Preview – Basic Sentence Structure: normal vs special verbs

- Special verbs
- Normal verbs
- The rule of the 3 No's: No S, No To, No Do
- The 4 basic constructions in English:
    - Affirmative
    - Negative
    - Questions
    - Short Answers

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

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 normal verbs 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? (= do you have 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?)

Abbreviations 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, she can / No, she 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)

IRREGULAR FORMS

to be: I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, you are, they are

have: I have, you have, he/she/it has, we/you/they have

do: I do, you do, he/she/it does /dʌz/, we/you/they do

NEGATIVE CONTRACTIONS

to be: I'm not, you aren't, he/she/it isn't, we/you/they aren't /ɑ:nt/ (AmE /ɑ:rnt/) (also: you're not, he's not...)

have: I haven't, you haven't, he/she/it hasn't, we/you/they haven't

do: I don't, you don't, he/she/it doesn't, we/you/they don't

can't / couldn't, won't / wouldn't, shall not / shouldn't, may not / might not, mustn't, oughtn't to

Note: the forms shan't (shall not), mayn't (may not) and mightn't (might not) are old-fashioned.

can't = cannot /kænət/ (* can not)