+--English verbs have so few changes of form to
express differences in meaning that it is often necessary to use the
so-called _auxiliary_ verbs. The most common are: _do, be, have, may,
must, might, can, shall, will, should, would, could_, and _ought_. Some of
these may be used as principal verbs. A few notes and cautions are added.
_Can_ is used to denote the ability of the subject.
_May_ is used to denote permission, possibility, purpose, or desire. Thus
the request for permission should be, "May I?" not "Can I?"
_Must_ indicates necessity.
_Ought_ expresses obligation.
_Had_ should never be used with _ought_. To express a moral obligation in
past time, combine _ought_ with the perfect infinitive: [I ought _to have
done_ it].
_Should_ sometimes expresses duty: [You should not go].
_Would_ sometimes denotes a custom: [He would sit there for hours].
Sometimes it expresses a wish: [Would he were here!]. For other uses of
_should_ and _would_, see Appendix 60.
+55. Principal Parts.+--The main forms of the verb--so important as to be
called the _principal parts_ because the other parts are formed from them--
are the _root infinitive_, the _preterite_ (_past_) _indicative_, and the
_past participle_ [move, moved, moved; sing, sang, sung; be, was, been].
The _present_ participle is sometimes given with the principal parts.
+56. Inflection.+--As is evident from the preceding paragraph, verbs have
certain changes of form to indicate change of meaning.
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