MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  Fill in the Gaps
Normal vs Special verbs: Negative sentences
Focus Grammar
Description Normal verbs use DO to make negative sentences, but not special verbs. Practise the difference. (Always use contractions if you can and sounds normal)
Instructions Make negative sentences with these verbs
 
Gapped text
(listen) You ________________________ to me when I'm talking
(read) We ____________________ books
(have lived) She ________________________ in Barcelona
(be) You ____________ Phill Lewis
(live) We ____________________ in Moscow
(write) They ______________________ letters
(be) I____________ your father
(love) I ____________________ Jill
(walk) He ________________________ to school, he goes by bus.
(drink) Mark __________________________ wine
(can) Sorry, I __________ go with you.
(may) I ______________ see you tomorrow
(sleep) I ______________________ at night
(will) I __________ go to Mexico this summer
(might) I don't know, she __________________ be Susan.
(have got) I ______________________ many friends here
(must) You ______________ do that here
(have) I ____________________ a car
(would) I ________________ like to be there at this moment
(could) I didn't pass the exam because I ________________ finish on time
(have finished) I ________________________________ this book yet
(be) She __________ my sister
(like) She ________________________ your sweater
(should) You __________________ talk to her like that
(eat) She ______________________ fruit
Total number of items: 25
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

It is very important to know which verbs are normal and which are special, because the sentence structure is different in each case.

SPECIAL VERBS

They can do everything, they never need help. Special verbs are auxiliaries and modals, and there are only 13:

auxiliaries: to be, have, do
modals: can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might, must, ought to

Normal negative forms (some verbs are not normally contracted):  [am not, aren't, isn't], [haven't, hasn't], [do, doesn't] // can't, couldn't, won't, wouldn't, shall not, shouldn't, may not, might not, mustn't, oughtn't to

NORMAL VERBS

All the other verbs are normal. They can only build an affirmative sentence. For all the other constructions they need to use DO

Special verbs follow the rule of the three NO's: No -S, No To, No Do

SPECIAL VERBS   compare:        NORMAL VERBS

NO –S   
  
 I can / she can
I want / She wants
NO TO
 I can walk / to can
I want to go / to want
NO DO
 you can / you can’t / can you?
you want / you don't want / do you want?


❶- No S: Special verbs don't add an -S for the third person singular in the simple present tense. The forms is, has are irregular forms, but still, they are not bes (be + S) or haves (have + S)

❷- No To: Special verbs are never followed by an "infinitive with to" (exception: ought to), and they don't have an infinitive form (exception: to be). To do and To have are different from Do and Have. Compare:

- Do = special (auxiliary verb, no meaning):     Do you like it?
- To Do = normal verb:     I do yoga in the mornings / Do you do yoga?
- Have = special (auxiliary verb, no meaning):     Have you ever been to London?
- To Have = normal verb:     I have a car / do you have a car?
Note: Have got = have (special) + got (normal):     Have you got a car?

❸- No Do: Special verbs never use DO

I can't speak Russian (not: I don't can speak Russian)
Are you Polish? (not: Do you are Polish?)

 

Abbriviations used here:  s.v.= special verb  n.v.= normal verb  S= subject  V= verb  O= object, adverbial, complement

 

Let's see how these three rules work in practice, shaping the 4 most common constructions in the language


AFFIRMATIVE  

s.v. & n.v.   S+V+(O)

- I am Spanish
- He can speak English

- You live in London
- She likes Japanese music

NEGATIVE

s.v.   S+ V+not  +(O)
- I am not French
- She can’t speak Italian

n.v.   S+do+not +V+(O)
- You don’t live in Rome
- She doesn’t like Jazz

QUESTIONS

s.v.   V+S +(O) ?
- Are you Spanish?
- Can she speak English?

n.v.   do+S +V+(O) ?
- Do you live in London?
- Does she like Japanese music?

SHORT ANSWERS

s.v.
Are you Spanish?  Yes, I am / No, I'm not
Can she speak English? / Yes, he can / No, he can't
n.v. (use do)
Do you live in London?  Yes, I do / No, I don't
Does she like Japanese music?  Yes, she does / No, she doesn't

(simple rule: for Short Answers, the same verb that starts the question is the verb that will finish the answer)