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 be silly

Be can have the sense of become especially in advertisements:

Be the envy of your friends!

Dont be is often used for advice and the agreement is expressed with I wont. Be is also used to mean pretend to be, especially after you:

You be mother, and Ill be father.

b)   Be + adjective (only those referring to temporary behaviour, such as careful/careless; patient/impatient; quiet, silly, rude, rough, snobbish, ungrateful, vain, wasteful); be + noun (in progressive aspect): a baby, a bore, a brute, a coward, a darling, a fool, a liar, a miser, a show-off, a threat, a worry.

c)      Be + past participle:

Be prepared!

Be seated!

Be warned!

Be in the present simple tense combines with:

Names (nouns), pronouns to show identification and information: This is Mary. She is a doctor.

Adjectives: He is angry.

Adjectives + nouns: He is an important man.

Possessives: They are mine.

Adverbs and prepositional phrases: They are at the door.

Adverbial particle and home: Toms home now ('hes arrived'). Cf. Toms at home now. ('he may have not left at all')

In informal English the present and past of be can replace have/had with verbs like do, finish, go.

Have you finished? Im really finished

Empty subject + be: Its 230 miles from here to Bucharest.

Be + infinitive: His latest idea is to fly in the outer space.

The progressive forms normally occur only with the present and the past forms of be. The progressive is possible with adjectives referring to temporary behaviour but not with adjectives describing states: hungry, thirsty. With some combinations there is a strong implication that the behaviour is on purpose.

Your sister is being very tiresome this evening. (She isnt usually so tiresome.)

Your sister was being a silly girl yesterday. (She isnt usually a silly girl.)

The forms have/had been combine with adjectives describing both temporary behaviour, states and moods continuing up to the present or till then:

Behaviour: Shes/d been very quiet.

States: Ive never been so anxious.

Moods: Hes been very gloomy.

Weather: Its been very cold lately.

Professions: Ive been a teacher, but now Im a politician.

Have been + to or in has the sense of 'visit a place and come back'. Have gone always followed by to has the sense of be at that place or on the way to a place:

Ive been in the countryside (and come back).

Shes gone to Paris (Shes on her way or there already). In some exercise books students must pay attention to the meaning of the verb written in brackets: although it is go, it can mean be.

Wherever Marion (find) a job, there was someone who (know) that she (go) to prison. (Vince1994: 17)

The future of be as a full verb combines with many adjectives and nouns for normal will-future uses:

It will be rainy tomorrow

Will be can be used for deduction:

That will be 2.50

There + be. The singular form Theres is often used informally instead of There are to refer to the plural:

Theres many buses to take you to the station

There + be combinations are used when we are talking or asking about the existence of people, things and are more idiomatic and natural. They allow important new information to come at the end of the sentence for emphasis:

Theres been an accident

When we have established existence with there, we must use personal pronouns + be to give more details:

Theres a Mr. Smith at the door. He wants to speak to the manager

There + verbs other than be are usually used in the affirmative and formal style. These verbs must be regarded as variations of be, as describing a state: exist, live, lie, remain.

There lived an old woman with her daughter

There combines with a few other verbs: arrive, come, enter, follow, rise which have restricted uses:

There will follow a short interval between the acts

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

She is clever, and less certainty with modals:

She may be clever, or through verbs related to be:

She seems (to be) clever

Some common verbs related in meaning and function to be are: appear, feel, look, seem, smell, sound, taste; chance, happen and prove can also be used in certain patterns. We cannot normally omit to be after appear and seem except in simple present and simple past:

He seems (to be) a fool

To be is usually included before predicative adjectives beginning with a-:

The door seems to be ajar

We cannot use to be after feel, look, smell, sound or taste:

You smell nice

Process verbs (become, come, fall, go, get, grow, run, turn, wear) + adjectival complement describe a change of state. They can be used in the progress aspect to emphasise the idea that change is actively in progress:

The milk has gone sour

The most common process verbs are get, become and grow. Get is used informally with many adjectives: get annoyed/bored/depressed/ill/tired/wet. Used to is common after get (and less common after become) to describe the acquisition of a habit. In such cases, used to functions as an adjective and can be replaced by accustomed to:

I hated cooking but I got used to it

Process verbs are often used in fixed phrases: come right, come true, fall ill, go mad, run wild, turn nasty, wear thin:

Dont you think that jokes wearing a bit thin

Nouns are not common after process verbs but we can use become + noun to suggest a change of state or occupation:

Hes become a drug addict

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

He will make a good doctor

Come, get and grow can be followed directly by a to-infinitive:

We soon grew to like the neighbourhood

☻The verb Have.

Have and have got meaning possess are interchangeable but there are differences between British and American uses:

have got is a past form. We can compare:

~ What have you got? ~ Ive got everything we need, with

~ Have you got the money? ~ Yes, Ive got it. The first example means get, the second means possess. The British meaning have obtained is emphasised in the AmE form have gotten, which always means have obtained. In spoken, idiomatic BrE[1] Ive got is more common than I have.

In BrE the interrogative and negative of have as possess can be formed in the same way as for be:

Has she a passport? She hasnt a passport

Have without got can also form questions and negatives with do and did. This is common in AmE and is being adopted in BrE:

You dont have a car.

Do you have trouble with your grammar

Have meaning possess is a state verb. It cannot be used in the progressive aspect and is rarely found in the passive or imperative.

Have got as possess is used mostly for present reference. The affirmative had got is sometimes used in the past but had alone is preferred:

He had a nice collection of stamps

Had got is never used for certain states:

He had (not had got) long hair when he was a child. Had got is generally used in its original sense of had obtained:

When we met he had just got his driving license

Will have got is only used in the sense of will have obtained:

By the end of next year he will have got his driving license. Have got is not possible in the passive.

We can use hadnt got instead of didnt have: I didnt have (hadnt got) any news from him so I rang him up.

Hadnt alone is possible but not usual. The past interrogative is formed with did:

Did you have enough money? Had you? is dated and formal. In Yes/No questions we can use Had you got but not in wh-questions.

Some forms of have as possess are rarely or at all used:

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

She has a new hat not Shes a new hat.

the short form negative is used instead of the contracted:

I havent a car

The form aint got is often heard instead of havent/ hasnt got. Similarly, have and has are often omitted before got:

I got everything for the trip

We use have and have got with the meaning of possess:

With the meaning of 'own': Hes got a new T-shirt.

'Be able to provide': Do you have any paper?

Quantity: Hes got four houses.

Physical characteristics: Our cat has got an unusually long tail.

Mental and emotional features: Toms mother-in-law has got a quick temper.

Family relationships: Ive got a brother.

Contacts with other people: Ive got a good car mechanic.

'Wear' (in combination with on): Sheilas got on a nice dress.

Illness: All the boys have got smallpox.

Arrangements: (in combination with appointment, conference, date, interview, meeting, time, etc.): Shes got a date with Anthony.

Opinions (in combination with nouns like idea, influence, objection, opinion, point of view, proposal, suggestion): Hes got one of his brilliant ideas again!

'There is': Youve got a wasp on your shoulder.

Other meanings of have

Eat, enjoy, experience, drink, take. When used with these meanings it is a dynamic verb and can be used in the progressive form of all the tenses:

Hes having lunch and will not answer the phone

‼ Have got can never replace have used as a dynamic verb.

With the meaning of take it is used like a main verb, using does for the interrogative and negative but rarely found in the passive (sometimes in passive infinitive):

There is nothing to be had. (nothing available)

Have as a full verb is not usually used in its shortened forms in the simple present and past:

I have (*Ive) eggs and bacon for breakfast on Sundays

Have + noun in place of other verbs

Some verbs like sleep, ride can be expressed with have + noun meaning perform that activity: sleep to have a sleep; dance to have a dance; fight to have a fight; wash to have a wash. Have replaces verbs like receive or permit:

I had a note from my secretary in the morning.

Have in the imperative

Have is used in the imperative quite often. After do we use it for emphasis or encouragement:

Offers: Do have some wine!

Suggestions: Have a tea and half an hours rest!

Encouragement: Have a try!

Good wishes: Have a good day!

There are no direct references to appetite, digestion (like Pofta buna!) but we can use expressions with have to suit particular occasions:

Have a good meal/nice party/lovely holiday/pleasant trip

☻The Verb Do

Do as a full verb It has the meaning of perform an activity, be engaged in something. We can use other verbs to answer questions like:

~What are you doing? ~Im writing.

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

What are those tools doing in the garden

We can use do + gerund to refer to named tasks:

Ive done the shopping/washing/ironing.

I do a lot of swimming/reading

Compared with make that conveys the sense of create, do often suggests be engaged in an activity and is a more general term. Both of them are used in many fixed combinations.

Combinations with do:

A favour, damage, good, no good, (no) harm, an injury, justice, a kindness, a service.

(be engaged in an activity): business, a deal, ones duty, a job, something for a living, household tasks (cooking);

Do + places: the sights, Rome in a day;

Do speed, distance: This car does 100 miles an hour;

Do + subjects: Art, French, an experiment, ones homework, a lesson, research;

Arrange, clean: the beds, the flowers, the kitchen, ones hair, ones nails, ones teeth.

Combinations with make: an accusation, an agreement; an apology, an application, an attempt, a bargain, a bed, a phone call, a change, a choice, a claim, a comment, a contribution, a criticism, a decision, a deduction, a demand, a discovery, an effort, an escape, an excuse, a fortune, a guess, a habit of something, history, an impression, an inquiry, a journey, a law, a loss, love, a mess, a mistake, money, a move, a name for oneself, a noise, an offer, a profit, progress, a promise, a proposal, a record, a reference, a remark, a report, a request, room (for), rules, sense (of), a start, a success of, a trip, trouble, use of, war, ones way to a place (=go there), a will.

Sometimes both make and do are possible: make/do the beds.

Other expressions with do:

How do you do

Thatll do ('its enough').

This wont do ('it's unacceptable').

I could do with a drink ('Id like').

Its got nothing to do with me ('its not my concern').

Do without ('manage without');

I was done ('cheat') - You did me out of my share ('cheat me').

EXERCISES

Underline the right verbal forms that fit best the following sentences.

I (am/am being) always tired after such long visits paid to relatives.

She behaves strangely after she (has gone/has been) to Paris.

When we have guests our child always shows off and (is/is being) quite noisy.

It (is/will be) windy and wet in two days.

Don't answer the phone. That (is/will be) my ex-boyfriend.

He (has grown/has come) to enjoy his marriage with Joan.

Tom always (got/appeared) depressed when hearing about his former wife.

They (ran/went) mad when everything they had planned fell through.

My courage began (to wear/to get) thin as the exam drew closer.

Her daughter (will turn/will make) a famous actress.

18. Change these sentences into the negative:

They had supper at the best restaurant in town after the play. They didn't have

Susan has some nice paintings inherited from her parents.

I had a wonderful time in Greece last summer.

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

She has arrived just in time to see the beginning of the show.

My parents had their house painted in white last month.

We had some coffee before going out.

The girls had their swimming lesson with the new instructor.

You have finished all your work and now you're ready to go home.

I 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:

Please let me look at your new method of knitting. Please let me have a look

Would you like to walk on the shore of the lake before going in?

I haven't drunk tequila for longer than I can remember.

Those two cats have been fighting for the last five minutes.

Taste the soup and you'll see how good it is.

My family usually rests after lunch.

They will probably be swimming in the sea by the time we get there.

Children should sleep after such a long walk.

The boss wants to talk to you after the meeting.

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

20. Underline one of the verbs in brackets:

When do you (do/make) your shopping?

He (did/made) you a favour to tell you the name of the examiner.

They (did/made) a journey to the South Pole to study life under freezing conditions.

They first (did/made) several experiments and then launched the product on market.

Susan (has done/has made) a fortune selling her pictures for Playboy.

You won't go out until you (have done/have made) your homework.

Peter (did/made) an attempt to talk to Jill but everything was in vain, she wouldn't say a word.

Ellen (will do/will make) the kitchen and then start cooking.

The party of tourists (did/made) all the sights of the city in just one day.

They (did/made) a success of their last show.