English verbs can be classified as follows.
| TO BE (as main verb) |
am, is, are, was, were. |
| MODALS | can, could, may, might, would, should, must, had better, ought to, |
| AUXILIARIES | – do, does, did- TO BE (am, is, are, was, were) + gerund/past participle- have, has, had + past participle- will + base form |
| COMMON VERBS | have (own), live, like, work, speak… |
EXAMPLES:
TO BE
a. Karen is happy in Colombia.
b. Her brothers are very jealous.
c. She was my boss.
AUXILIARIES
a. Do you know Martin?
b. My parents don’t speak English.
c. They didn’t see the sign.
d. We are listening.
e. Is Carlos waiting?
f. She was sleeping.
g. My cousins were staying in my house last
week.
h. They have eaten sushi many times.
i. Lucia has lived here since last year.
j. Juan had finished before ten o’clock.
k. We will talk about this later. / She
won’t come tomorrow.
l. English is spoken around the world.
m. My book was
stolen.
MODAL VERBS
a. My sister can dance zamba.
b. The quiz would be next week.
c. You had better not cry.
d. Jim and Lou have to go home.
e. The girl has to
study.
COMMON VERBS
a. We have class twice a week.
b. She has a dog and a cat.
c. Catherine speaks three languages.
d. She worked in Portales.
e. She didn’t know
the answer.
In English, common verbs (that is the majority of verbs which are not
the verb TO BE or MODALS) have forms. There are five of them.
|
BASE |
BASE + S |
GERUND |
PAST |
PAST PARTICIPLE |
|
LIVE |
LIVES |
LIVING |
LIVED |
LIVED1 |
|
TAKE |
TAKES |
TAKING |
TOOK |
TAKEN3 |
|
FIGHT |
FIGHTS |
FIGHTING |
FOUGHT |
FOUGHT2 |
|
HAVE |
HAS |
HAVING |
HAD |
HAD2 |
|
GO |
GOES |
GOING |
WENT |
GONE3 |
1.
Regular verbs have the same spelling in both the past and the past participle.
2.
Many irregular verbs also have the same spelling in both the past and the past
participle.
3.
Some irregular verbs are spelled differently in past or past participle.
The verb TO BE, doesn’t have a base + s form. Instead, it has a special spelling which is called inflection, and that is in present.
|
BASE |
PRESENT |
GERUND |
PAST |
PAST PARTICIPLE |
|
BE |
AM IS ARE |
BEING |
WAS WERE |
BEEN |
The base form of common verbs is NOT in present. It can be
used in SIMPLE PRESENT, but also in SIMPLE PAST and after modal verbs.
Examples:
|
My friend |
didn’t |
live |
in USA. |
|
auxiliary verb |
main verb (base form) |
(in this example, “live” is in the base form, but the sentence is in SIMPLE PAST!)
|
Juan |
can |
speak |
English and French. |
|
modal verb |
main verb (base form) |
(in this example, the sentence is in simple present because “can” is
in present.)
|
My father |
could |
swim |
1 kilometer at the age |
|
modal verb |
main verb (base form) |
(in this example, the sentence is in simple past because “could” is
in past.)
- The Simple Present uses the base and the base + s forms of common verbs.
Examples:
|
Josh and Mike |
work |
in a very important company. |
|
Base form |
.
|
Lucia |
speaks |
five languages. |
|
Base + s form |
- It also uses two auxiliaries do
and does whose negative forms are don’t and doesn’t.
| Robert | doesn’t | speak | French. |
| auxiliary | main verb (base) |
.
| The neighbors | don’t | like | my dog. |
| auxiliary | main verb (base) |
.
|
Where |
do |
I |
get |
my visa? |
|
auxiliary |
main verb (base) |
.
|
Does |
she |
like |
your dress? |
|
auxiliary |
main verb (base) |
You know that all of the sentences
above are in Simple Present because of the AUXILIARIES (do, does, don’t,
doesn’t), not because of the main
verbs.
- Simple Present also uses the
verb TO BE, only if the verb TO BE is
the main verb.
Examples:
|
The owners |
are |
very happy with their house. |
|
main verb |
.
|
I |
am |
one of the teachers. |
|
main verb |
.
|
Carlos |
is |
the captain of the ship. |
|
main verb |
