Unit 1: Verbs of General Use

I. VERB TO BE
The verb to be is the most irregular verb in the English language. It is normally a
linking verb showing existence or the condition of the subject. It can also be used as
an auxiliary verb when forming the passive voice.

The forms of the verb to be in English are as follows:

 Infinitive: to be
 Present : am, is, are
 Past: was, were
 Present Participle: being
 Past Participle: been
 Present Subjunctive : be
 Past Subjunctive: were
 Imperative: be

Conjugation: Simple Present

Uses of the Verb To Be
The verb to be is used in a number of different ways in English. Here are the main
uses of the verb to be for reference, self-study and in-class use.

1. To Be As Main Verb
To be is used as a main verb to indicate the role or position that one has at work,
family, or other organization.
 Jennifer is my sister.
 Frank is a doctor.
 Alan was a guest at our house last week.

Forms:
 The verb is used with simple and perfect tenses but not with continuous tenses.
 Present simple: I am / You are / He - She - It is / We - You - They are
 Past simple: I - He - She - It was / You - We - They were
 Future simple: I - You - He - She - It - We - They will be
 Present perfect: I - You - We - They have been / He - She - It has been
 Past perfect: I - You - He - She - It - We - They had been

2. To Be as Main Verb with Adjectives

To be is also used as a main verb together with adjectives to express qualities about
someone. It's possible to use only adjectives with Be, or adjectives which modify
other nouns.
 She is a beautiful woman.
 Jack was a handsome man.
 She is interesting.
 They are ugly.
3. To Be As Main Verb with Locations
To be is used as a main verb to indicate location.
 They are at lunch.
 Our house is in the countryside.
 Alice is in the backyard.

4. To Be As Main Verb with Comparative Or Superlative Form

To be is also used with the comparative or superlative form to make comparison
between people, places, objects, and ideas.
 The Mercedes is faster than the Fiat.
 New York is the most exciting city in the world.
 My aunt Martha is a much better cook than my mother.

5. To Be As Auxiliary Verb
Be is also used as an auxiliary verb in continuous tenses. Remember that the
auxiliary verb takes the conjugation in English, so the verb Be will change depending
on the continuous tense.
Here is a quick review of the tenses that use Be as an auxiliary verb:
 Present Continuous: They are watching TV at the moment.
 Past Continuous: We were discussing the situation when he telephoned.
 Present Perfect Continuous: They have been waiting for over an hour.
 Future Continuous: Alex will be playing the piano at eight p.m. at the bar
and grill.
 Future Perfect Continuous: Max will have been playing the piano for two
hours by the time he finishes.

6. To Be Used With Passive Voice

Be is also used together with the past participle form in all passive sentences. The
verb to be is always conjugated in the passive voiced and is followed by the past
participle. All passive sentences have the following structure:
Passive Subject + To Be + Past Participle

Here is a quick review of the most common tenses used with to be as the conjugated
verb in passive sentences. Notice that to be in the passive can be used with
continuous tenses.
 Present simple: Many different types of cars are made in Detroit.
 Present Continuous: That course is being taken by a number of students.
 Past Simple: Her house was built in 1987.
 Past Continuous: The ideas were being discussed while the decisions were
being made.
 Future with 'Will': She will be hired as a consultant.
 Future with 'Going to': That book is going to be read by millions.
 Present Perfect: Our vacation resort has been enjoyed by thousands.
 Past Perfect: The dinner had been prepared before they arrived.

II. VERB TO DO

The verb to do is another common verb in English. It can be used as an auxiliary and
a main verb. It is often used in questions.

Forms of To Do
Perfect Continuous
Present Past
Form Form
I / you / we / they do did have / had done are / were doing
he / she / it does did has / had done is / was doing
As an auxiliary verb do is used with a main verb when forming interrogative or
negative sentences, or for adding emphasis. It is also called the dummy operator or
dummy auxiliary.

Question Positive Statement (spoken) Negative Statement (spoken)

Singular
Do I? I do I do not (I don't)
Do you? You do You do not (You don't)
Does he/she/it? He/she/it does He/she/it does not (He/she/it doesn't)
Plural
Do we? We do We do not (We don't)
Do you? You do You do not (You don't)
Do they? They do They do not (They don't)

Examples

Do Does
"Do you always take the bus to"Does she ever do her homework
Question -?
work?" on time?"
Positive Answer
"Yes, I do." "Yes, she does."
- Yes
Negative Answer
"No, I don't." "No, she doesn't."
- No

The most common question using "do" that you will probably hear whilst learning
English is "What do you do?" The person asking simply wants to know what you do
for a living.

Question Possible answers

What do you do? I'm a student.
I'm an architect. I'm a trainee architect.
I'm looking for work.
I'm on a career break.
I'm a volunteer.
I'm a housewife. / I'm a househusband.
I'm a pensioner. / I'm retired.
What does he / she do? He / She's a student.
He / She's an architect. He / She's a trainee architect.
He / She's looking for work.
He / She's on a career break.
He / She's a volunteer.
He / She's a housewife. / He / She's a househusband.
He / She's a pensioner. / He / She's retired.

What do we / they do? We / They are students.

We / They are architects. We / They are trainee architects.
We / They are looking for work.
We / They areon a career break.
We / They are volunteers.
We / They are housewives. / We / They are househusbands.
We / They are pensioners. / We / They are retired.

When using the continuous tense do becomes doing and it doesn't change.

Doing
Question -? "What are you doing? Are you doing your homework?"
Positive Answer - Yes "Yes, I am.”
Negative Answer - No "No, I'm not."
When using the simple past tense do becomes did and it doesn't change.

Did
Question -? "Did you always take the bus to school?"
Positive Answer - Yes "Yes, I did ."
Negative Answer - No "No, I didn't ."

When using the perfect tense do becomes done and it doesn't change.

Done
Question -? "Have you done your homework?"
Positive Answer - Yes "Yes I have.”
Negative Answer - No "No I haven't."
More functions for the verb “to do”
The verb “to do” works as a main verb.

For example:-

YT - My husband does the dishes.

ST - Gosh! Did he do them yesterday?

YT - Yes he did.

Do is used as an auxiliary verb (dummy auxiliary) in the question form.

For example: I know the way. Do you know the way?

Do is used for emphasis in positive statements.

For example: I do like this beer!

!Note - As an auxiliary verb 'do' is always followed by the base form of the main
verb (infinitive)

Examples – do, does, did

Positive

1. Peter always does his taxes on time.

2. Volunteers do a lot of work around the town.
3. Gil did a great job on his History report for school.
4. You have done nothing all morning!
5. I am doing the best I can!
Negatives

1. Your client doesn’t understand the contract.

2. You don’t need to worry about me.
3. Your friends didn’t get the e-mail.
4. I do not want to go with you!
Yes/No Questions

1. Do you want to go to the party?

2. Does your dog live outside or in the house?
3. Does your sister always talk so much on the phone?
4. Did you catch the bus this morning?
5. Don’t you ever visit your parents?
6. Didn’t Mr. Albertson call you?
Wh-Questions

1. Where do you want to send the package?

2. Why does she always scream like that?
3. How much do these earrings cost?
4. Why don’t you ever clean up your mess?
5. When did they arrive home?

III. VERB TO LIKE

Statements
We use the verb "to like", when you talk about things that you enjoy doing:
 I like playing tennis.
 You like going out to clubs.
 He likes riding his bike.
 We like going to the cinema.
 They like watching TV.

As you see in the sentences above, you always use the form of the verb like + the
ing-form of the following verb. The verb like always requires the ing-form when
you talk about things you enjoy!
Instead of the verb like, you can also use the following verbs:
 to enjoy
 to love
 to prefer

Note: They all require the ing-form:

 He likes running.
 He enjoys running.
 He loves running.
 He prefers running.

Of course you can also use the verb like with the infinitive of the following verb: He
likes to run. But in British English, this means that he thinks it is good to run in
order to keep in shape. It doesn't mean that he generally enjoys running.

The opposite of "to like" is "to dislike". It also requires the ing-form of the
following verb:
 He likes running but he dislikes swimming.

Instead of the verb dislike, you can also use the following verbs:
 to hate: They hate playing board games.
 can't stand: She can't stand listening to country music.
 can't bear: He can't bear being alone.

Of course, you can also negate the verb to like instead of using a different verb:
 They don't like playing board games.
  She doesn't like listening to country music.
 He doesn't like being alone.

Questions

When you pose a question with the verbs to like, to enjoy, to love, to hate, etc. they
also require the ing-form of the following verb:

• Do you like playing basketball?

• Does he like watching movies?

• Does she enjoy reading?

• Do you love meeting people?

• Do they hate cooking?

Remember: when you say that something (usually an action) is always the case,
that someone has a habit or that somebody does something regularly, you use the
simple present tense!

IV. VERB TO HAVE

Forms of To Have
Present Past Continuous
I / you / we / they have had having
he / she / it has had having
Have is one of the most common verbs in the English language. It functions in
various ways.

1. To Have as a main Verb

As a main verb “to have” implies the meaning of possession.

For example: “I have a job.” “I have a car. “ "I don't have any time."

When it is used to indicate possession you can say "I have..." or you might see/ hear
"I have got...”

When you are talking about actions, you only use "have"

For example:

Possession:-

I have a shower in my bathroom, I don't have a bath. = I have got a shower in my

bathroom. I haven't got a bath.

The action:-

I have a shower every day. - I'm having a shower now.

! Note - it does not take the continuous form "I having" - for that you have to use the
auxiliary verb be.

For example: “I am having a shower.” “Are you having a good time?"

The forms of the verb “to have” are have and has for the present and had for
the past.
 Positive Statement
Question Negative Statement (spoken)
(spoken)
Singular
Do I have...? I have I have not
Have I got...? (I've) (I haven't/I've not)
Does he / she / it
have...? He/she/it has He/she/it has not
Has he/she/it (He/she/it’s) (He/she/it hasn't)
got...?
Do you have...? You have You have not
Have you got...? (You've) (You haven't/You've not)
Did I / he / she / it
have...? I / He / She / It / You had I / He / She / It / You had not
Had I / he / she / it (I'd / He'd / She'd / You'd) (I / He / She / It / You hadn't)
/ you got...?
Plural
Do we / you / they
We / You / They have not
have...? We / You / They have
(We / You / They haven't // We've
Have we / you / (We've / You've / They've)
not / You've not They've not)
they got...?
Do you have...? You have You have not
Have you got...? (You've) (You haven't/You've not)
Do they have...? They have They have not
Have they got...? (They've) (They haven't/They've not)
Did we / you /
they have...? We / You / They had I / He / She / It / You had not
Had we / you / (We'd / You'd / They'd) (I / He / She / It / You hadn't)
they got...?

Examples:

Have Have got

Question -? "Do you have a car?" "Have you got a car?"
Positive Answer - Yes "Yes, I have a car." "Yes I've got a car."
Negative Answer - No "No, I don't have a car." "No I haven't got a car."

2. To Have as an auxiliary verb

The verb “to have” is used as an auxiliary verb to help other verbs create the perfect
tense - auxiliary verb have [+ past participle].

For example, “I have read a lot of books,” or “I have never been to America,” or
"I have already eaten."

PRESENT PERFECT
I have
been a You have He / She has It has We have They have
teacher for been a been a been nice been students been students
over 11 student for ... student for ... today. for.... for ...
years.
PAST PERFECT
I had You had He / She had
It had We had They had
been a been a been a
been nice been students been students
teacher for student for student for
for several for several for several
several several several
hours. years. years.
years. years. years.
FUTURE PERFECT
I will have You will He / She will They will
It will have We will have
been a have been a have been a have
been nice been students
teacher for student for student for been students
for several for several
several several several for several
years. years.
years. years. years. years.
 Negative Statement (possible short
Question Positive Statement
forms)
Singular
Have you You have been ... You have not been ... (You haven't been ...
been...? (You've been ...) // You've not been ...)
Plural
We / You / They have
We / You / They have not been ...
Have we / you / been ...
(We / You / They haven't been ... // We've
they been...? (We've / You've They've
/ You've They've not been ...)
been ...)

For example:

Question - ? "Have you washed your face today?"

Positive Answer - Yes
Negative Answer - No
Question - ?
Positive Answer - Yes
Negative Answer - No
" Yes, I have."
" No, I haven't."
"Have you ever had a heart attack?"
" Yes, I'm afraid I have."
" No, thank goodness, I haven't."

3. The use of Have To

In addition to the two forms, there is another use for have as a modal verb; have
to or have got to. This, of course, must be followed by another verb "We have
to do something".

Have to Have got to

Question - ? "Do you have to leave early?""Have you got to leave early?"
Positive Answer - Yes "Yes I have to." or "Yes I do" "Yes I've got to."
Negative Answer - No"No I don't have to." "No I haven't got to."

To Have something done

If something is done for you, in other words you haven't actually done it yourself,
we use the structure "to have something done".

For example:-

"He had a tooth out." (Only a masochist would go pull their own teeth out. We go to
the dentist and he or she pulls our teeth out for us.)

"I have my hair cut once every six weeks." (I don't cut my own hair, my hairdresser
cuts it for me.)

"My husband has the car serviced once a year." (He wouldn't have a clue how to
service a modern car so, he takes it to the garage and they service it for us.)

V. LIKE Vs AS

Differences between Like and As:

Like:

We use it when the second term of the comparison is a noun, a gerund or a

pronoun.

 Dave looks like his father. - Don't act like me!

Like can be modified with adverbs, such as:

just, more, very much, not at all... :

 Just like you, Jane wanted to be a doctor.

AS:

We use it when the second term of the comparison is a verb, a clause or a

preposition.

 Don't do as I do!
 It started raining, as I said it would.
 Prices are very high, as in the 1990s. (As they were)

As can be used before a noun:

 She works as a nurse.

Be careful:

 She speaks like a teacher ...she is not a teacher.

 She speaks as a teacher ...she is a teacher.

In addition:

We can use like (or such as) when giving examples:

 He prefers classical composers, like Chopin.

 She prefers French actors, such as Delon.
Some other constructions:

We use

Like + noun or pronoun

As if/ as though + clauses

With some verbs: feel, look, sound, smell, seem, treat

 It looks like rain / It feels like rain.

 It looks as if it's going to rain.
 It feels as if it were going to rain.
 It looks as though it were going to rain.
 It feels as though it were going to rain.

Attention:

In spoken English we can have the structure like + clause with the verbs feel,
look etc.

 It looks like it's going to rain.

VI. WH Question Words

We use question words to ask certain types of questions (question word questions).
We often refer to them as WH words because they include the letters WH (for
example WHy, HoW).

question word function example sentence

what asking for information about What is your name?

something
 asking for repetition or What? I can't hear you.
confirmation You did what?

what...for asking for a reason, asking why What did you do that
for?

when asking about time When did he leave?

where asking in or at what place or Where do they live?

position

which asking about choice Which colour do you

want?

who asking what or which person or Who opened the door?

people (subject)

whom asking what or which person or Whom did you see?

people (object)

whose asking about ownership Whose are these keys?

Whose turn is it?

why asking for reason, asking Why do you say that?

what...for
why don't making a suggestion Why don't I help you?

how asking about manner How does this work?

asking about condition or quality How was your exam?

how + adj/adv asking about extent or degree see examples below

how far distance How far is Pattaya from

Bangkok?

how long length (time or space) How long will it take?

how many quantity (countable) How many cars are

there?

how much quantity (uncountable) How much money do

you have?

how old age How old are you?

how come asking for reason, asking why How come I can't see
(informal) her?