Grammar Reference. Unit 1.
1.2. Negatives and auxiliary verbs
To make a negative, add -n't to the auxiliary verb. If there is no auxiliary verb, use don't / doesn't / didn't.
| Positive | Negative |
| He's working | He isn't working |
| I was thinking | I wasn't thinking |
| We've seen the play | We haven't seen the play |
| She works in a bank | She doesn't work in a bank |
| They like skiing | They don't like skiing |
| He went on holiday | He didn't go on holiday |
It's possible to contract the auxiliaries be and have and use the uncontracted not.
He's not playing today. = He isn't paying today.
We're not going to Italy after all. = We aren't going to Italy after all.
I've not read that book yet. = I haven' read the book yet.
But
I'm not working. NOT I amn't working.
1.3 Questions and auxiliary verbs
1. To make a question, invert the subject and the auxiliary verb. If there is no auxiliary verb, use do/does/did.
| Question | |
| She's wearing jeans. | What is she wearing? |
| You aren't working. | Why aren't you working? |
| You were born in Paris. | Where were you born? |
| Peter's been to China. | Has Peter been to China? |
| We have been studying. | Have you been studying? |
| I know you. | Do I know you? |
| He wants ice-cream. | What does he want? |
| They didn't go out. | Why didn't they go out? |
2. There is usually no do/does/did in subject question.
| Who wants ice-cream? | What flavour ice-cream do you want? |
| What happened to your eye? | What did you do to your eye? |
| Who broke the window? | How did you break the window? |
1.4 Short answers and auxiliary verbs
Short answers are very common in spoken English. If you say Yes or No, it can sound rude. We use short answer after Yes/No questions. To make short answer, repeat auxiliary verb. In the Present and Past Simple, use do/does/did.
| Short answer | |
| Are you coming with us? | Yes, I am. |
| Have you had breakfast? | No, I haven't. |
| Kate likes walking. | No, she doesn't. She hates it. |
| Mary didn't phone. | Yes, she did. You were out. |
| Don't forget to write. | No, I wont. |