Introduction to verbs – be, have, do
1.
‘Be’, ‘have’, ‘do’ function as full and auxiliary verbs
Full
combined with
adjectives and
nouns
Have meaning
‘possess’, etc.
Do
meaning ‘perform
an activity’, etc.
Be
2.
TM 105-128; A 187-207
Aux
Combined with other verbs to form progressive and perfect
progressive (with have) tenses as well as passive
Combined with past participle in simple and progressive
(with be) perfective tenses as well as passive (with be).
To form questions and negatives, short answers and
question tags in the simple present and simple past tenses,
for emphasis (Do sit down), and to substitute a verb (I like it
and she does, too.)
‘Be’ as a full verb
2.1. ‘Be’ in the imperative
2.1.1. ‘Be’ + noun
 Idiomatic combinations, e.g. Be a man! Be a devil! Be an angel!
Q: What’s the difference in meaning between the last two?1



‘Be’ = ‘become’ mostly in advertisements, e.g. Be a better cook!
‘Be’ = ‘pretend to be’, e.g. Be a monster, granddad!
‘Don’t be’ used for advice, e.g. Don’t be a racing driver! It’s so
dangerous.
2.1.2. ‘Be’ + adjective, referring to passing behaviour, e.g. Be quiet!
Q: Which is the correct way to rephrase Be careful or you’ll break it? a. If
you don’t be careful, you’ll break it OR b. If you’re not careful, you’ll break
it.2
2.1.3. ‘Be’ + past participle, e.g. Be prepared! Be warned!
Q: You probably heard the expression Please, be advised to do sth? Would
you consider it an example of 2.1.2 or 0?3
2.1.4. ‘Do’ + ‘be’ in place of the imperative, e.g. Do be careful with that vase!
2.2. ‘Be’ in the simple present and simple pas
Q: Find correct contracted forms of Am I not late? a. Aren’t I late? b. Amn’t
I late? c. Ain’t I late? d. Isn’t I late?4
2.2.1. ‘Be’ +
2.2.2. ‘Be’ +
2.2.3. ‘Be’ +
2.2.4. ‘Be’ +
2.2.5. ‘Be’ +
2.2.6. ‘Be’ +
names/nouns/pronouns: identification/information: Who’s that? It’s me.
adjective: determines state, mood, colour, etc.: She’s French5
adjective(s) + noun: They are blue jackets.
possessives: They’re Tom’s.
adverbs and prepositional phrases, e.g. He is in the kitchen.
adverb particle and ‘home’, e.g. He’s back in an hour.
1
Not a big one. Both are used in requests and both could be translated as „bądź tak miły”, „nie bądź taki”, „bądź
człowiekiem”.
2 Well, a and b are equally correct, a is less common though.
3 Some adjectives look like past participles (can be gradable, can be modifed, used attributively). advised (also well-advised,
better-advised) is like that and it means „rozważny”, e.g. You would be advised to book a week in advance = Lepiej, żebyś
dokonał rezerwacji na tydzień naprzód.
4 The correct form is a but c could also be accepted in informel contexts. You could also hear d but only from Ali G
5 Surprised by the fact that this sentence is not under 2.2.1? Just like She is an American should be?
1
Q: Match 1. ........ Tim’s at home now. 2. ........ Tim’s home now. with their
implications: a. Tom has arrived at his home. b. Tom may not have left
home at all.6
2.2.7. ‘Be’ replacing ‘have/had’ (inf.), e.g. I’m done. (= I have done), I’m finished. They
were gone.
Q: Is it possible to use it not only in past or present but in the future as
well?7
2.2.8. ‘Empty subject’ + ‘be’, e.g. It’s quiet.
2.2.9. ‘Be’ + infinitive, e.g. My aim is to start up my own company.
2.3. ‘Be’ in progressive tenses: describing temporary behaviour ‘be’ + ‘being’, e.g. He is
being very annoying this evening.
2.4. ‘Be’ in perfective tenses: ‘have been’ and ‘had been’
2.4.1. ‘Have been/had been’ + adjective: behaviour and states, e.g. He’s been
tired/gloomy/retired/gone.
‘Have been/had been’ + adj.: weather, etc., e.g. It’s been very cold lately. Or
in reported speech I said it had been very cold.
2.4.3. ‘Have been/had been’ + noun: professions, behaviour, e.g. I have been a
teacher.
2.4.2.
Q: Rephrase in reported speech using the given clue: He has been a waiter.
-> He told me..................................... before he became a taxi-driver.8
2.4.1.
‘Have been/had been’ and ‘have gone/had gone’. This has the sense of ‘visit a
place and come back’, e.g. I’ve been to a party. etc.
Q: Match 1. ........ She’s been to a party. 2. ........ She’s gone to a party. with
their implications: a. She’s one her way there. b. She’s back. c. She’s there
now.9
Q: Translate: He’s been a long time.10
2.4.2.
‘Have been/had been’ with ‘since’ and ‘for’,
Q: Fill in the gaps: She told me she .......... been .......... IBM .......... three
months.11
2.5. ‘Be’ in future tenses as a full verb
2.5.1. Normal will-future uses e.g. for prediction or deduction That’ll be Helen.
2.5.2. ‘Be’ in future perfect as a full verb – ‘will have been’ combines the same
nouns/adj. possible after ‘have been’ for normal uses in the future perfect, By
2010, I’ll have been a teacher for 5 years. Also deduction.
3. ‘There’ + ‘be’
Q: Indicate incorrect sentences: a. There’s lots of cars here. b. There’re lots
of cars here. c. There’s a lot of cars here.12
3.1. Usage of ‘there’ + ‘be’ combinations:
3.1.1. There’s a man at the door is more natural than A man is at the door.
3.1.2. In announcements, reports. e.g. There’ll be/There’s been a wedding at the
local church.
6
1. b 2. a
Sure, e.g. They’ll be gone
8 …had been a waiter…
9 1. b 2. a or c
10 Well, we have a problem here. From what Alexander implies it should mean Dawno poszedł i jeszcze nie wrócił. but I
cannot find any confirmation of it in google. There are loads of adjectival uses like He’s been a long time
fan/member/user/seller/owner/smoker/supporter/collaborator/activist. but I couldn’t find a single example of the adverbial
use.
11 ... dah ... htiw ... rof ...
12 a is informal but correct, the other two are not controversial. In the decreasing order of frequency in google: cab
7
2
For scene-setting in story-telling, e.g. There hadn’t been any rain for months.
There wasn’t a blade of grass growing anywhere.
3.2. ‘There is’ + ‘it is’ that needs to follow with details, e.g. There’s a bus coming, but it’s
full.
3.3. ‘There is’ + determiner, e.g. There’s a letter for you. Are there any lemons in the
fridge? There are seventeen people coming for dinner. There’s the/my/this
briefcase.
3.4. ‘There’ +
‘remains/exists/lies//lives/appears/seems/arrives/comes/enters/follows/rises’ but
usually in affirmative and formal style
4. Verbs related in meaning to ‘be’: appear, feel, seem, smell, sound, taste but also
chance, happen and prove
3.1.3.
Q: Cross out all the redundant words: He appeared to be quite rich. He
appears to be working hard. He appears to have been hurt. He seems to
be a fool. 13
Q: She looks like the right person for the job. This looks like an orange. 14
4.1. ‘to be’ cannot be omitted after appear/seem unless in simple present and simple
past: He appears/seems (to be) ill.
4.2. ‘to be’ cannot be used after feel/look/smell/sound/taste: She looks hot. You smell
nice.
Q: Mark incorrect sentences: a. He seems rather stupid to me. b. He seems
rather to me stupid. c. He seems to me to be rather stupid.15
Q: How many occurrences of "there chances to have been" do you reckon
there are on google?16
4.3. Process verbs (e.g. become, come, go, grow, run, wear) related to ‘be’ and ‘become’
4.3.1. + adjective complement
4.3.1.1. Can be used in progressive to emphasize change in progress: It was
gradually growing dark.
4.3.1.2. ‘Get’ can also be used in this way but informally: She gets tired easily.
4.3.1.3. ‘get/become’ + ‘used to’ to describe habit: I got/became used to jogging
eventually.
Q: Translate: a. The milk has gone bad. b. My shoelaces have come undone.
c. The river ran dry during the drought. d. The dog turned nasty. e. Your
excuse wore thin.17
3.1.1. + noun complement to suggest change in state, occupation etc.
3.1.1.1. ‘become’ + noun, e.g. The frog became a prince.
3.1.1.2. ‘make’ + noun, e.g. She will make a good nurse.
3.1.2. + to-infinitive: come, get and grow: I grew to like her.
4.
‘Have’ as a full verb = ‘possess’; ‘have got’ = ‘possess’
4.1. Use of ‘have’ and ‘have got’:
4.1.1. In the sense of ‘own’ or ‘possess’, e.g. I have (got) a new briefcase.
4.1.2. ‘Be able to provide’, e.g. Have you (got) any ink ?
4.1.3. ‘Have (got)’ + number or quantity, e.g. I have (got) fourteen pencils/a lot of
milk.
4.1.4. Possession of physical characteristics, e.g. Our dog has (got) long ears.
13
The first and last to be could be omitted
The first like could be omitted
15 Only b
16 Zero. Though „there chances to be” has a few dozen occurrences. Similar expressions: if you should chance to find my
ring “gdybyś przypadkiem znalazł mój pierścionek”, it chanced that... “tak się złożyło, że...”. Compare: There appears to
have been an accident.
17 a. Mleko się zepsuło (turned rancid = skisło). b. Szurowadła się rozwiązały. c. Rzeka wyschła podczas suszy. d. Pies stał się
agresywny. e. Wymówka spowszedniała.
14
3
Mental and emotional qualities, e.g. She has (got) nice manners.
Family relationships, e.g. I have (got) two sisters.
Contacts with other people, e.g. I have (got) a good dentist.
In the sense of ‘wear’, e.g. That’s a nice dress you have (got).
Illnesses, e.g. I have (got) a cold.
Arrangements, e.g. I have (got) an appointment with my dentist tomorrow
morning.
4.1.11. Opinions, e.g. Have you (got) any objection to this proposal ?
4.1.12. In the sense of ‘there is’, e.g. You have (got) a stain on your tie.
4.2. Forms of ‘have’ meaning something other than ‘possess’.
4.3. ‘Have’ = ‘eat, enjoy, experience, drink, take’, etc. is a dynamic verb. Thus it can
never be replaced with have got.
4.4. ‘Have had’ and ‘had had’, e.g. Have you ever had lunch at Maxim’s ?
4.5. Common ‘have’ + noun combinations, e.g. Let’s have lunch.
4.6. ‘Have’ + noun in place of other verbs, e.g. dance-have a dance
4.7. The use of ‘have’ in the imperative:
4.7.1. Offers, e.g. Do have some oysters!
4.1.5.
4.1.6.
4.1.7.
4.1.8.
4.1.9.
4.1.10.
Q: This is an encouragement, transform it into negative to form a
discouragement.18
4.7.2.
4.7.3.
Suggestions, e.g. Have a bath and a rest and you’ll feel better.
Encouragement, e.g. Have a go!
Q: Fill in the gap: Have a shot ......... it.19
5.
4.7.4. Good wishes, e.g. Have a good time!
‘Do’ as a full verb
5.1. Uses of ‘do’ as a full verb:
5.1.1. ‘Do’ = ‘perform an activity or task’, e.g. What are you doing ?
5.1.2. Using ‘do’ to avoid repeating a previous verb, e.g. Antonia works 16 hours a
day. I don’t know how she does it.
5.1.3. ‘Do’ = ‘be in the wrong place’, e.g. What are those clothes doing on the floor ?
5.1.4. ‘Do’ before gerunds, e.g. I’ve done the shopping.
5.2. ‘Do’ and ‘make’ compared:
5.2.1. ‘make’ ~ create; ‘do’ ~ be engaged in an activity: do + one’s best, business,
damage, experiment, good; make + an accusation against sb, an agreement
with sb, appointment, a bed
5.2.2. Sometimes interchangeable: make/do the bed
5.3. ‘Do’ in fixed expressions:
How many miles do you do to the gallon ? (‘do’ = ‘go’)
This simply won’t do. (= it’s unacceptable)
How did you do ? (= how did you manage ?)
I was done! (= I was cheated)
Shall I do your room out ? (= clean it)
You did me out of my share. (= you cheated me)
Q: Rephrase using the word in capitals: I swim a lot. DO 20
Q: Rephrase using the word in capitals: That will be enough. DO 21
18
Don’t have oysters.
… at …
20 I do a lot of swimming.
21 That’ll do!
19
4