PROFESSOR GREGORY DOWLING Module Course - II semester, I period.

Introduction
Auxiliary Verbs Primary auxiliary verbs: do, have, be
Modal auxiliary verbs: can, may, could, might, shall, will, should, must, need, dare
Other auxiliary verbs: used to, ought to

Primary auxiliary verbs (do, have, be)

Stative and dynamic verbs

Dynamic verbs: verbs that describe “ events ” or “actions” : answer, act, kick, put, go…

Stative verbs: verbs that deal with “ states ”: they are only used with
Simple aspect: Verbs of the senses: see, hear, notice
Verbs of the emotions: like, dislike, love, hate, want, prefer, mind, care Verbs of thought processes: believe, feel,
know, realise, recognise, remember, suppose, think, understand
Verbs of possession: belong to, possess, own, have
Verbs of inherent properties: appear, be, consist of, contain, cost, fit, have, hold, look, measure, seem, smell,
sound, taste, weigh

A. What do you think?

B. What are you thinking about?
Many of these verbs can be used in two ways: in sentence A, the verb is stative in meaning; in sentence B, it is
dynamic in meaning.
The verb know is always stative in English.

BE AND HAVE
Be as a dynamic verb:
 Now you are being silly
 He’s being a real nuisance today
In this sense, where “be” has a similar meaning to “behave”, the verb can be used in the progressive form.

Have Have as an auxiliary verb:

Have you seen that new film?

Have as a full verb:

What time do you have lunch?

Have as a dynamic verb:

He’s having a bath.

FUTURE

will/shall + infinitive: I'll leave tomorrow.

be going to + infinitive: I'm going to leave tomorrow.
present progressive: I'm leaving tomorrow.
will/shall + progressive infinitive: I'll be leaving tomorrow.
present simple: I leave tomorrow.

WILL AND SHALL

Will and Shall are modal verbs.
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They express unpremeditated intention:

sudden decisions: I know what I'll do: I'll write her a letter!
offers: Shall I fetch your glasses?
requests: Will you shut the door, please?
threats: I'll smash your face in if you don't shut up.
promises: I'll pay you back, I swear

Will for timeless prediction:

The lift will take twenty people.
The car will do 100 miles per hour.
Boys will be boys

Won’t for objects that “refuse” to fulfil their functions.

The car won't start.
The window won't open.
The computer won’t turn on.

Stressed will: strong volition:

If you will smoke, you can expect to die early

WILL AND GOING TO

Will expresses unpremeditated intention.

Going to expresses premeditated intention

Prediction based on present state of affairs:

A. Look at those clouds. It's going to rain.
B. She's going to have a baby.
It's going to rain tomorrow.

WILL/SHALL + PROGRESSIVE INFINITIVE FOR THE FUTURE I'll be seeing him tomorrow.

PAST

USED TO and BE USED TO

A. I used to get up early.
B. I'm used to getting up early.
A. I used to get up early = Una volta mi alzavo presto.
This refers to a habit in the past.
B. I'm used to getting up early = Sono abituato ad alzarmi presto.

WOULD
Would for typical behaviour in the past.
When I was at the university I would always study in the evening

Stressed would: strong volition in the past

Well, if he would sit in a draught, he was bound to catch a cold.
He wouldn't listen to my advice, so of course he got into trouble.

The Present Perfect always implies an interest in the effects of the action (or event or state of affairs) on the
present:
“Have you made a cake?” = “Is there a cake I can eat?”
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“Have you eaten enough?” = “Are you hungry?”

Adverbs of time with the Present Perfect:

A. ever, never, already, so far, yet
B. just, recently
C. it's the first time... , it's the second time... etc.
D. today, this week, this month, this year…
I've done a lot of work this morning. (It's still morning.)
I got up late this morning. (This refers to a particular point of time in the morning.)

BEEN AND GONE

“been to” can be considered an alternative participle form of the verb go.
Go - went - gone / been
Gone means andato via.
Been means andato e ritornato.

For is used with the period of time that continues up to the present.
Since refers to the point of time in the past at which the period began.
Since is only used for periods that continue up to now (unless the verb is in the Past Perfect rather than the
Present Perfect).

It's ages since I last went to London.

It's ten years since they last saw him.
This is the same as I haven't been to London for ages.
They haven't seen him for ten years.
It’s ages since I last saw my brother OR I haven’t seen my brother for ages
THE PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
It's been raining.
He's been watching television all morning.
How long have you been waiting?

The Present Perfect Progressive cannot be used with stative verbs.

Please note that the only quantification possible with the Present Perfect Progressive is a quantification of time:
I’ve been writing emails all morning.

C. Someone's been drinking my wine.

D. Someone’s drunk my wine.
Sentence C refers to an activity that has been going on but has not concluded; this means the glass is not empty.
In sentence D, instead, there is no wine left

E. He's been eating cheese.

F. He's eaten some cheese.
Again, we can consider sentence E as the answer to the question: “What’s he been doing?” or “How has he been
spending his time?”
Sentence F answers the question: “What has he eaten?” Please notice that “some” is a quantifier.
It would not be possible to say: He’s been eating some cheese.

Present Perfect Progressive: "up-to-now" use:

I've been waiting for two hours.
He's been singing all morning.

The Present Perfect Progressive is used with verbs that denote temporary activities (wait, sit, stand) or when we
are referring to activities and habitual actions that are continually repeated, even over long periods of time.

I've been making violins all my life.

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I've worked here all my life
I've been taking this bus home for ten years now.
I've lived here for ten years

Note that with verbs that do not usually refer to repeated actions, but to a continuous state (such as work or live),
we tend to make a distinction between permanent and temporary time scales.

THE PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE IN THE NEGATIVE.

He hasn't been working long - only two hours.

Since the present perfect progressive contains the idea of continuity (an action that has been going on
continuously or repeatedly for some time), it is not very common to find it in the negative. However, it is
occasionally found, with certain specific and rather restricted meanings.
The above sentence, for example, means “He has been working but not for very long.”
That is to say, the “not” actually refers to “very long”, and not to the verb “work”.
Fred hasn't been writing emails, he's been playing video-games.

In this case, the “not” in “hasn’t been writing” has a rather specific meaning. It means that Fred has been doing
something; that particular something is not “writing emails”, as perhaps someone else has suggested, but rather
“playing video-games.”

We can imagine a dialogue along the following lines: “Poor Fred. He’s been writing emails all morning. He must be
exhausted now.”
“Poor Fred my foot. He hasn’t been writing emails; he’s been playing video-games.”

C. Tom and Jim haven't been talking to one another recently.

In this case the use of the present perfect progressive in the negative suggests that this is an anomalous situation.
Usually Tom and Jim talk to each a lot. The structure is only really natural if you have an adverb like “recently” or
“for the last couple of weeks…” or something similar.

But if you want to say: sono anni che non fumo / che non vedo mio fratello / che non guido... you do NOT use the
progressive form:
I haven't smoked for years.
I haven't seen my brother for months.
I haven't driven for ages.

They haven't been working long. = Non è da tanto che lavorano

They haven't worked for a long time. = E' tanto tempo che non lavorano

PAST PERFECT
The concept is that of anteriority in the past. We do not use the past perfect simply to give the idea of something a
long time ago.

L'altro giorno avevo parlato con un tuo collega... = The other day I spoke to a colleague of yours. (When I
mentioned that business to you yesterday, it was because I had already spoken to your colleague...)
Te l'avevo detto! = I told you so!

MODAL VERBS
Permission / Ability / Possibility Obligation / Necessity Advice / Probability

Modal verbs of permission, ability, possibility:

- May, might, can and could for permission

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May and might are discourse-oriented modal verbs (like shall and must). They imply the judgment or the will of the
speaker in statements, and that of the addressee in questions.
You may go = I give you permission to go.
May I go? = Do you permit me to go?

May is usually only found in the interrogative with the meaning of permission. This means you only expect to find it
in the first person: May I... or May we...?

May and might for possibility.

It may rain today. It might rain today. Both sentences mean perhaps it will rain. There is very little difference
between them. If you emphasise the word might, then the rain seems less likely.

Please note that after a modal verb you must always have an infinitive form!

Plain infinitive: He may watch television.

Progressive infinitive: He may be watching television.
Past infinitive: He may have watched television.
Past progressive infinitive: He may have been watching television

Might in the interrogative:

1. Where might he have gone?
2. Where might he be? These sentences imply “where do you think it is possible that he went?” / “Where do you
think he possibly is?”
This kind of question is only possible with might, not with may
the interrogative may is usually only found with the meaning of permission: May I leave the room?

Might for reproach, sarcasm and tentative suppositions:

A. You might have phoned me!
B. You might be a little more careful

Can for theoretical possibility

It may not be true = Maybe it isn't true.

It can't be true = It's impossible that it's true.

Can and could for ability

Can and could are respectively the Present and Past Tense. For all other tenses we use be able to.
Can and could are stative in meaning. To refer to ability on a specific occasion - the dynamic use - we use be able to
(or another verb, like succeed or manage)

It was lucky I could speak French. After a few minutes I was able to convince the policeman that I was a close friend
of Macron

May as well and might as well – the meaning of these expressions is very similar to tanto vale in Italian

In sentences that imply an unreal or impossible condition, only might as well is possible, not may as well:
This party is really boring. We might as well be at home watching television.

May and might in benedictions and curses: May God bless you! May he rot in hell!

Modal Verbs Obligation and Necessity

MUST AND HAVE TO

Must is a discourse-oriented modal verb. With must the obligation comes from the speaker in affirmative
sentences, and from the addressee in questions.

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Have to excludes any involvement of the speaker in the obligation.

Must only exists in the Present Tense (though often with future meaning). For all other tenses we use have to

The past form, had to, refers to fulfilled obligation in the past: I couldn't come to the lesson because I had to go to
the dentist.

Dovevo andare dal dentista ma invece sono andato al cinema =

I should have gone to the dentist but instead... OR I was supposed to go to the dentist but instead...

Have got to does not usually refer to general obligations, but only specific ones
I have to get up early tomorrow.

The negative and interrogative form of have to is always formed with do and does (or did in the past).

Mustn't and don't have to:

Mustn't expresses prohibition. Don't have to expresses absence of obligation. It is never used to express
prohibition.

Need, don't need and needn't. Need exists as both a “full” verb and a modal verb.
Need as a full verb: I need to go to the bank. She needs some money. Do you need to go to the bank?

Need exists as a full verb, which takes the full infinitive (with to) and forms its negative and interrogative forms with
do, does, did, don't, doesn't, didn't. It also works as a transitive verb.

Need to / Don't need to and have to / don't have to

I have to go the barber' s.
I need to go to the barber’ s.
These sentences are very similar in meaning.

Need with the “ -ing form” with passive meaning:

Your shoes need cleaning.
The television needs repairing.

Need and needn't as a modal verb.

You needn't come if you don't want to.
Need I come?
I wonder if we need stay any longer

Need and needn’t are used as a modal verb (followed by the infinitive without to) in negative and interrogative
sentences. This includes sentences that are affirmative in form but negative or interrogative in meaning:

I wonder if we need to be there so early.

I don’t think you need to come.

SHOULD
Should is used to give advice, to make suggestions, to talk about moral duties and to make suppositions.
It often corresponds to the conditional form of the verb dovere in Italian.
Often - but not always…
Dovevo andarci ma non avevo tempo. I should have gone but I didn't have time. (I was supposed to go...)

IS TO AND WAS TO
Arrangements. Orders. Destiny.

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Arrangements: The Prime Minister is to make a speech later today. There's to be an announcement by the
government in the afternoon.
Orders: You're to clean all those marks off the wall. You're not to move until I tell you
Destiny: I left my hometown at the age of sixteen; I was to return only twenty years later

BE SUPPOSED TO Catholics are supposed to fast during Lent.

HAD BETTER AND WOULD RATHER I'd rather have a beer. I'd rather not stay. You'd better stay in bed for a while.
He'd better not make any trouble
Colloquial forms: Well, we better go then. You better not say anything...

Hypothesis, Unreality and Impossibility

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES: Real conditions, hypothetical conditions, impossible conditions:
•If it rains, I will take an umbrella.
•If it rained, I would take an umbrella.
•If it had rained, I would have taken an umbrella

Real conditions: If I see John, I'll say hello to him from you.

Unreal conditions: If the public transport system worked properly, people wouldn't use their cars
If I were you, I would be more careful.
When talking about unreal conditions, the form of the verb to be is always were. This can be considered a
“subjunctive form” of the verb.

Impossible conditions: If it had rained, I'd have taken my umbrella

THE PASSIVE VOICE

They prepare lunch every day. Lunch is prepared every day.
They prepared lunch yesterday. Lunch was prepared yesterday.
They are preparing lunch now. Lunch is being prepared now.
They were preparing lunch. Lunch was being prepared.
They will prepare lunch tomorrow. Lunch will be prepared tomorrow.
They must prepare lunch. Lunch must be prepared.
They have prepared lunch. Lunch has been prepared.
They may have prepared lunch. Lunch may have been prepared

PHRASAL AND PREPOSITIONAL VERBS IN THE PASSIVE

Has anyone paid for the damage? Has the damage been paid for?
They gave up the plan. The plan was given up.
They'll carry out his orders. His orders will be carried out.

DITRANSITIVE VERBS IN THE PASSIVE For example: give, deliver, mention, describe, send…

ACTIVE: Somebody explained the film to Peter.

PASSIVE: The film was explained to Peter.
With many of these “ non-reversible” ditransitive verbs (not admit, announce, confess), there is an alternative
passive form: Someone explained the book to John. John had the book explained to him.

The passive with the infinitive:

a. He was told to leave at once.
b. He is said to be the best in the country.
The passive is found together with the infinitive with two main groups of verbs:
a. verbs of asking, ordering and allowing;
b. verbs of thinking, knowing and saying

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The passive and infinitive with verbs of asking, ordering, allowing:
ACTIVE: They asked me to wait
PASSIVE: I was asked to wait.

ACTIVE: They ordered him to stop it.

PASSIVE: He was ordered to stop it.

ACTIVE: They have allowed me to remain.

PASSIVE: I' ve been allowed to remain.

Other verbs: advise, expect, forbid, mean, request, require, teach, tell…

The passive and infinitive with verbs of thinking, knowing, saying:

ACTIVE: They say she likes pasta.
PASSIVE: She is said to like pasta.

ACTIVE: They believe he's resting.

PASSIVE: He is believed to be resting.

ACTIVE: They know he was lying.

PASSIVE: He is known to have been lying.

Other verbs: consider, discover, feel, imagine, presume, prove, reckon, report, show, suppose, suspect,
understand.

They say he was lying: He is said to have been lying.

This passive form often corresponds in meaning to the Italian si dice, si crede, si sa...
With verbs like say and think, it is often found in journalistic use:
The minister is said (thought) to have accepted a bribe. = Il ministro avrebbe accettato una tangente.

Passive and Infinitive with “to” for verbs that don't take “to” in the active:
They heard her leave. They saw him go. They made him eat everything.

Passive forms with have

1. I had my hair cut.
2. He had the book explained to him.
3. They had their windows broken.

1. Causative have in the passive.

2. Have for “ non-reversible” ditransitive verbs in the passive.
3. Have for experiences that are “suffered”.

1. Causative have in the passive.

I had my television repaired.
I'm going to have three teeth taken out.
If you don't stop it, I'm going to have you arrested.

Causative get in the passive:

I managed to get the pipes mended after phoning three plumbers.
Get your hair cut!
Get that mess cleared up at once!

Get is often used instead of have in causative sentences to imply there was some difficulty involved:
We’re going to get Brexit done.
Get is also more natural in imperative sentences. Get that mess cleared up at once!

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Negative and interrogative forms:
How often do you have your hair cut?

2. Have for “ non-reversible” ditransitive verbs in the passive:

Active: They'll describe the situation to him.
They explained the plan to me in great detail.

Passive: The situation will be described to him.

The plan was explained to me in great detail.
OR:
He'll have the situation described to him.
I had the plan explained to me in great detail
3. Have for experiences that are “suffered” .
We had all our windows broken in the storm.
He had his leg amputated.

Passive forms with get (often with future reference):

If you don't move your car, you're going to get it towed away.

The passive with get:

The window got broken

Get is often used instead of be to suggest that something happened suddenly and/or violently.

Need, require and want followed by a verb in the ing-form with passive meaning: Your shoes need cleaning

He was explained the whole matter. WRONG!!!

The whole matter was explained to him. He had the whole matter explained to him.

Direct and Indirect Discourse

Questions in indirect discourse:
"Do you like bread?" He asks if we like bread.
"Where do you live?" He wants to know where we live.
In reported questions (questions in indirect discourse), the inversion disappears.

Indirect discourse with reporting verbs in the Past Tense:

"I live in London." He said he lived in London
"I'm working just now." He said he was working just then.
"I've already seen that film." He said he'd [he had] already seen that film.
"I saw it on Tuesday." He said he had seen it on Tuesday.
"I was studying at the time." He said he'd been studying at the time.
"I've been studying all day." He said he'd been studying all day.

The Future in indirect discourse

"I'll see him later." She said she would see him later.
"I'm going to see him later." She said she was going to see him later.
"I'll be seeing him later." She said she would be seeing him later

→ Will becomes would and NOT would have.

Modal verbs in indirect discourse:

"I can go." He said he could go.
"I may go." He said he might go.
"I'll go." He said he would go.
"I must go." He said he must/had to go.
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"I should go." He said he should go.
"I could go." He said he could go.
"I might go." He said he might go.
"I needn't go." He said he needn't
didn't need to go.
"I mustn't go." He said he mustn't/wasn't to go.

Infinitives and -ing forms

THE "-ING FORM" OR THE INFINITIVE:
I'd like to talk to you. I like swimming.

A. Picking strawberries can strain your back. The -ing form as the subject of a verb: Without getting up, can you tell
me where the scissors are?
B. There's no point in getting angry. The -ing form after prepositions: Without getting up, can you tell me where the
scissors are?
C. You should give up smoking. The -ing form after phrasal and prepositional verbs: carry on, give up, go on, leave
off, look forward to, put off… Carry on working; don't worry about me
D. It's no good making a lot of fuss. The -ing form after certain fixed expressions: it's no good, it's no use, it's
useless, it's worth, there's no point ... It's no good crying over spilt milk
E. He admitted killing his wife. The -ing form after certain verbs: admit, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, can't help,
can't stand, consider, deny, enjoy, feel like, finish, mention, mind, miss, postpone, prevent, recall, recommend,
report, resent, resist, risk, stop, suggest. (Some of these can be followed by a “that-clause”): I can't stand being late.

The –ing form and the possessive:

Formal: I insist on your coming. I don't like his behaving in this way. Do you mind my smoking?
Less formal: I insist on you coming / I insist that you should come. I don't like him behaving like this / I don't like it
when he behaves like this. Do you mind me smoking? / Do you mind if I smoke?

The "full" infinitive (with to)

A. To travel hopefully is better than to arrive. The infinitive as the subject of the verb - archaic or very literary.
B. I want to hear all about it. The infinitive after many verbs.
C. I want you to tell me all about it. The infinitive after certain verbs with objects

Some of these verbs also take a that- construction: ask, beg, expect, mean, prefer, promise, request, wish.
Many verbs must have an object with the infinitive - in particular verbs connected to the idea of "ordering",
"persuading", "permitting": allow, challenge, command, compel, enable, forbid, force, oblige, order, permit, remind,
require, urge, warn.

D. I have to go now. The infinitive after certain auxiliaries: have to, ought to, used to, is to/are to
E. It was silly to do that. The infinitive after adjectives: They were glad to see us.
F. It's too hot to play tennis. The soup is cool enough to drink now. The infinitive in constructions with too and
enough
G. He bent down to look under the table. The infinitive of purpose: He left early (in order / so as) to catch the train.

Notice that in the negative it is necessary to use “so as not to” or “in order not to”!

Plain Infinitive (without to)

A. Plain infinitive after modal verbs: We must go now.
B. Plain infinitive after let, make, and (in colloquial English) help: He let them leave.
C. Plain infinitive after the verbs see, hear, feel, watch, notice. I saw him run down the road.
It is also possible to use a participle: I saw him running down the road.

The difference between the infinitive and the -ing form after the verbs see, hear, feel, watch, notice:
A. I saw Fred run down the road.
B. I saw Fred running down the road.

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In sentence A, the person speaking saw the whole action (from beginning to end). In sentence B, the speaker saw
Fred while he was running down the road.

D. Plain infinitive after had better, would rather and why (not) You'd better go now.
E. Plain infinitive used to explain the meaning of the verb do. • The first thing they'll have to do is clean the whole
house.

Verbs that can take the infinitive and the -ing form
Attempt, can't bear, begin, bother, continue, intend, prefer, start

He started to sing. He started singing.

If one of these verbs is in the progressive form, we would naturally use the infinitive after it, rather than the –ing
form: It’s beginning to rain. It’s continuing to rain.

In the case of a stative verb, we would usually use the infinitive, rather than the –ing form: They began to
understand

Allow, advise, forbid, permit:

He allowed me to swim in the pool.
They don't allow swimming in here.
With these verbs the infinitive form requires an object (me, him, them, Fred…). The –ing form is used only when the
object of the allowing, advising, forbidding or permitting is not specified.

Remember, forget, regret:

Remember to switch off the lights when you leave.
I remember meeting you last year.
With these verbs the infinitive looks forward in time and the –ing form looks backward.

Try:
He tried to lift the carpet but it was nailed down.
He tried lifting the carpet, but the pen wasn't there.
In the first sentence, try has the meaning of attempting to do something difficult; in the second sentence, it refers
to one of a number of different options.

Try knocking.
Try to knock… This makes no sense, because it is not difficult to knock on a door.

Mean:
This means starting all over again.
What do you mean to do when you get back?
Mean with the infinitive has the meaning of intend, while with the –ing form it has the meaning of imply.

Stop:
He stopped smoking.
He stopped to smoke a cigarette
Stop only takes the –ing form. In the second sentence the infinitive is actually an infinitive of purpose:
Si fermò per fumare una sigaretta.

Go on:
He went on saying the same thing over and over again.
He began by thanking the rector and went on to talk about the country's economy.
Please take note that this is the exact opposite of the Italian. The first sentence corresponds to continuò a dire la
stessa cosa…, while the second sentence corresponds to continuò parlando dell’economia del paese.

Need, want, require:

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What do you need to do now?
These shoes need cleaning
With these verbs, as we have already seen, the –ing form has a passive meaning.

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