Uses of Must and Ought (to)

Must remains unchanged whatever be the tense or the number and person of the subject. It can refer to the present or future. It can point to the past only when it is used with the present perfect tense of the principal verb.
Compare:

He must go home. (Future / present)
He must have gone home. (Past)
We must see the minister now. (Present)
He must have seen the minister by now. (Past)
You must file a writ petition. (Future)

Uses of must
Must expresses compulsion or strong obligation. It is much stronger than should.

He must apologize for his mistakes.
They must pay the fine.
You must be loyal to your country.

Necessity

We must get up early and start on our way.
Must we wait for them?

Probability or likelihood
Must can express probability or likelihood.

He must be mad to do this.
Oh, there is the door bell; that must be the postman.

Strong determination
Must signifies strong determination.

I must have my own way.

Ought
Ought is different from other modal auxiliary verbs; it is followed by an infinitive with to.
Compare:

I ought to go.
I must go.
She must wait.
She ought to wait.

Ought expresses ideas such as duty, necessity, moral obligation etc. It is not as forceful as must, but it is stronger than should.

We ought to help the poor and the needy. (Duty)
You ought to exercise regularly. (Necessity)
She ought to be back by 10 o’clock.

When ought refers to past time, it is followed by the perfect infinitive.

You ought to have helped him.

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Uses of May and Migh

Permission
May is used to express permission. May not is used to deny permission.

May I come in, sir?
Yes, you may.
May I go home now?
No, you may not.

Notes
Now-a-days to deny permission we often use cannot instead of may not. This usage is probably encouraged by the fact that the contraction can’t is easier to say than the contraction mayn’t.
Possibility
May is also used to express possibility.

It may rain.
She may come.
He may get good marks.

May is also used in expressing a wish.

May God bless you!
May his soul rest in peace!

May is used in subordinate clauses that express a purpose.

Farmers use fertilizers so that they may have a rich harvest.
We eat that we may live.

Might
Might is the past tense of may in indirect speech.

He said, ‘I may stand for election.’
He said that he might stand for election.
Alice said, ‘I may come.’
Alice said that she might come.

Might and may
Might shows less possibility than may.
Compare:

It may rain. (Maybe a 50% possibility)
It might rain. (Maybe a 30% possibility)

Notes
May and might are followed by an infinitive without to.

He may come. (NOT He may to come.)
I might pass. (NOT I might to pass.)

Questions and negatives are made without do.

May I go? (NOT Do I may go?)

There is no -s in the third person singular.

She may pass. (NOT She may passes.)

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Uses of Can and Could

Ability
Can expresses ability. Cannot (can’t) shows inability.

She can speak ten languages.
I can’t cook.
Can you speak Spanish?

Sometimes can is used in the sense of may to give permission.

You can go. OR You may go.
You can take one of these shirts. OR You may take one of these shirts.

Now-a-days can is also increasingly used to ask permission.

Can I go? OR May I go?

Could
Could is the past tense of can. It is used to talk about ability that existed in the past.

In my younger days I could run four miles at a stretch.
Till last year I could read without glasses.

Note that could doesn’t always refer to past time. It refers to past time only when the context makes the time clear.
Indirect speech
Could is the past tense of can in indirect speech.

He said, ‘ I can lift this box.’
He said that he could lift that box.
She said, ‘I can’t see anything.’
She said that she couldn’t see anything.

Possibility or uncertainty
Could may express possibility or uncertainty.

You could do it, if you tried hard.
If my brother were here, we could have solved this problem together.

Could is also used to ask polite questions.

Could you, please, take me to the Manager?
Could I have a look at your papers?

Notes
Can and could are followed by infinitives without to.

I can knit. (NOT I can to knit.)
She could understand nothing. (NOT She could to understand nothing.)

Questions and negatives are made without do.

Can he speak English? (NOT Does he can speak English?)
He can’t speak English. (NOT He can doesn’t speak English.)

There is no -s in the third person singular.

She can sing. (NOT She can sings.)

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Uses of Would

Indirect speech
Would is the past tense of will in indirect speech.

Direct speech: John said, ‘I will wait until you return.’
Indirect speech: John said that he would wait until I return.

Direct speech: The boy said, ‘I will not eat this cake.’
Indirect speech: The boy said that he would not eat that cake.

Willingness and determination
Would expresses ideas such as willingness or determination.

He said that he would help me.
She said that she would wait for me.

I would have my own way. (= I am determined to have my own way.)

Habitual action in the past
Would can be used to talk about a habitual or customary action in the past.

After dinner we would all sit in the hall and chat for a while.

Would and would like to
Would is often used to express a wish. In this case it means the same as would like to.

I would know what I am supposed to do.
I would like to know what I am supposed to do.

Polite questions
Would is used to ask polite questions.

Would you like a cup of coffee? (More polite than ‘Will you like a cup of coffee?’)
Would you mind lending me your bicycle?
Would you, please, call me a taxi?

Would is also used in the main clause when preceded or followed by a subordinate clause expressing an impossible or improbable condition.

If I could fly like a bird, I would be with you now.
If I were the President, I would lower taxes.

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Uses of Should

Indirect speech
Should is the past tense of shall in indirect speech.

The officer said, ‘The scoundrel shall be given a good beating.’
The officer said that the scoundrel should be given a good beating.

Duty and obligation
Should can be used with pronouns of all the three persons to talk about duty and obligation.

We should help the poor and the needy.
We should not lie.
We should all work for the common good.
You should pay the fees in time.

Conditional clauses
Should can be used in conditional clauses expressing possibilities, suppositions etc.

If she should come, ask her to wait.
Should it rain, we will cancel the trip.

Should is often used in main clauses which are preceded or followed by a clause expressing unreal conditions.

If I were you, I should accept this offer.
No Sam, I shouldn’t do that, If I were you.

Note that this kind of sentence is often used to give polite advice or gentle admonition.
Possibility
Should is often used to express possibility or likelihood.

I should be able to finish this work in time.
You should be able to beat him.

After lest
Should is the only auxiliary verb that can be used after lest.

Watch and pray lest you should fall into temptation.

Should and shall
Should expresses less possibility than shall.

I shall be able to meet Peter.
I should be able to meet Peter.

Here the first sentence expresses a greater possibility of the event – meeting Peter – taking place.

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Uses of shall and will

With first person pronouns
With first person pronouns shall simply expresses the strong possibility or near certainty of an action or event which is to take place in the future.

We shall leave for Mumbai tomorrow.
I shall invite them to dinner.

With second and third person pronouns
When used with second and third person pronouns shall may express a command.

You shall not steal.
He shall obey my instructions.
You shall go at once.

Shall is sometimes used to make a promise.

You shall be given a present if you stand first in the exam.

Shall can also be used to express a threat.

He shall regret this.
You shall be dismissed from service.

Uses of Will
When used with first person pronouns will expresses determination on the part of the speaker. It may also express ideas such as promise, threat or willingness.
Determination

I will go whatever happens.
We will not wait any longer.

Promise

I will try to get you a good job.

Threat

I will teach you a lesson.
We will punish any one who creates trouble.

Willingness
Will may also express willingness.

‘There is the door bell.’ ‘I will go.’
‘He is taking a bath at the moment’. ‘OK, I will wait.’

With second and third person pronouns
When used with second and third person pronouns, will expresses simple futurity.

The train will leave at 6 am.
He will be back in an hour.

Notes
Will and shall are followed by an infinitive without to.

I will wait. (NOT I will to wait.)

There is no -s in the third person singular.

He will wait. (NOT He will waits.)

Questions and negatives are made without do.

He will come.
Will he come?
He will not come.

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What are copular verbs?

A copular verb is a special kind of verb used to join an adjective or noun complement to a subject. Common examples are: be (is, am, are, was, were), appear, seem, look, sound, smell, taste, feel, become and get.
A copular verb expresses either that the subject and its complement denote the same thing or that the subject has the property denoted by its complement.
For example in the sentence ‘Peter is my boyfriend’ the copular verb is asserts that Peter and my boyfriend are the same person whereas in the sentence ‘Peter is British’ the copular verb is assigns the quality of Britishness to Peter.
More examples are given below.

Honey is sweet. (Here the copular verb is assigns the quality of sweetness to honey.)
The stew smells good.
The milk turned sour.
The night grew dark.
She became a writer.

After copular verbs we use adjectives, not adverbs.
Compare:

She spoke intelligently. (Here the adverb intelligently modifies the ordinary verb spoke.)
She appears intelligent. (NOT She appears intelligently. Appears is a copular verb. It should be followed by an adjective, not an adverb.)

The copular verbs like become, get, grow, go, turn, stay, remain, keep etc., are used to talk about change or the absence of change.

I am becoming older.
I am getting older.
I am growing older.
The leaves are going yellow.
The leaves are turning yellow.

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Verbs with two objects

Many English verbs take two objects – one direct object and one indirect object. The direct object usually refers to an object. The indirect object usually refers to a person and comes first.

He gave his daugther a camera for Christmas. (Indirect object – his daughter, direct object – camera)
Could you lend me some money? (Indirect object – me, direct object – money)
Let me get you a cup of coffee. (Indirect object – you, direct object – a cup of coffee)

Some common verbs which can be followed by two objects are given below:
Bring, buy, cost, get, give, leave, lend, make, offer, owe, pass, pay, play, promise, read, refuse, send, show, sing, take, teach, tell, wish, write
Position of the direct and indirect objects
The indirect object usually comes before the direct object. We can also put the indirect object after the direct object. When the indirect object comes after the direct object, it usually has the preposition to or for before it.

She sent the flowers for me, not for you.
I handed my credit card to the salesman.

When both objects are pronouns
When both objects are pronouns, it is common to put the indirect object last. In informal style, to is occasionally dropped after it.

Lend them to her.
Send some to him.

It is also possible to put the indirect object first.

Send him some.

The verbs explain, suggest and describe
The verbs explain, suggest and describe are not used with the structure indirect object + direct object.

Please explain your decision to us.
Can you suggest a good cardiologist to me? (NOT Can you suggest me a good cardiologist?)

One object or two
Some verbs can be followed by either a direct object, or an indirect object, or both.

I asked him.
I asked a question.
I asked him a question.

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Uses of anomalous finites – part II

The anomalous finites are used to form inverted sentence patterns.

I had no sooner got into the train than it steamed off.
No sooner had I got into the train than it steamed off.

To avoid repetition of principal verbs
The anomalous finites are used in short answers to avoid the repetition of principal verbs.

‘Do you want this?’ ‘Yes, I do.’ (= Yes, I want that.’)
‘Can you hear me?’ ‘Yes, I can.’ (= Yes, I can hear you.’)
‘Who broke the window?’ ‘John, did.’ (= John broke the window.)

To form the tag question
The anomalous finites are also used in the formation of the tag question.

It is rather hot today, isn’t it?
She can sing very well, can’t she?
You like this color, don’t you?
They shouldn’t have waited, should they?

Notes
When the statement is in the positive, the tag question is in the negative. In the same way, when the statement is in the negative, the tag question is in the positive.
To emphasize an affirmative statement
We can emphasize an affirmative statement by putting the anomalous finite do or its forms before the principal verb.

I want you to come. (Less emphatic)
I do want you to come. (More emphatic)
I invited him. I did invite him.
If another World War does break out, it will put an end to our civilization.

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Uses of anomalous finites

Anomalous finites are the only verbs in modern English which can form their negatives by the simple addition of not.
Compare:

He will come. He will not come.
He came. He did not come. (NOT He came not.)
Can I do it? No, you can’t.
Should I take it? No, you shouldn’t.
He took the medicine. He did not take the medicine. (NOT He took not the medicine.)

Anomalous finites are also the only verbs that can be used with the shortened form of not.
To form questions
A question is usually formed by putting the anomalous finite before the subject of the sentence.

He is a good singer. Is he a good singer?
They have won the race. Have they won the race?
The cat will kill the mouse. Will the cat kill the mouse?

If the affirmative sentence does not contain an anomalous finite, the auxiliary do and its forms are used to make questions.

He killed the spider. Did he kill the spider? (NOT Killed he the spider?)
They went to Beijing. Did they go to Beijing?
He fell off the ladder. Did he fall off the ladder?
They make good cheese. Do they make good cheese?
She likes ice cream. Does she like ice cream?

To form negative questions
The anomalous finites are also used to form negative questions.
He does not like it. Does he not like it? Doesn’t he like it?
They do not eat meat. Do they not eat meat? Don’t they eat meat?
She did not touch it. Did she not touch it? Didn’t she touch it?
Notes
The question ‘Does he not like it?’ is more formal than the question ‘Doesn’t he like it?’

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Anomalous finites

The term anomalous finites refers to the group of 24 finites given below:

Is, am, are, was, were
Has, have, had
Do, does, did
Will, would; shall, should; can, could; may, might; must, ought, need, dare, used

As you can probably see, these are all auxiliary verbs. Some of them are also used as principal verbs. As auxiliaries their function is to help principal verbs to form their tenses and moods. As anomalous finites, they have other functions.
Anomalous finites are irregular. They do not form the past tense by the addition of -ed, -d or -t, but by a change in the root vowel. Some anomalous finites (must, ought) have no past tense forms at all. But these irregular finite verbs are different from other finite verbs in many respects and hence they are called anomalous finites.
The most obvious difference between anomalous finites and other finites is that they can be used with the contraction n’t which is the shortened form of not.

It isn’t true. (= It is not true.)
We aren’t going anywhere. (= We are not going anywhere.)
You shouldn’t do that.
I don’t know what to do.

Of the 24 anomalous finites, the forms be, have, do, need and dare are sometimes used as principal verbs and sometimes as auxiliaries. The remaining are always used as auxiliaries.
The use of anomalous finites
To form negative sentences

I know him.
I don’t know him. (NOT I know not him.)
She wrote to me.
She didn’t write to me. (NOT She wrote not to me.)

Here the anomalous finites do and did help to change positive statements into negative statements. The mere addition of not to the positive sentence is not enough in modern English.

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Verb Patterns

A transitive verb is one that has an object. The normal order of words in an English sentence is subject + verb + object.

Alice likes sweets. (Subject – Alice, Verb – likes, Object – sweets)
The principal punished the boy. (Subject – principal, Verb – punished, Object – boy)
The monk burned himself. (Subject – monk, Verb – burned, Object – himself)

Alice likes …what? Sweets
The principal punished …whom? The boy
The answer to the question what or whom is the direct object. Notice also the use of the reflexive pronoun (e.g. myself, himself, herself, themselves etc.) as an object in the third sentence.
Subject + verb + object + adverb particle
Some verbs are followed by adverb particles. Examples are: put on, take off, give away, bring up, call in etc. Sometimes the particle is detached from the verb and put after the object.

He threw it away.
They called the visitor in.
He put his coat on.
His grandmother brought him up.
You must send it back.

Note that the particle is put after the object when the object is a personal pronoun or when it is comparatively short.
The difference between an adverb particle and a preposition is that while the particle is closely tied to its verb, the preposition is closely tied to the noun or pronoun which it controls. The following are used only as adverb particles and never as prepositions – away, back, out, backward, forward, upward, downward etc. But on, off, in, up, down, to, from etc., are used as particles and prepositions.
When the object is long or when it has to be made prominent, the adverb particle comes before the object.

The chief guest gave away the prizes.
He put on an air of innocence.
The sailors put out the fire in the hold of the ship.
We will not throw away anything useful.

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What are verbs?

Read the following sentences:

Mother cooks dinner.
Children play in the park.
Barking dogs seldom bite.

In the sentences given above, the words in bold text are used to say something about a person or a thing. They say what a person or a thing does. These words are called verbs. Now read the following sentences.

We have two hands and two legs.
She is a good girl.

Here the verbs have and is show what a person has or is. These words are also called verbs. Thus we have seen that a verb is a word which shows what a person or a thing is, has or does. The verb may also express what happens or is done to the person or thing.
The thief was beaten. (Here the verb was beaten shows what happens to the thief.)
A verb may consist of more than one word. Some verbs may consist of as many as four words.

It is raining.
It has been raining.
It rains.

Transitive and intransitive verbs
Verbs that take an object are called transitive verbs.

She heard a noise. (subject – she, verb – heard, object – a noise)
He saw a pigeon. (Subject – he, verb – saw, object – a pigeon)
The girl plucked the flower. (Subject – the girl, verb – plucked, object – the flower)
The master beat the dog. (subject – the master, verb – beat, object – the dog)

Some verbs do not take an object after them. These are called intransitive verbs. Examples are: smile, sit, sleep, cry, laugh, dance etc.

The baby smiled. (Here the verb smiled is intransitive because it has no object.)
The child cried. (Here the verb cried is intransitive because it has no object.)
He sat on the bed. (Here the verb sat is intransitive because it has no object.)

Note that most verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively.

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Verbs and their properties

Verbs are words like see, work, drink, sleep, wait, shoot and take off. Verbs are distinguished from other parts of speech by a number of properties.
A verb can be marked for tense:
I work (Present tense)/ I worked. (Past tense)
She write. / She wrote.
A verb can usually be preceded by an auxiliary verb.

I have written.
She has come.
He is singing.
It is working.
You are wasting our time.

A verb is the head of a verb phrase.

I am watching news on TV. (Here the verb watching is the head of the phrase watching news on TV.)
She wrote letters.

A verb can form a gerund in -ing.

Trespassing is prohibited.
Reading is his pastime.

A verb can form a present participle and a past participle.
The present participle ends in -ing; the past participle usually ends in -ed or -en.

She has been working for hours.
It has been raining since morning.
You have drunk too much wine.

Classification of verbs
Verbs are divided into two groups: lexical verbs and auxiliaries.
Most English verbs are lexical verbs. Examples are: like, sing, wait, play etc. Lexical verbs are divided into transitive and intransitive verbs.
Transitive verbs are those verbs which take objects. Intransitive verbs do not take objects. Note that most verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively.
Certain intransitive verbs are further distinguished as copulas and quasi-copulas.
Auxiliaries are special verbs. There are 24 auxiliary verbs in English.

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Common errors in the use of verbs

Study the following sentences.

Incorrect: She told to me an interesting story.
Correct: She told me an interesting story.

The verb tell is followed by an indirect object without to.

Incorrect: She told that she wouldn’t come.
Correct: She told me that she wouldn’t come. OR She said that she wouldn’t come.

When used with a that-clause tell takes an indirect object, while say does not.

Incorrect: I want that you should be your partner.
Correct: I want you to be my partner.

The verb want cannot be used with a that-clause. It is used with a to-infinitive.

Incorrect: She suggested me to consult a doctor.
Correct: She suggested that I should consult a doctor. OR She suggested consulting a doctor.

The verb suggest should be used with a gerund or a that-clause. It cannot be used with a to-infinitive.
The verbs discuss, describe, order and request are transitive verbs. They should be followed by direct objects, and not prepositions.

Incorrect: We discussed about his plans.
Correct: We discussed his plans.

Incorrect: He described about the situation.
Correct: He described the situation.

Incorrect: I have ordered for two cups of coffee.
Correct: I have ordered two cups of coffee.

Incorrect: She requested for my help.
Correct: She requested my help.

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Verbs with prepositions and particles

Most English verbs can be followed by prepositions or adverb particles. Examples are: switch off, turn down, walk down, look at, stare at, sit down etc.

Please sit down.
Can you switch off the light?
Why are you staring at me?
I saw Alan as I was driving down the street.
She ran into the room crying.
John fell off the ladder and broke his arm.

Some verbs and prepositions/particles are always used together. Examples are: look at, stare at, throw at, listen to, switch off etc. These combinations are often called phrasal verbs. Note that the meaning of a phrasal verb is sometimes very different from the meanings of the two parts taken separately.

The meeting has been put off. (= The meeting has been postponed.) (The meaning of put off is not the same as the meanings of put and off.)

Verbs with prepositions and particles together
A few verbs can be used with both an adverb particle and a preposition. Examples are: put up with, get on with and look out for.

I can’t put up with her.

Word order
When prepositions are used with verbs, they usually go before objects.

He fell off the ladder. (NOT He fell the ladder off.)

Adverb particles can go before or after noun objects.

She switched off the heating. OR She switched the heating off.

Note that particles always go after pronoun objects.

She switched it off. (NOT She switched off it.)

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Irregular verbs

English has many irregular verbs. Students should make sure that they know all of them. Here is a list of the more common irregular verbs. For a complete list of irregular verbs, see a good dictionary.

Infinitive	Simple past	Past participle
Arise	Arose	Arisen
Awake	Awoke	Awoken
Bet	Bet, betted	Bet, betted
Beat	Beat	Beaten
Become	Became	Become
Begin	Began	Begun
Bend	Bent	Bent
Bind	Bound	Bound
Bite	Bit	Bitten
Bleed	Bled	Bled
Blow	Blew	Blown
Break	Broke	Broken
Bring	Brought	Brought
Build	Built	Built
Burn	Burned/burnt	Burned/burnt
Buy	Bought	Bought
Catch	Caught	Caught
Choose	Chose	Chosen
Come	Came	Come
Cost	Cost	Cost
Cut	Cut	Cut
Deal	Dealt	Dealt
Dig	Dug	Dug
Do	Did	Done
Draw	Drew	Drawn
Dream	Dreamt/dreamed	Dreamt/dreamed
Drink	Drank	Drunk
Drive	Drove	Driven
Eat	Ate	Eaten
Fall	Fell	Fallen
Feed	Fed	Fed
Fight	Fought	Fought
Find	Found	Found
Fly	Flew	Flown
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten
Forgive	Forgave	Forgiven
Freeze	Froze	Frozen
Get	Got	Got/gotten
Give	Gave	Given
Go	Went	Gone/been
Grow	Grew	Grown
Hang	Hung	Hung
Have	Had	Had
Hear	Heard	Heard
Hide	Hid	Hidden
Hit	Hit	Hit
Hold	Held	Held
Hurt	Hurt	Hurt
Keep	Kept	Kept
Know	Knew	Known
Lay	Laid	Laid
Lead	Led	Led
Lean	Leant/leaned	Leant/leaned
Learn	Learnt/learned	Learnt/learned
Mean	Meant	Meant
Read	Read	Read
Ride	Rode	Ridden
Shake	Shook	Shaken
Sink	Sank	Sunk
Speed	Sped	Sped
Steal	Stole	Stolen
Spoil	Spoilt/spoiled	Spoilt/spoiled
Swing	Swung	Swung
Teach	Taught	Taught
Throw	Threw	Thrown
Wear	Wore	Worn
Write	Wrote	Written

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Verb + object + complement

Some transitive verbs can be followed by an object together with an object complement which is usually an expression that gives more information about the object.

They elected him their leader. (Object – him; object complement – their leader)
You make me happy. (Object – me; object complement – happy)
I found her attitude disgusting. (Object – her attitude; object complement – disgusting)

After some verbs we use the structure ‘object + as + complement’. Verbs that are usually followed by this structure are: see, describe, regard, identify, consider etc.

I see him as a nice person.
We considered the project as wasteful.
She described her lover as a tall, dark and handsome guy.
We regard him as a genius.

Sometimes we use as being instead of as.

The police regard him as being dangerous.

After some verbs we use an object + infinitive. In an informal style, we can use a that-clause.

We considered him to be a genius. (Formal)
We considered that he is a genius. (Informal)
We believed him to be reliable. (Formal)
We believed that he is reliable. (Informal)

Note that the verb think cannot be followed by an object + to-infinitive. Instead, we use a that-clause.

I thought that she was reliable. (NOT I thought her to be reliable.)

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Be and have

To talk about experiencing physical sensations like hunger, thirst, heat and cold, we use the structure be + adjective. Feel + adjective is also possible. Note that we do not usually use have + noun to express these ideas.

I am hungry. (NOT I have hunger.)
Are you thirsty? (NOT Do you have thirst?)
Are you warm enough?
I am sleepy.
I am afraid.
I feel hungry.
I feel fine.
I feel cold.

Note also the expressions:
Be right, be wrong and be lucky.

You are right.
He is lucky.
Am I wrong?

Height, weight, age, size and color

Be, and not have, is used to talk about height, weight, age, size and color.

She is nearly forty. (NOT She has nearly forty.)
Her eyes are blue. (NOT Her eyes have blue.)
My brother is six feet tall. (NOT My brother has six feet height.)
She is the same height as her husband.
What size are your shoes?
I wish I was a few inches taller.
I wish I was a few kilos lighter.

Note that in measuring expressions we do not use be heavy.

She weighs forty-eight kilos. (NOT She is forty-eight kilos heavy.)

Note on the verb weigh
Weigh is one of those verbs which are not normally used in the progressive form.

I weighed fifty-six kilos two months ago. (NOT I was weighing fifty-six kilos two months ago.)

However, weigh can be used in the progressive form when it does not mean ‘have weight’.

The scales broke when she was weighing herself the other day.

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Different kinds of phrasal verbs

There are mainly four kinds of phrasal verbs. Here is a guide to the basics of phrasal verbs.

Separable and non-separable phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are made by putting adverb particles or prepositions after verbs. Phrasal verbs made with prepositions are usually non-separable. That means the verb and the preposition always go together.
We set off for the beach. (NOT We set for the beach off.)
He fell off the ladder. (NOT He fell the ladder off.)
Phrasal verbs made with adverb particles are usually separable. That means the particle can go before or after the object.
I picked up the baby. OR I picked the baby up.
She switched off the light. OR She switched the light off.
The two parts of a separable phrasal verb are always separated when the object is a pronoun.
I picked her up. (NOT I picked up her.)

Phrasal Verbs which Don’t Take Objects

Phrasal verbs which take objects are always separable. Some phrasal verbs do not take objects. These are always inseparable.
They have gotten away.
The car broke down on the way to work.
I get up early in the morning.
How do you know whether a phrasal verb is separable or not? Well, there is no easy way of finding it out. But you can do one thing. Use a noun or noun phrase as object and do not separate the phrasal verb. In this way, you will always be correct.

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Using want

Infinitive with to
After want, we normally use an infinitive with to.

I want to go. (NOT I want go.) (NOT I want going.)
I want to come back here again.
She wants to be a pilot.

Want cannot be followed by that-clauses, but we can use an object + infinitive structure.

I want him to go now.
Do you want me to make you some tea? (NOT Do you want that I make you some coffee?)
I don’t want him to come here again.
I want you to be my queen.

Want can be followed by an object + complement.

We want him dead or alive.
I want him back.
I want the job finished by Tuesday.

When the object complement is a noun, we use to be or as before it.

I want you to be my girlfriend.
OR I want you as my girlfriend.

In British English, want can mean ‘need’. In this case, it can be followed by an –ing form.

Your hair wants cutting. (= Your hair needs to be cut.)
That carpet wants a clean. (= That carpet needs to be cleaned.)

Note that we do not use want in polite offers or requests.

Would you like some help? (NOT Would you want some help?)

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Verbs: some common mistakes

Here is a list of errors students often make in the use of verbs.

Incorrect: My father told me that honesty was the best policy.
Correct: My father told me that honesty is the best policy.

We usually use a past tense in the subordinate clause when the verb in the main clause is in the past tense. However, a past tense is unnecessary when the subordinate clause gives information that is always true.

Incorrect: The cashier-cum-accountant are on leave today.
Correct: The cashier-cum-accountant is on leave today.

Expressions like the cashier-cum-accountant refer to one person and hence a singular verb is needed.

Incorrect: The cashier and the accountant is on leave today.
Correct: The cashier and the accountant are on leave today.

Incorrect: I am so weak that I may not walk.
Correct: I am so weak that I cannot walk.

To talk about ability we use can, not may.

Incorrect: Tell me why are you beating the child.
Correct: Tell me why you are beating the child.

Incorrect: I don’t know why is she late.
Correct: I don’t know why she is late.

The two sentences given above are examples of indirect questions. In indirect questions, there is no inversion of subject and verb.

Incorrect: The ship was drowned.
Correct: The ship sank.

People drown. Ships and boats sink.

Incorrect: Seldom I visit my parents.
Correct: Seldom do I visit my parents.

Incorrect: This food is hard to be digested.
Correct: This food is hard to digest.

Incorrect: I never have, and I never will do it.
Correct: I have never done and I will never do it.

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Word order: position of verbs

Verbs usually go immediately after subjects. There are mainly two kinds of verbs: auxiliary verbs and main verbs.
A verb can consist of just one word. Affirmative sentences in the simple present and simple past tenses have one-word verbs.

John broke another window yesterday.
Alice invited me to her party.
He rejected the offer.

Sentences in other tenses have verbs consisting of more than one word. Note that in a three-word verb, the first two are auxiliary verbs whereas the third one is the main verb.

They have been invited. (Auxiliary verbs: have, been; main verb: invited)
Susie is writing. (Auxiliary verb: is; main verb: writing)

Auxiliary verbs always go before main verbs.
In questions the auxiliary verb comes before the subject whereas the main verb goes after the subject.

Has Susie arrived? (NOT Has arrived Susie?)
What did he say? (NOT What said he?)

In WH-questions, question words go before the auxiliary verbs.
We can form affirmative sentences without auxiliary verbs, but we cannot form questions or negatives without them.
The only type of word that can go between the subject and the verb are adverbs of frequency. Examples are: usually, often, never, seldom, always and occasionally.

She often visits her friends in Singapore.
I usually get up at 7 am.
We sometimes watch action films.

When the verb consists of three words, the frequency adverb goes after the first.

I have never been invited to their parties. (NOT I have been never invited to their parties.) (NOT I have been invited never to their parties.)

Other adverbs usually go at the beginning or at the end of a sentence.

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Phrasal verbs with pass

A phrasal verb is a two-word idiomatic expression. It is made by putting a verb and a preposition or an adverb particle together.
Pass is used in a number of common phrasal verbs. Here is a list of them.
Pass around
To pass something around is to give it to everyone present.
She passed the notice around.
Pass away
To pass away is to die.
She passed away peacefully last night.
Pass by
Pass by has several meanings
a) to miss an opportunity
I don’t want this opportunity to pass me by.
b) to visit briefly
We passed by the supermarket on the way home.
c) to go past without stopping
Somebody just passed by the window.
Pass on
Pass on has several meanings.
a) to die
She passed on when she was just thirty-three.
b) give a message to someone
Will you pass on that the match has been cancelled?
c) to decline an opportunity or an offer
It was such a good opportunity that I didn’t want to pass it on.
Pass out
To pass out is to lose consciousness.
She passed out from fatigue.
Pass through
To pass through is to visit a place briefly.
I passed through Thane on my way to Mumbai.
Pass to
To pass something to someone else is to give them the ownership of it.
This restaurant will pass to his son when he dies.
Pass up
To pass up is to decline an opportunity.

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Idioms and phrases with play

A number of common idiomatic expressions use the word play. Here is a list of them.
Play along
To play along is to pretend that something is funny or good just to make someone else happy.
I knew that she was playing a prank on me but I decided to play along.
Play around

To play around is to act in a silly manner.

Play at = to do something just for fun

He played at painting for a while, but he never really got serious about it.

Play back
To play back is to listen to something that has been recorded.

I will play it back once the recording is over.

Play down
To play something down is to try to make it seem less important.

He played down the fact that there was a police complaint against him.

Play off
A play off is usually a game played to decide the winner of a tie.
Play off can also mean ‘make people compete against each other for your own benefits.’

He is a shrewd businessman who has always managed to make his rivals play off each other.

Play on
To play on is to exploit the feelings or fears of another person to one’s own advantage.

He always plays on her insecurities.

Play out = see through till the end

We are determined to play it out until the very end, no matter what the outcome will be.

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Phrasal verbs with take

Take is used in a number of common phrasal verbs. Here is a simple exercise about phrases using the word take.
Complete the following sentences.
1. The new manager is expected to take ………………………………….. on March 15th.
a) on                      b) over                 c) down
2. He took ……………………………………. fishing on retirement.
a) to                       b) for                     c) over
3. We moved that table to another room because it was taking …………………………………… a lot of space.
a) up                      b) over                 c) to
4. The inn-keeper refused to take us ……………………………………..
a) in                       b) on                     c) over
5. She was taken ………………………………………. a French woman.
a) for                     b) to                      c) up
6. Julie takes ……………………………………… her elder sister.
a) after                 b) on                     b) up
7. The opposition asked the minister to take his statement ………………………………………….
a) back                  b) on                     c) up
8. The aircraft took …………………………………………….. on time.
a) off                     b) on                     c) down
Answers
1. The new manager is expected to take over on March 15th. (take over – assume charge)
2. He took to fishing on retirement. (take to – develop as a hobby)
3. We moved that table to another room because it was taking up a lot of space. (take up – occupy space)
4. The inn-keeper refused to take us in. (take in – receive people as guests)
5. She was taken for a French woman. (take for – suppose to be)
6. Julie takes after her elder sister. (take after – resemble)
7. The opposition asked the minister to take his statement back. (take back – withdraw a statement)
8. The aircraft took off on time.

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Uses of the verb do

Read the following sentences in the simple present tense.

I walk. I don’t drive. Do I walk? Yes, I do. Do I drive? No, I don’t drive.
He speaks English. He does not speak French. Does he speak English? Yes, he does. Does he speak French? No, he doesn’t.
I like coffee. I do not like tea. Do I like coffee? Yes, I do. Do I like tea? No, I don’t.
Birds fly. Animals don’t fly. Do birds fly? Yes, they do. Do animals fly? No, they don’t.
Cats chase mice. Cats don’t chase dogs. Do cats chase mice? Yes, they do. Do cats chase dogs? No, they don’t.

The auxiliary verb do is used to make questions and negative sentences in the simple present tense. Does is the singular form of do.
Note that don’t and doesn’t are the contracted forms of do not and does not.
In the sentences given above, do is used as an auxiliary verb. Do can also be used as the main verb in affirmative clauses. When do is used as a main verb, it can refer to any kind of activity.

Do your homework.
He does his work diligently.
He did his job well.
I do my homework in the evening.
Who did this?
I have cooked the meals, and I will do the dishes now.

Do as a substitute verb
In British English, do can also be used as a substitute for the main verb after an auxiliary.

‘Do you think she will recognize me?’ ‘She might do.’ (= She might recognize you.)

In American English, do is not normally used like this.

‘Do you think our team will win?’ ‘They might do.’ (GB) ‘They might.’ (US)

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Not so common reporting verbs

In informal spoken reports, say, think and ask are the most common reporting verbs. These verbs can go before sentences or between clauses.

She asked me what I was doing there.
He said that he wouldn’t go.
I thought that it was funny.

A much wider variety of reporting verbs are also available in English. If you repeat the reporting verbs say and think, your writing and speech will become boring after a while.
The reporting verbs given in this lesson are not very common, but they are quite useful.
To say something suddenly
Use a reporting verb like blurt, exclaim or snap to suggest that somebody said something suddenly.
Blurt
To blurt something out is to say something suddenly without thinking about the consequences.

She blurted out his name.

To snap is to speak to someone in a sudden, angry way.

‘Who do you think you are?’ he snapped angrily.

Exclaim
To exclaim is to say something suddenly and loudly, especially because you are surprised, impressed, upset, angry etc

‘Hurrah!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘We’ve won!’

Giving advice, opinion etc.
Some common reporting verbs used to give advice or express your opinion are: advise, argue, caution, note, observe, warn etc.

The mother cautioned the child to be careful while crossing the road.
The teacher warned the students to be extra careful while handling harmful chemicals.

Say loudly
The following reporting verbs can be used to suggest that somebody said something loudly: exclaim, bellow, call, cry, scream, shout, yell
Bellow
To bellow is to shout something loudly.

‘I won’t go!’ he bellowed.

Scream
To scream is to make a loud cry because you are frightened or hurt.

When he saw a dark figure moving towards him, the boy screamed in horror.

Yell
To yell is to say something in a loud voice.

Why are you yelling at me?

Shout
To shout is to say something loudly.

He shouted that he was busy.

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The future perfect tense

The future perfect tense is used to describe an action that will have been completed at a certain point of time in the future. Consider this situation. You are working on a project and you will finish it in two months. Then at the end of two months, you will have completed that project. Note the form of the verb in used in this tense: will / shall + have + past participle form of the verb.
The future perfect tense is commonly used with a future time expression like by next week, by the end of this year etc.

The train will have left by the time you reach the station. (Here the phrase by the time you reach identifies a certain point of time in the future.)
I will have moved into my new office by the end of this month.
I will have eaten every chocolate in that box before my mom returns from work.
Susan will have finished her studies before she gets married.

Negative forms are made by putting not after will / shall.

I will not have learned my lessons before dad arrives.
We will not have repaired the roof before monsoon sets in.

The question forms are made by putting will / shall before the subject.

Will you have gone to bed before I arrive?
Will they have returned the money before the end of this week?

An overview of the future tenses
The future perfect tense is one of the four future tenses. Here is an overview of the other three future tense forms.
Simple future
Form: will / shall + infinitive.

She will come.
I shall help you.

Future continuous
Form: will / shall + be + -ing form of the verb.

She will be working on that report now.
They will be having dinner.

Future perfect continuous tense
Form: will / shall + have + been + -ing form of the verb

She will have been writing an essay.

Note that this tense form is very rarely used.

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The future perfect tense

The train will have left by the time you reach the station. (Here the phrase by the time you reach identifies a certain point of time in the future.)
I will have moved into my new office by the end of this month.
I will have eaten every chocolate in that box before my mom returns from work.
Susan will have finished her studies before she gets married.

Negative forms are made by putting not after will / shall.

I will not have learned my lessons before dad arrives.
We will not have repaired the roof before monsoon sets in.

The question forms are made by putting will / shall before the subject.

Will you have gone to bed before I arrive?
Will they have returned the money before the end of this week?

She will come.
I shall help you.

Future continuous
Form: will / shall + be + -ing form of the verb.

She will be working on that report now.
They will be having dinner.

Future perfect continuous tense
Form: will / shall + have + been + -ing form of the verb

She will have been writing an essay.

Note that this tense form is very rarely used.

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Copular verbs and action verbs

In English, there are mainly two types of verbs: copular verbs and action verbs.
Copular verbs are also called linking verbs because they link the subject with a following adjective or noun. The most common copular verb is be. It has several forms. Examples are: is, am, are, was, were, being, been etc. As you can see, being and been are the present and past participle forms of be.
Copular verbs refer to states, rather than actions. Therefore, they are also called stative verbs.
Although copular verbs are different from action verbs, they are still considered finite verbs. And therefore, each clause can have just one copular verb. Note that infinitives, participles and gerunds are not finite verbs.
Action verbs, on the other hand, actually describe accomplishments, achievements or activity.
Copular verbs do not state what the subject does. Instead, they show what or who the subject is.

She is an architect.
That seems impossible.
She turned pale.
The night grew dark.
The milk turned sour.

As you can see, in all of the sentences given above, the copular verb shows a certain state of the subject.
We use adjectives to modify copular verbs. Action verbs, on the other hand, are modified by adverbs.
Compare:

She drove carefully through the streets. (Here the adverb carefully modifies the action verb drove.)
She was careful as she drove through the streets. (Here the adjective careful modifies the copular verb was.)

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Height, weight, age, size and color

Separable and non-separable phrasal verbs

Phrasal Verbs which Don’t Take Objects

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