Auxiliary Verbs
What are auxiliary verbs?
Auxiliary verbs are essentially “helping verbs”. In English, we use auxiliary verbs to help other normal verbs (verbs that are neither main auxiliaries nor modal auxiliaries), such as work, tell, talk, walk etc.
So, auxiliaries add functional meaning to the phrase in which they are used. There are two types of auxiliaries in English:
- Main auxiliaries (to be, to have and to do)
- Modal auxiliaries.
Why do we use auxiliary verbs?
We use them to add functional meaning to normal verbs.
Furthermore, we can use auxiliaries to express, mood, time, negation, obligation, interrogation etc. Also, auxiliaries cannot be used with other auxiliary verbs.
Auxiliaries must be used with normal verbs, such as, go, find, come, write, etc. I.e.,
- I had to leave my house.
Had is the past simple of the main auxiliary verb to have, and it is joined with the ordinary verb leave. Had, in this case, is expressing an obligation in the past.
The main auxiliary verbs
The main auxiliaries in English are: to be, to have, and to do.
Important to note, each of these auxiliaries adds functional meaning to the clause in which they are being used.
By functional meaning, we mean many things, for example:
- To be is used to construct the passive voice in English, as well as being a copular verb to assign characteristics to people.
- To have is used to form the “perfect forms”, for expressing obligation as well as other meanings.
- To do is used for negating normal verbs, ellipsis, asking questions, etc.
English is an analytic language
As stated in Verbs in English, English is primarily an analytic language, meaning that it is largely reliant on its usage of auxiliary verbs or “helping verbs” to convey meaning.
For this reason, it’s very important for English learners to make themselves aware of all the rules to do with auxiliaries.
Learning how main auxiliaries work
Learning how English auxiliaries work is paramount because given that English is an analytic language, you will need to become identified with all the auxiliary verbs as they form the backbone of the language. For example:
To ask a question, emphasize, negate or use ellipsis – to do
Learning how English auxiliaries work is paramount because given that English is an analytic language, you will need to become identified with all the auxiliary verbs as they form the backbone of the language. For example:
- Do you know me? = interrogative.
- No, I don’t know you. = negation.
- Yes, I do. = ellipsis.
To form all perfect forms, express obligation, and possession – to have
- I have seen you before. = present perfect.
- Daniel has to work on his English. = obligation.
- I have a car. = possession.
To form all passive forms, use continuous forms, and copulative structures – to be
- We were visited last week. = passive voice.
- I am talking to you. = Present continuous.
- She is a nice person. = copular verb.
In summary, these are but a handful of the rules with examples, so it’s recommended that you check out our pages on to be, to have and to do to make yourself aware of how these auxiliary verbs function in English.