Auxiliary Verbs Overview

Auxiliary Verbs

• Auxiliary verbs combine with main verbs. Common examples include do, have, and be.
• Use do for negative statements, questions, and short answers (affirmative or negative).
  • Example: "She doesn’t like social networking websites."
  • Example: "Do you send lots of text messages?" (Answer: Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.)
  • Example: "Did Thomas answer your email?" (Answer: Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t.)
• Use have for present perfect and past perfect tense statements, questions, and short answers (affirmative or negative).
  • Example: "She has created her own website."
  • Example: "Has she posted any photos yet?" (Answer: Yes, she has. / No, she hasn’t.)
  • Example: "I had gotten his email an hour before he called me."
• Use be for progressive tense statements, questions, and short answers (affirmative or negative).
  • Example: "She is answering her cell phone."
  • Example: "Is your cell phone working?" (Answer: Yes, it is. / No, it isn’t.)
  • Example: "He was using his brother’s cell phone yesterday."
  • Example: "Were you surfing the Internet last night?" (Answer: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.)
• Use be for passive voice statements, questions, and short answers (affirmative or negative).
  • Example: "The Internet is used by millions of people."
  • Example: "Were you given a password?" (Answer: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.)