Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end
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| Gapped text | |
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| (I-should) ________________ go with you? | |
| (she-live) __________________________ near your house? | |
| (She-like) __________________________ your new house? | |
| (you-play) ______________________ tennis with Tom? | |
| (you-do) ____________ do homework on Saturdays? | |
| (It-might) ________________ rain on Sunday? | |
| (you-could) __________________ open the window, please? | |
| (you-know) ______________________ her telephone number? | |
| (he-be) __________ your brother? | |
| (you-would) __________________ like a drink? | |
| (I-be) ________ right? | |
| (he-can) ____________ speak Chinese? | |
| (you-like) ______________________ whiskey? | |
| (they-will) __________________ be here before 10? | |
| (they-have) ________________________ a job? | |
| (they-must) __________________ bring their children too? | |
| (you-have) ________________ lived in Rome? | |
| (we-shall) ________________ go to the party tomorrow? | |
| (you-work) ______________________ in Salisbury? | |
| (they-need) ________________________ any money? | |
| (you-be) ______________ Spanish? | |
| (I-may) __________ come in? | |
| (she-has) ______________ finished her exercises? | |
| (he-take) ________________________ the bus very often? | |
| (you-have got) ________________________ any children yet? |
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 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 | ||||
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| NO –S |
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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)
