Questions

Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed questions to be formed by inverting the positions of verb and subject. Modern English permits this only in the case of a small class of verbs ("special verbs"), consisting of auxiliaries as well as forms of the copula be. To form a question from a sentence which does not have such an auxiliary or copula present, the auxiliary verb do (does, did) needs to be inserted, along with inversion of the word order, to form a question. For example:

• She can dance. → Can she dance? (inversion of subject she and auxiliary can)
• I am sitting here. → Am I sitting here? (inversion of subject I and copula am)
• The milk goes in the fridge. → Does the milk go in the fridge? (no special verb present; do-support required)

The above concerns yes-no questions, but inversion also takes place in the same way after other questions, formed with interrogative words such as where, what, how, etc. An exception applies when the interrogative word is the subject or part of the subject, in which case there is no inversion. For example:

• I go. → Where do I go? (wh-question formed using inversion, with do-support required in this case)
• He goes. → Who goes? (no inversion, because the question word who is the subject)

Note that inversion does not apply in indirect questions: I wonder where he is (not *... where is he). Indirect yes-no questions can be expressed using if or whether as the interrogative word: *Ask them whether/if they saw him*.

Negative questions are formed similarly; however if the verb undergoing inversion has a contraction with not, then it is possible to invert the subject with this contraction as a whole. For example:

• John is going. (affirmative)
• John is not going. / John isn't going. (negative, with and without contraction)
• Isn't John going? / Is John not going? (negative question, with and without contraction respectively)

Tag questions are formed with a special verb and pronoun subject: isn't it?; were there?; am I not?

Indirect Speech

Verbs often undergo tense changes in indirect speech. This commonly occurs in content clauses (typically that-clauses and indirect questions, when governed by a predicate of saying (thinking, knowing, etc.) which is in the past tense or conditional mood.

In this situation the following tense and aspect changes occur relative to the original words.

Changes to past:

• "I like apples." → He said that he liked apples.
• "We are riding." → They claimed that they were riding.
• "You have sinned." → I was told that I had sinned.

Changes to past perfect (and sometimes past progressive to past perfect progressive):

• "They finished all the wine earlier." → He thought they had finished all the wine earlier.

This change does not normally apply, however, when the past tense is used to denote an unreal rather than a past circumstance (e.g., expressions of wish, conditional sentences and dependent clauses):

• "I would do anything you asked." → He said he would do anything she asked.

Changes to conditional, also referred to as future-in-the-past (i.e. will/shall changes to would/should):

• "The match will end in a draw." → He predicted that the match would end in a draw.

The modals can and may change to their preterite forms could and might :

• "We may attend." → She told us that they might attend.

Verb forms not covered by any of the above rules (verbs already in the past perfect, or formed with would or other modals not having a preterite equivalent) do not change. Note that application of the above rules is not compulsory; sometimes the original verb tense is retained, particularly when the statement (with the original tense) remains equally valid at the moment of reporting:

• "The earth orbits the sun." → Copernicus stated that the earth orbits the sun.

Note also that the above tense changes do not apply when the verb of saying (etc.) is not past or conditional in form; in particular there are no such changes when that verb is in the present perfect: He has said that he likes apples.

Word Order

The primary word orders that are of interest are

• the constituent order of a clause, namely the relative order of subject, object, and verb;
• the order of modifiers (adjectives, numerals, demonstratives, possessives, and adjuncts) in a noun phrase;
• the order of adverbials.

Constituent word order is defined in terms of a finite verb (V) in combination with two arguments, namely the subject (S), and object (O).

There is a difference between grammatical word order and natural word order. In many languages, topicalization and questions can change the grammatical word order.

Examples

A: [Kate loves who/Who does Kate love?] (SVO/OSV)
B: [She loves Mark/Mark is who she loves.] (SVO/OSV)

In the (A) sentences, the first one is used when putting emphasis on who Kate loves, and the second is used with more of a quizzical tone. English uses stress and tone to emphasize different aspects of the sentences, which can also change the word order, as shown above.

In the (B) sentences, the first one is more likely to be used by a native English speaker. The second sentence is grammatical as well, but less likely to be said in natural speech. This is because English uses the SVO structure in regular sentences, but is able to answer questions using the same structure that was used in the sentence.

In English, you can change the word order depending on what you want to emphasize.

Auxiliary Verb

In English grammar, certain verb forms are classified as auxiliary verbs. Exact definitions of this term vary; an auxiliary verb is generally conceived as one with little semantic meaning of its own, which modifies the meaning of another verb with which it co-occurs. In English, verbs are often classed as auxiliaries on the basis of certain grammatical properties, particularly as regards their syntax – primarily whether they participate in subject–auxiliary inversion, and can be negated by the simple addition of not after them.

Certain auxiliaries have contracted forms, such as -'d and -'ll for had/would and will/shall. There are also many contractions formed from the negations of auxiliary verbs, ending in n't (a reduced form of not). These letter contractions can participate in inversion as a unit (as in Why haven't you done it?, where the uncontracted form would be Why have you not done it?), and thus in a certain sense can be regarded as auxiliary verbs in their own right.

An auxiliary verb is most generally understood as a verb that "helps" another verb by adding grammatical information to it. On this basis, the auxiliary verbs of English may be taken to include:

• forms of the verb do (do, does, did), when used with other verbs to enable the formation of questions, negation, emphasis, etc.;
• forms of the verb have, when used to express perfect aspect;
• forms of the verb be, when used to express progressive aspect or passive voice;
• the modal verbs, used in a variety of meanings, principally relating to modality.

The following are examples of sentences containing the above types of auxiliary verbs:

• Do you want tea? – do is an auxiliary accompanying the verb want, used here to form a question.
• He had given his all. – had is an auxiliary accompanying the past participle given, expressing perfect aspect.
• We are singing. – are is an auxiliary accompanying the present participle singing, expressing progressive aspect.
• It was destroyed. – was is an auxiliary accompanying the past participle destroyed, expressive passive voice.
• He can do it now. – can is a modal auxiliary accompanying the verb do.

However the above understanding of auxiliary verbs is not always strictly adhered to in the literature, particularly in the case of forms of the verb be, which may be called auxiliaries even when they do not accompany another verb. Other approaches to defining auxiliary verbs are described in the following sections.

There is a group of English verbs which have certain special grammatical (syntactic) properties that distinguish them from other verbs. This group consists mainly of verbs that are auxiliaries in the above sense – verbs that add grammatical meaning to other verbs – and thus some authors use the term auxiliary verb, in relation to English, to denote precisely the verbs in this group. However, not all enumerations of English auxiliary verbs correspond exactly to the group of verbs having these grammatical properties. This group of verbs may also be referred to by other names, such as special verbs.

The principal distinguishing properties of verbs in this special group are as follows:

• They can participate in what is called subject–auxiliary inversion, i.e. they can swap places with the subject of the clause, to form questions and for certain other purposes. For example, inversion of subject and verb is possible in the sentence They can sing (becoming Can they sing?); but it is not possible in They like to sing – it is not correct to say Like they to sing? (instead do-support is required: Do they like to sing?).
• They undergo negation by the addition of not after them. For example, one can say They cannot sing, but not They like not to sing (again do-support is required: They don't like...).
• Other distinct features of verbs in this group include their ability to introduce verb phrase ellipsis (I can sing can be shortened to I can in appropriate contexts, whereas I like to sing cannot be shortened to I like), and the positioning of certain adverbs directly after them (compare I can often sing with I often like to sing).

The group of verbs with the above properties consists of:

• the finite indicative forms of the verb be: am, is, are, was, were;
• the finite indicative forms of the verb have: have, has, had, principally when used to make perfect verb forms;
• the finite indicative forms of the verb do: do, does, did, when used to provide do-support;
• the principal modal verbs can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would;
• certain other verbs, sometimes but not always classed as modals: ought; dare and need in certain uses; had in had better; and sometimes used in used to (see the relevant sections of modal verbs for details).

If membership of this syntactic class is considered to be the defining property for auxiliary verbs, it is therefore the above-listed verbs that will be considered as auxiliaries.

Additionally, non-indicative and non-finite forms of the same verbs (when performing the same functions) are usually described as auxiliaries too, even though all or most of the distinctive syntactical properties do not apply to them specifically.

This concerns be (as infinitive, imperative and subjunctive), being and been; and when used in the expression of perfect aspect, have, having and had.

The chief difference between this syntactic definition of auxiliary verb and the functional definition given in the section above is that the syntactic definition includes the verb be even when used simply as a copular verb, in sentences like I am hungry and It was a cat, where it does not accompany any other verb.

Sometimes, non-auxiliary uses of have follow auxiliary syntax, as in Have you any ideas? and I haven't a clue.

Other lexical verbs do not do this in modern English, although they did so formerly, and such uses as I know not... can be found in archaic English.

Lists or sets of auxiliary verbs in English, as given by various authors, generally consist of most or all of the verbs mentioned in the above sections, though with minor discrepancies.

The main differences between the various proposed sets of auxiliary verbs are noted below.

• For the reasons mentioned above, forms of the verb be may or may not be regarded as auxiliaries when used as a copula not accompanying any other verb.
• The verb ought is sometimes excluded from the class of auxiliaries (specifically the modal auxiliaries) on the grounds that, unlike the principal modals, it requires the to-infinitive rather than the bare infinitive.
• The verbs dare and need are not always considered auxiliaries (or modals); their auxiliary-like syntactic behavior (and their modal-like invariance) applies only to some instances of these verbs, e.g., dare and need.
• The verbs had and used in the expressions had better and used to are not always included among the auxiliaries or modals; in the case of used to questions and negations are in any case more frequently formed using do-support than with auxiliary syntax.
• Other verbs with modal-like or auxiliary-like function may sometimes be classed as auxiliaries even though they do not have auxiliary-like syntactic behavior; this may apply to have in the expression have to, meaning must.

As mentioned below, the contractions of negated forms of auxiliary verbs (isn't, shouldn't, etc.) behave in a certain sense as if they were auxiliaries in their own right, in that they can participate as a whole in subject–auxiliary inversion.

Meaning Contribution

Forms of the verbs have and be, used as auxiliaries with a main verb's past participle and present participle respectively, express perfect aspect and progressive aspect. When forms of be are used with the past participle, they express passive voice. It is possible to combine any two or all three of these uses: The room has been being cleaned for the past three hours. Here the auxiliaries has, been and being (each followed by the appropriate participle type) combine to express perfect and progressive aspect and passive voice.

The auxiliary do (does, did) does not necessarily make any meaning contribution, although it can be used to add emphasis to a clause. This is called the emphatic mood in English. An example of this use is found in "I do go to work on time every day." Also, Do does help in the formation of questions, negations, etc.

Other auxiliaries – the modal verbs – contribute meaning chiefly in the form of modality, although some of them (particularly will and sometimes shall) express future time reference. Their uses are detailed at modal verbs article, and tables summarizing their principal meaning contributions can be found in the articles on modal verb and auxiliary verb.

Clause

A clause is a grammatical unit built around a verb that typically contains a subject and a predicate. Understanding clauses is essential because they are the core building blocks of every sentence you read, write, or speak.

What makes a clause?

At minimum, a clause needs a verb (the predicate) and, in most cases, a subject — the person or thing the verb says something about. The predicate can also include objects, complements, and modifiers.

• She laughed. — subject (she) + verb (laughed)
• The manager approved the budget yesterday. — subject + verb + object + modifier

Sometimes the subject is left out. This happens regularly in imperative sentences and non-finite clauses:

• Sit down. — no visible subject, but "you" is understood
• Walking home, I noticed the shop was closed. — the -ing clause has no stated subject

Types of clauses

There are two main types:

• Independent clause (also called a main clause) — can stand on its own as a complete sentence. It contains a finite verb.

  • I missed the bus.

• Dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) — cannot stand alone and needs an independent clause to make sense.

  • Because I overslept — incomplete on its own

Combine them and you get a complex sentence:

• I missed the bus because I overslept.

A simple sentence has one independent clause. More complex sentences combine independent and dependent clauses in various ways.

Quick check: If you can remove a group of words from a sentence and it still has a subject + finite verb and makes sense on its own, that group is likely an independent clause.

Why clauses matter

Recognizing clause boundaries helps you punctuate correctly, avoid run-on sentences, and build more varied, natural-sounding writing. Once you can spot where one clause ends and another begins, sentence structure becomes much easier to manage.

Ready to practice? Try Complex Sentence for the basics, then move on to Complex Sentence: Adverbials or Participle Clauses: Shortening Sentences with -ing and Having + Past Participle to deepen your skills.

B1 | Intermediate

B1 is the intermediate level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It marks the point where you move beyond survival English and start expressing yourself with real independence — describing experiences, explaining opinions, and handling everyday situations without a script.

What a B1 user can do

At this level, you're expected to:

• Understand the main points of clear, standard speech and writing on familiar topics — work, school, travel, hobbies.
• Handle most travel situations in English-speaking environments.
• Produce simple connected text on topics you know or care about.
• Describe experiences, events, hopes, and plans, and give brief reasons and explanations for your opinions.
• Communicate in routine tasks that require a straightforward exchange of information.

What B1 grammar looks like

B1 is where grammar starts to get more layered. You're not just forming basic sentences anymore — you're combining ideas, using different tenses with more precision, and starting to handle structures like the passive voice, modal verbs for necessity and possibility, and gerunds vs. infinitives. You're also expected to build complex sentences with linking words and dependent clauses.

Typical B1 grammar areas include:

• Future tenses — distinguishing will, going to, and the present continuous for future plans
• Passive voice — The report was written yesterday.
• Modal verbs — You should apply early. / She might be late.
• Used to — I used to live in Berlin.
• Verb patterns — knowing whether a verb takes a gerund, an infinitive, or both (I enjoy reading vs. I decided to leave)

What B1 doesn't mean

B1 speakers still hesitate, make grammatical errors, and sometimes struggle with less familiar topics. That's normal. The key difference from A2 is that you can keep a conversation going and get your point across even when things aren't perfect. The step up to B2 involves handling more abstract topics, understanding nuance, and producing more complex, accurate language.

Self-check: Can you tell a friend about a recent trip — what happened, what you liked, and what you'd do differently — without switching to your native language? If yes, you're likely operating at B1 or above.

Ready to find out where you stand? Try Are you B1/Intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level to figure out!, then build your skills with challenges like Basics. Passive Voice, Basics. Modal verbs, and Used to.

Difficulty: Medium

Medium difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.