02. The verbs be, have and do.doc

8/14/2019 02. The verbs be, have and do.doc

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CHAPTER 2

THE VERBS BE, HAVE, AND DO

The verb Be

Be as a full verb is used in the imperative. We find it in the following combinations:a) Be + noun (often with an idiomatic meaning): Be a man! Dont be + noun often refers to

behaviour:

Dont besilly!

Becan have the sense of becomeespecially in advertisements:

Bethe envy of your friends!

Dont be is often used for advice and the agreement is expressed with I wont.Beis also used to mean

pretend to be especially after you:

You bemother, and Ill be father.

b) Be + ad"ective (only those referring to temporary behaviour such as careful/careless#

patient/impatient# quiet sillyruderough snobbish ungrateful vain wasteful)# be + noun (in progressive

aspect): a baby a borea brute a coward a darling a foola liar a miser a show-offa threat a worry.

c) Be+ past participle:

Beprepared

Beseated

Bewarned

Bein the present simple tense combines with:

- $ames (nouns) pronouns to show identification and information: !his is"ary. #he isa doctor.

- %d"ectives:$e isangry.

- %d"ectives + nouns:$e isan important man.

- &ossessives: !hey aremine.

- %dverbs and prepositional phrases: !hey areat the door.

- %dverbial particle andhome:!omshome now('hes arrived'). f. !oms at home now. ('he may

have not left at all')

n informal *nglish the present and past of becan replace have/hadwith verbs lie dofinishgo.

$ave you finished% Imreally finished.

- *mpty sub"ect + be:Its&'( miles from here to Bucharest.

- Be+ infinitive:$is latest idea isto fly in the outer space.

,he progressive forms normally occur only with the present and the past forms of be. ,he progressive

is possible with ad"ectives referring to temporary behaviour but not with ad"ectives describing states: hungry

thirsty. With some combinations there is a strong implication that the behaviour is on purpose.

Your sister is beingvery tiresome this evening. (-he isnt usually so tiresome.)

Your sister was beinga silly girl yesterday. (-he isnt usually a silly girl.)

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,he formshave/had beencombine with ad"ectives describing both temporary behaviour states and

moods continuing up to the present or till then:

0ehaviour: #hes/d beenvery quiet.

-tates:Ivenever beenso an)ious.

1oods:$es beenvery gloomy.

Weather:Its beenvery cold lately.

&rofessions:Ive beena teacher, but now Im a politician.

$ave been+ toor inhas the sense of 'visit a place and come bac'.$ave gonealways followed by to

has the sense of be at that place or on the way to a place:

Ive beenin the countryside(and come bac).

#hes goneto *aris(-hes on her way or there already). n some exercise boos students must pay

attention to the meaning of the verb written in bracets: although it is go it can mean be.

+herever "arion find. a ob, there was someone who 0now. that she go. to prison1

(2ince3//: 34)

,he future of be as a full verb combines with many ad"ectives and nouns for normal will5future uses:

It will berainy tomorrow.

+ill becan be used for deduction:

!hat will be2 &13(.

There + be.,he singular form !heres is often used informally instead of !here areto refer to

the plural:

Theresmany buses to ta0e you to the station .

!here+ becombinations are used when we are taling or asing about the existence of people things

and are more idiomatic and natural. ,hey allow important new information to come at the end of the

sentence for emphasis:

Theres beenan accident.

When we have established existence with there we must use personal pronouns + beto give more

details:

Theresa "r1 #mith at the door1 $e wants to spea0 to the manager.

!here+ verbs other than beare usually used in the affirmative and formal style. ,hese verbs must be

regarded as variations of be as describing a state:e)istlive lie remain.

There livedan old woman with her daughter.

!herecombines with a few other verbs: arrive come enterfollow risewhich have restricted uses:

There will followa short interval between the acts.

Verbs related in meaning to be. We can express certainty about states with be:

#he isclever and less certainty with modals:

#he may beclever or through verbs related to be:

#he seemsto be. clever.

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-ome common verbs related in meaning and function to beare: appearfeel loo0seemsmellsound

taste# chance happenandprovecan also be used in certain patterns. We cannot normally omit to beafter

appearandseemexcept in simple present and simple past:

$e seemsto be. a fool.

!o beis usually included before predicative ad"ectives beginning with a-:

!he door seems to beaar.

We cannot useto be afterfeel loo0smellsoundortaste:

You smellnice.

&rocess verbs (becomecomefallgogetgrow run turn wear) + ad"ectival complement describe a

change of state. ,hey can be used in the progress aspect to emphasise the idea that change is actively in

progress:

!he mil0 has gonesour.

,he most common process verbs are get become and grow. 4et is used informally with many

ad"ectives:get annoyed/bored/depressed/ill/tired/wet. 5sed tois common afterget(and less common after

become) to describe the ac8uisition of a habit. n such cases used tofunctions as an ad"ective and can be

replaced by accustomed to:

I hated coo0ing but Igot used toit.

&rocess verbs are often used in fixed phrases: come right come truefall ill go mad run wild turn

nasty wear thin:

Dont you thin0 that o0es wearing a bit thin9

$ouns are not common after process verbs but we can use become+ noun to suggest a change of stateor occupation:

$es becomea drug addict.

"a0e+ noun can be used to suggest a change of state:

$e will makea good doctor.

6omegetandgrow can be followed directly by a to5infinitive:

+e soongrewto li0e the neighbourhood.

The verb Have.

Have and have gotmeaning possess are interchangeable but there are differences between 0ritish

and %merican uses:

3) have gotis a past form. We can compare:

; +hat haveyougot9 ;Ive goteverything we need, with

7 Have yougot the money% 7 Yes, Ive got it1 ,he first example means get, the second means

possess. ,he 0ritish meaning have obtained is emphasised in the %m* form have gotten which always

means have obtained. n spoen idiomatic 0r*3Ive gotis more common thanI have.


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Hasshe a passport% #he hasnta passport.

$avewithoutgot can also form 8uestions and negatives with doanddid. ,his is common in %m* and

is being adopted in 0r*:

You dont havea car1

Doyou havetrouble with your grammar9

>) $avemeaning possess is a state verb. t cannot be used in the progressive aspect and is rarely

found in the passive or imperative.

) $ave gotas possess is used mostly for present reference. ,he affirmative had gotis sometimes

used in the past but hadalone is preferred:

$e hada nice collection of stamps.

$ad gotis never used for certain states:

$e had(not had got) long hair when he was a child.$ad gotis generally used in its original sense of

had obtained:

+hen we met he hadustgothis driving license.

+ill have gotis only used in the sense of will have obtained:

By the end of ne)t year he will have gothis driving license.$ave gotis not possible in the passive.

6) We can usehadnt gotinstead of didnt have:I didnt havehadnt got. any news from him so I

rang him up.

?) $adntalone is possible but not usual. ,he past interrogative is formed with did:

Didyou haveenough money9$ad you@9 is dated and formal. n Yes/8o8uestions we can use$ad

you gotbut not in wh58uestions.4) -ome forms of haveas possess are rarely or at all used:

- the short form of the affirmative especially in the third person.

#he hasa new hatnot#hesa new hat.

- the short form negative is used instead of the contracted:

I haventa car.

A) ,he form aint got is often heard instead of havent/ hasnt got. -imilarlyhaveand hasare often

omitted beforegot:

Igoteverything for the trip.

We usehaveand have gotwith the meaning of possess:

3. With the meaning of 'own':$es gota new !-shirt.

. Buantity:$es gotfour houses.

. &hysical characteristics: 9ur cat has gotan unusually long tail.

6. 1ental and emotional features: !oms mother-in-law has gota quic0 temper.

?. Camily relationships:Ive gota brother.

4. ontacts with other people:Ive gota good car mechanic.

A. 'Wear' (in combination with on): #heilas goton a nice dress.

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/. llness::ll the boys have gotsmallpo).

37. %rrangements: (in combination with appointment conference date interview meeting time

etc.): #hes gota date with :nthony.

33. Dpinions (in combination with nouns lie idea, influence, obection, opinion, point of view,

proposal, suggestion):$es gotone of his brilliant ideas again!

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Do as a full verb1 t has the meaning of perform an activity be engaged in something. We can useother verbs to answer 8uestions lie:

;+hat are you doing97Im writing.

When we use doin the sense of be in the wrong place it often conveys disapproval:

+hat are those tools doingin the garden9We can use do+ gerund to refer to named tass:

Ive donetheshopping/washing/ironing.

I doa lot of swimming/reading.

ompared with ma0ethat conveys the sense of create dooften suggests be engaged in an activity

and is a more general term. 0oth of them are used in many fixed combinations.

ombinations with do:


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3. (amKam being) always tired after such long visits paid to relatives.

. When we have guests our child always shows off and (isKis being) 8uite noisy.

. t (isKwill be) windy and wet in two days.

6. Lon't answer the phone. ,hat (isKwill be) my ex5boyfriend.

?. Me (has grownKhas come) to en"oy his marriage with Noan.

4. ,om always (gotKappeared) depressed when hearing about his former wife.

A. ,hey (ranKwent) mad when everything they had planned fell through.

/. 1y courage began (to wearKto get) thin as the exam drew closer.

37. Mer daughter (will turnKwill mae) a famous actress.

18. Change these sentences into the negative:

3. ,hey had supper at the best restaurant in town after the play. !hey didnt have

. had a wonderful time in Greece last summer.

. 1y niece had a game of tennis with one of the best players from the neighbourhood.

6. -he has arrived "ust in time to see the beginning of the show.

?. 1y parents had their house painted in white last month.

4. We had some coffee before going out.

A. ,he girls had their swimming lesson with the new instructor.

/. Oou have finished all your wor and now you're ready to go home.37. have a hint about the person who did it.

19. Change the following sentences from a general to a specific meaning by the use of the construction

with have:

3. &lease let me loo at your new method of nitting.*lease let me have a loo0

. haven't drun te8uila for longer than can remember.

. ,hose two cats have been fighting for the last five minutes.

6. ,aste the soup and you'll see how good it is.

?. 1y family usually rests after lunch.

4. ,hey will probably be swimming in the sea by the time we get there.

A. hildren should sleep after such a long wal.

/. ,he boss wants to tal to you after the meeting.

37. t would be better to lie down if your feet hurt so much.

2. Underline one of the verbs in brac!ets:

3. When do you (doKmae) your shopping9

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. ,hey (didKmade) a "ourney to the -outh &ole to study life under freePing conditions.

. ,hey first (didKmade) several experiments and then launched the product on maret.

6. -usan (has doneKhas made) a fortune selling her pictures for*layboy.

?. Oou won't go out until you (have doneKhave made) your homewor.

4. &eter (didKmade) an attempt to tal to Nill but everything was in vain she wouldn't say a word.

A. *llen (will doKwill mae) the itchen and then start cooing.

/. ,he party of tourists (didKmade) all the sights of the city in "ust one day.

37. ,hey (didKmade) a success of their last show.

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02. The verbs be, have and do.doc