Grammar-Quizzes › Verb Phrases › Verb Groups › An Auxiliary Verb
An Auxiliary Verb (helping verb, linking verb)
Recognize function and form
An auxiliary verb:
- does not express a particular meaning. Auxiliary verbs (be, have, do) combine with lexical verbs to form meaning. Charlie has raised his hand. (Lexical verb—has a dictionary meaning.)
- functions as the primary verb:
- gives information on tense and aspect. He is raising his hand. He was raising his hand.
- forms a question by inversion with the subject. Is he raising his hand? Does he raise his hand often? Has he finished?
- forms negations. He isn't raising his hand. You did not raise your hand. He hasn't raised his hand all day.
- forms a tag-question, paired conjunction or emphasis statement. He raised his hand, and you did too. He has raised it, hasn't he? He did raise it. He raised his hand, and so did I.
- takes form as (be, do, have) which may form third person (is, does, has) or past tense (was/were, did, had). See Auxiliary Forms below.
A modal auxiliary
- expresses mood, which adds opinion, prediction or inference to the clause.
- functions as the primary verb which:
- may add tense information. can → could (ability) The meanings of present and past modals are loosely related. (See Modal Meaning–Present to Past.)
- forms a question by inversion with the subject. Can he answer the question? Should he keep quiet?
- forms a negative. He cannot know everything. He won't be quiet.
- forms a tag-question, paired conjunction or emphasis statement. He can answer the question, and you can too. He will not raise his hand, will he? He should sit quietly, and so should you. *He can answer any question. (*spoken emphasis)
- takes only primary form—can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must, ought, need, dare— which is not marked for tense, person or number; and the modal combines with a plain form verb (e.g., sit, eat, walk, talk). He will sit quietly, He can answer all the questions. He might want a snack.
(Huddleston 3 §2) (Swan 85) (Azar 1-5)
Tense, Aspect, Mood & Voice
Systems that affect the meaning
Tense, Aspect, Mood and Voice
| SYSTEM | APPROXIMATE FUNCTION | EXAMPLE |
|---|---|---|
(none) |
Not marked. |
It rains. (fact, always, whenever) |
| MARKED BY INFLECTION (SUFFIXES) OR VERB COMBINATIONS | ||
TENSE temporal location
|
Locates the action or event in a period of time. |
It rains. (fact, general truth) It rained. (fact, past, done) |
ASPECT temporal flow |
Takes an internal, experience view of how an activity relates to time —ongoing, continuous, repetitive, habitual. |
It was raining. (progressive aspect) ongoing experience It has rained. (perfect aspect) has continuing relevance It used to rain (habitual aspect) was repetitive |
MOOD non-factual assertions
|
Allows the addition of opinion, prediction, or inference to the clause. |
It may stop raining in a few minutes. (opinion) |
| MARKED BY STRUCTURAL CHANGE AND VERB COMBINATIONS | ||
VOICE focus on agent or patient |
Allows placing either the "patient" (w/ passive verb) in the subject position or the "agent" (w/active verb) in the subject position. |
Her prediction was proved to be wrong, as it continued raining. (passive) The continuing rain proved her prediction to be wrong. (active) |
agent—the person or thing that takes action to do something. (He sang a song for them.. The wind blew the leaves.)
aspect – a grammatical category that expresses how an action, event or state, denoted by a verb, relates to the flow of time.
criticize (V) – judge as poor; find fault
mood – a grammatical category that expresses how an action, event or state, denoted by a verb, relates to the flow of time.
patient ("theme")—the person or thing that is affected by the action expressed by the predicate. "The thing acted upon" (He sang a song for them.)
(Aarts 9, 10) (Biber 4) (Huddleston 3 §3) (Payne 12)
Auxiliary Verb Forms
Plain form, 3rd person, past, and participle forms
Auxiliary Forms
| PLAIN FORM | 3RD PERSON | PAST | PAST PARTICIPLE | PAST PARTICIPLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Plain form is the verb in its simplest, most basic form. It is a primary verb form. |
Third person is usually marked with -s in present tense only. |
Past tense usually takes form as verb-ed; however, auxiliary verb are irregular. |
Past participles take form as verb-ed with other variants -d, -t, -en, -n. |
Gerund-participles¹ take form as verb-ing. |
| AUXILIARIES | ||||
be |
is (am, are) 2nd per. |
was, were (sing–pl.) |
been |
being |
have |
has |
had |
had¹ |
having |
do |
does |
did |
done |
doing |
| MODALS | ||||
will |
— |
would² |
— |
— |
shall |
— |
should² |
— |
— |
¹ syncretism—when two or more word forms are the same, but have different grammatical functions, for example, verb forms: cut (base from) , cut (past) , cut (participle), or you (nominative) and you (accusative). The term syncretism is often used when a fairly regular pattern can be observed across a paradigm.
² Past modal meanings vary greatly from their present tense forms.
Auxiliary verb forms are irregular; they are unlike other verbs forms.
Also see "Be" (Copula).
(Huddleston "catenative auxiliaries" 14 §4.2.2) The auxiliary is the main verb which takes a nonfinite complement. He is [aux. is main verb] working [complement is nonfinite].
Auxiliary verbs are (1) primary verbs (can be marked for person or number) and (2) are complemented by a nonfinite (secondary verb form) plain form (bare infinitive), -ed (past participle), -ing (gerund-participle)
Modals are (1) primary verbs (are not marked for person or number) and (2) are complemented by a nonfinite (secondary verb form) plain form (bare infinitive), -ed (past participle), -ing (gerund-participle)
Modal Auxiliary Form
Primary form only
Modal Forms—Tense and Meaning
| DEGREE OF POSSIBILITY TO ACT | DEGREE OF OBLIGATION/ FREEDOM TO ACT | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
possibility, future intent |
possibility, permission |
possibility, ability, potential |
obligation, expectation |
obligation, inference¹ |
(had to) |
||||
¹inference – conclusion; making a guess by putting pieces of information together
Modals have a single form for person and number. The meanings of the past and present forms do not correlate (match up) well.
See Modal Agreement for past modal forms used in embedded clauses.
Also see Modals summary.
Verb Group
Auxiliary + Lexical Verb Combinations
Auxiliaries combine with lexical verbs to express tense.
| AUXILIARY–MODAL | AUXILIARY–PERFECT | AUXILIARY–BE | AUXILIARY–BE | LEXICAL VERB FORM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MODAL — will, would, may, might,can, could, shall, should, ought |
PERFECT — has, have, had |
PROGRESSIVE— is / are, was / were, been |
PASSIVE — is / are, was / were, been |
A verb takes plain form, past, and participle form, 3rd person plural suffix. |
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walk(s) (present, imperative, or subjunctive) |
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walked (past form) |
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was |
walked (past. participle) |
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was |
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walking (pres. participle) |
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was |
being |
walked (past. participle) |
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has |
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walked (past. participle) |
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had |
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walked (past. participle) |
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has |
been |
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walking (pres. participle) |
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had |
been |
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walking (pres. participle) |
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has |
been |
being |
walked (past. participle) |
will |
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walk (infinitive plain form) |
will |
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be |
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walking (pres. participle) |
will |
have |
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walked (past. participle) |
will |
have |
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been |
walked (past. participle) |
Also see Be Copula and "Be"–Lexical or Auxiliary?
lexical (Adj) — having meaning (one that could be found in a dictionary)
(Huddleson 3 §2.3) (Swan 85)
(Huddleston "catenative auxiliaries" 14 §4.2.2) The auxiliary is the main verb which takes a nonfinite complement. He [V. is [nonfiniteworking]].
Auxiliary → Form Type
Next form type
The auxiliary determines what the next form type will be
| AUXILIARY + NEXT FORM TYPE | PRES / (FUTURE) | PAST | PERFECT |
|---|---|---|---|
MODAL ⇒ PLAIN FORM |
Charlie will ⇒ raise his hand. |
Charlie would ⇒ raise his hand. |
Charlie will ⇒ have raised his hand by then. (future perfect) Charlie would ⇒ have raised his hand. (hypothetical perfect) |
PERFECT ⇒ PAST PARTICIPLE |
Charlie has ⇒ raised his hand. |
Charlie had ⇒ raised his hand. |
Charlie had ⇒ raised his hand. |
PROGRESSIVE ⇒ GERUND-PARTICIPLE |
Charlie is ⇒ raising his hand. |
Charlie was ⇒ raising his hand. |
Charlie had been ⇒ raising his hand. |
PASSIVE ⇒ PAST PARTICIPLE |
His hand Is ⇒raised. |
His hand was ⇒raised. |
Charlie's hand has been ⇒raised. Charlie's hand had been ⇒raised. |
Related page Primary and Secondary Verbs.
A Lexical Verb vs. An Auxiliary Verb
Properties and Characteristics
Lexical vs. Auxiliary Verbs
| LEXICAL VERB |
|---|
Most verbs are lexical verbs. A lexical verb has a dictionary meaning and can be marked for tense and 3rd person. It normally uses do support for questions, negatives and emphasis. |
| MEANING AND TENSE |
You have a computer. (present) (possession) You had a computer. (past) |
| DO & INVERSION—QUESTIONS |
Do you have a new computer? |
| DO + NOT—NEGATIONS |
You do not like your new computer. |
| DO—EMPHASIS / TAG QUES. / PAIRED CONJ |
I do like my new computer! You like your new computer, don't you? He likes his new computer, and you do too? |
| AUXILIARY VERB |
|---|
A non-modal auxiliary can be marked for tense and 3rd person, but it does not have a dictionary meaning. It combines with a lexical verb to form meaning. It uses auxiliary support for questions, negatives and emphasis. |
| TENSE BUT NO MEANING |
He is working on his computer. (is, was) She has worked on her computer. (has, had) She will work on her computer. |
| AUX & INVERSION—QUESTIONS |
Is he working on his computer? (Aux ← Subj) Has she worked on her computer? (Aux ← Subj) Will she work on her computer? |
| AUX + NOT—NEGATIONS |
He is not working on his computer. (is, was) She has not worked on her computer. (has, had) She will not work on her computer. |
| AUX—EMPHASIS / TAG QUES. / PAIRED CONJ |
He is working on his computer! She has worked on her computer, hasn't she? She will work on her computer, and so will you. |
Both lexical and auxiliary verbs are considered primary (finite) verbs – inflected with tense and person. (Swan 85)
Biber sets out the classes as full (lexical verbs) primary (be, have, and do) and modal auxiliaries (will, might, etc.) (Biber 3.21, 96)
¹ Be (copula) does not use "do" support. (Huddleston 3 §2.5.7) See "Be"–Lexical or Auxiliary?.
(Swan 89-91)
Dual Category Verbs
Functioning as Lexical and Auxiliary Verbs
Lexical / Auxiliary Category
| LEXICAL VERB |
|---|
A few verbs may function as a lexical verb and an auxiliary verb. In the examples below, the verbs function as lexical verbs requiring do support. |
Do I need to ask? (require) |
I don't dare tell you. (have courage, challenge, risk) |
I had a question. (possess) |
He does his homework. (performs)
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Be smart about this. (become, self-actualize)
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| AUXILIARY VERB |
|---|
The same verbs can be analyzed using the properties outlined in the section above—negation, inversion, and…too expressions, and emphasis. |
Need I ask to find out the truth? / You needn't worry about that. / You need only ask and you will receive what you require. (modal) |
Dare I tell you what happened? / I dare not tell you what happened. / You dare ask me that question? (modal, formal– have courage, challenge or risk) |
I had asked you before. |
He doesn't complete all his work. |
He is considering his options.
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Lexical Verbs vs. Modals
Properties and Characteristics
Lexical vs. Modal Verb Properties
| LEXICAL FORMS |
|---|
A lexical verb has a dictionary meaning and can be marked for tense and 3rd person, and uses do support for questions, negatives and emphasis. A lexical verb can express a meaning similar to a modal meaning. (can–is able to, knows how to; will – is going to; must – have to) |
| USE SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT |
Charlie is able to answer the question. |
| ARE FOLLOWED BY TO + INFINITIVE |
Charlie is able to answer the question. |
| USE DO OR BE SUPPORT IN QUESTIONS AND NEGATIVES |
Is Charlie able to answer the question. No, he isn't able to. |
Does Charlie know how to answer the question. No, he doesn't know how to. |
| RESTRICT TENSE TO A PARTICLUALR ONE IN CONDITIONALS |
*If you knew the answer now, you were able to respond. restricted to past If you knew the answer now, you would be able to respond. |
If you know the answer now, you are able to respond. |
| RESTRICT MEANING TO PAST TENSE IN SUBORDINATED CLAUSES |
I wish Charlie were able to be quiet. (past) |
After studying very hard, he was able to pass his test. (limited to past, single event) |
| MODAL AUXILIARIES |
|---|
Unlike auxiliaries, modals carry meaning and "mood". They express the speakers opinion about the following verb phrase. "They are used before the bare infinitives of other verbs, and add certain kinds of meaning connected with certainty, or with obligation, and freedom to act." (Swan 353) |
| USE NO SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT |
Charlie can answer the question. |
| ARE FOLLOWED BY "BARE INFINITIVE" |
Charlie can answer the question. [plain form] |
| DO NOT USE BE OR DO SUPPORT |
Can Charlie answer the question? |
No, Charlie cannot answer the question. |
| DO NOT RESTRICT TENSE TO A PARTICLUALR ONE IN COND. |
If you knew the answer now, you could respond. (remote) You don't happen to know the answer, but if you did, you could respond. |
If you know the answer now, you can/could respond. (open) In the potential situation that you know the answer, you can respond. |
| DO NOT RESTRICT MEANING TO PAST TENSE IN SUB. CLAUSES |
I wish Charlie could / would be quiet. (past/future) |
After studying very hard, he could pass his test. (needs limitation to past only) |
Modals might and should are no longer used with past tense meaning.
NICE Properties (Huddleston 3 §2) (Payne 11.1) (Aarts 3.6.3.1)
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Description
Traditional / ESL and Linguistic Descriptions
| TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION |
|---|
Auxiliary Verbs — In traditional grammar, auxiliary verbs are treated as auxiliary combinations with other verbs (verb groups). (Huddleston 104) |
| AUXILIARY VERB GROUPED WITH MAIN VERB |
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| LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|
Auxiliary Verbs —In linguistic description, auxiliaries are main verbs followed by gerund-participle or past participle verb forms in subordinated nonfinite clauses. This analysis simplifies the overall description of the verb system, but adds complexity to the sentence with a subordinated clause. |
| AUXILIARY VERB + GERUND-PARTICIPLE |
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Modals Auxiliary Verbs
| TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION |
|---|
In traditional grammar, modals are treated as auxiliary combinations with verbs (verb groups). |
| MODAL IS PART OF A VERB GROUP |
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| LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|
In current linguistic analysis, modals are main verbs followed by "bare infinitives". That is, the modal is followed by an infinitival form without "to" in a subordinated nonfinite clause. |
| MODAL+ A SUBORDINATED NONFINITE CLAUSE |
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For syntactic auxiliary analysis, see Huddleston 1209.
Works Cited
- Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English. Pearson Education, 1999.
- Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
- Wikipedia contributors. "Auxiliary verb." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.
Practice 1
Explaining English
Read the Context
English, like all languages, is full of problems for non-native speakers. One point is easily explained, such as the difference between for and since, but another point is trickier, such as the difference between the articles a and the. When do we use the past tense or the past perfect?
Instructors do what they can to make points clear. Most instructors have succeeded in explaining complex ideas in simple ways. Most instructors have a number of ways to teach and illustrate the points.
illustrate (V) – to make clear with diagrams
tricky – a problem requiring a clever solution; trickier (comparative form)
Identify the verb category: lexical verb or an auxiliary verb.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your responses to the answers by clicking the "Check" or the "Check 1-6" button at the bottom.
Practice 2
Language Description
Read the Context
Language is constantly changing and adapting to the needs of its speakers. Grammar descriptions written in the earlier part of the nineteen hundreds are still being taught by some instructors. English was likened to Latin and French rather than being analyzed (analysed) more globally with reasoned proofs. Modern linguistic descriptions have rejected many errors of the older tradition and have several departures from traditional grammar with reasoned argument.
New linguistic descriptions can be challenging for instructors still working within the older ways of describing language. However, a closer look will lead them to find a less complex and more accurate system for presenting the English language to students.
accurate (ad.) – exact, correct
analyzed (US-en) / analysed (Br-en) – to examine carefully and in detail so as to identify elements and relationships
challenging (Adj) – difficult to overcome
complex (Adj) – complicated, confusing
departures (N) – different methods
globally (adv.) – worldly; internationally
liken (V) – represent as similar or like; compare
reasoned proofs – scientific methods
reject (V) – not accept
Identify the auxiliary verb type.
- Select your response.
- Compare your responses to the answers by clicking the "Check" or the "Check 7-12" button at the bottom.
Practice 3
Tyranny of Taste
Read for Errors
Traditional grammarians tell us that we never ___ end a sentence with a preposition. However, it is not clear why they ___ declared] this rule.
There are many situations in which one ___ end a sentence with a preposition. For example, when you ___ using a verb expression, such as look up, you wouldn't say, "Up which keyword did you look?"
Split infinitives ___ profited as well. How would "To go boldly where no man ___ gone before," sound to a Star Trek fan?
And starting a sentence with but ___ not permitted. Hopefully, you ___ never done that. Unfortunately, that is another rule that I ___ not going to ever understand. Why ___ grammarians make up such nonsense?
tyranny (N) – abuse of power, unrestrained use of power, absolute rule
taste (N) – a liking or preference for something, usually personal
Complete the auxiliary form.
- Select your response.
- Compare your responses to the answers by clicking the "Check" or the "Check 13-22" button at the bottom.