Be Have Do

The verbs be, have and do can all be used as the main verb in a sentence:
My sister is at university.
We have a break at half past twelve.
I usually do the shopping on Saturday morning.

Auxiliary verbs

We use be, have and do to form tenses, questions and with negative forms. When be, have and do are used in this way they are called auxiliary verbs.

Be

We use be + verb in ing form to form the continuous tenses:
Present continuous – He is working in Italy at the moment.
Past continuous – He was working in a hotel when I met him.

Have

We use have + past participle to form the perfect tenses:
Present perfect - She’s been here for three months.
Past perfect - The film had already started when we got there.

Do

We use do in simple tenses for questions and negative forms:
Do you know John?
I didn’t get your e-mail.

Short answers

In conversations a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to any question might sound impolite so the auxiliary is used as an answer. Notice that the auxiliary used in the question is repeated in the answer.
Are you still working at the Ritz?
Yes I am.

Have you spoken to Sarah yet?
Yes, I have.

Does your family live in Rome?
My parents do but my sister doesn’t. She lives in Manchester.

Lesson by Tristan, teacher at EC Malta English school

Choose the correct version of the following:

• 1. Which is correct?
  
  Her husband is an actor in the theatre so he is coming home late.
  Her husband is an actor in the theatre so he comes home late.
  
  
• 2. Which is correct?
  
  Are you like my new shoes.
  Do you like my new shoes?
  
  
• 3. Which is correct?
  
  She wants to find a job where she can work with children.
  She wants to find a new job where she does work with children.
  
  
• 4.Which is correct?
  
  Sarah can’t come to the phone right now. She has a shower.
  Sarah can’t come to the phone right now. She’s having a shower.
  
  
• 5.Which is correct?
  
  Where are you live?
  Where do you live?
  
  
• 6.Which is correct?
  
  Have you met James?
  Do you met James?
  
  
• 7.Which is correct?
  
  In my job I spend a lot of time driving.
  In my job I am spending a lot of time diriving.
  
  
• 8.Which is correct?
  
  I am living in Milan at the moment.
  I live in Milan at the moment.