动词表示动作形态

动词表示动作形态，但英语里有些动词并不表示动作形态，而是协助主动词表示时态（tenses）或语态（voices）。这些动词如“ do, is, have”等，叫助动词（auxiliary verbs）。另外有些动词如“can, will, may, must”等，则可协助动词表示语气或情态，叫情态动词（modal verbs）。

助动词和情态动词都是特殊动词，非常有用。没有了它们，疑问句不能成立，否定句也难形成。没有了“have, has, had”完成时态（perfect tenses）无法存在；没有了“be, is, are, am, been, was, were, being”，何来被动语态（the passive voice）？请看下列例子，就知道梗概了：

● -What do you do every day?

-I teach every day.

● -Can they speak English?

-Yes, they can.

● -Will he do it?

-No, he won't.

● -John lived here before.

-John did not live here before.

● -Betty has completed her work on time.

-She is really good.

● -After I had eaten my breakfast, I went to office.

-How about Nancy? Did she do the same?

● -Jason is writing a new book.

-A new book is being written by Sam, too.

● -The cat caught a rat.

-A rat was caught by a cat.

此外，助动词和情态动词还有下列用途：

㈠构成疑问句附加语，如：

● Mr Chen has not become a businessman, has he?

● Jason's lectures are clear and easy-to-understand, aren't they?

㈡构成简短答语，如：

● -Who can answer this question?

-Sam can.

● -Will you help us with the gardening?

Yes, I will. /No, I won't.

● -I have seen that film before.

-So have I.

● -William isn't a hypocrite.

-Neither is his wife.

㈢构成省略句，如：

● I can't under stand him. Can you ?

● The boss doesn't often come to the factory and when he does, it is generally on Sunday.

除了“do, be, have”之外，作为第三人称现在时态（third person present tense）时，助动词和情态动词语尾不起变化，也就是不必有“-s”这形式。例如：

I can write English. He can write English, too.

Tom will know soon, but he will never know.

All of you may go. Jack may also go if he wants to.

（注意“be”代表其他几个助动词：is, am, are, was, were, being, seen）

总而言之，助动词和情态动词，随处可见，出现率高，不难使用，也不会有什么错误。

“时间”是生命中很受重视的东西；人人都爱惜时间，因此人人要把涉及“时间”的惯用语记起来，用出去。

（1）In time for……及时到……／做……“If you go now, you will be in time for the meeting.

（2）On time:准时的“Don't go to the examination late. Make sure you are on time.”

（3）Pressed for time：时间不足“I must hurry up, I am pressed for time at the moment.”

（4）Buy time：争取时间“Ther e are ten seconds left, but Jordan carried the ball steadily to buy time instead of passing it out.”

（5）For the time being：暂时地“The company has just been formed. For the time being, it is run by the company partners.”

（6）From time to time：偶尔“They visite d us from time to time, but we have never been to their house.”

（7）In the nick of time：及时“All the passengers got on board in the nick of time.”

（8）In no time：很快地“The police caught a thief and sent him to prison in no time.

（9）Kill time：消磨时间“While wai ting for my turn to do something, I often read something to kill time.”

（10）Time and again：屡次“Motorists were warned time and again not to throw rubbish from their cars.”

（11）Time alone will tell：时间可以证明一切“No one is certain if it is wise to emigrate to t he West; time alone will tell.”

（12）Time's up：时间到了“Time's up. Stop writing and hand in your answer books now.”

（13）At the best of times：当情况最佳时“Samuel's Mandarin is not good at the best of times, not to mention when he has to speak if impromptu.”

（14）At times：有时“life as a spinster or bachelor is care-free, but the problem is that he or she may feel lonely at times.”

（15）Behind the times：过时的“Maggie's dressing style is a bit behind the times. She should try to keep up with the times by wearing fashiona ble dresses.”

（16）Move / keep up with the times：赶上时代“Some people's mode of thinking is outdated.They should try to move with the times so as to better fit in the present society.”

（17）The time is ripe for……的时机成熟了“The political leaders of the two countr ies have communicated with each other. Time is therefore ripe for closer cooperation.”

（18）With time to spare：比预期时间早“As there was no traffic congestion, we reached the destination with time to spare.”

（19）With time/Given time：假以时间“Don't feel depressed ! Things will improve