today.
We shall see if that’s true.
Auxiliary verbs
There are three auxiliary verbs: be, have and do. These are used with other verbs to make different tenses.
I was washing my hair.
The chicken had crossed the road.
I did tidy my room eventually.
Be, have and do are irregular verbs, which means that they do not follow the usual rules for making verb forms.
Be
I am happy.
You are sad.
She is tired.
We are excited.
They are late.
I was worried.
You were angry.
He was scared.
We were jealous.
They were sleepy.
He is being silly.
We have been ready for an hour.
Have
I have a cat.
You have a dog.
She has a rabbit.
We have a parrot.
They have no pets.
I had an apple.
You had an orange.
He had a pear.
We had some grapes.
They had strawberries.
Mary is having a baby.
We have had no sleep for two days.
Do
I do not like her.
You do not like him.
She does not like me.
We do not like them.
They do not like us.
I did like him.
You did like her.
She did like you.
We did like them.
They did like him.
The boys are doing their homework in their rooms.
I have done what you told me.
Modal verbs
The modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would and ought. They are used with other verbs to add certain meanings like possibility, doubt or having to do something. Unlike all other verbs, they do not change their spellings:
I can ride a bike.
Olivia can speak Italian.
My friends can all come to my party.
I could be late so don’t wait for me.
You may be right.
I might go to the library after school.
You must listen to the teacher.
Shall we take the dog for a walk?
You should clean your teeth at least twice a day.
Will you hang your jacket up?
I would love a cup of tea.
We ought to leave now.
A phrase is a group of words which go together.
a busy street
the family pet
very good at tennis
Although a phrase makes sense, it is not a full sentence and needs more words to make it complete.
We live on a busy street.
The family pet is a tortoise called Bob.
My sister is very good at tennis.
Noun phrases
A noun phrase contains at least one noun.
a tall girl
an extremely tall girl
an extremely tall girl with piercing blue eyes
Adjective phrases
An adjective phrase contains at least one adjective.
a brown bear
a big brown bear
a big scary brown bear
Verb phrases
A verb phrase contains an auxiliary verb and sometimes an adverb.
I am enjoying the summer holiday.
He had been learning to play the piano.
She is always complaining about her teachers.
Adverb phrases
An adverb phrase tells you something about the verb. It can contain an adverb but it does not have to.
Katie tiptoed very quietly across the room.
The man shouted ‘Fire!’ as loudly as possible.
In the morning, the sky was clear.
Preposition phrases
A preposition phrase contains a preposition and the noun that follows it.
She shut the dogs in the kitchen.
A plastic bag full of money was lying by the side of the road.
At the back of the class, some of the boys were laughing and telling jokes.
A
