Monday, 27 June 2022

VERB - 4 - The Auxiliaries (Primary and Modal Auxiliaries)

        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


------Thulasidharan V

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