Auxiliary Verbs....Help!

Auxiliary...what's that? Well, it's Latin again. It's from auxilium which means 'help' so these auxiliary verbs are help verbs.

And what do they help? In English they help to form different kinds of sentences; perhaps a negative sentence or a question or a Present Continuous...

So, what are these strange mysterious "auxiliary verbs"?

To do, to be, to have.

Hang on a minute, you know them already: I do my homework, he is on holiday, I have a Ferrari...

That's all fine BUT these verbs have a second job in English as auxiliary verbs. And when they are doing this job they don't have their usual meaning; they only have a function.

E.g.

I have a Ferrari.
I have seen a Ferrari.

In the first sentence 'have' means have but in the second 'have' doesn't mean anything; it is only there to form the Present Perfect tense.

So, 'to have' helps to form the Present Perfect:
Have you read English is Easy?
We haven't met before.
I have known John for years

'To be' helps to form the Present Continuous:

I am reading English is Easy.
Is she watching TV?
They aren't listening

And 'do' is for questions and negatives in the Present Simple and Past Simple:

Do you read English is Easy every week?
I don't live in New York

Did you read English is Easy last week?
He didn't eat his breakfast.

Auxiliary verbs? Easy!!

Be Nice to My Grammar (2)

Another thing to remember about grammar is that it isn't as complicated as it sounds. The names of the things sound complicated, "indefinite article", "past perfect continuous", but it is only terminology...and terminology - which is a big word for "complicated name" - can make anything sound difficult.

I am sure you are interested in things which sound really complicated if you try to explain it to a friend who is new to the subject.

When I listen to my kids talking about PlayStation or X-box it sounds like a language from another planet!

So, the thing is don't panic when you see the name for a bit of grammar - it's only a name !

For example:

Me: What is the "first person singular nominative personal pronoun"?

You: WHAT????!!!!

Me: The "first person singular nominative personal pronoun"!

You (running out of the room): Aaaaaaarrrgghhhhhh!!!!

Well, the answer is 'I'!

'I' as in "I live in Munich", "I Did it My Way"

('My' is the first person singular possessive personal pronoun!)

You see, the grammatical name for that one little letter 'I' is "First Person Singular Nominative Personal Pronoun".

You can impress your family and friends by telling them:

You: Hey, last night I learned the first person singular nominative personal pronoun!!

Friend: Wow!!

You (in pathetic, exhausted voice): Today in class we learned the first person singular nominative personal pronoun!

Mother/Father/Girlfriend/Boyfriend/Wife/Husband: Oh, you poor thing! Sit down, I will make you a drink!

Grammar is GREAT!

Abbreviations

Abbrevi-what?

You can blame the Romans for the word abbreviation, it comes from the Latin and means "short form". So if you say "Liverpool F.C.", the F.C. bit is an abbreviation. It stands for Football Club.

We use these a lot in English so that we have more time to drink tea.

Some abbreviations are easy to understand. If you see p.t.o. at the bottom of a page, it is not too hard to accept that it means, please turn over but there are some abbreviations which are a little strange to say the least.

How about, e.g? This means "for example".

What? e.g. means for example?? Huh?

And then there is, a.m. for in the morning....HELP!!!

Well, don't panic, we can blame the Romans again. E.g. and a.m. are abbreviations for Latin expressions...aha!

e.g. = exempli gratia which is Latin for "for example"

and

a.m. = ante meridian, Latin for "before midday", i.e. in the morning.

Oh, there's another one - i.e.

Latin? Yep!

i.e. = id est, "that is" which we use to mean "in other words" as I did above.

More common abbreviations are:

etc. = et ceterea which means "and others", i.e. "and so on".

N.B. = nota bene - "please note"

and to go with a.m. there is

p.m. = post meridian - "in the afternoon"

If you find any more which puzzle you, please contact me here and I will try and work out what they are!

Meanwhile, no more abbreviations, o.k? Oops!

(p.s. don't forget '"p.s." - post scriptum for something you remember after you have finished the text)

Be Nice to My Grammar (1)

Most people hate grammar.

I think that is really sad! Poor old grammar...

The main reason people hate it is because they connect it with B O R I N G lessons at school...

"It's so dry...", "it's so complicated...", "it's so BORING!!"

Well, I have an idea...start with your own language (yes, it has grammar too and it is just as difficult for a foreigner to learn - but you know it automatically like magic) and think how you say things in your own language.

For example, how do you tell a story about last week (past simple)? What about the verbs? Are they irregular sometimes? How do you ask someone about their plans for the weekend (future intention).

Now think how you would explain that to a friend from another country...for you it is easy...for your friend it is terrible!

If you can get interested in your own grammar, you could find that you find English grammar a bit more interesting too!

Welcome to English is Easy!

For some reason the old blog "English is Easy!" has disappeared - so I have relocated. I hope you have found me!

Soon the old posts will be back and some new ones too.

By the way, please ask if there is anything which is puzzling you about the English language.