Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are used together with a main verb. The most important auxiliary verbs are:

w&h will, would h6yll can, may sik know (how to)

yinggtii yiu, seuiyiu sCung

should, ought to want, need want to

They express mainly ‘modal’ meanings having to do with possibility and necessity. The auxiliary verbs come before the main verb:

Ng6h tiih SC seun bCi l&h LCih yingg6i douh-hip K6uih sik g6ng Faatmhn

I’ll write to you You should apologise He can speak French

An adverb may intervene between auxiliary and verb, as in the following examples:

L&h h6yl% sin heui Jiingwaahn You can go to Central first Ng6h yingg6i d6 di wanduhng I should exercise more Ngdhdeih sdung faai di batyihp We want to graduate quickly

Note that some of the auxiliary verbs double as main verbs:

Main verb sik to know (someone)

Auxiliary sik to know (how to do

something) yiu to want (something, someone) yiu to need (to do)

Compare the meanings in the following:

Ng6h sik kCuih I know her Ng6h sik yhuh-s&i I know how to swim Kduih yiu gaf6 She wants coffee KCuih yiu sihk-yCh She wants/needs to eat

A rare irregularity should be noted here. The form &h yiu means ‘don’t want’, usually as a main verb:

Ng6h tih yiu tihmbsin, mgiii KCuih tih yiu daap f@igGi

I don’t want any dessert, thanks He doesn’t want to take the plane

However, the negative form of yiu used as an auxiliary meaning ‘need’ is not tih yiu but msPi:

Ng6h giimyaht yiu fzian g&g I need to go to work today but Ng6h gtimyaht m&i fian @ing I don’t need to go to work today

K&h yiu t6i yislng He needs to see the doctor but K6uih mAi t6i yidng He doesn’t need to see the doctor

si+uiyiu is a more explicit form of yiu:

Ng6hdeih s6uiyiu d6 di yausik We need to rest more L&h tih s&iyiu gam siim-g5p You needn’t be so impatient

hPng ‘to be willing’ is used mainly (though not exclusively) in the negative form &h haing:

Ng6h go jSi tih h6ng f&an hohk My son won’t go to school K6uih lrih hPng tGng ng6h dihnwa She won’t answer my calls Ng6h g6jC hsing bting S&I My (elder) sister is willing to help

Since Cantonese does not have a grammatical category of tense, ulliih should not be thought of simply as a future tense. Rather, tiih has a range of meanings including future (‘will’) and conditional (‘would’):

Ng6h tingyaht tiih IPih Ng6h tih wirih b6ng kCuih

I’ll come tomorrow I wouldn’t help him

The basic modal meanings can be modified by modal adverbs such as waahkjC and h6Wng ‘perhaps’, hhngdihng and yzitdihng ‘certainly’:

106 Unit 20

KCuihdeih waahkjC wtiih yihmahn They may (perhaps) emigrate KCuihdeih h6ngdihng wiiih yihmahn They will definitely emigrate N&h h&hng w&h jouh I may do it Ng6h ytitdihng tiih jouh I will certainly do it

Note here the distinction between yzitdihng yiu meaning ‘must’ in the sense of obligation and yatdihng haih in the sense of logical necessity or inference:

LBih yiitdihng yiu l%h You really must come LCih yMihng haih jyiin-g5 You must be an expert KCuih ystdihng yiu jouh ge He must (has to) do it Y5tdihng haih kCuih jouh ge It must have been him (who did it)

Since haih is not used with adjectives (Unit 9), yltdihng alone indicates inference with an adjective:

LCih yltdihng h6u guih You must be tired L&h go l&i y5tdihng h6u li+k ge Your daughter must be pretty smart

yinggi% can mean ‘should’ in the sense of either obligation or probability:

LBih yingg6i j&n&h fiian giiug You should get to work on time

L&h fahn ILihmaht yingg6i jdunsih dou Your present should arrive on time (I expect)

Keuih gHmyaht yinggi% ftian l&h ge He should be back today (I predict, and/or he is obliged to do so)

Finally, note that the meanings of possibility and ability are often more naturally expressed by dak following the verb, rather than by h6yl% ‘can’:

LCihdeih j6u dHk la (lit. you leave can already) You can leave now

(or LCihdeih h6yih jb la)

Tiuh yli sihk diik la (lit. the fish eat can already) The fish can be eaten

(or Tiuh yli hSyii sihk la)

Similarly, verb + particle combinations with tih (see Unit 17) are often used to express the negative counterparts meaning ‘cannot’ in preference to &h h6yii:

Chin bi5ng &h d6u l&h or Chin tih h6yl% bong l&h (lit. money help not succeed you) (lit. money not can help you) Money can’t help you Money can’t help you

Ng6h win Ah d6u kCuih (not *Ng6h tih hSyii wzin d6u (lit. I find not succeed her) kCuih) I can’t find her

There is a subtle difference between . . . tih d6u, meaning inability to do something, and &h . . . dtik, meaning that something is not allowed or not possible due to external circumstances:

Ng6h bi5ng Gih d6u l&h

Ng6h tih bijng dtik l&b

I can’t help you (because I lack the ability)

I can’t help you (because I’m not allowed to, I have no time, etc.)

Consequently, inability to perceive something is expressed with. . . &h d6u:

Ng6h gtimyaht seung-fiing, mihn t&h d6u yCh I have a cold today, (so I) can’t smell anything

Ng6h Em tih d6u baahnfaat I can’t think of a solution

See also Unit 17 on verbs of perception.