be as an auxiliary verb
. 13 Form and use in the formation of tenses
A Form
Principal parts: be, was, been Gerund/present participle: being
Present tense:
11 be, have, do B Use to form tenses
be is used in continuous active forms: He is working/will be working
etc., and in all passive forms: He was followed/is being followed.
Note that be can be used in the continuous forms in the passive:
Active: They are carrying him.
Passive: He is being carried.
(For be used in the continuous with adjectives, see 115 B.)
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I am/I’m
I am not/I’m not
ami?
you an/you ’re
you are not/you ’re not
are you?
ke is/he’s
he is not/he’s not
is he? |
she is/she ’s
she is not/she’s not
is she? • -^jM
it is At’s
it is not/it’s not
we art/’u>t ’re
we are not/we ’re not
you are/you ’re
you are not/you ’re not
they are/they’re
they are not/they’re not
Tl
Alternative negative contractions: you aren’t, he isn’t etc. Negative interrogative: am I not/aren ’t I? are you not/arm’t you? is he not/isn ’t he? etc.
Past tense:
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I was
I was not/wasn ’t
mas I?
you were
you were not/weren ’I
were you?
he/shf/it was
he/she/it was not/wasn ’t
was he/she/it?
we were
we were not/weren’t
were we?
you were
you were not/weren’t
wen you?
they were
they were not/weren’t
were they?
Negative interrogative: was I not/wasn’t I? were you not/weren’t you? was he not/wasn’t he? etc.
The forms are the same when be is used as an ordinary verb. Other tenses follow the rules for ordinary verbs. But be is not normaily used in the continuous form except in the passive and as shown in 115 B.
114
A
1
l be + infinitive
\ The be + infinitive construction, e.g. I am to go, is extremely important
and can be used in the following ways: L To convey orders or instructions:
No one is to leave this building without the permission of the police. (no one must leave)
He L to stay here till we return, (he must stay) This is a rather impersonal way of giving instructions and is chiefly used with the third person. When used with you it often implies that the speaker is passing on instructions issued by someone else. The difference between (a) Stay here, Tom and (b) You are to stay here, Tom is that in (a) the speaker himself is ordering Tom to stay, while in (b) he may be merely conveying to Tom the wishes of another person. This distinction disappears of course in indirect speech, and the be + infinitive construction is an extremely useful way of expressing indirect commands, particularly when the introductory verb is in the present tense:
He says, ’Wait till I come.’ « He says that we are to wait till he tomes. or when there is a clause in front of the imperative: He said, ’If I fall asleep at the wheel wake me up.’ = He said that if he fell asleep at the wheel she was to wake him up. It is also used in reporting requests for instructions: Where shall I put it. sir?’ he asked He asked where he was to put it. (See also 318 B.) To convey a plan:
She is to be married next month. The expedition is to start in a week’s time. This construction is very much used in newspapers:
The Prime Minister is to make a statement tomorrow. In headlines the verb be is often omifted to save space:
Prime Minister to make statement tomorrow. Past forms:
He was toga, (present infinitive)
He was to hoot gone, (perfect infinitive}
116
117
1 be, have, do
*he first of these doesn’t tell us whether the plan was carried out or
tot. The second is used for an unfulfilled plan, i.e. one which was not
:arried out:
The Lord Mayor was to have laid the foundation stone but he was
taken ill last night so the Lady Mayoress is doing it instead. was/were + infinitive can express an idea of destiny.
He received a blow on the head. It didn’t worry him at the time but it was to be very troublesome later, (turned out to be/proved
troublesome)
They said goodbye, little knowing that they wen never to meet again.
(were destined never to meet) be about + infinitive expresses the immediate future:
They are about to start. (They are just going to start/They are on
the point of starting.)
just can be added to make the future even more immediate: They are just about to leave.
Similarly in the past:
He was just about to dive when he saw the shark. be on the point of + gerund has the same meaning as be about + infinitive, but is a shade more immediate.
be as an ordinary verb
Form: as for be used as an auxiliary (see 113 A).
B
be to denote existence, be •* adjective
be is the verb normally used to denote the existence of, or to give
information about, a person or thing:
Tom is a carpenter. The dog is in the garden. I
Malta is an island. The roads were rough and narrow. |UJ
Gold is a metal. Peter was tall and fair. ^^1
be is used to express physical or mental condition: ill
/ am hot/cold. He was excited/calm. ^^
Tkey will be happy/unhappy. \
With certain adjectives, e.g. quiet/noisy, goodJbad, wise/foolish, it is possible to use the continuous form of be, e.g. Tom is being foolish, to imply that the subject is showing this quality at this time. Compare Tom is being foolish, which means Tom is talking or acting foolishly now, with Tom is foolish, which means that Tom always acts or talks foolishly. Similarly, The children are being quiet means they are playing quietly now, but The children are quiet might mean that they usually l>Uy ’iiiiclly
11 be, have, do
Other adjectives include:
annoying
cautious/rash
clever/stupid
difficult
economical/extravagant
formal
funny
annoying generous/mean
cautious/rash helpful/unhelpful
clever/stupid irritating –
difficult mysterious
economical/extravagant optimistic/pessimistic
formal polite
funny selfish/unselfish
With some of these, e.g. stupid, difficult, funny, polite, the continuous form may imply that the subject is deliberately acting in this way:
You are being stupid may mean You are not trying to understand.
He is being difficult usually means He is raising unnecessary
objections.
He is being funny usually means He is only joking. Don’t
believe him.
She is just being polite probably means She is only pretending to
admire your car/clothes/house etc.
C be is used for age:
How old are you? – I’m ten/I am ten years old. (not I’m ten years) How old is the tower? ~ It is 400 years old. (years old must be used when giving the age of things.)
D Size and weight are expressed by be:
How tall are you?/What is your height? – I am 1’65 metres. How high are we now? ~ We ’re about 20,000 feet. What is your weight? or What do you weigh/How much do you weigh? ~ I am 65 kilos or / weigh 65 kilos.
E be is used for prices:
How much is this melon? or What does this melon cost? – It’s £1. The best seats are (= cost) £25.
116 there is/are, there was/were etc.
A When a noun representing an indefinite person or thing is the subject of the verb be we normally use a there + be + noun construction. We can say A policeman is at the door but There is a policeman at the door would be more usual.
Note that, though there appears to be the subject, the real subject is Che noun that follows the verb, and if this noun is plural the verb must oe plural too:
There are two policemen at the door.
In the above sentences both constructions (noun + be and there + be + noun) are possible. But when be is used to mean exist/happen/ take place the there construction is necessary:
There is a mistake/There are mistakes in this translation. Thett ttntence* could not be rewritten A mittakt is/MutaJu$ art etc.
119
1I”
B
11 be, have, do
In the following examples (R) is placed after the example when the there construction is replaceable by noun/pronoun + verb:
There have been several break-ins this year.
There will be plenty of room for everyone.
There were hundreds of people on the beach. (R)
B there can be used similarly with someone/anyone/no one/something etc.: There’s someone on the phone for you. (R)
C there + be + something/nothing/anything + adjective is also ( possible:
Is then anything wrong (with your oar)? (R) No, there’s nothing wrong with it. (R) There’s something odd/strange about this letter.
0 A noun or someone/something etc. could be followed by a relative clause:
There’s a film I want to see. There’s something I must say. or by an infinitive:
There’s nothing to do. (nothing that we can do/must do; see 250)
E The there construction can be used with another auxiliary + be:
There must be no doubt about this. There may be a letter for me. or with seem + be, appear + be:
There seems to be something wrong here.
F there used as above is always unstressed.
Be careful not to confuse there used in this way with there, stressed, used as an adverb:
’There’s a man I want to see. (He is standing by the door.) Compare with:
There’s a man I want to see. (This man exists.)
it is and there is compared .
For uses of it is, see 67.
Some examples may help to prevent confusion between the two forms:
it is + adjective; there is + noun:
It is foggy or There is a fog.
It was very wet or There was a lot of rain.
It won’t be very sunny or There won’t be much sun. it is, there is of distance and time:
It is a long way to York.
Then is a long way still to go. We have many ndes sol to go.)
It is time to go home. (We always start home at six and it is six now.)
There is time for us logo home and come back here again before the
film starts. (That amount of time exists.)
it is, used for identity, and there is + noun/pronoun:
There is someone at the door. I think it’s the man to nod the meters There’s a key here, hit the key of the safe?
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118
A
11 be. km. do
it is, used in deft sentences (see 67 D). and ther* ?*:
It is the grandmother who makes the decisions, (the grandmother, not any other member of the family) . . . and there’s the grandmother, who Hoes in At granny-flat. (the grandmother exists)
have as an auxiliary verb
Form and use in the formation of tenses Form
Principal parts: have, had, had Gerund/present participle: having
Present tense:
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Ihave/I’ve
I have not/haven ’I
have I?
you have/you ’vt
you have not/haven’t
have you?
he has/he’s
he has not/hasn ’t
has he?
she has/she’s.
she has not/hosn ’t
has she?
it hoi/it’s
it has not/hasn’;
has it?
we have/we’ve
we have notfatvtn 7
Have we?
you have/you’ve
you have not/haven’t
have you?
they have/they’ve
they have not/haven’t
have they?
Alternative negative contractions (chiefly used in perfect tenses): I’ve not. you ’vt not, he’s not etc.
Negative interrogative: have I not/haven’t I? have you tut/haven’t you? kas he not/hasn’t he? etc.
Past tense:
Affirmative: had/’d for all persons
Negative: had not/hadn’t for all persons
Interrogative: had I? etc. •
Negative interrogative: had I not/hadn’t I? etc.
Other tenses follow the rules for ordinary verbs.
B Use to form tenses
have is used with the past participle to form the following tenses:
Present perfect: / have worked.
Past perfect: / had worked.
Future perfect: / will/shall have worked.
Perfect conditional: / would/should have worked.
121
11 be, have, do
119 have + object + past participle
A This construction can be used to express more neatly sentences of the type ’I employed someone to do something for me’; i.e. instead of |j saying / employed someone to clean my car we can say I had my car I cleaned, and instead of I got a man to sweep my chimneys (’got’ here * I paid/persuaded etc.), we can say / had my chimneys swept. I
Note that this order of words, i.e. have + object + past participle, ! must be observed as otherwise tiie meaning will be changed: He had his hair cut means he employed someone to do it, but He had cut his hair means that he cut it himself some time before the time of speaking (past perfect tense).
When have is used in this way the negative and interrogative of its I present and past tenses are formed with do: I
Do you have your windows cleaned every month? ~ I don’t have I
them cleaned; I clean them myself. I
He was talking about having central heating put in. Did he have it
put in in the end? It can also be used in continuous tenses:
/ can’t ask you to dinner this week as I am having my house painted
at the moment.
While I was having my hair done the police towed away my car.
The house is too small and he is having a room built on. get can be used in the same way as have above but is more colloquial. get is also used when we mention the person who performs the action:
She got him to dig away the snow. (She paid/persuaded him
to dig etc.)
(have with a bare infinitive can be used in the same way, e.g. She had him dig away the snow, but the get construction is much more usual in British English.)
B The have + object + past participle construction can also be used colloquially to replace a passive verb, usually one concerning some accident or misfortune:
His fruit was stolen before he had a chance to pick it
can be replaced by
He had his fruit stolen before he had a chance to pick it, and
Two of his teeth were knocked out in the fight can be replaced by
He had two of his teeth knocked out.
It will be seen that, whereas in A above the subject is the person who orders the thing to be done, here the subject is the person who suffers as a result of the action. The subject could be a thing:
The houses had their roofs ripped off by the gale. get can also replace have here:
The cat got her tail singed through sitting too near the fire. (The
cat’s tail was singed etc.)
11 be. have, do
120 had better + bare mfinitivr
had here is an unreal past; the meaning i» present or future:
/had/I’d better ring kirn at onceJtomorrow. (This would be a good
thing to do/the best thing to do.) The negative is formed with not after betten
You had better not miss the last bus. (It would be unwise to miss it,
or I advise/warn you not to miss it.)
had here is usually contracted after pronouns and in speech is sometimes so unstressed as to be almost inaudible. had better is not normally used in the ordinary) interrogative, but is sometimes used in the negative interrogative as an advice form:
Hadn ’t you better ask him first? –
Wouldn’t it be a good thing to ask him first? you had better is a very useful advice form:
You had better fly. (It would be best for you to fly, or I advise
you to fly.)
In indirect speech had better with the first or third person remains unchanged; had better with the second person can remain unchanged or be reported by advise + object + infinitive:
He said, Td better hurry’ =
He said (that) he ’d better hurry.
He said, ’Ann had better hurry’ –
He said (that) Ann had better hurry.
He said, ’You’d better hurry’ =
He said (that) I’d better hurry or
He advised me to hurry.
121 have + object + present participle
A This expression is often used with a period of future time:
/’// have you driving in three days. (As a result of my efforts, you will be driving in three days.)
It can also be used in the past or present:
He had them all dancing. (He taught/persuaded them all to dance.) I have them all talking to each other. (I encourage/persuade them all to talk to each other.)
It can be used in the interrogative:
Will you really have her driving in three days?
but a not often u&ed in the negative
B //you give all-night parties you ’U have the neighbours compiaixtng.
(The neighbours will complain/will be complaining.) If film-stars put their numbers in telephone boohs they’d have everyone ringing them up. (Everyone would ring/would be ringing them up.)
you’ll have in the first example conveys the idea ’this will happen to you’. Similarly they’d have in the second example conveys the idea ’this would happen to them’.
1
122
123
11 be, have, do
If you don’t put a fence round your garden you ’II have people walking
in and stealing your fruit. (People wifl walk in and steal/will be
walking in and stealing it, i.e. this will happen to you.) The construction can he used in the interrogative and negative:
When they move that bus stop, you won’t have People sitting on your
steps waiting for the bus any more.
This structure is chiefly used for actions which would be displeasing to the subject of have, as in the above example, but it can be used for an action which is not displeasing:
When he became famous, he had people stopping him in the street and
asking for his autograph =
When he became famous, people stopped him in the street and asked
for his autograph.
But I won’t have + object + present participle normally means ’I won’t/don’t allow this’:
/ won’t have him sitting doom to dinner in his overalls. I make him
change them. (I won’t/don’t allow him to sit down etc.) This use is restricted to the first person. (For have used for obligation, see chapter 14.)
have as an ordinary verb
have meaning ’possess’
This is the basic meaning of have:
He has a black beard. . I have had this car for ten years. She will have £4,000 a year when she retires.
D
B Form
Affimiative Negative
Interrogative
Present
have (got) or
haven’t (got) or
have I (got)? etc. or
have
don’t have
do you have? etc.
Past
had
hadn ’t (got) or
had you (got)? etc. or
dtdn ’t have
did you have? etc.
Note that the negative and interrogative can be formed in two ways.
have is conjugated with do for habitual actions:
Do you have earthquakes in your country? – Yes, but we don’t hate
them very often.
When there is not this idea of habit, the have not <got)/have you (got) forms are more usual in Britain, whereas other English-speaking countries (notably America) use the do forms here also. An American might say:
Can you help me now? Do you have time?
11 be, have, do
where an Englishman would probably say:
Can you help me now? Have you got time?
do forms can therefore be used safely throughout, but students living in Britain should practise the other forms as well.
got can be added to have/have not/have you etc. as shown above. It makes no difference to the sense so it is entirely optional, but it is quite a common addition, got, however, is not added in short answers or question tags:
Have you got an ice-axe? – Yes, I have.
She’s got a met voice, hasn ’t she? have (affirmative) followed by got is usually contracted:
I’ve got my ticket. He’s got a flat in Pimlico. The stress falls on got. The Ve or ’• is often barely audible, have (affirmative) without got is often not contracted. The have or has must then be audible.
123 have meaning ’take’ (a meal), ’give’ (a party) etc.
A have can also be used to mean:
’take* (a meal/food or drink, a bath/a lesson etc.)
’give’ (a party), ’entertain’ (guests)
’encounter’ (difficulties/trouble)
’experience’, ’enjoy’, usually with an adjective, e.g. good.
We have lunch at one.
They are having a party tomorrow.
Did you have trouble with Customs?
I hope you’ll have a good holiday.
B have when used as above obeys the rules for ordinary verbs:
It is never followed by got.
Its negative and interrogative are made with do/did.
It can be used in the continuous tenses.
We an having breakfast early tomorrow, (near future)
She is having twenty people to dinner next Monday, (near future)
/ can’t answer the telephone; I am having a bath, (present)
How many English lessons do you have a week? ~ I have sis.
You have coffee at eleven, don 7 you? (habit)
Ann has breakfast in bed, but Mary doesn ’t. (habit)
Will you have some tea/coffee etc.? (This is an invitation. We can
also omit Will you and say Have some tea etc.)
Did you have a good time at the theatre? (Did you enjoy yourself?)
Have a good time! (Enjoy yourself!)
/ am having a wonderful holiday.
/didn’t have a very good journey.
1
124
11 oe, have, do
do
124 Form
Principal parts: do, did, done Gerund/present participle: doing
Present tense:
Affirmative Negative
1 In short agreements and disagreements (see 109):
Tom talks too much. ~ Yes, he does/No, he doesn’t. He didn ’tgo. ~ No, he didn ’t/Oh yes, he did.
2 In additions (see 112):
He likes concerts and so do we. (Note inversion.)
He lives here but I don’t. He doesn7 drive but I do.
O I-
11 be, have, do
Interrogative
In question tags (see also 110): He lives here, doesn’t he?
D
He didn’t see you, did he?
Ida you do he dots she does it does we do you do they do
I do not/don’t you do not/don’t ht does not/doesn ’t she does not/doesn’t it does not/doesn’t we do not/don’t you do not/don’t they do not/don’t
do I? do you? does he? does she? does it? do we? do you? do they?
Negative interrogative: do I not/don’t I? do you not/don’t you? does he not/doesn’t he? etc.
D do is used in short answers to avoid repetition of the main verb:
Do you smoke? – Yes, I do (not Yes, I smoke)/No, 1 don’t.
Did you see him? ~ Yes, I did/No, I didn’t. (See 108.) F Similarly in comparisons (see 22): He drives faster than I do. F do + imperative makes a request or invitation more persuasive:
Do come with us. (more persuasive than Come with us.)
Do work a little harder. Do help me, please.
G It can similarly be used as an approving or encouraging affirmative answer to someone asking for approval of, or permission to do, some action: Shall I write to him? – Yes, do or Do alone.
do as an ordinary verb has the affirmative shown above. But for negative and interrogative we add the infinitive do to the above forms: What does/did she do? (See 126.)
Past tense: . g||
Affirmative: did for all persons aaj^H
Negative: did not/didn ’t for all persons t^Hj^l
Interrogative: did he? etc. . ^^^1
Negative interrogative: did he not/didn’t he? etc. ^^^1
do is followed by the bare infinitive: j^^^l
/ don’t know. Did you see it? He doesn’t like me. ^^^|
126 do used as an ordinary verb
He doesn’t like me.
125 do used as an auxiliary ””°TO”’””T^
A do is used to form the negative and interrogative of the present simple and past simple tenses of ordinary verbs (see 103-5): Ht doesn’t work. He didn’t work. Does he work? Did he work?
B It is possible to use do/did + infinitive in the affirmative also when we wish to add special emphasis. It is chiefly used when another speaker has expressed doubt about the action referred to:
You didn’t see him. ~ I {dtd see him. (The did is strongly stressed
in speech. This is more emphatic than the normal / saw him.)
1 know that you didn 7 expect me logo, but I tdid go. j
C do is used to avoid repetition of a previous ordinary verb:
126
do, like have, can be used as an ordinary verb. It then forms its negative and interrogative in the simple present and past with do/did: / do not do do you do? don’t you do?
he does not do does he do? doesn’t he do? I did not do did he do? didn’t he do? etc.
It can be used in the continuous forms, or simple forms: What an you doing (now)? -I’m doing my homework. What’s he doing tomorrow? (near future) What does he do in the evenings? (habit) Why did you do it? ~ I did it because I was angry. How do you do? is said by both parties after an introduction:
HOSTESS: Mr Day, may I introduce Mr Davis? Mr Davis, Mr Day. Both men say How do you do? Originally this was an enquiry about the other person’s health. Now it is merely a formal greeting. Some examples of other uses of do:
He doesn’t do what he’s told, (doesn’t obey orders)
What do you do for a living? ~ I’m an artist.
How’s the new boy doing? (getting on)
/ haven’t got a torch. Will a candle do? (= be suitable/adequate) –
A candle won 7 do. I’m looking for a gas leak. (A candle would be
unsuitable.)
Would £10do? (« be adequate) ~ No, it wouldn’t. I need £20. to do with (in the infinitive only) can mean ’concern’. It is chiefly used in the construction it i«/was something/nothing to do with > noun/ pronoun/gerund: // ’5 nothing to do with you » // doesn 7 concern you.
127