In English, when the predicate is not a verb, the verb ’to be’, commonly called the substantive verb,is used to connect the predicate with its subject.

This verb has no equivalent in Maori, but the relation of subject to predicate is indicated by the use of certain particles and by the relative position of the different words in the sentence.

Some substantive verbs

• Example: come read go watch play and so on

When using substantive verbs, you need to pay attention to the verb tense

• present tense

  He comes from Shenyang.

• present continuous tense

  She is reading story books.

• simple past tense

  They went to America yesterday.

• present perfect tense

  We have watched the game for three times.

• future tense

  My mother will fly back to china next month.

The negative form of the substantive verb

When we use the negative form of a substantive verb, we usually use an auxiliary verb

don't doesn't didn't

Example

• present tense

I don't go to school by bus.

• third person singular

She doesn't watch TV everyday.

• simple past tense

They didn't swim last night.

How to use auxiliary verbs to ask questions

The auxiliary verb should be placed at the beginning of the sentence,

If the tense of the sentence changes, the verb should be in its base form.

Example

1. Declarative: He often plays golf.

   Question: Does he often play golf?

   Answer: Yes, he does. / No, he doesn't.

2. Declarative: They go to school by bus.

   Question: Do they go to school by bus?

   Answer: Yes, they do. / No, they don't.

3. Declarative: Sam had breakfast yesterday.

   Question: Did Sam have breakfast yesterday?

   Answer Yes, he did. / No, he didn't.

The summary

Substantive verb meanings change in tense and number.

Example

1. He came to Shanghai yesterday.

2. We are writing homework.

3. They have read this book three times.