Delahunty and Garvey
of the following examples:
a. We have eaten all the pizza.
b. They have been in there for hours.
c. Bill has seen the light.
d. The fugitive has taken the bus.
e. The police have blocked the roads.
f. They haven’t found her yet.
Be is the auxiliary associated with the progressive aspect, which is com-
patible with almost all the possible forms of be:
(54) a. be singing
b. am singing
c. is singing
d. are singing
e. was singing
f. were singing
g. been singing
h.*being singing
Be, have, and do are the most irregular verbs in English. Their standard
English forms are listed below in Tables 7.
a. be Present Past
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Person 1 am are was were
2 are are were were
3 is are was were
Past participle (Ven form) been
Present participle (Ving form) being
Gerund (Ving form) being
b. have Present
Third person singular has
All other persons and numbers have
Past
All persons and numbers had