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...
Category: Verbs
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...
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...
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...
Can “cherish” be used in the past tense and the future tense?
“To cherish” is a verb meaning to value greatly or to hold in great affection. We can use it in the present, past and future tenses. Here are some examples. Present tense: She was...
Prepositional verbs
We often use verbs and prepositions together. Usually this results in a “prepositional verb”. Some prepositional verbs are: • To agree withExamples:o I agree with everything they sayo They usually agree with each other...
The “person” of a verb
The person of a verb depends on its subject. There are six persons: three singular and three plural. In many languages, verbs ‘conjugate’ or make an ‘inflection’ according to the person. In modern English...