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The Verb Phrase

Summary

Whilst there is clearly more to grammar than just verbs, coursebook writers andcourse designers have tended to focus on the verb system with a certain amount of justification. ‘Verbs unpack a great deal of information: they tell us about states,events, processes, and habits; they can tell us very generally when these thingsoccurred, and if they were completed. They are also marked for person ( I go, hegoes) and number (I am, we are).’ (Thornbury 1997).

In this section we will be looking at various aspects of the verb phrase and exploringsome of the difficulties learners experience and the problems encountered with thislanguage area in the classroom.

We recommend you work through the different subsections separately rather thantrying to cover all the information and tasks in one go.

Objectives

By the end of this section you will:

• Have a clear idea of what the verb phrase is

• Have developed your analysis of different types of verb phrase

•

Have a good overview of the major categories of the verb phrase

• Know where to do further research on the verb phrase

• Have practised exam type tasks in respect of the phrase

• Feel more confident about terminology



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Contents

1. Introduction and Overview

2. Time and Tense

2.1. Time

2.2. Tense

3. Aspect

3.1. What is Aspect?

3.2. Progressive Aspect

3.3. Perfect Aspect

4. Modal Verbs

4.1. What are Modal Verbs?

4.2. Form of Modal Verbs

4.3. Semi Modal Verbs

4.4. Meaning of Modal Verbs

4.5. Learner Problems

5. Passives

5.1. What is the Passive?

5.2. Meaning and Use of the Passive

5.3. Form of the Passive


5.5. Other Passive Constructions

6. Verbs taking the infinitive/ ing form

6.1. Considerations

6.2. What is the infinitive?

6.3. Use of the full infinitive

6.4. What is the –ing form?

6.5. Uses of the –ing form

6.6. Uses of the bare infinitive


7. Conditionals

7.1. Form of conditionals



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7.2. Meaning of conditionals

7.3. Learner problems

8. Reported Speech

8.1. What is Reported Speech?

8.2. Form of reported speech


9. Conclusion

10. Terminology Review

Reading

Appendices



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1. Introduction

1.1 What is a verb phrase?

There is much more to the study of the verb than might initially be thought. First of allverbs don’t always appear in language as single words simply separating a subject

and an object (She saw him). They often appear as a cluster of words e.g. I’ll havefinished it by five o’clock). Secondly verbs don’t only appear as isolated tenses;components of verbs work together in conjunction with modals, unite to work asconditionals or express fine shades of meaning, of politeness, formality, probabilityetc. in their different forms rather than simply being put together in the form of tenses.

Phrases are groupings of words which function like parts of speech. There are 5types of phrase in English, one for each of the five word classes: noun, verb,adjective, adverb and preposition.

Here is a definition of a verb phrase:

‘in traditional grammar, the auxiliary and main verbs in a sentence that functiontogether as in have been studying English in “I have been studying English for 10

years.”

Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics(Richards and Schmidt, 2002)

Verb phrases can therefore consist of a main verb and any auxiliary verbs. Someverb phrases consist of two main verbs which are closely linked so that the first verbneeds the second one to complete its meaning.

Example

a single-word main verb ...wept

a multiword main verb ...stood up

one or more auxiliary verbs and a main verb ...has been weeping

...ought to stand up

...doesn’t drink

two main verbs ...want to speak

...recommend staying

Adapted from Parrott Grammar for English Language Teachers 2000 CUP

Some grammarians use the term ‘verb phrase’ in a wider sense to include any objectthat follows the verb.



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1.2 Review of the Basics

Before continuing, we strongly advise you to do some basic revision of word classes /phrases, and simple sentence structure by working through the tasks in Unit 11(Word classes and phrases) and Unit 12 (Sentence Structure: the simple sentence)in About Language (Thornbury, 1997), which were part of your pre-course reading. Alternatively, look at Rules, Patterns and Words (Willis, 2003, CUP), Sections 2.1

and 2.2.

Task 1: Reviewing basic terminology.

You may like to look back at chapter 8 of Grammar for English LanguageTeachers (Parrott, 2000) before you try this exercise.

Match the terminology in the left hand column to the example in the right handcolumn. (3 mins)

Example. 1c. One example of an auxiliary verb = is.

Terminology Example1. auxiliary verb

2. dynamic verb

3. state/ stative verb

4. bare infinitive

5. past participle

6. present participle

7. intransitive verb

8. imperative

9. passive

10. phrasal verb

a. Don’t worry. Relax!

b. It was stolen.

c. He is learning French.

d. to go, to eat, to take

e. He took up fishing last year.

f. I am seeing her this evening.

g. Like, seem, appear

h. She runs 6 miles every morning.

i. It was sent two days ago.

j. They go there every year.

See Appendix 1 for answers.

We will continue this section with a task to identify different verb forms. This is similarto how you will be required to analyse language in Paper 1 of the Exam.



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Task 2: Identifying the Form of Verb Phrases (30 mins)

The examples of verb phrases in the table below were taken from a newspaperarticle. Look at the verb phrases. Identify and comment on the form of each verbphrase marked in bold. An example has been done for you. You may find it useful

to discuss your answers with a colleague.

Example (a) had capsized

• perfect aspect,

• past perfect simple,

• had + past participle,

• regular verb

• main verb ending in –e, past participle formed by adding +d.

Survivors of a yacht tragedy which killed two British women told yesterday of their16-hour swim to safety through a shark-infested sea. Their 38ft yacht (a) had

capsized six miles off the Australian coast early on Sunday with a three male crewon deck. Three women (b) had been sleeping below and became trapped in thecabin.

June Evans, 22, told how she (c) had awoken as the boat overturned and filledwith water. In the darkness, she hit her head on the tiller which (d) enabled her tofind her bearings.

(e) Battling her way out of the cabin she (f) was hauled on to the upturned hull bythe three male crew members. In the darkness, they (g) gave up hope of rescuing

the two other women trapped below.

The boat disintegrated; if there (h) hadn’t been bits of debris (i) to keep themafloat they (j) would have drowned.

Once they (k) could see the coast-line in the distance, they (l) decided to startswimming to shore. They eventually arrived on a deserted beach and walked forfour hours to any Army base where they (m) were picked up by a patrol and (n)taken to hospital, about 30 hours after the sinking.

Mr Benn, 26, originally from Brent, (o) has lived in Australia for six years and wasworking as a sailing instructor. He (p) was criticised for taking out such aninexperienced crew in weather coastguards described as ‘atrocious’.

See Appendix 2.

See also Willis Unit 5 and Thornbury unit 15 for more in depth reading on the verbphrase.



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2. Time and Tense

In this section we will explore the relationship between real time and grammaticaltense.

2.1. Time

Task 3: Time and Tense (5 mins)

Consider the following examples. In each case identify the tense of the verbs in boldand the time reference

a) So I leave the bar and the next thing I know...

b) Most days I leave work around 7.

c) I leave for Singapore next week so...

d) If no one remembered your birthday next month, how would you feel?

e) I didn’t realise you were pregnant.

Now see the commentary below

Commentary

Sentences a), b) and c) all use the present simple but have different time references:a) refers to the past, b) to the present and c) to the futures. Similarly sentences d)and e) both use the past simple but d) refers to the future and e) to the present.

Clearly there is no one-to-one relationship between time and tense and the tenselabel does not always reflect its use. This mismatch can cause confusion for learners.

2.2. Tense

How many tenses are there in English? Before you continue reading, pause and seeif you can list them. Then read the two paragraphs below.



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For linguists the answer is just two. Strictly speaking tense refers to the way the baseverb form changes in order to place the event in a specific time frame (i.e. past,present or future), so in English the only tenses are present (he cooks) and past (hecooked). This does not mean we cannot express future time in English, just that thebase verb is not inflected to do so, i.e. there is no future ending. Instead we useauxiliary verbs to show future time (e.g. he’ll cook or he’s going to cook).

However, for teaching purposes a rather looser interpretation of the term is generallyused and a larger number of verb phrase combinations are usually referred to as‘tenses’, including e.g. past continuous, past perfect. If we exclude modals, in thisway we can reach a total of eight tenses, all of which are combinations of the twobasic tenses in English and the perfect and continuous aspect.

In the following task we will look at these various verb forms or ‘tenses’ in moredetail.

Task 4: Overview of Tenses

Task 4a: Identifying Tenses (5 mins)

Identify the verb forms in bold in the following sentences. The first one has beendone for you as an example

1. Example: When I was a child we always went to the beach for the summer.

Answer: Past simple

2. She was watching TV when she heard a loud crash.

3. I play football most Saturdays.

4. How’s it going?

5. He can’t possibly play. He’s hurt his leg.

6. He’s been sleeping on a friend’s sofa for 2 weeks.

7. He wasn’t exactly a friend – I’d only met him once before.

8. By the time she turned up I’d been waiting for 2 hours.

9. Don’t worry; he’ll get there in the end.

10. Don’t ring him now – he’ll be having dinner.

11. Help! I’m going to fall

12. I’ll have finished by nine, and then we can go home.

Now check you answers in the table (Task 4b) below:



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Task 4b: Uses of Tenses (40 mins)

Once you have checked your answers to Task 4a, identify the meaning / use of thetenses in bold in each of the examples below:

1. Past simple

a) When I was a child we always went to the beach for the summer.

b) If only I had more time.

2. Past progressive or Past continuous

a) She was watching TV when she heard a loud crash.

b) I worked there last year when I was living in London.

3. Present simple

a) I play football most Saturdays.

b) A major Picasso exhibition opens next week.

4. Present progressive or Present continuous

a) How’s it going?

b) I’m starting a new job next week.

5. Present perfect simple

a) He can’t possibly play. He’s hurt his leg.

b) We’ve known each other since we were children.

6. Present perfect progressive or Present perfect continuous

a) He’s been sleeping on a friend’s sofa for 2 weeks.

b) Sorry about the mess – I’ve been sorting things out.

7. Past perfect simple

a) He wasn’t exactly a friend – I’d only met him once before.

b) She told him she’d had enough and walked out.



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8. Past perfect progressive or Past perfect continuous

a) By the time she turned up I’d been waiting for 2 hours.

b) They’d been living there for 3 years before they did anything about the garden.

9. Will

a) Don’t worry; he’ll get there in the end.

b) He’ll often start something and then abandon it half way through.

10. Future progressive or Future continuous

a) Don’t ring him now – he’ll be having dinner.

b) Don’t come round before eight – I’ll be working

11. Going to future

a) Help! I’m going to fall.

b) We’re going to spend a couple of weeks relaxing in the sun.

12. Future Perfect

a) I’ll have finished by nine, and then we can go home.

b) I’ll have been teaching for 20 years by the end of the year.

See Appendix 3

3. Aspect

3.1 What is Aspect?

We shall continue our exploration of the verb phrase by looking at aspect. Here is a

definition:

The aspect of a verb phrase is the way the speaker’s ‘view’ of an event isexpressed by the verb phrase, regardless of the time of the event itself. (Thetime of the event relates to tense). Aspect is concerned with the internalnature of the event, e.g., whether it has duration or not, whether it iscompleted or not, whether it is repetitive or not.



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There are two aspects in English: the progressive (also called continuous) andthe perfect. Both aspects are formed by a combination of auxiliary verbs andparticiples.

Thornbury, S. An A – Z of ELT Macmillan 2006

The progressive aspect is formed with the auxiliary form ‘be’ and the presentparticiple:

e.g. The birth rate in Western Europe is going down.

I was taking the dog for a walk when I saw the fire

The perfect aspect is formed using the auxiliary ‘have’ and the past participle:

e.g. When I arrived he’d already left.

I’ll have finished by tomorrow and then I’ll send it in.

As we can see above, it is the auxiliary verb that is marked for tense (is, was, had).

The two aspects can also be combined. The table below shows all the possiblecombinations of tense and aspect (excluding combinations with modals).

[no aspect] perfect progressive perfect + progressive

present they work they have worked they are working they have been working

past they worked they had worked they were working they had been working

Thornbury, S. An A – Z of ELT Macmillan 2006

3.2 Progressive Aspect

The primary meaning of the progressive aspect is to refer to events ‘in progress’.Under this umbrella definition, it can at times refer to actions or situations which aretemporary, incomplete or of limited duration.



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Task 5: Progressive Aspect (10 mins)

Look at the following examples of the progressive aspect and comment on the wayin which they indicate that the action is ‘in progress’. The first one has been donefor you.

Example: The birth rate in Western Europe is going down.

Comment: Here it refers to a changing or developing.situation which is in progressnow.

1. My sister is living with us as she’s having her house repaired.

2. I was taking the dog for a walk when I saw the fire.

3. In September last year 349 students were taking classes here.

4. I’ve been doing all the cleaning and cooking at home for years.

5. We’re moving to New Zealand next year.

See Appendix 4.



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3.3 Perfect Aspect

Task 6: Perfect Aspect: (5 mins)

Task 6a. Look at the following examples of the perfect aspect. What meaning dothey share i.e. what common feature of the perfect aspect can you identify?

1. I’ve travelled all over America.

2. When I arrived he’d already left.

3. I’ll have finished by tomorrow and then I’ll send it in.

Task 6b: Combining Aspects

The progressive and perfect aspects can be combined. Look at the followingexamples and comment on how the two basic meanings of the aspects combine in

each

4. She’d been working with them for ages before she got promotion.

5. He retires next week? How long will he have been working there?

See Appendix 5.

Teaching aspect can be challenging. This is partly because some languages do nothave them at all and others have different systems of aspect, and partly alsobecause they involve abstract concepts, such as relevance (perfect) andtemporariness (continuous), that are difficult to pin down. Rather than attempting to

teach rules, it can be more useful to focus on typical contexts of use e.g. narrative forthe progressive and experience for the perfect. Another effective approach is tohighlight collocating time expressions e.g. ever, by (perfect).

4. Modal Verbs

4.1. What are Modal Verbs?

Modality refers to both the lexical and grammatical ways speakers/writers expresstheir attitude to what they are saying.

e.g. Maybe she’ll pass – lexical – adverb

She might pass – grammatical – modal auxiliary verb

Here we will focus exclusively on grammatical ways of expressing modality i.e.through using modal auxiliary verbs. Modal verbs show the speaker’s/writer’s judgement about how likely or desirable a situation is. We can see above how themodal verb (might) indicates the attitude of the speaker/writer towards the eventdescribed by another verb (pass).



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Task 7: Identifying Modal Verbs (3 mins)

Look at the following sentences. In each sentence identify the modal verb.

The first one is done as an example for you:

Example: 1. That can’t be right.

Answer: can

2. That could be the best solution.

3. I’ve got the day off so I may get it done in time.

4. I was thinking, it might have got lost in the post.

5. It’ll be a lovely day.

6. What would you do if you had a year off?

7. It should take about 3 days, I reckon.

8. He must be at least 60, don’t you think?

9. I shall always be grateful to her.

Now check your answers below.

There are 9 core or pure modal verbs: can, could, may, might, will, would, should,must and shall . In other words, they follow the formal requirements for modal verbs.

4.2. Form of Modal Verbs

Let us now examine what these patterns of form are.

Task 8: The Form of Core Modal Verbs

Look at the examples of modal verbs in the previous table and answer the followingquestions:

1. Where are modals placed in the verb phrase?

2. What are they followed by?

3. How are negatives of modal verbs formed?

4. How are question forms of modal verbs made?

5. Which of the following forms do modal verbs have:

• 3rd person ‘s’

• infinitive form

• participles (-ing or –ed)

See Appendix 6



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4.3. Semi Modal Verbs

In addition to the core modals, there are a number of other verbs which combine withadditional verbs to express modal meaning. They behave in similar ways to coremodal verbs but share some characteristics with lexical verbs and are known as

semi-modals. Grammarians do not all agree which verbs qualify as semi-modal butsome of the main ones are need (to), have (got) to and ought to.

Task 9: Semi Modal Verbs

Look at the verbs in bold below. For each one, comment on whether it is behavinggrammatically like a core modal verb or a lexical verb. The first one has been doneas an example for you.

Example: 1. You needn’t worry.

Answer: Here need behaves like a core modal verb – the negative is formed without

the auxiliary ‘do’.2. I didn’t need to show my ticket after all.

3. He has to leave early, I’m afraid.

4. We ought to have done it years ago.

See Appendix 7

4.4. Meaning of Modal Verbs

The attitudes expressed by modal verbs can be divided into 2 groups, sometimes

called extrinsic and intrinsic. All modal verbs can express both extrinsic and intrinsicmodality. Extrinsic modality refers to the speaker’s/writer’s view of how likely thesituation is. Intrinsic modality refers to a range of meanings to do with how necessary or desirable the speaker/writer views the situation.

e.g. ‘She may go’ has two possible meanings:

a) She is likely to go (extrinsic)

b) She has permission to go (intrinsic)



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Task 10a: Meanings of Modals

Match the following meanings to the examples below.

Note that there is no one-to-one match – modals have more than one meaning and

the meanings can be expressed by a variety of modals. The first one has been donefor you as an example

Meanings: ability, logical deduction, necessity, obligation, permission, possibility,prediction, volition

Modal Meaning Example

can logical deduction That can’t be right.

You can borrow the car if you like.

Can you see the mark on the sleeve?

could That could be the best solution.

Could I have a word?

may I’ve got the day off so I may get it done in time.

May I come in?

might I was thinking, it might have got lost in the post.

You might like to check with the manager first.

will It’ll be a lovely day.

I’ll carry that for you.

would What would you do if you had a year off?

Would you lend me your car?

should It should take about 3 days, I reckon.

She should get her eyes tested.

must He must be at least 60, don’t you think?

You must show valid photographic i.d.

shall I shall always be grateful to her.

Shall I have a go?

need (to) You needn’t worry.

have (got) to He has to leave early.

ought to We ought to have done it years ago.

See Appendix 8



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Modals allow us to express a wide variety of functions e.g. asking permission, givingadvice, making offers, making requests. They also play a very important part in theexpression of politeness and formality in English e.g. Might I use your phone?; Wouldyou lend me your car?)


Learners experience a number of problems when using modal verbs:

• deciding when to use them

• choosing which ones to use

• constructing questions and negative forms

• confusion that 1 modal verb may have several meanings or functions

Task 10b: Identifying Learner Problems

Look at the following examples. Comment on the learner problems each reflects. Thefirst one has been done for you as an example.

1. Learner errors:

a) *She cans speak English

Example: The learner here is over-generalising a rule. Unlike lexical verbs, modalverbs do not inflect e.g. Here they do not add 3rd person ‘s’ . This can causefrustration to learners trying to apply a ‘rule’ they have learnt.

b) *He can to come tomorrow

c) *I don’t can understand

2. Problems of meaning and form:

a) ‘You must leave’ vs ‘You have to leave’

b) Same examples in the past

c) ‘You mustn’t leave’ vs. ‘You don’t have to leave’

3. Problems with meaning

a) ‘I may go’ vs ‘I might go’ vs ‘I could go’

b) ‘You ought to go’ or. ‘I would go’ vs ‘You must go’

c) My grandfather would tell us stories at bedtime

4. Problems with pronunciation



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a) ‘You can borrow the car if you like’ vs ‘I know I can’

b) He must have done it!

See Appendix 9

5. Passive

5.1. What is the Passive?

The verb phrase also indicates voice. This can be either passive or active. Voicegives information about the roles of different participants in an event e.g. who did theaction (the ‘agent’) and who was the recipient. The relationship between the subjectand the object of the verb can be changed without changing the basic meaning of thesentence.

Compare the following:1. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

2. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

The first sentence is active. Here the subject of the sentence is Alexander GrahamBell and the object the telephone. The second sentence is passive and here thetelephone is the subject . Yet in both cases the person performing the action (the

agent) is the same, Alexander Graham Bell, and the thing affected by the action (therecipient) is the telephone.

Thus choice of voice (active or passive) is one way of organising the content ofclauses. The active voice is the most common; typically chosen to state something

about the agent of an action (e.g. Bell above) and frequently occurs in e.g. narratives.If a passive voice is chosen, the starting point of the message is the person or thingaffected (e.g. the telephone above).

5.2. Meaning and Use of the Passive

Teaching materials often focus on the form of passive constructions and practiceactivities tend to involve mechanical exercises transforming active constructions intopassive ones. This can sometimes mean that learners see the passive as some kindof deviant or alternative version of the active, rather than having its own meaning anduse.

The main uses of the passive are as follows:

• The choice between active and passive constructions often depends on what hasalready been said or on what the listener already knows. Very generally, we tendto start sentences with what is already known (‘given’) and to place ‘new’ andthus important information at the end.

Thus, exploring the above examples further:

‘Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone’ comes from an autobiographicaltext on Bell. He is the topic of the text, the given information and thus the subject



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of the sentence. His invention, the telephone, is the new information and comessecond. An active construction allows this to happen.

However, if the topic of the text is about telephones and their history, thetelephone is the ‘given’ information and thus occupies the subject position. Thenew information (the inventor) comes later in the sentence. In order for this tohappen we choose a passive construction: ‘The telephone was invented by

Alexander Graham Bell.’

• Another reason for choosing a passive structure is to avoid having a longcomplex noun phrase as the subject of a sentence. We prefer to put longer,‘heavier’ phrases at the end of a sentence.

e.g. I was irritated by Max wanting to tell everybody else what to do.

(not * Max wanting to tell everybody else what to do irritated me)

• The passive is also used when we want to focus on an action, not who or whatdid it.

e.g. Too many films have been made about the second world war.

• Passives are much more common in writing, especially in scientific, technical andacademic writing where we are most interested in events and processes.

e.g. A total of 200 case studies were analysed.

Active forms, however, are more common where the focus is on the people whomake things happen e.g. in imaginative writing.

5.3. Form of the Passive

• The passive is usually formed with the auxiliary ‘be’ and the past participle of alexical verb. It is the auxiliary which is marked for tense.

e.g. No crime has been committed.

• The auxiliary ‘get’ is also sometimes used, particularly in more informal contextsand is more common in spoken than written English. It is only used with dynamic(i.e. not stative) verbs.

e.g. The headmaster got stabbed a few weeks ago

But: The papers are kept in the safe

(not * The papers get kept in the safe)

• Only transitive verbs (i.e. verbs which take an object) can form a passivestructure. Intransitive verbs have no object and so there is nothing to become thesubject of a passive sentence.

• A passive construction may be followed by a ‘by-phrase’ , identifying the agent

e.g. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell



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However, the agent is only expressed when it is important to say who or whatsomething is done by. In most passive sentences there is no agent. There are anumber of reasons why such a choice might be made:

a) The agent may not be known

e.g. The town was rebuilt after the war.

b) The agent may not be considered relevant

e.g. I’m always being asked for directions

c) The agent may simply be obvious

e.g. There were 20 people arrested.

d) Reference to the agent may be avoided to deflect criticism, because it may beembarrassing or inappropriate

e.g. I’ve been told she’s unreliable

e) Agentless passives are frequently used in impersonal speaking and writing

styles, such as academic and technical writing, where the focus is on theprocesses

e.g. Heat was applied until the solution came to the boil

Task 11: Form and Use of the Passive

Look at the following examples of the Passive. Comment on their Form and Use.

The first one has been done for you as an example:

Example: 1. A suspicious vehicle was spotted by a police patrol outside the bankyesterday evening.

Answer:

Form: Past simple of the auxiliary ‘be’ + past participle of the lexical verb spot(regular, ‘t’ doubled to keep ‘o’ sound short: /Å/, +ed) + by + agent (a police patrol).

Use: The passive allows the content of the text to be organised so that the startingpoint of the message (and thus the ‘given’ information) is the suspicious vehicle andthe ‘new’ and important information is that it was seen, where and when. Here it isimportant who saw the car and so the agent is specified.

2. She’s been a lot more nervous ever since we got burgled.

3. Pollution in cities is also caused by cars.

Compare the use with: Cars also cause pollution in cities.

4. I’m afraid your application has been mislaid.

5. Most people are worried by the thought of what a surgeon is going to do.

6. Debate centres over what should be considered to be the poverty level.



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See Appendix 10


Learners face a number of difficulties with the passive voice. The key issues can besummed up as follows:

• The form can be very complex e.g. It will have been written by tomorrow.

• They confuse the passive with the active progressive forms since both useauxiliary ‘be’ e.g. ‘* He was questioning by the immigration official’ instead of ‘Hewas questioned by the immigration official.’

• They confuse the passive with the active perfect forms since both use pastparticiples e.g. ’*She has put in prison’ instead of ‘She was/has been put inprison.’

• They find it difficult to interpret the relationship between the subject and the

recipient of the action and thus confuse who the agent of the action is e.g. ‘Hewas attacked by 3 women’ is understood to be that the man attacked the women.

5.5. Other Passive Constructions

Other forms share some characteristics with the passive and are referred to as ‘thecausative’ or ‘pseudo-passives’. They are more common in spoken language ratherthan written and use ‘get’ or ‘have’, e.g:

1. We’re getting the bathroom refitted next month.

2. I’ve finally had my computer fixed.

3. Julian had his bike stolen on Friday

They are similar to the passive in that the grammatical subject is typically therecipient, rather than the agent, of the action. However, in examples 1 and 2 we cansee that the subject ‘caused’ the action (typically some sort of service) to be done bysomeone else. We also use this construction to talk about experiences where nocause is implied, as in example 3.

Note the form: ‘get’ or ‘have’ are marked for tense and the object (bathroom,computer, bike) comes between get or have and the past participle.

6. Verbs Taking –ing Form or the Infinitive

6.1. Considerations

Students will come across many situations in which they will need to choose betweeninfinitive or + ing forms after certain verbs. The rules we use to help students can becomplex or apparently rather arbitrary, so we need to make sure that we do notoverload students with too many at one time.

One other consideration is that most of the time, if a student chooses the wrong form,it will not lead to any problems with understanding. However, these types of mistakes



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are penalised in examinations so it is important that we help students to aim to bemore accurate in this area.

We will now go on to look at the infinitive and –ing form in conjunction with verbforms.

6.2. What is the infinitive?

The infinitive is the simplest form of the verb and looks the same as the presentsimple form after I, you, we and they (e.g. go, take, eat). This is also called the baseform, the bare infinitive or the infinitive without ‘to’. The infinitive with ‘to’ is called thefull infinitive (e.g. to go).

6.3. Uses of the full infinitive

a) We always use the full infinitive after certain verbs e.g. agree, appear, arrange,attempt, decide, expect, fail, hope, offer, promise, refuse, want, wish.

verb infinitive

I wanted to meet him

They hoped to get back early

Parrott, M Grammar for English Language Teachers CUP 2000

b) We also use the full infinitive after some other verbs e.g. forget, like, need,remember, start, stop.

c) We use the full infinitive after verb + object combinations.

verb object infinitive

She asked him to help her

Before you continue reading, pause and see how many other verbs you can list thatwork in this way. When you have written your list, compare with the examples givenbelow.



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Other examples include: advise, allow, cause, encourage, expect, forbid, force,instruct, invite, order, permit, persuade, prefer, recommend, remind, require, teach,tell, tempt, warn. How many of these did you think of?

6.4. What is the –ing form?This is the generally the base form of the verb +ing (e.g. eating, sleeping, walking).

6.5. Uses of the –ing form

a) We always use the –ing form after certain verbs e.g. avoid, bear, be/get used to,consider, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, imagine, involve, look forward to,mention, mind, miss, practise, resent, risk, postpone, stand.

verb --ing form

He enjoys travelling by train

I can’t stand being on a crowded tube

b) We sometimes use it after some other verbs e.g. forget, go on, like, need, regret,remember, start, stop, try. These verbs can also be used with the infinitive. Themeaning often, but not always, changes between the two forms.

Task 12: Comparing meaning

Look at the following pairs of sentences. Comment on the similarities/ differences in

meaning in each of the pairs. Some grammarians say that infinitives look forward anding forms look at the present or past (see Parrott section 11.4).

Example:1a. I forgot to turn off the gas.1b. I’ll never forget eating snails in Paris.Answer:1a. There are two actions -forget and turn off . In this case, forget happens first.1b. There are two actions – forget and eat . In this case, eat happens first.

2a. I like listening to jazz.2b. I like to go to the gym twice a week.

3a. I need to buy some milk.3b. The car needs cleaning.

4a. Do you remember seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert when we were at uni?4b. He always remembers to buy me flowers on my birthday.

5a. The house is starting to look a bit run down.5b. You’d better start cooking now. The guests are due in half an hour!

6a. She stopped smoking last week.



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6b. He stopped to look at the advert in the window.

7a. We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a refund.7b. She regretted telling him her secret.

8a. They went on talking late into the night.8b. After joining the company as a tea boy, he went on to become the CEO!

See Appendix 11

c) We use the -ing form as part of the progressive aspect of a verb (see 3.1 above).Note, we are not mentioning gerunds because, although the same in form atpresent participles, they are classified as nouns.

6.6. Uses of the bare infinitive

Task 13: Uses of the bare infinitive

We use the bare infinitive in many situations. Look at the following sentences andput together a list of when we use it.

Example: Do you think this is a good idea?

Answer: We use the base form in simple present and past questions

1. He didn’t see me yesterday.

2. My mother makes me tidy my room every week.

3. My parents didn’t let me stay out late at weekends when I was a teenager.

4. I saw Dennis Bergans play his last match for Nigeria.5. Why not get a boat to one of the islands when you’re in Greece?

6. Try and get some sleep. You look tired.

7. Come and see me when you’re in town.

8. We mustn’t be late for the exam.

See Appendix 12


Learners experience a number of problems when trying to use ing/infinitiveforms accurately:

1. deciding which to use

2. L1 interference

3. overusing infinitives

4. avoiding infinitives



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5. overusing ing forms

6. using full infinitive instead of bare infinitive

7. spelling issues with ing forms

Task 14: Identifying Learner Problems

Look at the following examples. Comment on the learner problems each reflects. Thefirst one has been done for you as an example.

a) They suggested me to visit the British Museum.

Example: The learner is overusing the infinitive. They do not know that suggest isusually followed by a clause containing an object +verb or ing form e.g. (that) Ivisit(ed) …/ visiting…. (an issue of form)

b) I go to International House for to study English.

c) I stopped to go to classes during the World Cup.

d) I am sorry for being late.

e) Can’t you make him to listen?

f) We should to save our money.

g) I want that you come with us tonight.

h) Did you see him to leave the party?

i) I am writeing to you with reference to the advertisement……

j) I hate forgeting people’s names.

See Appendix 13

For further reading:

• Carter, R and McCarthy, M 2006 Cambridge Grammar of English CambridgeUniversity Press (sections 213-216)

• Leech, G. et al 2001 An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage (pp225-230, 230-235 Longman

• Parrott, M. 2000 Grammar for English Language Teachers CambridgeUniversity Press (section 11)

• Swan, M 2005 Practical English Usage (sections 322-339)Oxford UniversityPress

• Thornbury, S 1997 About Language Cambridge University Press (Task 15)



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7. Conditionals

‘…learners are often taught that there are three kinds of conditional sentence…Thisis largely correct, but does not fully describe the normal patterns of tense inconditional clauses’ (Collins COBUILD English Grammar)

Form of conditionals

As you can see from the quote above, many grammar books will tell you that thereare three or four types of conditionals. Conditional sentences consist of two clauses -a main clause and an if clause:

Main clause If clause

Zero Present If + present

Type 1 (real/ likely) Future If + present

Type 2 (unreal/ unlikely) Would + base form If + past simple

Type 3 (impossible) Would + have + pastparticiple

If + past perfect

The clauses can be in any order but if the if clause comes first, we need touse a comma after the if clause. We do not need one if the main clausecomes first.

However, nowadays it is generally accepted that there are far more than justfour types, since there are so many variations on the basic forms statedabove.

a) In zero conditionals, we can use modal verbs in either or both of theclauses.

b) In type 1, the future can be replaced by:

• a modal eg might, may, could, must, should, ought to

• an imperative

• other future forms eg present continuous, going to

c) Also, should can come before the verb in the if clause (meaning that theaction is less likely to happen). This is more common in orders, adviceand suggestions.

d) Should can replace ‘if ’ in more formal written situations.

e) In type 2, would can be replaced by

• could or might.

• should after I and we

f) were can be used:



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• as part of the lexical chunk If I were you, I’d.. when offeringadvice

• in the if clause in place of the if and inverted with the subject

• with an infinitive to replace the past tense in the if clause. Thismakes the statement seem more polite, tentative or hypothetical

g) In type 3, would can be replaced by could or might

h) We can also mix types 2 and 3 to show:

• a past action with a present consequence

• a present/ general fact with a past consequence

i) If can be replaced by:

• as long as, supposing, only if (type 1)

• provided (that), providing, on condition that, unless (= except if) (alltypes)



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Task 15: Conditionals

Look at the sentences below and match them to the forms in 7.1. (above). The firstexample has been done for you.

Example: If he comes to stay next week, I ought to tidy up his room.

Answer: Type 1 conditional with a modal in the main clause.

1. If you leave ice cream out in the sun, it melts.

2. If I were you, I’d get go to bed early the night before your exam.

3. If the taxi driver hadn’t returned her handbag to her so quickly, she’d have hadto cancel all her credit cards.

4. Call me if you decide to go out tonight.

5. You shouldn’t sunbathe for too long on your first day if you go to the beach.

6. I’ll go out for a meal with you as long as you agree to share the cost.

7. If you’d bought the tickets sooner, we’d have better seats.

8. If they weren’t so boring, we’d have invited them to our party!

9. If I had more time, I could help you with your homework.

10. They won’t let you in unless you show your invitation.

11. We may reconsider your planning application were you to incorporate thechanges we suggest.

12. If he should arrive in the next half hour, please send him in to the meetingimmediately.

See Appendix 14

Meaning of conditionals

Conditional sentences might be defined as discussing factual implicationsor hypothetical situations and their consequences. In other words, ingeneral, what happens in the main clause depends on what happens in theif clause e.g. I’ll walk to work if there is a bus strike (walking to work

depends on the strike happening).

We also use conditional sentences for a number of other functions.

Task 16: Conditionals and functions

Look at the functions listed and match each to one of the four conditional types. Thengive an example sentence for each.



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Example: Warning

Answer: Type 1. You’ll fail the exam if you don’t study for it.

1. Giving advice

2. Describing scientific processes

3. Negotiating

4. Making excuses

5. Threatening

See Appendix 15

Learner Problems

Learners experience a number of problems when trying to use conditional formsaccurately. Before you read on, list the problems your students have had with thislanguage area. Don’t forget to think about problems of meaning, form andpronunciation. When you have written your list, look at the ideas below.



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Possible answers may include:

Meaning

a) Students can be confused by the use of a past tense to refer to the present orfuture eg ‘If I was feeling better, I’d …’

b) Students may find it confusing that both types 1 and 2 can refer to the futuree.g. ‘If I win the lottery, …’ ‘If I won the lottery,…’. The difference in meaningis not about time but about the speaker’s view of how possible this event is.

c) Due to L1 interference, lower level learners sometimes do not understand thedifference in meaning between ‘if’ and ‘when’.

Form

a) Students may think that sentences that start with ‘were’ as in ‘Were we richer,we’d…’ are questions.

b) Students often put ‘will’ in the if clause because this feels more logical if theyare talking about the future.

c) Students may put ‘would’ in the if clause. This may come from L1 interference(e.g. German).

d) Because the form of type 3 is so complicated, learners often try to avoid usingit and state what they are trying to say in an easier way e.g. ‘You were drivingtoo fast so you crashed’ instead of ‘If you hadn’t been driving so fast, youwouldn’t have crashed’.

e) Learners sometimes forget that unless means if not and so add in another

negative when it is not necessary e.g. I’ll pay for you unless you don’t haveenough money.

Pronunciation

a) Because native speakers tend to ‘swallow’ if and the auxiliaries, it may behard for a learner to hear these parts of the structures. They may nottherefore realise that they have heard a conditional sentence. Or they mayomit them when they are speaking themselves.



• Leech, G. et al 2001 An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage (pp97, 206-209)

Longman


• Swan, M & Walter, C 1997 How English Works Oxford University Press

• Thornbury, S 1997 About Language Cambridge University Press (Task 21)



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8. Reported Speech

What is reported speech?

‘Direct speech is what people actually say e.g. I’m tired . Reported speech (alsocalled indirect speech) is how we report this, making changes to the words that thespeaker originally used, e.g. She said (that) she was tired’ . (Parrott, M. Grammar for

English Language Teachers. p218).

When we teach reported speech, we often simply ask students to convert directspeech into reported speech following the rules of form in 8.2. below. Parrott makesthe interesting point that in fact, we do not generally use reported speech to reportexactly what someone said. If we want to do that, we tend to use direct speech e.g.She said, ‘The film is rubbish. Don’t’ go and see it’.

Direct speech is used:

• when we want to make something feel more dramatic

• when we want to create a sense of urgency

• when we want to convey the speaker’s actual words because they areimportant e.g. strange or funny

For these reasons, we often find direct speech in newspaper reports, fiction and oralnarratives.

Reported speech is used when we are more interested in the message or informationconveyed than in the words themselves. For this reason, reported speech can act asa kind of précis of the message and so often contains fewer words than the original.

Reported speech can report statements, imperatives, requests and questions.

Form of Reported Speech.

Task 17: Quick revision

Look at the statements below and decide if they are true or false. Then read section8.2 below to check your answers. (NB This is the type of activity you could do withyour learners either as the first stage in a test-teach-test lesson or at the end of alesson to check how much they have learnt).

1. We always use an indirect object (me, them him, her, us) with say.

2. We always use an indirect object with tell .

3. We don’t have to use that after say and tell in reported speech.

4. Pronouns and possessive adjectives (my, his, her etc) usually change inreported speech.

5. We use auxiliaries do, did, does in reported questions.

6. We always use an object (me, her, us, them etc.) with ask .

7. We can use if/ whether with a question word in reported questions.



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8. The changes in verb forms are the same for reported questions, imperatives,requests and statements.

[adapted from Redston, C and Cunningham, G face2face Intermediate student’s book p84,86, 87)

a) Statements:

The most common verbs we use for reporting statements are say (never followed byan indirect object) and tell (followed by an indirect object) i.e. She said me she wastired vs. She told to me she was tired.

These verbs are followed by a clause with an optional that at the beginning - Shesaid (that) she was tired .

Other statement verbs include:

Add, answer, explain, reply, mention – non attitude verbs

Accuse, allege, beg, blame claim, complain, confirm, demand, deny, insinuate, insist,recommend, suggest, threaten, warn – to show some form of judgement or attitude tothe speaker’s words.

(For more information about the form of these verbs, see Parrott, M p219-220)

b) Questions:

The most common verbs we use for reporting questions are ask and want to know .These are followed by a clause introduced by if/ whether for yes/no answers or aquestion word (when, how, why, what time, who, where etc.) for longer answers. Younever use if/ whether and a question word. After ask , the object is optional (He asked(us) what time it started .), whereas there is never an object after want to know .

Unlike in direct questions, the subject and verb are not inverted in clause followingthe question word. Not: She asked when would we be there. We never useauxiliaries do, did, does in reported questions. Not She asked him what did he do.

Remember also that we do not use a question mark at the end of a reportedquestion.

c) When we teach reported speech (both for questions and statements), we usuallygive learners the following rules about back shifting i.e. moving the tense of theverb in direct speech one tense ‘back’ in reported speech.

Task 18: Converting direct speech into reported speech

Look at the table below and fill in the gaps. The first example has been done for you.

Rule Direct speech Reported speech

Present simple topast simple

I don’t like chocolate cake. She said she didn’t likechocolate cake

She’s leaving on Friday.

What time did you get up?



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I wasn’t sleeping very well.

He’s never been to South America.

They’ve been travelling for

several months.Who’s going to pick us up?

We’ll see you later.

We may go on holiday together.

I can speak 5 languages.

What shall we bring for thepicnic?

You must be there on time.

NB would, could, might, should and ought to do not shift tenses.

See Appendix 16

d) Other changes

We usually change the following expressions of time and place in reported speech:

direct reported direct reported

Here

This

These

Come

bring

There

That

Those

Go

take

Now

Today

Yesterday

Tomorrow

This week

Next month

Then

That day

The day before

The following/ nextday

That week

The followingmonth

We also usually change pronouns and possessive adjectives:

direct reported direct reported

I

we

He or she

they

Me

my

Him or her

His or her

e) Reporting requests and imperatives



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When we report a request, we use asked + object + (not ) + full infinitive.

Please don’t kick your football against my fence → He asked them not to kick theirfootball …etc.

When we report an imperative, we use told + object + (not) + full infinitive.

Be quiet! → He told them to be quiet .

Learner Problems

Learners experience a number of problems when trying to use reported speechaccurately. Look at the problems below. How many of these have you seen in yourexperience?

Meaning:

Learners may not understand:

a) which time is being referred to: e.g. She said she was hungry . Is the hungerbefore the time of speaking or at the same time?

b) who is being referred to: e.g. Nicky said I was very clever . Is Nicky talking aboutherself?

Form:

a) Since it is not always necessary to backshift, learners may be unclear aboutwhen they must do this and when they don’t have to.

b) Students find it hard to think of the time marker and pronoun changes in real timewhen speaking.

c) It can be confusing for students that the word order of reported questions is thesame as statements. They often try to make reported questions look like

questions e.g. He asked who was she.

d) Students often try to put in an indirect object with say/ add/ answer/ explain/reply/ and mention e.g. She explained me she was very busy. They also oftenuse to + pronoun with tell e.g. He told to me that London was very crowded.

e) There are so many different possible structures after reporting verbs that it ishard for students to remember which ones to use. Some of these verbs can takeseveral different forms e.g. He suggested (that) I go; He suggested going; Hesuggested (that) I went but not He suggested to go (which may be the form in thelearner’s L1).

f) It is possible to say whether or not but not if or not e.g. She asked whether or notwe were going to the meeting vs. She asked if or not we were going to the

meeting.

g) Students sometimes have problems with the spelling of whether .





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• Leech, G. et al 2001 An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage (pp 220-226)Longman


• Swan, M 2005 Practical English Usage (3rd edition) (sections 533-538) Oxford

University Press

• Thornbury, S 1997 About Language Cambridge University Press (pp 62, 124,189, 190, 206)

9. Conclusion

In this section we have given an introduction to the Verb Phrase in general. We havealso looked at the meaning, form, rules and learner problems connected to morespecific language areas covered by the verb phrase (tense, time and aspect, modalverbs, passives, ing/infinitive forms, reported speech and conditionals).

A knowledge of these areas will help you to deal more confidently with verb issuesyou and your learners may encounter in the classroom. You will also need thisinformation when answering questions in the exam.

Although we have given an overview of many verb forms in this section, werecommend that you use the reading list below to help you research them in moredepth on your own. Don’t forget to look at other areas too (e.g. Phrasal verbs/ Multiword verbs).

It would also be a good idea to collect practical ideas by consciously noticing howthese areas are dealt with in a variety of course books with different approaches.

And, finally, take the opportunity whenever you can to refresh your memory on thedifferent ways verb phrases can be made and how they are used. Simply practiselooking at any piece of authentic material and analysing the verb phrases in it. Makeyourself ‘comment on their use and form’ to give yourself training for the Exam.



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10. Terminology Review

Task 19: Terms and Definitions

The definitions below all refer to concepts from this section.

For 1 – 4, supply the term being defined. There is an example provided.

Example: If + present simple, present simple. Often used to describe scientific facts.

Answer: Zero conditional

1. This term refers to a range of meanings to do with how necessary ordesirable the speaker/writer views the situation.

2. When we put something on the end of the root of the verb eg third person ‘s’or ‘ed’ ending in past simple.

3. The actual use of a verb in context eg asking for permission or apologising.

4. A grammatical term used for the imperative, infinitive and subjective forms ofthe verb.

For 5 – 8, provide a definition and example for the terms given. There is an exampleprovided.

Example: Verb phrase

Answer: A verb phrase can consist of a single main verb (e.g. slept), a multi wordverb (e.g. put up with), auxiliary verbs + a main verb (e.g. might be waiting), two mainverbs (e.g. like dancing), negatives (don’t waste) or a verb plus the object that followsit (e.g. make a mistake).

5. Aspect

6. Tense

7. Complement

8. Semi Modal verb

See Appendix 17 for answers

Reading

Essential Reading

Carter, R and McCarthy, M 2006 Cambridge Grammar of English CambridgeUniversity Press

Leech, G. et al 2001 An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage Longman

Parrott, M. 2000 Grammar for Language Teachers Cambridge University Press

Swan, M, 2005 Practical English Usage (3rd edition) Oxford University Press

Thornbury, S. 1997 About Language Cambridge University Press



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Recommended Additional Reading

Leech, G. & Svartvik, J. 1988 A Communicative Grammar of English Longman (pp74-75)

Lewis M. 1986 The English Verb LTP (pp61-74)

Murphy, R. 1985 English Grammar in Use Cambridge University PressSwan, M. & Walter, C. 1997 How English Works Oxford University Press

Willis, D 2003 Rules, Patterns and Words Cambridge University Press



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Appendices

Appendix 1:

1c 2h 3g 4d 5i 6f 7j 8a 9b 10e

Appendix 2: Identifying Examples of Verb Phrases

b) Had been sleeping: the past perfect continuous with elements of both theperfect and continuous aspects. Formed with auxiliaries had+been+presentparticiple of the main / lexical verb. Present participle formed using base form+ing. Intransitive verb (no object).

c) had awoken Perfect aspect - past perfect simple formed with auxiliary had+pastparticiple of main / lexical verb. Irregular verb, past participle formed by adding+n. Intransitive verb (no object).

d) enabled her to find Two main verbs. The first one is in the past simple, formedby adding +d. Enable + object is followed by ‘to + infinitive’ of the second lexicalverb find.

e) Battling Present participle formed by base form of verb battle, final e omitted and+ing.

f) was hauled Past simple passive singular formed by third person singular past ofauxiliary ‘be’ + past participle of regular main / lexical verb ‘haul’. Past participleformed by base form + ed.

g) gave up Past simple of irregular multiword / phrasal verb (give up) followed byobject (separable verb)

h) hadn’t been. Past perfect simple of be (here as a main verb, not an auxiliary).Negative form, formed by had + not (contracted) + past participle of irregular verbbe. Here it forms part of subordinate clause of third conditional, see (j) below

i) to keep them afloat. Note the concentration of verb forms in this example. Nofewer than eleven words are primarily devoted to verb phrase.

j) Once they could see…this is operating as a time marker.

k) They decided to start swimming note the way two of the verbs are followedhere by other verbs: decide takes the infinitive, start takes the –ing form

l) They were picked up …taken to, are examples of the passive.

m) After the sinking…sink has become a noun; while this is, once again, not a verbphrase, it is useful to see, once again, a verb working as a noun.

n) He has lived present perfect with ‘for’ - duration of time.

o) Was working past continuous.

p) Was criticised past passive +for -ing.



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Appendix 3: Uses of the Tenses

Whilst the uses of each verb form below are by no means exhaustive, they will giveyou an idea of the range that exists.

1. Past simple

a) Refers to an event in the past which occurred repeatedlyb) Refers to a hypothetical situation in the present; expresses a wish

2. Past progressive or Past continuous

a) Refers to a longer background action, which was interrupted (by a shorter action – the main event – in the past simple). This use is typical in narratives where itprovides the background to events that form the story itself.

b) Refers to a temporary situation in the past

3. Present simple

a) Refers to an action that occurs repeatedly in the present (a habit)

b) Refers to a future event which has been programmed already

4. Present progressive or Present continuous

a) Refers to a current (temporary) situation, in progress now

b) Refers to a future even that has already been decided / arranged

5. Present perfect simple

a) Refers to a finished action, which affects the present, it has some importancenow

b) Refers to a situation which started in the past and continues up to the present

6. Present perfect progressive or Present perfect continuous

a) Refers to a present temporary action starting in the past and continuing in theperiod up to now; it focuses on its duration so far (2 weeks) and it therefore

collocates with expressions of time

b) Refers to a recent activity which took place over a period of time and hasprobably recently stopped. The activity may be constant or repeated.

7. Past perfect simple



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a) Here they are already talking in the past and it is used to go back to an earlierpast time. It focuses on the fact that something took place and finished beforesomething else in the past.

b) Here it is used in reported speech. It refers to something that had alreadyhappened when the conversation took place.

8. Past perfect progressive or Past perfect continuous

a) Used for a longer action (wait) that continued up to the past moment referred to(her arrival) and stopped then.

b) Here the action (live there) continues beyond the specified past point of time(when they worked on the garden)

9. Will

a) Refers to a future prediction

b) Refers to repeated and habitual behaviour in the present. (NB There is no futuremeaning here). It is usually used in a disapproving way; if will is stressed itbecomes more critical: ‘He will often start something...’

10. Future progressive or Future continuous

a) Refers to a ‘prediction’ (guess) about the present (NB will can also be used in asimilar way, e.g. phone rings – ‘That’ll be John.’)

b) Refers to a future action which will be in progress at a particular moment in thefuture

11. Going to future

a Refers to an event we can see now and are certain will happen – a predictionbased on present evidence

b Refers to a planned future event. (It is often used interchangeably with thepresent continuous for future. However, c.f. ‘We’re spending a couple of weeksrelaxing in the sun’. Here it is not clear whether the reference is to the present orfuture – here the context is needed to determine whether the present or future isbeing referred to)

12. Future Perfect

a. Shows an action will be completed by a certain time (nine) in the future. Herethings are viewed from a particular point in the future as already having takenplace or as having been completed. It often collocates with ‘by or ‘before’.

b. Here, in the progressive form, things are being viewed again from a certain pointin the future (the end of the year). The focus is on how long they have beenhappening and it often collocates with ‘for’ + period.



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Appendix 4: Progressive Aspect

1. In progress now, here a temporary situation in the present. (c.f. present simple:‘My sister lives with us’ which refers to a more permanent situation.

2. Refers to a longer ‘background’ action (taking the dog for a walk) which wasalready in progress in the past when a shorter event (past simple: saw the fire)happened. (C.f. past simple: ‘I took the dog for a walk when...’ which gives theimpression they took the dog for a walk after they saw the fire, perhaps as aresult. It reverses the actual order of events and their relationship.).

3. Refers to a situation in progress at a specified time in the past (September)

4. An action in progress in the past and up to now – here it does not appear to betemporary!

5. This refers to present arrangement for a future event. This is the most difficult tofit under the umbrella meaning of ‘in progress’. It is perhaps best viewed as anevent which had in a sense been on going since the decision was made and we

thus view it as being ‘in progress’.

Appendix 5: Perfect Aspect

Task 5a: In the perfect aspect the event or state is viewed as occurring in a period oftime up to and related to a point of time, this varies with the different forms:

i.e. present perfect the present moment

past perfect a past point of time

future perfect a future point of time

It is often referred to as being retrospective i.e. looking back from that point of time.For this reason it is often useful to show learners the meaning using diagrams e.g.time lines as in this way the relationship between events can be clarified visually.

1. Here the point of time is the present i.e. the moment of talking. It therefore meansthat some time in the period from now back to the past I lived in Italy. The timeitself is indefinite.

2. Here the point of time is in the past and is defined by the context (in this case myarrival ). In this way ‘his leaving’ is placed in a period of time before I arrived. (c.f.past simple: ‘when I arrived he left’ which implies both actions happened at thesame time, possibly his departure caused by my arrival.

3. Here again the point of time is determined by the context (tomorrow), this time inthe future. The work will be completed in the period preceding this point. Again,we are looking back from a specified point (here the future).

In Task 5b both aspects combine their primary meanings i.e. and event ‘in progress’and an event viewed retrospectively:

4. For the perfect aspect the point in time is her promotion and ‘had been’ issituated in the period before and leading up to her promotion. The progressiveaspect indicates the action was in progress (working).



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5. For the perfect aspect the point in time is the future (next week) and ‘will havebeen’ is situated in the period before and leading up to next week. Theprogressive aspect indicates an action in progress (working).

Appendix 6: The Form of Core Modal Verbs

1. Modals are always placed first in the verb phrase.

e.g. That could be...

2. They are followed by a verb in the base form (i.e. without ‘to’). The verb may be alexical verb e.g. It should take...or an auxiliary verb (be, do, have) e.g. It mighthave got lost...or the substitute verb ‘do’ but it cannot be another modal verb.

3. Negatives of modal verbs are formed by adding not / (n)’t after the modal verb.‘Do’ is not used

e.g. That can’ t be right

4. Questions are formed by inverting the subject and modal verb. ‘Do’ is not used

e.g. What would you do..?.

5. None of these forms. Modal verbs have only one form and do not inflect forperson or number e.g. She must be...(c.f. They must be...)

They do not have infinitive forms (either with or without to)

e.g. We cannot say:: I’d like to can speak Japanese

But have to say: I’d like to be able to speak Japanese

They also lack participle forms.

Appendix 7: Semi Modal Verbs

2. Here need behaves like a lexical verb: it has a past negative form using theauxiliary do in the past and is followed by ‘to’ plus the infinitive.

‘Need’ can therefore be considered to be both a semi modal (as in the taskexample) and a lexical verb (as above).

3. ‘Have to’ always behaves grammatically as a lexical verb, inflecting in the 3rd person singular and followed by ‘to’. However, it expresses a modal meaning:obligation, and is therefore considered a semi-modal

4. Here ‘ought to’ behaves like a core modal verb in that it has no past form andexpresses a modal meaning (describing an ideal/desired state) but it behaves likea lexical verb in that it is followed by ‘to’ plus infinitive (here perfect infinitive).



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Appendix 8: Meanings of Modals

Modal Meaning Example

can logical deduction

permission

ability

That can’t be right

You can borrow the car if you like

Can you see the mark on the sleeve?

could possibility

permission

ability

That could be the best solution

Could I have a word?

We could just about see it.

may possibility

permission

I’ve got the day off so I may get it done in time

May I come in?

might possibility

permission

I was thinking, it might have got lost in the post

Might I use your phone?

will prediction

volition

It’ll be a lovely day.

I’ll carry that for you

would prediction

volition

What would you do if you had a year off?

Would you lend me your car?

should possibility

obligation

It should take about 3 days, I reckon.

She should get her eyes tested

must logical deduction

obligation

He must be at least 60, don’t you think?

You must show valid photographic i.d.

shall prediction

volition

I shall always be grateful to her.

Shall I have a go?

need (to) necessity You needn’t worry

have (got) to logical deduction

obligation

You’ve got to be mad!

He has to leave early

ought to obligation We ought to have done it years ago



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Appendix 9: Identifying Learner Problems

1.

The learner here is over-generalising a rule. Unlike lexical verbs, modal verbs do notinflect e.g. here they do not add 3 rd person ‘s’ . This can cause frustration to learnerstrying to apply a ‘rule’ they have learnt

b Here again the learner is over-generalising a rule. Modal verbs are followed bythe bare infinitive, c.f. lexical verbs followed by ‘to’ + infinitive e.g. ‘want’: Hewants to come tomorrow.

c The learner is again applying a rule that does not work for modal verbs, wherethe negative is not formed using the auxiliary ‘do’, but with the modal itself + ‘not’e.g. here I can’t understand.

2.

a These have very similar meaning. Course materials often teach that ‘must’ is forexternal obligation e.g. imposed by official bodies, other authorities and ‘have to’is for internal obligation i.e. imposed by the speaker or writer. Whilst this may bea useful rule of thumb for learners, in practice many people do not make thisdistinction, some reserving ‘must’ largely for logical deduction e.g. He must be atleast 60, don’t you think?

b Both become ‘You had to leave’. Must here has no past form, so any distinctionmade in meaning in the present can no longer hold in the past.

c In the negative forms the two have completely different meanings. ‘Mustn’t’expresses an obligation not to do it. ‘Don’t have to’ expresses an absence ofobligation –, indicating it is up to you.

3.

a All of these express (future) possibility. Some people use them interchangeablyand if they want to express different degrees of probability they use e.g.intonation when they speak. Other people do distinguish between them but maynot conform as to which ones they choose to express greater or lesser likelihood!

b Whilst all three have the function of giving advice, ‘You ought to go’ and. ‘I wouldgo’ are less direct and so more polite than ‘You must go’. Learners clearly needto be aware of these differences.

c This is a non-modal use of ‘would’. It refers to a past habit and is often used innarratives.

4.

a Like many modals, ‘can’ has both weak (unstressed) and strong (stressed) formsin pronunciation. Thus the weak form as in ‘You can borrow the car if you like’ ispronounced /k(û)n/ and the strong form as in ‘I know I can’ is pronounced /kæn/.

The weak form can lead to perception problems for learners, who may miss it.

b Here ‘must’ is pronounced in its strong form and have is weak: /m√stûv/ . Again

this can lead to perception problems for learners.



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Appendix 10: Form and Use of the Passive

2. Form: Past simple of auxiliary ‘get’ + past participle of the lexical verb ‘burgle’(regular +d). Agentless passive.

Use: Auxiliary ‘get’ is more common in informal and spoken language such ashere. The passive allows the focus to be placed on the action – the burglary,

rather than who did it. The agent is unknown or not relevant here.

3. Form: 3rd person present simple of auxiliary ‘be’ (irregular) + adverb ‘also’ + pastparticiple of lexical verb ‘cause’ (regular) + by + agent (cars).

Use: In the active sentence the text is about cars in general (cars are the giveninformation) and this sentence discusses one of the disadvantages of cars. In thepassive sentence the stating point is pollution, this is the topic of the text and thegiven information. The new information explains that cars are one if its causes.The agent is specified as it is an important part of the message. The differentstructures allow different organisation of content and thus different focus for thesame basic meaning.

4. Form: Present perfect simple of auxiliary ‘be’ + past participle of lexical verb

mislay (irregular). Agentless passive.

Use: Here the passive allows the speaker to avoid specifying who is to blame formislaying the application and thus avoids embarrassment. the focus has beenshifted to the result of the action rather than who did it.

5. Form: 3rd person plural of auxiliary verb ‘be’ + past participle of lexical verb worry(regular ‘y’ changes to ‘i’ + ed) + by + agent (‘the thought of what a surgeon isgoing to do’)

Use: Here the passive allows the long, complex noun phrase to be placed at theend of the sentence (the position for ‘new’ information), a preferred position inEnglish, making the information easier to process.

6. Form: modal auxiliary should + auxiliary be in base form + past participle of thelexical verb ‘consider’ (regular +ed). Agentless passive.

Use: Agentless passive here is typical of academic writing. It allows the focus tobe on the process and not the individuals involved. ‘Consider’ is frequently foundin the passive in impersonal writing such as here.

Appendix 11: Comparing Meanings of Ing vs infinitive forms

2.a I like listening to jazz. = This is something I really enjoy and is a general

statement about something I may do often.

b I like to go to the gym twice a week. = This is something I do a little out of duty tomake myself feel good, but maybe I don’t really enjoy it. It is also something I dooccasionally. (more common in American English).

3.a I need to buy some milk. = With this verb, these two forms basically have the

same meaning. In other words, that something is necessary.b The car needs cleaning. = This form is used with objects, animals or babies.



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4.a Do you remember seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert when we were at uni? =

Two actions, remember and see. See happens first.b He always remembers to buy me flowers on my birthday. = Two actions:

remember and buy. Remember happens first.

5.a The house is starting to look a bit run down. = With this verb, these two forms

basically have the same meaning.b You’d better start cooking now. The guests are due in half an hour!

6.a She stopped smoking last week. = One action which is now finished (smoking)b He stopped to look at the advert in the window. = Two actions. He stopped

doing one thing (eg walking) in order to do something else (in this case – look atthe advert).

7.a We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a refund. = I am sorry

that I will have to tell you that….b She regretted telling him her secret. = Two actions, regret and tell. Tell

happened first and she is sorry she did this.

8.a They went on talking late into the night. = To continue an action that was started

earlier.b After joining the company as a tea boy, he went on to become the CEO! = After

one action, something else happened.

Appendix 12: Uses of the bare infinitive

We use the bare infinitive:

1. In simple present and past negatives.

2. After the verb ‘make’.

3. After the verb ‘let’.

4. With verbs of perception eg see, feel, hear, notice, sense. NB Contrast this withthese verbs = ing form. I saw him cross the road (you saw the whole action) vs Isaw him crossing the road (you did not see the beginning/ end of this action)

5. With why (to question someone’s intention or suggestion) and why not (to make asuggestion)

6. After ‘try and’.

7. After ‘come and/ go and’.

8. After modal verbs. (see section 4)



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Appendix 13: Learner problems with infinitive and ing forms

b I go to International House for to study English. L1 interference. In the learner’sL1, when talking about purpose, they probably use for plus full infinitive egFrench, Spanish. (an issue of form).

c I stopped to go to classes during the World Cup. The learner may not be sure

which form to use after the verb ‘stop’ or they may not know there is a differencein meaning between ‘stop to go’ and ‘stop going’. (an issue of form or meaning).

d I am sorry for being late. Overuse of ing form. The learner may not know that itis much more common to say ‘I’m sorry I’m late’. (an issue of appropriacy).

e Can’t you make him to listen? The learner may not know that they should usethe bare infinitive after ‘make’ (and ‘let’). This may be as a result of L1interference again. (an issue of form).

f We should to save our money. Overusing infinitive. The learner may not knowthey should follow modals (eg can, could, will, should, may, might, must) withbare infinitives. Again possibly L1 interference. (an issue of form).

g I want that you come with us tonight. Avoiding use of infinitive in an object +infinitive combination. Again L1 influence eg Italian. (an issue of form).

h Did you see him to leave the party? Overusing infinitive. This could be becausethe learner does not know verbs of perception are only followed by bare infinitive(or ing form). (an issue of form).

i I am writeing to you with reference to the advertisement…… Spelling issue. Thelearner may not realise that if a verb has a final –e, it is often dropped whenmaking the –ing form. Other examples include take, write, have, argue, make etc(see Michael Swan Practical English Usage section 570 for spelling rulesconnected to this).

j I hate forgeting people’s names Again a spelling issue. The learner may not

know when they need to double the final consonant of certain verbs. (see MichaelSwan section 568 for spelling rules connected to this).

Appendix 14: Conditionals

1. Zero conditional

2. Part of a lexical chunk ‘If I were you’

3. Type 3 conditional

4. Type 1 with an imperative

5. Zero conditional with a modal (shouldn’t )

6. Type 1 with as long as instead of if

7. Mixed conditional - past action with a present consequence

8. Mixed conditional - general fact with past consequence

9. Type 2 with modal (could ) instead of would

10. Type 1 with unless



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11. Type 2 with were + infinitive instead of the past tense in the if clause

12. Type 1 with should before the verb in the if clause.

Appendix 15: Conditionals and functions

1. Type 2: If I were you I wouldn’t buy such an expensive car.Type 1: If you take a deep breath, you’ll feel less nervous.

2. Zero: If you heat cobalt chloride, it turns blue.

3. Type 1: If you clean the kitchen, I’ll do the bathroom.

4. Type 3: If the train hadn’t been late, I’d have arrived on time.

5. Type 1: I’m going to tell your parents if you come into my garden one more time.

Appendix 16: Converting direct speech into reported speech

Rule Direct speech Reported speech

Present simple topast simple

I don’t like chocolate cake. She said she didn’t likechocolate cake

Present continuousto past continuous

She’s leaving on Friday. She said she was leavingon Friday.

Past simple to past

perfect

What time did you get up? He asked what time she

had got up.

Past continuous to pastperfect continuous

I wasn’t sleeping very well. She said she had not beensleeping very well.

Present perfect topast perfect

He’s never been to South America.

They said he’d never beento South America.

Present perfectcontinuous to pastperfect continuous

They’ve been travelling forseveral months.

He said they’d beentravelling for severalmonths.

Going to to was/were going to

Who’s going to pick us up? She asked who was goingto pick them up.

Will to would We’ll see you later. They said they’d see you/us later.

May to might We may go on holiday together. They said they might goon holiday together.

Can to could I can speak 5 languages. She said she could speak5 languages.



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Shall to should What shall we bring for thepicnic?

He asked what theyshould bring to the picnic.

Must to had to You must be there on time. He said we had to bethere on time.

Appendix 17: Terminology Review

1. Intrinsic modality

2. Inflection

3. Function

4. Mood

5. Aspect describes the way we view an action or state in terms of the passing oftime. There are two aspects in English – progressive and perfect.

6. Tense refers to the way the base verb form changes in order to place the event ina specific time frame (i.e. past, present or future), so in English, strictly speaking,the only tenses are present (he cooks) and past (he cooked). However, forteaching purposes a rather looser interpretation of the term is generally used anda larger number of verb phrase combinations are usually referred to as ‘tenses’,including e.g. past continuous, past perfect. If we exclude modals, in this way wecan reach a total of eight tenses, all of which are combinations of the two basictenses in English and the progressive and continuous aspect.

7. A complement normally follows a verb phrase (often the verb to be, seem orappear) and can be an adjective (eg I’m happy), a noun phrase (eg That was alovely meal), a pronoun (eg Is this yours?), a number (eg She’ll be 50 nextmonth). It can also follow the object of the sentence (eg Walking makes me

hungry).8. In addition to the core modals, there are a number of other verbs which combine

with other verbs to express modal meaning. They behave in similar ways to coremodal verbs but share some characteristics with lexical verbs and are known assemi-modals. Grammarians do not all agree which verbs qualify as semi-modalbut some of the main ones are need (to), have (got) to and ought to

unit3_section1 the verb phrase

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