What is Auxiliary Verb
Definition of Auxiliary Verb
We can define
auxiliary verb as, “An auxiliary verb is a verb that adds functional or
grammatical meaning to the clause in which it appears such as to express tense,
modality, aspect, voice, emphasis, etc.”
What
is Auxiliary Verb
Auxiliary verbs (also called as helping
verbs) are used with a main verb to show the verb’s tense, to form a negative
sentence or to ask a question. Generally, it accompanies a main verb which
provides the main semantic content of the clause. It is used to add functional
or grammatical meaning in several different ways to the clauses in which they
appear. It helps to express tense (past, present, or future), grammatical
aspect (means how verb relates to the flow of time), modality (quantifies
verbs) and voice (in order to describe relationship between verb’s action and
participants identified by verb’s subject, object, etc). Most common auxiliary
verbs are like: have, be, and do.
For example:
- Does doctor
write all his own reports? - Students haven’t written
all the essays yet. - Tiara is sending
an e-mail to her class teacher.
Have
It is very important verb which can stand
alone in all tenses including have, has, had, having, hadn’t or had not. It
denotes the ownership in a sentence and discusses ability or describes
appearance. It is used as substitute for the verbs “eat” and “drink.” Such as:
“Let’s have breakfast.”
Do
It is used as an action verb which can also
stands alone in all tenses including to do, do, done, does, did, didn’t, did
not or doesn’t. In order to make a complete verb phrase, it is paired up with
another verb. It is also used to add emphasis in the sentence. We generally use
‘do’ to ask questions and make negated clauses.
Be
It is also very important verb used as an
action verb and stands alone in all tenses including to be, be, am, been, is,
was, are, wasn’t, are not, were, aren’t, weren’t, was not, and were not. It
also needs to be paired up with another verb in order to create a complete verb
phrase. It can be present or past and singular or plural. It is used to make negative
sentences by adding the word “not”.
List
of Auxiliary Verbs
Following is the list of auxiliary verbs:
List of Common Auxiliary
Verbs
There are three common auxiliary verbs:
- Have
(includes has, have, had, and having) - Do
(includes does, do, and did) - Be
(includes am, is, are, was, were, being and been)
List of Modal Auxiliary
Verbs
There are some modal auxiliary verbs in
addition to the three main auxiliary verbs. Modal auxiliary verbs never change
form. Following are modal auxiliary verbs:
Can, could, may, might, must, ought to,
shall, should, will, would, dare, need, ought, etc.
Examples
of Auxiliary Verbs/Use of Auxiliary Verbs in the Sentence
Following are some examples showing the use
of auxiliary verbs and verb phrases, such as:
- He is
taking me to the airport. - He didn’t
arrive on time at airport. - Unfortunately,
my breakfast has been eaten by the cat. - I have
purchased a new book in place of one that was lost in school. - I don’t
have your book lost in the school. - I was
making cake for dessert in dinner. - He has
been working hard all through the day. - Sarah
doesn’t learn roller skate. - Did he
bring lunch?
Rules/Tips
to be Followed while using Auxiliary Verbs
Following are some rules and tips to use
auxiliary verbs in the sentence:
- More than
one auxiliary verb can be used together in a sentence. A clause contains
at least one main verb however they can have two, three, or perhaps even
more auxiliary verbs, such as:
The papers will have been scrutinized by
the English teacher. (This sentence contains three auxiliary verbs and one main
verb). In this sentence, auxiliary verbs are ‘will, have, been’ and main verb
is ‘scrutinized’.
- Be, do,
and have are auxiliary verbs which can also be stand-alone verbs in the
sentence. Such auxiliary verbs teamed up with other verbs to complete the
verb phrase. - All
progressive tenses use a form of ‘be’. Present progressive tense uses
pattern (am, is, or are + present participle), past progressive tense (was
or were + present participle) and future progressive tense (will + be +
present participle). - All
perfect tenses use a form of ‘have’ (has, have, had, having). Present
perfect tense follows a pattern (has or have + past participle), past
perfect tense (had + past participle) and future perfect tense (will + have
+ past participle). - Emphatic
tense is made by the use of form of ‘do’ (does, do, did, doing) as an
auxiliary verb. It is used to ask questions or emphasizing an action. It
uses patterns like (form of do + main verb) and (form of do + subject +
main verb). - Modal
auxiliary verbs (can, could, must, might, may, should, shall, will, ought
to, would) have only one form and never change their form, so we cannot
add ‘ed’, ‘ing’, or ‘s’ to the end of words. They follow a pattern (modal
+ main verb), (modal + be + present participle) and (modal + have + past
participle).
Auxiliary
Verb Exercises for you
Auxiliary verb exercises given below will
help you in analyzing your knowledge about auxiliary verb. Just go through all
the details given above about the auxiliary verb and check your skill by doing
following exercises for auxiliary verb. We have used auxiliary verbs in the
following sentences; you need to check your skill by identifying auxiliary
verbs in each sentence:
- What were
they doing when he last saw them? - Natalie
has always wanted to try mountaineering. - Where did
they go in their summer vacation? - Why do you
think he didn’t give you money like she said she would? - She is
very upset when she heard about event. - He doesn’t
want to go to theatre; he wants to stay at school instead. - She didn’t
appreciate my jokes as they weren’t funny. - I really
like to eat veg but I don’t like paneer. - Where were
kids going when I saw them last night? - She hasn’t
called me yet; she has forgotten as usual. - Do you
want black coffee? - He has
given his all books. - Do you
like Chinese food? - Do your
parents speak Hindi? - Did she
come to swimming yesterday? - Why is she
talking? She should be listening to teacher! - They were
having bath when he called! - A new
swimming pool is being built behind the school. - Have you
completed your homework? - My parents
have never visited the UK. - How long
has she been living in USA? - By this
time next year she will has been playing Badminton for 35 years! - I have
denied her. - I do not
want to see this movie. - She is not
going to school today. - She isn't
going to the theatre for dance. - I haven't
seen her for years. - I have not
seen such movie ever. - Why don't
you call your mother? - Why didn't
you call me at your birthday?
Answers:
1 – were, 2 – has, 3 – did, 4 – didn’t, 5 – is, 6 – doesn’t, 7 – didn’t, 8 –
don’t, 9 – were, 10 – hasn’t, 11 – do, 12 – has, 13 – do, 14 – do, 15 – did, 16
– is, 17 – were, 18 – is being, 19 – have, 20 – have, 21 – has, 22 – will has
been, 23 – have, 24 – do not, 25 – is not, 26 – isn't, 27 – haven't, 28 – have
not, 29 – don't, 30 – didn't
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