Auxiliary Verbs: Definition, Types, and Identification Quiz

Auxiliary Verbs: Definition, Usage, Types, and Identification

Definition and Examples

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs or modal verbs, are used in conjunction with a main verb to express tense, mood, or voice. They are essential in forming various verb tenses, such as the continuous tense, perfect tense, and future tense. For example, in the sentence "I am talking," "am" is the auxiliary verb, while "am" and "talking" together form a verb phrase.

Usage

Auxiliary verbs are used to create different tenses and to form questions, negations, and subjunctive mood. They are always used along with a main verb, often coming before it in a sentence. Some sentences may contain multiple auxiliary verbs, especially in the perfect continuous tenses, where both "have" and "be" may be used.

Types

There are three primary auxiliary verbs in English: be, do, and have. These verbs have different forms depending on the tense and can be used to show ownership, ability, or describe appearance. Additionally, modal auxiliary verbs, such as "might," "can," "may," "must," and "must not," are used to clarify the context of a sentence, expressing possibility, ability, permission, and necessity. The modal verb "will" is used to form all future tenses.

Identifying Auxiliary Verbs in a Sentence

To identify auxiliary verbs in a sentence, look for verbs that are not the main verb and are used to show tense, mood, or voice. They are often found before the main verb in a sentence, but this is not always the case. For example, in the sentence "I have been studying all day," "have" is the auxiliary verb, while "have" and "studying" together form a verb phrase.

Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Modal auxiliary verbs help to clarify the context of a sentence. They express possibility (e.g., "might"), ability (e.g., "can"), permission (e.g., "may"), and necessity (e.g., "must"). The modal verb "will" is used to form all future tenses. While regular auxiliary verbs follow subject-verb agreement, modal auxiliary verbs never change form. In sentences containing modal verbs, the main verb typically takes the infinitive form (e.g., "he can sing").

Auxiliary Verbs and Tense

Conjugated forms of the auxiliary verbs "be" and "have" are used in various verb tenses to help indicate time. In the future tense, the modal auxiliary verb "will" is also used. The table below demonstrates the conjugated forms of the verb "read" in the first person singular, illustrating the use of auxiliary and modal verbs in creating the progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive aspects:

	Past	Present	Future
Progressive	I was reading.	I am reading.	I will be reading.
Perfect	I had read.	I have read.	I will have read.
Perfect progressive	I had been reading.	I have been reading.	I will have been reading.

Auxiliary Verbs and Mood

The grammatical mood of a verb indicates the tone and intention of a sentence. Auxiliary verbs and modal verbs are used along with a main verb to express grammatical mood. The table below shows the grammatical mood, function, and an example for each mood:

Grammatical mood	Function	Example
Indicative	State a fact	"Ravi is working."
Imperative	Express a command or request	"Don’t break anything."
Interrogative	Ask a question	"Have you eaten yet?"
Conditional	Express a condition	"You can use my phone if you need to."
Subjunctive	Express a wish, doubt, or hypothetical situation	"If I were more athletic, I would play basketball."

Other Uses of Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs have various other functions in English. They can be used to:

• Create question tags, which are used at the end of a sentence to ask whether a preceding statement is true.
• Avoid repetition, where a conjugated form of the main statement's auxiliary verb is used along with the coordinating conjunction "but" and the main verb.
• Form negatives, where the main verb is negated by using a form of "not" and the auxiliary verb remains unchanged.

Practice Exercise

Try out the following practice exercise to find out how far you have understood the usage of auxiliary verbs in sentences. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate auxiliary verb:

1. Leena ______ eating an apple.
2. ______ you finish the work I ______ given you yesterday?
3. _________ you please pass the logbook?
4. You __________ follow the rules.
5. Your phone ___________ damaged.
6. I am sorry, I ________ make it to your wedding.
7. Derrick __________ submitted all the documents for verification last week.
8. The Queen’s jewellery ______ stolen from the museum.
9. Peter ______ asked to host the ceremony by his uncle.
10. Sam and Joe ______ attending the event.

Answers:

1. Leena is eating an apple.
2. Did you finish the work I had given you yesterday?
3. Could you please pass the logbook?
4. You should follow the rules.
5. Your phone should be damaged.
6. I am sorry, I cannot make it to your wedding.
7. Derrick had submitted all the documents for verification last week.
8. The Queen’s jewellery was stolen from the museum.
9. Peter was asked to host the ceremony by his uncle.
10. Sam and Joe will be attending the event.