He is helping her.
The door was
opened.
I have to
be there at 5. P.m.
It may
rain tomorrow.
An auxiliary is a verb that is used to form the tenses, moods, voices
etc of other verbs.
The Auxiliary verbs in English
‘Be’ and its forms : am, is, are, was, were
‘Have’ and its forms : has, had
‘Do’ and its forms : does, did
Shall, should : Will, Would
Can, could : may, might
Must, ought (to) : need, dare.
Among these be, have, do are used to express statements of fact. So, they are called Primary auxiliaries.
He
is writing a novel.
They were
soldiers.
She didn’t
do it properly.
All other auxiliaries are used to express the
conceptions of the mind such as wishes, expectations, possibilities,
probabilities, possibilities etc (Mood or Manners). So, they are called Modal Auxiliaries.
They are actually coloured by the speaker’s feelings (Hopes, fears,
expectations etc)
She may come : She must come.
She need not come : She dare not come.
She will come : She can come
A.
The Primary Auxiliaries
The primary auxiliaries, be, have and do are
used both as Principal verbs. (main verbs) and as Auxiliaries. (Helping verbs)
John is a good teacher.
(Principal verb)
Mary was cleaning the room.
(Auxiliary)
She has a bad back pain.
(Principal)
She has taken a pain killer.
(Auxiliary)
He did his work well. (Principal)
Where did you put the book. (Auxiliary)
‘Be’ as a principal verb
Vivek is a lawyer (linking the subject
with a noun)
She is very beautiful. (linking
the subject with an adjective)
Your book is there. (linking the
subject with an adverb)
He is to retire next year.
(linking the subject with an infinitive)
Be
quiet. (expressing a command)
Be
a good boy. (giving an advice)
‘Be’ as an Auxiliary verb
·
He
is painting the wall. -
·
They
were standing at the gate. – (both these sentences form present and past continuous)
§ The dinner is being cooked
§ They were questioned.
§
He
was treated badly. (these three
sentences – to form passive voice)
‘Have’ as a principal verb.
She has a Benz car. (possession)
He had a head ache. (experience)
I have a message from her.
(receiving)
‘Have’ as an auxiliary
(to form perfect tenses)
You have
violated the rules.
She has
turned down their offer.
She had gone before they entered.
‘Do’ as a principal verb
(performing an act)
Can you do
it by yourself?
You must do
it correctly.
‘Do’ as an auxiliary verb
(to ask questions)
Do you know where
he lives?
Did
you pay the bill?
Don’t
you agree with her?
(To form negative sentence)
I saw him there – I didn’t see him there.
She gave me the money – She didn’t
give me the money
(to emphasise an assertion)
I do admit that I was wrong
They did say that they would pay
up.
B. Modal Auxiliaries
The Modal
auxiliaries shall, should; will, would; can, could; may, might; must,
ought(to); need, dare; are never used alone, have single form whatever be the
person and won’t have the infinitive or participle forms.
You can win – She can win
He
may pass – They may pass
(We can’t say 'to must' or 'musting' like 'to win' and
'winning')
Shall
‘Shall’ expresses the strong possibility or near
certainty of an event or action that is to take place in the future.
When shall we meet again?
Shall
we begin?
(Shall is now used only with ‘we’, that too in seeking
permission or in making suggestion)
Will
1. ‘Will’ is used to express a determination, promise,
threat or willingness with the first person (I, We)
I will do it, whatever happens.
(determination)
We will thing over it and let you
know soon. (promise)
I will teach him a lesson. (threat)
Ok, I will come with you.
(willingness)
2. ‘Will’ expresses the strong possibility or war
certainty of an event or action that is to take place in the future with the
second and third persons. (you, he, she, it, they)
John will be back in August.
The train will leave the station at 10. P. M.
Should
1. ‘Should’ is the past tense of ‘shall’ and is used as
such in indirect speech. (Reported speech)
Direct: He said, ‘We shall
assemble here tomorrow’.
Indirect:
He said that they should assemble there the next day.
2. ‘Should’ is
used to express duty or obligation
You should tell the truth.
He should pay the fee in time.
We should work for the common good.
3. ‘Should’ is used in conditional clauses to express
possibilities or suppositions.
If he should come, ask him to wait.
(less possibility than, “If he comes ask him to wait.)
Should it rain, there won’t be an outing
today.
4. ‘Should’ expresses less possibility than ‘shall’
I shall be happy to meet John.
I should be happy to meet John.
5. ‘Should’ is used in main clauses, expressing unreal
conditions.
If I were you, I should accept this offer.
Were
I a king, I shouldn’t be happier than I am.
4. ‘Should’ is the only auxiliary that is used after ‘lest’
The army surrounded the house lest the
terrorists should escape.
Watch
and pray lest you should fall into temptation.
5. ‘Should’ is used to express a polite form of making a statement with
‘should like to’
I should like to convey my sincere thanks to all
of you for your encouragement.
I
should like to congratulate the participants on the high level of the
debate we have had.
Would
1. ‘Would’ is the past tense of ‘will’ and is used as such
in indirect speech.
She said, “I will not help him
anymore”
She said that she would not help
him anymore.
2. ‘Would’
expresses ‘willingness’ and ‘determination’
They said they would try their best to help me (willingness)
I would help him though many advised me not to do. (determination)
3. ‘Would’ expresses a customary action in the past.
After supper we would sit in the
drawing room and watch the T.V for some time.
The crows would come and pick up
the crumbs from his hand then.
4. ‘Would’ and
‘would like to’ express a wish
I would like to know what my duty
is.
Treat others as you would be
treated by others.
5. ‘Would rather’
express choice or preference.
She would rather die than marry
him.
I would rather read a novel than
see that boring.
6. ‘Would’ is used
for asking polite questions.
Would you like a cup of coffee.
Would you mind lending me your phone to
make a call?
7. Would is used
in main clauses expressing un real and improbable conditions.
If I were a king, I would make you my
Queen.
Were I the Prime Minister, I would allot
a sizable fund for the development of highways in our state.
PROFICIENCY IN ENGILSH LANGUAGE (MALAYALAM) PART – 16 – VERB 4