Posts belonging to Category 'auxiliary'

use of auxiliaries in questions

When the question is the subject, there is no auxiliary verb: Who went to the cinema? NOT who did go to the cinema? when the question is not the subject, we need to use an auxiliary: Who did you go to the cinema with? NOT who you went with? – the subject is ‘you’.

have to, don’t have to, modal auxiliaries

something very difficult to master in English, especially for French speakers, is the concept of modal verbs. must / have to These two express obligation. Is there a difference between the two?While most English speakers use either for any situation, it can be said that ‘must’ is used for a moral or a internal obligation: [...]

closed questions (questions fermées)

Closed questions are questions that can only be answered by “yes” or “no” (or “maybe”!). In English, it is more polite to use the appropriate auxiliary verb in your answer. If the verb is “to be”, there is no auxiliary, so you use “be” in your answer: (être: I am, you are, he is, she [...]