do
(do)------- Do you eat meat?(present simple)
Silvia works hard, but I don´t (=I don´t work hard)
I don´t like hot weather, but Silvia does (Silvia likes hot
weather)
(do) --------He didn’t (did not) live in Paris. (simple past)
A: Did you and Chris like the movie?
B: I did, but Chris didn´t. (I liked it, but Chris didn´t like it)
I had a good time. I did too. (= I had a good time too)
(do) ------ I do have to get up early. (present simple)
(have) ----- I have never eaten ostrich meat (present perfect
simple)
(have) ----- I haven´t (=have not) eaten my dinner yet
(present perfect simple)
(be) ----- Are you having dinner at the moment? (present
continuous)
(be) ----- They aren´t (=are not) eating fruit this month.
(present continuous)
 To do
Interrogative Negative
(where, etc) do I, you, we, they go/play (etc.) I, you, we, they don´t (=do not) go/play (etc.)

(where, etc.)does he, she, it go/play etc? He, she, it doesn´t (=does not) go/play (etc.)

To have
Interrogative Negative
(who, etc.) have I, you, we, they seen/met (etc.)? I, you, we, they haven´t (=have not) seen/met
(etc.)
(who, etc.) has he, she, it seen/met (etc.)? He, she, it hasn´t (=has not) seen/met (etc.)
To be
Interrogative Negative
(how, etc.) am I doing/writing (etc.)? I´m (=I am) not doing/writing (etc.)
(how, etc.) are you, we, they doing/writing You, we, they aren´t (=are not) doing/writing
(et)? (etc)
(how, etc.) is he, she, it doing/writing (etc.?) He, she, it isn´t (=is not) doing/writing (etc.)
 Do…?/does…?/did…?
Present simple questions do I/we/you/they
does he/she/it Work/live/go etc…?
Past simple questions Did I/They/he/she etc

Positive Question
They work hard Do they work hard?
You watch television How often do you watch television?
Chris works hard Does Chris work hard?
She gets up early What time does she get up?
They worked hard What did you have for dinner?
She got up early What time did she get up?

Sometimes do is the main verb (do you do/did

he do etc.):
A: What do you usually do at weekends?
B: He works in a bank
AUXILIARIES MODAL
These verbs are used together with other verbs in different
situations, according to what is intended to be expressed.
The main modal auxiliary verbs are: can, could, may, might,
will, would, shall, should, must, ought to, need to, used to
and have to.
Can/could (Past)
can
Physical skill – I can´t lift this piano by myself.
Skill learned – David could speak when he was 3
To have the chance to do something – The new ford can
reach a speed of 110 mph
Permission – can I have a glass of water? Of course you can.
Prohybition - you can´t watch TV until you´ve done your
homework.
Impossibility – He can´t have been to the beach.
Could
In addition to having the same meanings as “can” in the past
tense “could” means:
Possibility (present) – I´m not sure where Madia is; she could
be at work.
Possibility (future) – The world could end tomorrow.
Possibility (pass tense) – She could have lost my phone
number
Note: You cannot use can in these senses.
May
Permission – May I use your bathroom? Certainly you may.
Note: More formal than “can”.
Possibility (present) – I´m not sure what car he has; he may have a Rover.
Possibility (future) – She may decide she doesn´t want to go out with you.
Might
Possibility (present) – that book might be in the attic.
Possibility (future) – I might join the army.
Possibility (past) – he might have decided not to come.
Shall
To offer help – shall I open the door for you?
Suggestion – shall we go to the beach?
Should/ought to
Probability – we should have enough money for the cinema.
Moral obligation – I really should write to my mother more often.
Repentance “regret” – I shouldn´t have said that she was stupid
Criticism – you should have studied harder
Advice – You should buy some new clothes.
Would
Invitation – would you like a cup of tea?
Must
Obligation – you must have a passport if you want to go to Brasil
Note. In the past we use “had to”
Deduction (present) – Look at that house! The owners must be very rich.
Deduction (past) – the murderer must have got in through a window
Have to
Obligation – we had to leave the car and walk to the petrol station.
Absence of obligation – you don´t have to eat the peanut butter if you don´t want to.
Need to
Necessity – there´s nothing in the fridge; I need to go to the shop.
Absence of necessity – you don´t need to shout; I can hear you perfectly well.
Note: The past of the modal could, may, might, should and must is formed as
follows:
Modal + have + past participle
Following any of these verbs, the infinitive of the verb without “to”.
To ask a question or to deny the main verb, the modal verb itself is used.
Eg. Can you come to my party?
You shouldn´t go out without a coat.
Would you like a cup of coffee?
Eg.Do you need to go to the bank?
Where did you use to study?
Why do I have to go to bed early, Mum?
MAIN VERBS
These are verbs such as “to pay” to eat, to wash, to live, etc. describes
actions or two kind of main verbs:
Regular
Irregular
These regular verbs obey a simple rule in the formation of past and past
participle: To the infinitive verb joins – ed
Eg. To play, played (simple past), played (past participle)
a)If infinitive is ended by –e, we add only –d
Eg.To live/lived/lived
a)If the infinitive of the verb ends up in the consonant (depending on) plus
“Y” and add ied
EG.To study/studied/
a) With monosyllabic verbs (with a single syllable), with brief vowel followed by a
consonant, it is necessary to repeat the last depending on before the “-ed”suffix
Eg.To stop/stopped
b) With verbs of more than two syllables, it usually does not repeat it self if the
accent is not in the last syllables.
Eg. To develop/developed/developed
Note: If accentuation falls in the last syllable is necessary to repeat the final
consoant, before “-ed”.
Eg. Refer/referred
1. Irregular verbs
These verbs have a form in the past and the past participle that does not obey the
rules of regular verbs.
Eg.To go/went/gone
To sing/sang/sung
To eat/ate/eaten
You can use these verbs in the same way:
Am/is/are/was/were
have/has
do/does/did
can
will
might
should
I haven´t seen the movie, but my sister has.(=my sister has
seen the movie)
A: Please help me
B: I´m sorry. I can´t (=I can´t help you)
A: Are you tired?
B: I was, but I´m not now (=I was tired, but I´m not tired
now)
A: Do you think Jane will call tonight?
B: She might (=she might call)
A: Are you going to study tonight?
B: I should, but I probably won´t (=I should study, but I
probably won´t study).
You cannot use ´m/´s/´ve, etc.(short forms) in this way. You
must use am/is/have etc.
She isn´t tired, but he is (not…but he´s)
But you can use isn´t/haven´t/won´t etc. (negative short forms):
My sister has seen the movie, but I haven´t
Are you and Jane working tomorrow? I am, but Jane isn´t
You can use I am/I´m not etc. after Yes and No:
Are you tired? Yes, I am. /No I´m not.
Will Bill be here tomorrow? Yes, he will / No, he won´t.
Is there a bus to the airport? Yes, there is./ No, there isn´t.
We use do, does for the simple present
I don´t like hot weather, but Isabel does. (=Isabel likes hot weather)
Isabel works hard, but I don´t (=I don´t work hard)
Do you enjoy your work? Yes, I do
We use did for the simple past
A: Did you and Belmo like the movie?
B: I did, but Belmo didn´t (=I like it, but Belmo didn´t like it)
I had a good time. “I did, too”(=I had a good time, too)
Did it rain yesterday? No, it didn´t
Exercises
Complete these sentences. Use only one verb (is/have/can etc.) each
time.
1.César wasn´t hungry, but we were
2. I´m not married, but my brother______________________
3.Jonatha can´t help you, but I ____________________________
4.I haven´t read the book, but Tom_____________________
5.José won´t be here, but Teresa______________________
6.You weren´t late, but I______________________________
Complete these sentences with a negative verb (isn´t/haven´t/can´t, etc.)
My sister can play the piano, but I can´t
Sam is working today, but I_________________________
I was working, but my friends_______________________
Mark has been to China, but I _______________________
I´m ready to go, but Tom___________________________
I´ve seen the movie, but Kim________________________
Complete these sentences with do/does/did or don´t / does´t /
didin´t
1.I don´t like hot weather, but Octávio does
2.Octávio likes hot weather, but I don´t
3.My mother wears glasses, but my father__________________
4.You don´t know Paul very well, but I_____________________
5.I didn´t enjoy the party, but my friends___________________
Complete these sentences. Write about yourself and other people
I didn´t go out last night, but my friends did
I like__________________________, but________________
I don´t _____________________, but__________________
I´m _______________________________
I haven´t __________________________________
Put in a verb, positive or negative
Are you tired? I was earlier, but I´m not now
Steve is happy today, but he_________________ yesterday
The stores aren´t open yet, but the post office_____________
I don´t have a telescope, but I know somebody who_________
I would like to help you, but I´m sorry I _________________
I don´t usually drive to work, but I_______________ yesterday
Answer these questions about yourself. Use yes, I have/No, I´m not
etc.
1.Are you Brasialian? No, I´m not
2.Do you have a car?_______________
3.Do you feel ok? ________________________
4.Is it snowing? ________________________
5.Are you hungry? ______________________
6.Do you like classical musical? _________________
7.Will you be in Boston tomorrow? ________________
8.Have you ever broken your arm? ________________
9.Did you buy anything yesterday? __________________

10.Were you asleep at 3:00 am