Full verb • lexical verbs • dummy verbs • primary auxiliaries • modals • semi-modals • transitive verbs • intransitive verbs • tense • aspect • mood • voice • affirmative • negative • interrogative • interrogative-negative • emphatic • tag questions • present simple • I play • present progressive • I am playing • present continuous • I am playing • present perfect • I have played • present perfect progressive • I have been playing • present perfect continuous • I have been playing • past simple • I played • past progressive • I was playing • past continuous • I was playing • past perfect • I had played • past perfect progressive • I had been playing • past perfect continuous • I had been playing • future simple • I will play • future progressive • I will be playing • future continuous • I will be playing • future perfect • I will have played • future perfect progressive • I will have been playing • future perfect continuous • I will have been playing • present simple passive • it is played • present progressive passive • it is being played • present continuous passive • it is being played • present perfect passive • it has been played • present perfect progressive passive • it has been being played • present perfect continuous passive • it has been being played • past simple passive • it was played • past progressive passive • it was being played • past continuous passive • it was being played • past perfect passive • it had been played • past perfect progressive passive • it had being played • past perfect continuous passive • it had been being played • future simple passive • it will be played • future progressive passive • it will be being played • future continuous passive • it will be being played • future perfect passive • it will have been played • future perfect progressive passive • it will have been being played • future perfect continuous passive • It will have been being played • I may play • I may have played • I might play • I might have played • I may be playing • I may have been playing • I might be playing • I might have been playing • I shall play • I shall have played • I should play • I should have played • I shall be playing • I shall have been playing • I should be playing • I should have been playing • I shall play • I shall have played • I should play • I should have played • I shall be playing • I shall have been playing • I should be playing • I should have been playing • I can play • I can have played • I could play • I could have played • I can be playing • I can have been playing • I could be playing • I could have been playing • I must play • I must have played • I must be playing • I must have been playing • present simple negative • I do not play • present progressive negative • I am not playing • present continuous negative • I am not playing • present perfect negative • I have not played • present perfect progressive negative • I have not been playing • present perfect continuous negative • I have not been playing • past simple negative • I did not play • past progressive negative • I was not playing • past continuous negative • I was not playing • past perfect negative • I had not played • past perfect progressive negative • I had not been playing • past perfect continuous negative • I had not been playing • future simple negative • I will not play • future progressive negative • I will not be playing • future continuous negative • I will not be playing• future perfect negative • I will not have played • future perfect progressive negative • I will not have been playing • future perfect continuous negative • I will not have been playing • present simple passive negative • it is not played • present progressive passive negative • it is not being played • present continuous passive negative • it is not being played • present perfect passive negative • it has not been played • present perfect progressive passive negative • it has not been being played • present perfect continuous passive negative • it has not been being played • past simple passive negative • it was not played • past progressive passive negative • it was not being played • past continuous passive negative • it was not being played • past perfect passive negative • it had not been played • past perfect progressive passive negative • it had not been being played • past perfect continuous passive negative • it had not been being played • future

A Look at:

CONSTRUCTING ENGLISH VERB FORMS

Gramorak

Contents

1. Verb Classes 2

1.1. Auxiliary Verbs 2 1.2. Full (or lexical) verbs 2

2. Verb Tense, Aspect and Voice 4

2.1. Tense and Aspect 4 2.2. The Future 5 2.3. Active and Passive Voice 5

3. Forms of the Tenses/Aspects 6

3.1 The Present Simple 6 3.2. The Past Simple 9 3.3. The Present Progressive (Present Continuous) 11 3.4. The Past Progressive (Past Continuous) 13 3.5. The Present Perfect (Present Perfect Simple) 14 3.6. THE Past Perfect (Past Perfect Simple) 15 3.7. The Present Perfect Progressive (Present Progressive Continuous) 16 3.8. The Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous) 17 3.9. The Future (Future Simple) 18 3.10-3.13. Other Future Forms. 19

4. Passive Forms 20

5. Modals 22

5.1. The Core Modals. 22 5.2. Other Modals? 23 5.3. Past Tense Forms 24

6. Some Potential Problems for Learners 25

Charts and Tables

Irregular Verbs Table 1 28 Irregular Verbs Table 2 29 Recognising Verb Forms Figure 1: Tense/Aspect 30 Recognising Verb Forms Figure 2: Modals 31 Pronunciation Symbols used in this paper 32

. ©2010,,J E Webb 1

1. VERB CLASSES

In considering English verbs, it is useful to distinguish between two classes or types:

1.1. Auxiliary verbs

The smaller of the two classes of verbs, auxiliary verbs (or simply auxiliaries) comprises only twelve verbs. They have little ‘meaning’, but are used with full verbs (discussed in 1.2 below) to construct complex verb forms. This class is made up of two sub-classes:

1.1.a. The three primary (or grammatical) auxiliaries:

BE, which is used to construct progressive (or continuous) and passive forms,

HAVE, which is used to construct perfect forms,

DO, which is used to construct negative, interrogative, emphatic and dummy forms1.

1.1.b. The nine modals (or modal verbs or modal auxiliaries) [considered in section 5]:

CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, SHALL, SHOULD, WILL and WOULD2

These express shades of meaning such as ability, certainty, determination, expectation, inference, intention, necessity, obligation, permission, possibility, volition, etc.

1.2. The full (or lexical) verbs

The vast majority of verbs are in the class of full or lexical verbs, which have a ‘meaning’ (rather than just a grammatical function). They denote events, actions, states or processes, such as EXPLODE, RUN, SEEM, CHANGE.3. Full verbs (except BE) have between three and five different forms:

5 4 3

a. I (grow place put) flowers on my patio every year.

b. I (grew placed put) flowers on my patio last year.

c. I have (grown placed put) flowers on my patio for ten years.

d. I am (growing placing putting) flowers on my patio this year.

e. Luke (grows places puts) flowers on his patio every year.

1 These three verbs are also used as full verbs: Paul is (primary auxiliary) being (full verb) rather difficult. Have (primary auxiliary) you had (full verb) tea yet? I did (primary auxiliary) not do (full verb) my laundry yesterday. 2 Some writers include DARE, NEED and OUGHT (TO) in the list of modals. These will be considered later. 3 New verbs appear in the language frequently: OUT (1990), SPAM (1994), GOOGLE (2002) PHISH (2005).

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The (a) form, the first form, often known as the base form, stem or (bare) infinitive, is the main entry form in dictionaries; for regular verbs, it is the form from which the other forms are constructed. The first form is used for:

• The (bare) infinitive: I can’t speak Russian.

• The to- infinitive: I want to speak Russian fluently by the end of the year.

• The present simple tense: My children speak German at school and English at home.

• The imperative: Speak more slowly, please.

The (b) form, the second form, is often known as the past (simple) form of the verb. With regular verbs it is constructed by adding –(e)d to the first form; with irregular verbs the form may be identical to the first form (BEAT), third form (COME), to both first and third forms (CUT), or may be different from both (RIDE). The second form is used for:

1

• the past simple tense: I spoke to Henry about the problem yesterday.

The (c) form, the third form, is often known as the past participle. With regular verbs It is identical in appearance to the second form; with irregular verbs the form may be identical to the first form (COME), the second form (LEAD), to both first and second forms (CUT), or may be different from both (RIDE). The third form is used for:

• the present and past perfect: Have/had you spoken to Andrea?

• passive constructions: Basque is spoken only in parts of Spain and France.

The (d) form, the –s form of the verb, is constructed by adding –(e)s to the base form. It is often known by the name of its only use:

• third person singular present (simple) tense form: Mila speaks English and Czech.

The (e) form, the –ing form, is used for:

• progressive (or continuous) constructions: Those two people are speaking Hungarian, I think.

• the present participle: Speaking to himself softly, he left the room.

• the gerund: Speaking with your mouth full is generally considered impolite.

The verb BE is unique in having eight forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been.

The modals each have only one form, although some writers consider could, might, should and would to be the past tense forms of can, may, shall and will respectively. These are considered in Section 5.

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2. VERB TENSE, ASPECT and VOICE

2.1. Tense and Aspect

In most languages, the tenses of a verb are forms of that verb that locate the event, action, state or process in relation to a point or period in time. In English the relationship between tense and time is much less apparent than in many languages; both present and past tenses can refer to past, present and future times:

present tense for past time: Jane tells me you've not been too well since you got back.

present tense for present time: My stomach hurts.

present tense for 'general' time: Babies normally lose weight in the first two weeks.. present tense for future time: The UN General Assembly opens in New York next month. past tense for past time: Freda started school last year.

past tense for present time: Excuse me. I wondered if you had a moment.

past tense for 'general' time: If you were as poor as I am, you’d feel differently.

past tense for future time; Her daughter was going to a summer camp tomorrow.

However, we continue to use such words as present and past in the naming of tenses,

Technically If we confine ourselves to the form, of the verb, then English has only two tenses, as shown in the pairs play/played, work/worked, want/wanted, wash/washed, sing/sang. The first of these forms is traditionally called the present simple, the second the past simple. The perfect and progressive (or continuous) forms of the verb are considered by many writers to be aspects rather than tenses. However, many course books label them as tenses and, for practical purposes in teaching, this is not important. It is, however, important for teachers to know the names of the individual tenses/aspects:

• present simple: I play • present progressive/continuous: I am playing • present perfect (simple): I have played • present perfect progressive/continuous: I have been playing

• past simple: I played • past progressive/continuous: I was playing • past perfect (simple): I had played • past perfect progressive/continuous: I had been playing

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2.2. The Future

Technically there are no future tenses in English, merely different ways of expressing the future. However, some course books refer to constructions with WILL as ‘future tenses’, and so we shall consider in this paper four constructions, without worrying about whether or not they are tenses:

• future (simple): I will play • future progressive/continuous: I will be playing • future perfect (simple): I will have played • future perfect progressive/continuous: I will have been playing

We shall also consider a construction with GO and the to-infinitive, which some writers call the

• (BE) going to future: I am going to play

2.3. Active and Passive Voice

All of the above forms are in the active voice, i.e. the event, action, state or process denoted by the verb is what the grammatical subject of that verb is doing or experiencing. When the verb is in the passive voice, it denotes what is done to the subject, or what the subject suffers. Thus: People (subject) drink (verb - active) a lot of beer in Bavaria. A lot of beer (subject) is drunk (verb – passive) in Bavaria. All verbs have active voice forms. Verbs which can operate transitively (i.e. are followed by a grammatical object, also have passive voice forms:

• present simple passive: football is played • present progressive/continuous passive: football is being played • present perfect (simple) passive: football has been played • present perfect progressive/continuous passive∗: football has been being played • past simple passive: football was played • past progressive/continuous passive: football was being played • past perfect (simple) passive: football had been played • past perfect progressive/continuous passive∗: football had been being played • future (simple) passive: football will be played • future progressive/continuous passive: football will be being played • future perfect (simple) passive: football will have been played • future perfect progressive/continuous passive∗: football will have been being played • (BE) going to future passive football is going to be played

∗ Some of these forms are very rare, but they do exist

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3. FORMS OF THE TENSES/ASPECTS

3.1. The Present Simple

For most forms of the present simple we use the first form of the verb:

I run, you seem happy, we work hard, they change after work.

For the third person singular we use the –s form of the verb:

Luke seems happy.

Spelling

-e is added before –s in verbs ending in –ss, -z, -sh, -ch –x and –o (but not –oo):

hisses, buzzes, washes, catches, boxes, goes but: boos

-e is added before the –s ending in verbs with word-final –s; some writers double the final –s of the first form before adding the –e; this is optional:

gases or gasses, focuses or focuses

Verbs ending in –y following a consonant change the –y to –i and add -es, but if the word-final –y follows a vowel/diphthong sound, we simply add –s:

carries, tries but: plays, employs

Pronunciation

The final –(e)s of this form is pronounced:

/s/ after unvoiced consonants except /s, ʃ, ʧ/: /kIks, pʊts, kɒfs/

/z/ after voiced consonants except /z, ʒ, ʤ/, vowels and diphthongs: /hʌgz, siːz, leIz/

/Iz/(or/əz/) after /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, ʧ/ and /ʤ/: /bɒksIz, bʌzIz, wɒʃIz ruːʒIz, kæʧIz, ʤʌʤIz/

Exceptions

One verb, BE has a completely irregular present simple: I am, he is, we/you/they are.

One verb, HAVE has an irregular third person singular form: /hæz/.

Two verbs, DO and SAY, have pronunciation changes in the third person singular form: do, does /duː, dʌz/, say, says /seI, sez/

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The Primary Auxiliary DO is used with all full verbs except BE (and, for some speakers, HAVE) for:

Negative forms (with not): I work – I do not/don’t work, he works – he does not/doesn’t work

Note the pronunciation of do not - /duːnɒt and don’t - /dǝʊnt/

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion) we work – do we work? she works – does she work?

Weak forms of DO are frequently used in speech, except in formal oratory or for emphasis:

do we work? /duːwiːwɜːk, dəwiːwɜːk, dwiwɜːk/

do you work? /duːjuːwɜːk, dəjəwɜːk, djəwɜːk, ʤəwɜːk/

does he work? /dʌzhiːwɜːk, dəzhiːwɜːk, dəziːwɜːk, dziːwɜːk/

does she work? /dʌzʃiːwɜːk, dəzʃiːwɜːk, dəʃiːwɜːk/

Interrogative-negative forms:

Except in very formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in negative questions:

Don’t you work there any more? (Do you not work there any more?)

Doesn’t Emma work there any more? (Does Emma not work there any more?)

Emphasis: In speech, do and does are always stressed, and the weak forms are not used:

I do like those shoes. Lindsay does work hard.

‘Dummy’ forms: DO is used as a ‘dummy’ verb to replace the full verb in:

• Question tags: He works hard, doesn’t he?

• Short answers: Do you like it here?

Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary likes living in Germany. Does Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I really like living in Prague.

Do you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: She looks smart today.

Yes she does. / No, she doesn’t.

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Exceptions: BE, HAVE and HAVE TO

BE is the only full verb never to use DO as an auxiliary verb in the present simple – or indeed in any other form except for emphatic and negative imperative forms:

Be careful Do be careful. Don’t be late.

HAVE, when used as a full verb, can operate in one of three ways:

1. Most American and many younger British speakers use HAVE as a normal full verb, which needs the primary auxiliary DO like all other full verbs:

I have a new car. Do you have a car? Yes, I do. She doesn’t have a car.

2. Some (often older) British and American speakers, especially in more formal speech and writing, do not use the primary auxiliary DO with HAVE:

I have a new car. Have you a car? Yes, I have. She hasn’t a car. or She has no car.

3. Many British, and some American speakers use HAVE GOT (technically the present perfect of GET) instead of HAVE, especially in less formal speech and writing. DO is never used as an auxiliary with this, and the contracted form is common:

I’ve got a new car. Have you got a car? Yes, I have. She‘s got a new car

This is possible only when HAVE has a meaning similar to possess. It is not possible when it has a meaning similar to take or experience, or can be replaced by some other full verb such as eat:

I have a new shower in my bathroom. I’ve got a new shower in my bathroom.

I have a shower twice a day *I’ve got a shower twice a day.

I normally have breakfast in bed. *I have normally got breakfast in bed.

HAVE TO, denoting some form of obligation, operates as a full verb, using DO as an auxiliary when appropriate:

I have to leave. Do you have to leave? Yes, I do. She doesn’t have to go.

Note that have to is pronounced in normal speech as /hæftǝ/, and has to as /hæstǝ/.

In the less formal HAVE GOT TO, HAVE (normally contracted) operates as an auxiliary, and does not use DO:

I’ve got to leave, Have you got to leave? Yes, I have. She hasn’t got to leave.

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3.2. The Past Simple

For the past simple of regular verbs we use the second form of the verb, which is constructed from the first form plus –ed for all persons:

I rented a car, Bruce seemed happy, They worked hard.

A number of verbs have irregular second forms, for example: have – had, lead – led, put- put. These simply have to be learnt. BE, uniquely, has two forms: I/he was, we/you/they were.

Spelling

The –ed ending becomes simply –d after verbs ending in –e: hire – hired, free – freed, hoe – hoed

Verbs ending in –y following a consonant change the –y to –i and add ed, but if the word-final –y follows a vowel/diphthong sound, we simply add –ed: carried, tried but: played, employed

Verbs ending in a single consonant letter (except –w, –x , -c or -l ) following a single vowel letter in a stressed syllable double that final consonant before adding –ed; compound words containing such verbs do the same: robbed, knitted, referred, handbagged but revealed, rowed, boxed

Verbs ending in –c add -k rather than doubling the –c: picnicked, panicked.

In BrE, word-final –l is always doubled after a short vowel sound, even in unstressed syllables: levelled, travelled, cancelled

In verbs with a final unstressed syllable ending in –s, some writers double the final –s of the first form before adding the –e; this is optional: biased or biassed, focused or focussed

There is no doubling when the final syllable is unstressed: happened, bothered, visited

However, a few verbs double the final consonant even if the final syllable is unstressed, perhaps because the final syllable exists as a single-syllable (hence stressed) verb, even if the polysyllabic verb is not actually a compound: programmed, handicapped, hiccupped, kidnapped, worshipped

Pronunciation

The final –(e)d of this form is pronounced:

/t/ after unvoiced consonants except /t/: /kIkt, stɒpt, kɒft/

/d/ after voiced consonants except /d/, vowels and diphthongs: /hʌgd, lIvd, friːd, pleId/

/Id/ (or /əd/) after /t, d/: /wɒntId, wɒntǝd; niːd Id, niːdǝd/

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Did (the second form of the primary auxiliary DO) is used all full verbs except BE (and, for a very small number of speakers, HAVE) for:

Negative forms (with not): I worked – I did not/didn’t work, he worked – he did not/didn’t work

Whether contracted or not in writing, did not is usually elided in speech, except in formal oratory or for emphasis. The final /t/ is often not fully exploded before consonants:

/hiːdIdǝntwɜːk, hiːdIdntwɜːk/ /hiːdIdǝntθIŋk, hiːdIdntθIŋk, hiːdIdnʔθIŋk/

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): we work – did we work? she worked – did she work?

There may be assimilation: did you work? /dIdjuːwɜːk, dIdjəwɜːk, dIʤǝwɜːk, ʤǝwɜːk/

Interrogative-negative forms:

Except in formal speech and writing, the contracted form didn’t is used in negative questions:

Didn’t you work there any more? (Did you not work there any more?).

Emphasis: In speech, did is always stressed: I did like those shoes. Lindsay did work hard.

‘Dummy’ forms

Did is used as a ‘dummy’ verb to replace the full verb in:

• Question tags: He worked hard, didn’t he?

• Short answers: Did you like it here?

Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary liked living in Germany. Did Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I really liked living in Prague.

Did you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: She looked smart yesterday.

Yes she did. / No, she didn’t.

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3.3. The Present Progressive (sometimes known as the Present Continuous)

To form the present progressive we use the –ing form of the verb with the present simple of the primary auxiliary BE:

I am running, you are playing, she is working hard, they are arriving tomorrow.

Spelling of the –ing form

-ing is added to the first form: playing, working, understanding,

Most verbs ending in single mute -e drop the final –e before –ing, though if word-final –e is preceded by –y, -o or –ng, or if the verb ends in –ee, the –e is retained: hiring, becoming, reclining but: dyeing, toeing, whingeing, freeing

Polysyllabic verbs ending in –ge generally drop the –e; impinging, infringing

Retention of the –e in AGE is optional: aging or ageing

Verbs ending in –ie change this to –y before –ing: tying, dying

Verbs ending in a single consonant letter (except –w, –x , -c and -l ) following a single vowel letter in a stressed syllable double that final consonant before adding the –ing: robbing, knitting, referring but revealing, rowing, boxing.

Verbs ending in –c add -k rather than doubling the –c: picnicking, panicking.

In BrE, word-final –l is always doubled after a short vowel sound, even in unstressed syllables: repelling, levelling, travelling, cancelling

In verbs with a final unstressed syllable ending in –s, some writers double the final –s of the first form before adding the –e; this is optional: biasing or biassing, focusing or focussing

There is no doubling when the final syllable is unstressed: happening, bothering, visiting

However, a small number of verbs double the final consonant even if the final syllable is unstressed. This may be because the final syllable exists as a single-syllable (hence stressed) verb, even if the polysyllabic verb is not actually a compound: programming, handicapping, hiccupping, kidnapping, worshipping.

Pronunciation

In informal writing, the parts of BE are often contracted. In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, they are normally weakened or elided. In most dialects of BrE the final /r/ of are is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel sound:

I am working, I’m working /aIjǝmwɜːkIŋ, aImwɜːkIŋ/

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you are working, you’re working /juːwǝ(r)wɜːkIŋ, jʊə(r)wɜːkIŋ, jɔː(r)wɜːkIŋ, jə(r)wɜːkIŋ/

he is working, he’s working /hiːz wɜːkIŋ/

they are writing, they’re writing. /ðeIjǝraItIŋ, ðeǝraItIŋ, ðeǝraItIŋ/

Negative forms and contractions:

I am not working I’m not working

you/we/they are not working you/we/they aren’t working you’re/we’re/they’re not working

she is not working she isn’t working she’s not working

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): am I working? is she working? are you/we/they working?

Interrogative-negative forms:

Except in the most formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in constructing negative questions. Note that aren’t I is used in place of *amn’t I

aren’t I working? (am I not working?)

aren’t you/we/they working? (are you/we/they not working?

isn’t she working? (is she not working?)

BE forms

BE is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in:

• Question tags: He’s working hard, isn’t he?

• Short answers: Is Petra coming tonight? - Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary is living in Germany. Is Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I am really enjoying this weather. - Are you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: They’re playing well today. - Yes they are. / No, they aren’t.

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3.4. The Past Progressive (Past Continuous)

This is formed in the same way as the present progressive, but using second forms of BE instead of first forms: I was running, you were playing, we were working hard, they were arriving the next day.

Pronunciation

In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, BE is normally weakened. In most dialects of BrE the final /r/ of were is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel sound: I was working, /aIwǝzwɜːkIŋ you were working, /juːwǝ(r)wɜːkIŋ/ they were writing, / ðeIwǝraItIŋ/

Negative forms and contractions: I/she was not working I/she wasn’t working

you/we/they were not working you/we/they weren’t working

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): was I/he working? were you/we/they working?

Interrogative-negative forms:

Except in the most formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in constructing negative questions:

wasn’t I /he working? (was I/he not working?)

weren’t you/we/they working? (were you/we/they not working?

BE forms

BE is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in:

• Question tags: He was working hard, wasn’t he?

• Short answers: Was Petra coming tonight? - Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary was living in Germany. was Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I was really enjoying that weather . - Were you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: They were playing well today..

Yes they were. / No, they weren’t.

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3.5. The Present Perfect (Present Perfect Simple)

For the present perfect we use the third form of the verb with the present simple of the primary auxiliary HAVE. With regular verbs, the third form is identical to the second form (see page 8)

I have played, you have worked hard, Maria has announced her engagement.

Some verbs have irregular third forms, e.g: have – had, buy – bought, These must simply be learnt.

Pronunciation

In informal writing, HAVE is often contracted. In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided:

I have worked, I’ve worked /aIhǝvwɜːkt, aIjǝvwɜːkt, aIvwɜːkt/

. he has worked, he’s worked /hiːhǝzwɜːkt, hiːjǝzwɜːkt, hiːzwɜːkt/

Negative forms and contractions:

I/you/we/they have not worked I/you/we/they haven’t worked I’ve/you’ve/they’ve not worked . she has not worked she hasn’t worked she’s not worked

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): have I/you/we/they worked? Has she worked?

Interrogative-negative forms:

Except in formal speech and writing, the contracted forms are used in negative questions.

haven’t I/you/we/they worked? (have I/you/we/they not worked?) . . hasn’t she worked? (has she not worked?)

HAVE is used as alone to replace the full perfect form in:

• Question tags: He’s worked hard, hasn’t he?

• Short answers: Has Petra arrived yet? - Yes, she has. / No, she hasn’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary has lived in Germany. Has Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I have really enjoyed this weather. - Have you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: They’ve played well today. - Yes they have./No, they haven’t.

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3.6. The Past Perfect (Past Perfect Simple)

The past perfect is formed in exactly the same way as the present perfect, but using past tense forms of HAVE instead of present tense forms:

I had played, you had worked hard, Maria had announced her engagement.

Pronunciation

In informal writing, had is often contracted. In speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided:

I had worked, I’d worked /aIhǝdwɜːkt, aIjǝdwɜːkt, aIdwɜːkt/

Negative forms and contractions:

I/you/we/they had not worked I/you/we/they hadn’t worked I’ve/you’ve/they’d not worked

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): had I/you/we/they worked? Had she worked?

Interrogative-negative forms: hadn’t I/you/we/they worked? (had I/you/we/they not worked?)

Had is used as alone to replace the full perfect form in:

• Question tags: He’d worked hard, hadn’t he?

• Short answers: Had Petra arrived at that time?

Yes, she had. / No, she hadn’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary had lived in Germany. Had Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I had really enjoyed that weather

Had you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: They’d played well the season before.

Yes they had. / No, they hadn’t.

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3.7. The Present Perfect Progressive (Present Perfect Continuous)

The present perfect progressive is formed in the same way as the present progressive, but using perfect constructions (HAVE + third form) of BE instead of present tense forms:

I have been playing, you have been working hard, Maria has been seeing George since last May.

Pronunciation

In informal writing, HAVE is often contracted. In normal speech, apart from formal oratory or for emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided; the weak form of been is common in speech.

I have been working, I’ve been working /aIhǝvbiːnwɜːkIŋ, aIjǝvbInwɜːkIŋ, aIvbInwɜːkIŋ/

he has been working, he’d been working /hiːhǝzbiːnwɜːkIŋ, hiːjǝzbiːnwɜːkIŋ, hiːzbiːnwɜːkIŋ/

Negative forms and contractions: I have not been working I haven’t / I’ve not been working

she has not been working she hasn’t / she’s not been working

Interrogative forms (with S-V inversion): have I been working? has she been working?

Interrogative-negative forms: haven’t I been working? (have I not been working?)

hasn’t she working? (has she not been working?)

HAVE forms: HAVE is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in:

• Question tags: He’s been working hard, hasn’t he?

• Short answers: Has Petra been drinking again?

Yes, she has. / No, she hasn’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary has been living in Germany. Has Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I have been seeing Theresa again.

Have you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: They’ve been playing well recently.

Yes they have. / No, they haven’t.

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3.8. The Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous)

The past perfect progressive is formed in the same way as the present perfect progressive, but using the second form of HAVE instead of the first:

I had been playing, you had been working hard, Maria had been seeing George since last May.

Pronunciation

In informal writing, had is often contracted. In normal speech, apart from formal oratory or to give emphasis, it is normally weakened or elided; the weak form of been is common in speech.

I had been working, I’d been working /aIhǝdbiːnwɜːkIŋ, aIjǝdbInwɜːkIŋ, aIdbInwɜːkIŋ/

he had been working, he’d been working /hiːhǝdbiːnwɜːkIŋ, hiːjǝdbiːnwɜːkIŋ, hiːdbiːnwɜːkIŋ/

Negative Forms and contractions: I had not been working I hadn’t / I’d not been working

Interrogative Forms (with S-V inversion): had I been working? had she been working?

Interrogative-negative Forms: hadn’t I been working? (had I not been working?)

Had is used as alone to replace the full progressive form in:

• Question tags: He’d been working hard, hadn’t he?

• Short answers: Had Petra been drinking again?

Yes, she had. / No, she hadn’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary had been living in Germany. Had Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I had been seeing Theresa again.

Had you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: They’d been playing well for some time.

Yes they had. / No, they hadn’t.

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3.9. The Future (Future Simple)

As we noted on page 4, there are technically no future tenses in English. However, some course and grammar books refer to constructions with WILL as ‘future’ and so we shall briefly consider these. The so-called ‘future simple’ is formed using will followed by the bare infinitive: I will go1.

Pronunciation

In informal writing, will is often contracted. In informal speech, it is normally weakened or elided;

They will work, they’ll work /ðeIǝlwɜːk , ðeǝlwɜːk/

The contraction of will not is spelt won’t, pronounced /wǝʊnt/

Negative Forms and contractions: I will not work; I won’t work; I’ll not work

/aIwIlnɒtwɜːk; aIwǝʊntwɜːk; aIǝlnɒtwɜːk/

Interrogative Forms (with S-V inversion): will he work?

Interrogative-negative Forms: Won’t they work? (will they not work?)

Will is used as alone to replace the full form in:

• Question tags: He’ll been working hard, won’t he?

• Short answers: Will Petra see him again? - Yes, she will. / No, she won’t.

• Contracted questions: Mary will move to Germany. Will Alan?

• Contracted follow-up questions: I’ll see Theresa again. - Will you?

• (Dis)agreement comments: They’ll win tomorrow for sure.

Yes they will. / No, they won’t.

1 Grammarians used to claim that shall replaced will with I and we. Today this is true only of a tiny minority Most native speakers use shall only for first person offers and suggestions:

Shall I take your coat? Shall we go out to dinner this evening?

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3.10. The Future Progressive (Future Continuous)

To form the future progressive we use the –ing form of the verb following WILL be:

I will be running, he won’t be playing, will they be working? won’t we be sleeping?

3.11. The Future Perfect (Future Perfect Simple)

To form the future perfect simple we use the third form of the verb following WILL have:

I will have run, he won’t have played, will they have worked? Won’t they have slept?

3.12. The Future Perfect Progressive (Future Perfect Continuous)

To form the future perfect continuous we use the -ing form of the verb following WILL have been:

I will have been running, he won’t have been playing,

will they have been working? won’t we have been sleeping?

3.13. The (BE) going to Future

To construct this, we use the present progressive of GO followed by the to-infinitive of the verb:

I am going to resign she isn’t going to agree

Are you going to leave? Aren’t they going to swim?

going to in casual speech is often pronounced /gǝʊIntə, gǝʊInə, gǝʊnə/ or/gənə/ before verbs beginning with a consonant sound, and /gǝʊIntu, gǝʊInu, gǝʊnu/ or/gənu/ before verbs

beginning with a vowel sound

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4. Passive Forms

Verb forms in the passive voice are constructed with the appropriate tense/aspect form of the primary auxiliary BE and the third form of the verb.

Pronunciation

In speech, weak forms and contractions of the auxiliaries are common, for example:

I am, I’m /aIjæm, aIm / you are, you’re /juːwɑː(r), jɔː(r), jʊə(r)/

he is, he’s /hiːjIz, hiːz/ it has been, it’s been /Ithǝzbiːn, Itǝzbiːn, ItsbIn/

it was /Itwɒz, Itwǝz/ they were /ðeIwɜː(r), ðeIwǝ(r/

I will, I’ll /aIwIl, aIəl/ I will not, I’ll not, I won’t / aIwIlnɒt, aIəlnɒt, aIwəʊnt/

I had been, I’d been /aIhədbiːn, aIdbIn/

I will have been, I’ll have been /aIwIlhəvbiːn, aIəlhəvbIn/

Forms Present simple passive: football is played football is not played is football played? isn’t football played? Present progressive/continuous passive: football is being played football is not being played is football being played? isn’t football being played? Present perfect (simple) passive: football has been played football has not been played has football been played? hasn’t football been played? Present perfect progressive/continuous passive∗: football has been being played football has not been being played has football been being played? hasn’t football been being played? Past simple passive: football was played football was played was football played? wasn’t football played? Past progressive/continuous passive: football was being played

football was not being played was football being played? wasn’t football being played?

∗ Some of these forms are very rare, but they do exist

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Past perfect (simple) passive: football had been played football had not been played had football been played? hadn’t football been played? Past perfect progressive/continuous passive∗: football had been being played football had not been being played

had football been being played? hadn’t football been being played?

Future (simple) passive: football will be played football will not be played will football be played? won’t football be played? Future progressive/continuous passive: football will be being played football will not be being played will football be being played? won’t football be being played? Future perfect (simple) passive: football will have been played football will not have been played will football have been played? won’t football have been played? Future perfect progressive/continuous passive∗: football will have been being played football will not have been being played will football have been being played? won’t football have been being played? (BE) going to future passive football is going to be played football is not going to be played is football going to be played? isn’t football going to be played?

∗ Some of these forms are very rare, but they do exist

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5. MODALS 5. 1. The Core Modals

The core modals (modal verbs/modal auxiliaries) are a closed set1 of verbs that convey the speaker's attitude to the likelihood of the event/state denoted by the following verb, or to express such concepts as ability, certainty, etc. They differ formally from other verbs in a number of ways: 1. They do not use DO their negative, interrogative or emphatic forms2: I go I do not go do I go? I do go

I must ... I must not ... must I ...? I must .... 2. They do not use DO as 'code3: he goes, doesn't he? does he go? yes, he does. he goes, and so do I. he can ... can't he? can he ...? yes, he can. he can ..., and so can I. 3. They do not take –(e)s in the 3rd person singular form: she goes she musts ... 4. They have no non-finite forms (infinitive, participle or gerund): (to) go, going, gone . . *(to) may *maying *mayed 5. They cannot co-occur with themselves or with other modals: they can go *they can can ... . they will go *they will can... 6. All of the modals except (in most dialects) MAY have a shortened negative form with n't : can't couldn't mightn't mustn't shan't shouldn't won't wouldn't4 The only verbs that have all these properties are CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, SHALL, SHOULD, WILL and WOULD, the core modals. Whether or not the italicised forms are the past-tense forms of the forms preceding them or are different modals will be considered later. As the three dots following the modals in the examples above imply, modals cannot stand alone as verbs5 – they must collocate with another verb, though the other verb may be implied, as in: May I? (some unexpressed verb such as sit here or smoke will be clear from the context of situation)

1 Closed set or closed class: i.e. no new verbs are ever added to the set 2 BE (in all forms except the negative imperative and emphatic affirmative imperative) and HAVE (always when acting as an auxiliary verb, and in some dialects when acting as a full verb) share this characteristic 3. BE and HAVE (always when acting as an auxiliary verb, and in some dialects when acting as a full verb) share this characteristic. 'Code' (also termed 'avoidance of repetition’) is a term used for the use of DO to replace the full verb in question tags, short answers, etc, as in the examples in section 2 above 4 BE and, as auxiliaries, HAVE and DO share this characteristic. 5 Many verbs, such as WANT, for example, cannot stand alone, but they no not have to collocate with a verb as the modals do. WANT can be used with a noun as well as a verb.

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5.2. Other Modals?

NEED can operate as a full verb followed by a noun or to-infinitive, or as a modal: does he need money/to go? he doesn't need money/to go. he needs money/to go.

need he go? he needn't go. *he need go

However, modal NEED is used mainly in (near-1) negative, occasionally in interrogative and very rarely in affirmative constructions. Because of these restrictions on its use as a modal, and because it can operate as a full verb with little practical difference in meaning, it is perhaps less confusing for learners if NEED is introduced at a different time from the nine core modals.

DARE can also operate as a full verb followed by a to-infinitive, or as a modal: does he dare to ask her? he doesn't dare to ask her. dare he ask her? he daren't ask her. However, modal DARE is not common. Learners are better told that DARE normally operates as a full verb. Such expressions as I dare say can be taught as lexical chunks. OUGHT (usually referred to as OUGHT TO) is a slight problem. Unlike the core modals, it normally requires to before a following infinitive. Also, many speakers of English form its interrogative and negative with the past tense of DO.: did he ought to go? He didn't ought to do that. (some speakers regard these forms as sub-standard) Ought he do go? He oughtn't (to) do that. A further complication for students is that whenever OUGHT is used, it can be replaced by SHOULD with virtually identical meaning. However, the reverse is not always true: You ought to get up earlier. You should get up earlier. If I should die, think only this of me.. *If I ought to die, think only this of me.. Life is made simpler for students if they learn to understand OUGHT but always use SHOULD. USED TO has some of the characteristics of modals, but is so different in other ways that it is best considered separately. IS TO2, HAVE TO, HAD BETTER, WOULD RATHER, and even BE ABLE TO and BE SUPPOSED TO have some of the characteristics of modals, often convey very similar meanings to modals, and sometimes need to be used where appropriate modal forms do not exist. Some grammarians find it useful to use such terms as quasi-modals or near-modals for these and other verbs and verb phrases. However, they are not modals. 1 Near-negatives, such expressions as rarely, hardly ever, seldom (= almost never) and only (= not unless). 2 There is no form *BE TO. IS TO is used here to stand for AM/ARE/IS/WAS/WERE TO

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5.3. Past Tense Forms In back-shifting, COULD, MIGHT, SHOULD and WOULD function as the past-tense form of CAN, MAY. SHALL and WILL1: "Can you swim?" John asked me if I could swim. "Shall I make the tea?" I asked Mary if I should make the tea However, in other contexts, they do not function as past-tense forms, for which substitutes forms need to be used; for example: I can see him this afternoon. → *I could see him yesterday afternoon. I was able to see him yesterday afternoon. In addition, the ‘past-tense’ forms can refer to the same time points/periods as their ‘present-tense’ equivalents: I can see him this afternoon. → I could see him this afternoon, This explains why some teachers prefer to present COULD, MIGHT, SHOULD and WOULD as separate modals rather than as the past-tense forms of CAN, MAY. SHALL and WILL. This is a question for individual teachers to deal with in ways that seem most useful for their teachers.

1 MUST is used as its own past-tense form, or it is replaced by HAD TO: "You must go." She said I must go. She said I had to go.

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6. Some Potential Problems for Learners

How the tenses/aspects are used can cause serious problems for learners and beginning teachers. Other papers in this series examine some of these problems. There are far fewer problems in the construction of the forms, which has been the subject of this paper. Some learners do experience a few difficulties, however, and we briefly consider some of these in this section largely as an awareness raising exercise for beginning teachers, who might otherwise not understand why their learners cannot ‘see the obvious’.

Pronunciation

Some learners persist in pronouncing the –ed ending of the second form of the verb of all verbs, so washed, for example, may be produced as /wɒʃed, wɒʃId,/ or /wɒʃəd/. This is particularly

common when the first form ends in /k/ and /g/. If this problem is not dealt with early, it may be difficult to eradicate later, and learners may need extra help and drilling with such words as sagged, begged, rigged, hogged, mugged, sacked, pecked, tricked, locked, mucked.

Some of the problems learners encounter with the present perfect and past simple arise because they simply cannot hear the difference in normal speech. Many native speakers produce a very weak form of the HAVE of the present perfect. So, when the second/third forms of the verb are identical in appearance, as they are for all regular and many irregular verbs, the present perfect and past simple forms of verbs beginning with consonants may sound the same to learners.

I’ve bought/I bought you’ve demanded/you demanded

This is particularly true when have/’ve is followed by a verb beginning with a /f/ or /v/ sound, and has/’s is followed by verbs beginning with a /s, z,/ or /ʃ/ sound:

they’ve vanished/they vanished we’ve followed/we followed he’s sold/he sold

she’s zipped/she zipped John’s shaved/John shaved

Similarly, some learners may not hear the BE of the present progressive when am/’m /precedes the sound/m/, is/’s precedes /s, z,/ or /ʃ/, or are/’re precedes /r/. They may therefore hear, and later produce:

I’m moving as *I moving, you’re writing as *you writing and she’s skiing as *she skiing

In casual conversation, native speakers may produce both do you and did you in questions as /ʤə/, making it difficult for a learner to hear, out of context, the difference between do you see him? and did you see him?

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The difference in pronunciation between the vowels/diphthongs of the uncontracted and contracted negative forms of some auxiliaries is taken for granted by most native speakers, but can be unsettling for learners:

do not - don’t /duːnɒt - dǝʊnt/ cannot - can’t /kænɒt - kɑːnt/

shall not - shan’t /ʃælnɒt - ʃɑːnt/ will not - won’t /wIlnɒt - wǝʊnt/

Contractions

Both has and is are contracted to ’s in informal writing and to /z/ or /s/ in speech. Learners may be unsure which is intended and, as a consequence, completely misunderstand what’s being heard/read (or what’s been heard/read!) if insufficient context is provided. We can illustrate this with the following examples:

He’s taught French at home. (By his mother: is: present simple passive)

He’s taught French at home. (To private students: has: present perfect [active])

Similar difficulties can arise with ’d which can stand for both had and would:

She asked me if I’d let Tom go. (An enquiry: had: she asked. ”Did you let Tom go?”)

She asked me if I’d let Tom go. (A request: would: she asked, “Will you let Tom go?”)

Primary Auxiliary DO

Many other languages construct the negative and interrogative forms of their verbs without an auxiliary. Learners who speak these languages may produce such forms as;

*work they for do they work *we work not / *we not work for we do not work

Others may not grasp that BE as a full verb, and the primary auxiliaries and modals do not use DO in these forms, and produce such forms as:

*Do they can swim? *They do not must go. *Does Tim be English?

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The 3rd person –s ending

Although most learners understand the principle of the 3rd person –s, some may take a very long time to always use it correctly. Even upper intermediate students may occasionally make the sort of slips common among beginners:

non-use: *Mary work hard. My teacher do not mark my homework.

overuse: *I goes home after the lesson. *Does they speak Czech?

Misuse: *Peter do not likes me.

Beginners frequently ad the –s to modals: Frank cans see you now. *He wills come tomorrow.

Modals

We have already noted above the incorrect use of DO with primary auxiliaries and modals, and the incorrect use of –s in the 3rd person. Many learners fail to appreciate that modals must be the first word in any verb phrase containing a modal; they cannot therefore co-occur:

*I will must see the Director tomorrow. *you must can drive.

There can also be no perfect or continuous forms of the modals:

* I have must(ed) work late all this week. *He is canning lend me the money.

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IRREGULAR VERBS

Table 1 lists the first, second and third forms of some of the most common irregular verbs in English.

Some verbs have both an irregular and a regular 2nd and 3rd form. There is a tendency for the regular form to be more common in AmE, and the irregular in BrE (though DIVE, LIGHT, and FIT are just three of the exceptions to this). These verbs are marked with an asterisk in Table 1, and listed separately in the Table 2.

Table 1. Verbs with irregular second and third forms

Note: Bracketed forms indicate compounding possibilities (FOR)BEAR, bore, borne (BROW)BEAT, beat, beaten BEGIN, began, begun BEND, bent, bent BET* BID, bid, bid BIND, bound, bound BITE, bit, bitten BLEED, bled, bled BLOW, blew, blown BREAK, broke, broken BREED, bred, bred BRING, brought, brought BUILD, built, built BURN* BURST, burst, burst BUST* BUY, bought, bought (FORE/BROAD/MIS)CAST* CATCH, caught, caught CHOOSE, chose, chosen CLING, clung, clung (BE/OVER)COME, came, come COST* CREEP, crept, crept CUT, cut, cut DEAL, dealt, dealt DIG, dug, dug DIVE* DRAW, drew, drawn DREAM* DRINK drank, drunk DRIVE, drove, driven DWELL* EAT, ate, eaten FALL, fell, fallen (BREAST)FEED, fed, fed FEEL, felt, felt FIGHT, fought, fought FIND, found, found FIT* FLEE, fled, fled FLING, flung, flung FLY, flew, flew FORBID, forbade, forbidden FORGET, forgot, forgotten FREEZE, froze, frozen GET, got, got/gotten (FOR)GIVE, gave, given (FOR)GO, went, gone GRIND, ground, ground GROW, grew, grown HANG* (MIS)HEAR, heard, heard HIDE, hid, hidden HIT, hit, hit BE, WITH)HOLD, held, held HURT, hurt, hurt KEEP, kept, kept KNEEL*

KNIT* KNOW, knew, known (MIS)LAY, laid, laid LEAD, led, led LEAN* LEAP* LEARN* LEAVE, left, left LEND, lent, lent LET, let, let LIE* LIGHT* LOSE, lost, lost MAKE, made, made MEAN, meant, meant MEET, met, met MOW, mowed, mowed/mown PAY, paid, paid PLEAD* PROVE* PUT, put, put QUIT* (MIS)READ, read, read RID, rid, rid RIDE, rode, ridden RING* RISE, rose, risen RUN, ran run SAY, said, said (FORE)SEE, saw, seen SEEK, sought, sought SELL, sold, sold SEND, sent, sent (OFF)SET, set, set SEW* SHAKE, shook, shaken SHED, shed, shed SHINE* SHIT* SHOE, shod, shod SHOOT, shot, shot SHOW, showed, shown SHRINK, shrank, shrunk SHUT, shut, shut SING, sang, sung SINK, sank, sunk SIT, sat, sat SLAY, slew, slain (OVER)SLEEP, slept, slept SLIDE, slid, slid SLING, slung, slung SLINK, slunk, slunk SLIT, slit, slit SMELL* SNEAK* SOW* SPEAK, spoke, spoken SPEED* (MIS)SPELL* SPEND, spent, spent SPILL* SPIT* SPLIT, split, split SPOIL* SPREAD, spread, spread SPRING, sprang/sprung, sprung (UNDER)STAND, stood, stood STEAL, stole, stolen STICK, stuck, stuck STING, stung, stung STINK, stank/stunk, stunk STRIDE, strode, - STRIKE, struck, struck/stricken (HAM)STRING, strung, strung STRIVE* SWEAR, swore, sworn SWEEP, swept, swept SWELL* SWIM, swam, swum SWING, swung, swung (MIS)TAKE, took, taken TEACH, taught, taught TEAR, torn, torn (FORE)TELL, told, told THINK, thought, thought THROW, threw, thrown TREAD trod, trod/trodden WAKE, woke, woken WEAR, wore, worn WEAVE” WED* WEEP, wept, wept WET* WIN, won, won WIND, wound, wound WRITE, wrote, written

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Table 2. Verbs with both regular and irregular second and third forms

Note: Unless otherwise shown (in blue), 2nd and 3rd forms are identical BET, betted or bet BURN, burned or burnt BUST, busted or bust CAST (an actor), casted or cast CAST (=throw), cast COST (calculate a price), costed COST (have a price), cost :DIVE, dived or dove DREAM, dreamed or dreamt DWELL, dwelled or dwelt FIT, fitted or fit HANG (= execute), hanged or hung HANG (other meanings), hung KNEEL, kneeled, knelt KNIT - knitted, knit LEAN, leaned (/liːnd/) or leant (/lent/)

LEAP, leaped (/liːpt/) or leapt (/lept/)

LEARN, learned or learnt

LIE (= tell an untruth), lied LIE (= recline) lay/lain LIGHT, lighted or lit PLEAD, pleaded or pled PROVE, proved, or

proved/ proven QUIT, quitted or quit

RELAY (=transmit), relayed RELAY (=lay again), relaid RING (=put a ring round) – ringed RING (= sound bells, call), rang/rung SET (= put in sets), setted SET (other meanings), set SEW, sewed or sewed/sewn SHINE (trans.), shined or shone SHINE (intrans.), shone SHIT, shitted or shit or shat SMELL, smelled or smelt SNEAK, sneaked or snuck SOW, sowed or sowed/sown SPEED, speeded or sped SPELL, spelled or spelt SPILL, spilled or spilt SPIT, spat or spit SPOIL, spoiled or spoilt STRIVE, strived or strove/striven SWELL, swelled or

swelled/swollen WEAVE, weaved or wove/woven

WED, wedded or wed WET, wetted or wet WREAK, wreaked or wrought

To recognise verb forms, identify the elements. If the tense/aspect is ....

.... Perfect, it must have HAVE and the 3rd form (past participle)

He has played He had played

... Passive, it must have BE and the 3rd form (past participle)

It is played

It was played

... Continuous, it must have BE and the –ING form

He is playing

He was playing

Note that it is the first element, the auxiliary (BE or HAVE) which shows the tense – present or past. It follows from the information in the three boxes above, that: if the tense/aspect is ...

.... Perfect and Passive, it must have HAVE + 3rd form BE + 3rd form (past participle) (past participle)

It has been played It had been played

.... Perfect and Continuous, it must have

HAVE + 3rd form BE + -ING form (past participle)

He has been playing He had been playing

.... Continuous and Passive, it must have BE + -ING form BE + 3rd form (past participle)

It is being played It was being played

and, if the tense/aspect is ...

.... Perfect and Continuous and Passive, it must have HAVE + 3rd form BE + -ING form BE + 3rd form (past participle) (past participle) It has been being played

It had been being played

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Figure 1: Verb Form Recognition

© J E Webb, 2006, 2010

PHOTOCOPIABLE

Add a modal (for example will/would) If the original tense/aspect is ....

... Passive, we must have BE and the 3rd form (past participle)

It will be played It would be played

modal

... Continuous, we must have BE and the –ING form

He will be playing He would be playing

modal .... Perfect, we must have

HAVE and the 3rd form (past participle) He will have played He would have played

modal

Note that we must use the bare infinitive of the first primary auxilliary It follows from the information in the three boxes above, that: if the original tense/aspect is ...

and, if the tense/aspect is ...

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.... Perfect and Continuous, we must have

HAVE + 3rd form BE + -ING form (past participle) He will have been playing He would have been playing

modal

.... Perfect and Passive, we must have HAVE + 3rd form BE + 3rd form (past participle) (past participle) It will have been played It would have been played

.... Continuous and Passive, we must have BE + -ING form BE + 3rd form (past participle) It will be being played It would be being played

.... Perfect and Continuous and Passive, it must have HAVE + 3rd form BE + -ING form BE + 3rd form (past participle) (past participle) modal

It will have been being played It would have been being played

modal

Figure 2:

Verb Form Recognition, Modals

© J E Webb, 2010

PHOTOCOPIABLE

modal

Pronunciation Symbols used in this paper

Voiceless Consonants Voiced Consonants

/p/ as in: pat, happy, stop /b/ as in: bat, robbed, rub

/t/ as in: ten, night, subtle /d/ as in: dot, bladder, red

/k/ as in: cot, succour, back /g/ as in: got, ghost, league

/f/ as in: fine, coffer, laugh /v/ as in: vine, of, have

/θ/ as in: mouth (noun), thick /ð/as in: mouth (verb), the

/s/ as in: sit, listen, answer /z/ as in: zone, rose, xylophone

/ʃ/ as in: machine, dish, passion /ʒ/ as in: rouge, measure

/ʧ/ as in: chin, hatch, picture /ʤ/ as in: gin, judge

/h/ as in: has, who

/m/ as in: mat, summer, lamb

/n/ as in: not, knight, reign

/ŋ/ as in: sing, sink

/l/ as in: lead, poll, island

/r/ as in: read, horror, write

/j/ as in: yet, onion, new (BrE)

Vowels and Diphthongs /i:/ as in: bead, key, see, deceive, people, quay, encyclopaedia, foetus, police /I/ as in: bid, hymn, luggage, mountain, wanted, women, sieve, busy /e/ as in: bed, said, head, any, leisure, leopard /æ/ as in: bad, plaid /ɑː/ as in: bardª, barredª, father, aunt, heartª, clerkª, catarrh*, palm, memoir /ɒ/ as in: bod, cough, want, because, knowledge, sausage /ɔː/ as in: boredª, boardª, thought, law, awe, caught /ʊ/ as in: look, put, woman /uː/ as in: booed, boot, through, true, truth, whose, route, new /ʌ/ as in: bud, rough, money, flourish, flood, does /ɜː/ as in: birdª, burredª, turnª, herdª, heardª, myrtleª, myrrh*, worseª /ə/ as in: about, teacher*, ration, Russia, photography, thorough, bureaucrat /u/ as in: to Africa /j/ as in: I am /w/ as in: you are /ə/ as in: he’ll /eI/ as in: pagan, rain, gaol, gauge, ray, great, reign, weigh, they, /əʊ/ as in: mauve, beau, sew, go, roast, toe, brooch, although, know, /aI/ as in: aisle, either, height, eye, I, die, high, island, cry, buy, dye, /aʊ/ as in: Macleod, loud, bough, now /ɔI/ as in: coin, toy, buoy, /Iə/ as in: hero, idea, fear*, deer*, weirdª, here*, pierceª, fakir*, /eə/ as in: air*, Mary, rare*, wear*, heir*, there* Notes: * - In RP the final r is pronounced only when followed by a vowel. ª – RP the r is not pronounced.

/w/ as in: wet, what

. ©2010,,J E Webb 32

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. ©2010,,J E Webb 33