Auxiliary verbs
“Auxiliary” is an adjective meaning “helping” or “supporting”. So, an auxiliary verb is one that helps or supports other verbs. We use auxiliary verbs to help other verbs form the various tenses, moods, and...
Category: Verbs
Which is correct: “learned” or “learnt”?
Which is correct: “learned” or “learnt”? Both! In British English, the verb “to learn” is irregular. The past participle is “learnt”. So, we might say: Similar irregular verbs include: In American English, many irregular...
What are present participles?
We make present participles from verbs and use them as adjectives or to form the continuous tenses of the verb. We always use the ending “-ing”. Some examples of present participles Using present participles...
What are past participles?
We form past participles from verbs and then use them in a number of different ways including: We form the past participles of regular verbs in the same way as we form the past...
Modal verbs
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that help to describe such things as possibility and necessity. The most common modal verbs are: Here are some ways in which modal verbs are used: There are some...
Verb tenses in reported speech
Verb tenses in reported speech. When we talk about what someone says, we can use either “direct speech” or “indirect speech”. Nowadays most people talk about “reported speech” instead of “indirect speech”. In direct...
Show up and showdown
Up is the opposite of down but show up is not the opposite of showdown. They are two different things entirely. First “show up”. Notice that this consists of two separate words. It is...
“Approve” or “approve of”?
“Approve” can mean something different from “approve of”. “Approve” changes its meaning depending on whether or not we follow it with “of”. We use approve without “of” to show that someone agrees to –...
The Subjunctive Mood
Let’s start with a warning: the subjective mood isn’t something that most people need to be concerned with. It’s difficult to learn and, anyway, isn’t often used in everyday speech. You only really need...
What is correct: “crave” or “crave for”?
You would normally say “I crave an apple pie”, and not “I crave for an apple pie”. One definition of the verb “to crave” is “to have a great desire for”. If you were...