| AUXILIARY
VERB |
Comments |
Present
/ Past / Future Forms |
Statement |
Question |
Negative |
| can |
Only used as
a Present tense (general facts). Does not change its form.
Can + 1st (or
base) form of verb. E.g. I can work.
|
I
can / *See could or to be able to / *See to be able to |
| I can |
| You can
|
| He (She
/ It) can |
| We can |
| They can
|
|
| Can I
|
| Can you |
| Can he
(she / it) |
| Can we
|
| Can they |
|
| I can't
(can not) |
| You can't
(can not) |
| He (She
/ It) can't (can not) |
| We can't
(can not) |
| They can't
(can not) |
|
| could |
Used to express
past ability. Also used for suggestions, polite requests, and to
express impossibility.
Could + 1st
(or base) form of verb. E.g. I could work.
|
*
See can or to be able to / I could/ *See to be able to |
| I could
|
| You could
|
| He (She
/ It) could |
| We could
|
| They could
|
|
| Could
I |
| Could
you |
| Could he
(she / it) |
| Could we
|
| Could they |
|
| I couldn't
(could not) |
| You couldn't
(could not) |
| He (She
/ It) couldn't (could not) |
| We couldn't
(could not) |
| They couldn't
(could not) |
|
| do |
This helping
verb has no translation. It is used to make questions and negatives
in the Present Simple.
And also to give short answers. (Do not confuse this with the full
verb "to do") E.g. I work. / Do I work? / I don't work./
Yes, I do. / No, I don't.
It can be used
in statements, E.g. I do work., but this is for emphasis, is unusual
and would normally follow a negative question. E.g. You don't work
for X, do you? Yes, I do work for X.
|
|
Not usual.
Used for emphasis
or short answers.
| I do |
| You do |
| He (She
/ It) does |
| We do |
| They do
|
|
| Do I |
| Do you |
| Does he
(she / it) |
| Do we |
| Do they |
|
| I don't
(do not) |
| You don't
(do not) |
| He (She
/ It) doesn't (does not) |
| We don't
(do not) |
| They don't
(do not) |
|
| did |
This helping
verb has no translation. It is used to make questions and negatives
in the Past Simple.
And also to give short answers. (Do not confuse this with the past
tense of the full verb "to do") E.g. I worked. / Did I
work? / I didn't work./ Yes, I did / No, I didn't.
It can be used
in statements, E.g." I did work.", but this is for emphasis,
is unusual and would normally follow a negative question. E.g. You
didn't work for X, did you? Yes, I did work for X.
|
|
Not usual.
Used for emphasis
or short answers.
| I did |
| You did
|
| He (She
/ It) did |
| We did
|
| They did
|
|
| Did I
|
| Did you |
| Did he
(she / it) |
| Did we
|
| Did they |
|
| I didn't
(did not) |
| You didn't
(did not) |
| He (She
/ It) didn't (did not) |
| We didn't
(did not) |
| They didn't
(did not) |
|
| have |
This helping
verb has no translation. It is used to make the Perfect and Perfect
Progressive Tenses. E.g. I have worked. / I had worked / I will
have worked. (Do not confuse this with the full verb "to have"
E.g. I have a job.)
|
have
- used to form the Present
Perfect and the Present
Perfect Progressive / had - used to form the Past
Perfect and the
Past Perfect Progressive / will have - used to form the Future
Perfect and the Future
Perfect Progressive |
Present
/ Past / Future
| I have
/ had / will have |
| You have
/ had / will have |
| He (She
/ It) has / had / will have |
| We have
/ had / will have |
| They have
/ had / will have |
|
Present
/ Past / Future
| Have I
/ Had I / Will I have |
| Have you
/ Had you / Will you have |
| Has he
(she / it) / Had he (she / it) / Will he (she / it) have |
| Have we
/ Had we / Will we have |
| Have they
/ Had they / Will they have |
|
Present
/ Past / Future
| I haven't
(have not) / hadn't (had not) / won't have (will not have) |
| You haven't
(have not) / hadn't (had not) / won't have (will not have) |
| He (She
/ It) hasn't (has not) / hadn't (had not) / won't have (will
not have) |
| We haven't
(have not) / hadn't (had not) / won't have (will not have) |
| They haven't
(have not) / hadn't (had not) / won't have (will not have) |
|
| have
got |
This
was originally a Present Perfect, but is now used as a Present Simple
with a similar meaning to "to have". I.e. "Do you have
a good job?" = "Have you got a good job?" |
|
| I have
got / I've got |
| You have
got / You've got |
| He (She
/ It) has got / He's (She's / It's) got |
| We have
got / We've got |
| They have
got / They've got |
|
| Have I
got |
| Have you
got |
| Has he
(she / it) got |
| Have we
got |
| Have they
got |
|
| I haven't
(have not) got |
| You haven't
(have not) got |
| He (She
/ It) hasn't (has not) got |
| We haven't
(have not) got |
| They haven't
(have not) got |
|
| to
have |
This
is a regular verb with a similar meaning to must. |
have
to / had to / will have to |
Present
/ Past / Future
| I have
/ had / will have to |
| You have
/ had / will have to |
| He (She
/ It) has / had / will have to |
| We have
/ had / will have to |
| They have
/ had / will have to |
|
Present
/ Past / Future
| Do / Did
/ Will I have to |
| Do / Did
/ Will you have to |
| Does /
Did / Will he (she / it) have to |
| Do / Did
/ Will we have to |
| Do / Did
/ Will they have to |
|
Present
/ Past / Future
| I do /
did / will not (don't / didn't / won't) have to |
| You do
/ did / will not (don't / didn't / won't) have to |
| He (She
/ It) does / did / will not (doesn't / didn't / won't) have
to |
| We do /
did / will not (don't / didn't / won't) have to |
| They do
/ did / will not (don't / didn't / won't) have to |
|
| may |
Used for polite
requests, asking formal permission and expressing less than 50%
certainty. See material on using
auxiliary verbs for expressing poiteness and certainty.
May + 1st (or
base) form of verb. E.g. I may work.
|
may
/ * see might / |
| I may |
| You may
|
| He (She
/ It) may |
| We may
|
| They may
|
|
| May I
|
| May you |
| May he
(she / it) |
| May we
|
| May they |
|
| I may not |
| You may
not |
| He (She
/ It) may not |
| We may
not |
| They may
not |
|
| might |
Used as the
past of may and for expressing less than 50% certainty.
Might + 1st
(or base) form of verb. E.g. I might work.
|
*See
may / might / |
| I might
|
| You might
|
| He (She
/ It) might |
| We might
|
| They might
|
|
| Might
I |
| Might
you |
| Might he
(she / it) |
| Might we
|
| Might they |
|
| I might
not |
| You might
not |
| He (She
/ It) might not |
| We might
not |
| They might
not |
|
| must |
There
are no past or future forms for this verb. To express the idea of
must (strong necessity) you can also use the verb "to have to". |
|
| I must
|
| You must
|
| He (She
/ It) must |
| We must
|
| They must
|
|
| Must I
|
| Must you |
| Must he
(she / it) |
| Must we
|
| Must they |
|
| I must
not (mustn't) |
| You must
not (mustn't) |
| He (She
/ It) must not (mustn't) |
| We must
not (mustn't) |
| They must
not (mustn't) |
|
| ought
to |
Used to express
advisability or about 90% certainty. See material on using
auxiliary verbs for expressing poiteness and certainty.
Ought is usually
followed by an infinitive, e.g. "I ought to work."
|
|
| I ought
to |
| You ought
to |
| He (She
/ It) ought to |
| We ought
to |
| They ought
to |
|
| Ought
I to |
| Ought
you to |
| Ought he
(she / it) to |
| Ought we
to |
| Ought they
to |
*unusual in question
form |
| I ought
not to |
| You ought
not to |
| He (She
/ It) ought not to |
| We ought
not to |
| They ought
not to |
*unusual in negative |
| shall |
Often used
in questions to make polite suggestions.
It was used
like will to express the future, but this is now becoming rare.
|
|
|
| Shall
I |
| Shall
he (she /
it) |
| Shall we
|
| Shall they |
|
|
| should |
Expresses advisability
or about 90% certainty. See material on using
auxiliary verbs for expressing poiteness and certainty.
Should + 1st
(or base) form of verb. E.g. I should go to work.
|
|
| I should
|
| You should
|
| He (She
/ It) should |
| We should
|
| They should
|
|
| Should
I |
| Should
you |
| Should
he (she / it) |
| Should
we |
| Should
they |
|
| I shouldn't
(should not) |
| You shouldn't
(should not) |
| He (She
/ It) shouldn't (should not) |
| We shouldn't
(should not) |
| They shouldn't
(should not) |
|
|
to be
|
Used on its
own and as a helping verb.
It is very
irregular and must be learned.
|
am,
is, are / was, were / will be |
Present
/ Past / Future
| I am /
was / will be |
| You / are
/ were/ will be |
| He (She
/ It) / is / was / will be |
| We are
/ were / will be |
| They are
/ were / will be |
|
Present
/ Past / Future
| Am I /
Was I / Will I be |
| Are you
/ Were you / Will you be |
| Is he (she
/ it) / Was he / Will he be |
| Are we
/ Were we / Will we be |
| Are they
/ were they / Will they be |
|
Present
/ Past / Future
| I am (I'm)
not / was not (wasn't) / will not (won't) be |
| You are
(You're) not / were not (weren't) / will not (won't) be |
| He (She
/ It) is not (isn't) / was not (wasn't) / will not (won't) be |
| We are
not (aren't) / were not (weren't) / will not (won't) be |
| They are
not (aren't) / were not (weren't) / will not (won't) be |
|
| to
be able to |
Has a similar
meaning to can or could and is often used to make forms or tenses
when they can't be used.E.g. "I will not be able to work tomorrow."
* The forms
of the verb to be are the same as above
|
am,
is, are able to / was, were able to / will be able to |
E.g.(Present / Past / Future) I am able to. / I was able to. / I will
be able to. |
E.g.(Present
/ Past / Future) Are you able to? / Were you able to? / Will you be
able to? |
E.g.(Present / Past / Future) She is not able to. / She was not able
to. / She will not be able to. |
| will |
This helping
verb has no translation. It is used to make future tenses, such
as the Future Simple,
Progressive,
Perfect and
Perfect Progressive.
It is also
used for polite requests. See material on using
auxiliary verbs for expressing poiteness and certainty.
|
|
| I will
|
| You will
|
| He (She
/ It) will |
| We will
|
| They will
|
|
| Will I
|
| Will you |
| Will he
(she / it) |
| Will we
|
| Will they |
|
| I will
not (won't) |
| You will
not (won't) |
| He (She
/ It) will not (won't) |
| We will
not (won't) |
| They will
not (won't) |
|
| would |
Used for polite
requests, preference and repeated actions in the past. See material
on using auxiliary
verbs for expressing poiteness and certainty.
Would + 1st
(or base) form of verb. E.g. I would like to go to work.
|
|
| I would
|
| You would
|
| He (She
/ It) would |
| We would
|
| They would
|
|
| Would
I |
| Would
you |
| Would he
(she / it) |
| Would we
|
| Would they |
|
| I would
not (wouldn't) |
| You would
not (wouldn't) |
| He (She
/ It) would not (wouldn't) |
| We would
not (wouldn't) |
| They would
not (wouldn't) |
|
