Chapter Nine: Understanding Auxiliary Verbs

1. Auxiliary Verbs are, as we discussed before, ‘helping verbs’, that is, they help the
primary verb to make meaning.
Primary Auxiliaries are be (is, am, are, was, were), have (has, have, had) & do (do, did,
does).
These can be used as auxiliaries or as full verbs (that is, when they occur alone in a
sentence).

2. Have can have different meanings such as eat/drink, take, possession, experience, a
state, a relationship:

I just had a cup of coffee. Here, have some candy.

I have a penny in my purse. I had a great time yesterday at the theatre.
I have a headache. He has five sisters.

The uses of have as an auxiliary are:

a. To form perfect tense:
I have travelled extensively (present perfect); He had spent all his money playing
cards (past perfect); Naresh had been working late (past perfect continuous).
b. Used with ‘to’ suggest a sense of obligation:
I have to do the assignments; I have to be there before dawn.

3. Be as a full verb can have the following meanings: to exist, to be situated at, to cost, to
have the identity:
There is a hill beside river Thames. There is a banyan tree at the temple.
How much is that dress? I am the king of England.

The uses of be as an auxiliary verb are:

a. It helps the past participle form of the verb to form passive voice:
The owner repainted his car  The car was repainted by its owner
b. To form continuous tense:
I am going to France (present continuous); They had been waiting for me (past
perfect continuous); It was terrifying for a while (past continuous).
c. ‘be + infinitive’ structure in a sentence suggests an order/an arrangement:
He is to remain in the office till 5 o’ clock; They are to report here immediately.

4. Do as a full verb can have the following meanings: to perform something, to study
something.

He did a very good job. He is doing medicine.

The uses of do as an auxiliary verb are:

a. To form questions  Did you complete the homework?
b. To form negatives  He didn’t turn up for the party.
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 c. To show emphasis  I do believe that he is a fraud.
d. To avoid repetition  She said she would help me and she did.

5. Modal Auxiliaries help the main verb to achieve clearer meaning by suggesting the
mood.
The word ‘mood’ in grammar refers to that form of the verb that implies ideas of
possibility, certainty, doubtfulness, obligations, etc.
The modal auxiliaries with examples are given below:

6. Can means ‘to be able to do something.’ It can also imply possibility and permission.
He can fix the television; Accidents can happen at any time; Can I go home early?
Can’t (its negative, implies the exact opposite):
He can’t do anything; It can’t have happened; No, you can’t.

7. Could (past tense of ‘can’) shows ‘ability in the past’, that is, it means ‘was able to’. It
can also be used to express possibility, request or permission.
I could understand him; You could have won the game; Could you be more specific?
Could I use your computer?

8. May & Might show possibility and permission. The use of ‘may/might’ is rather formal
compared to ‘can’ while requesting permission.
Also, ‘Can’ shows only a theoretical possibility, whereas ‘may’ shows more of a factual
possibility.
The word ‘might’ shows a distant possibility and suggests a hesitation while asking for
permission.
There is a political rally today; so vehicular traffic may be affected.
I don’t think it will rain tonight but it might.
May I come in, sir?
Might I use your computer?

9. Must conveys the following meanings:

a. Obligation resulting from within  We must help the poor.
b. Determination  I must play well today.
c. Inference  He must be dangerous.
d. It can denote a permanent ruling  You must wear seat belts.
Mustn’t shows prohibition  You must not do this.

10.Ought to shows moral obligation. ‘Should’ also shows obligation but ‘ought to’ has an
additional suggestion of duty. ‘Ought’ is used with ‘to-infinitive.’
You ought to consult a doctor; You ought to speak up.
In American English, the negative form of ought is often used without ‘to.’
You ought not let your people down.

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 11.Shall can be used to denote the following:
a. I shall go to the office tomorrow  Future action
b. You shall not eat beef; You shall come to me  a command/an order
c. You shall vacate the building immediately  a threat
d. Shall we go out for a walk?  a suggestion in the form of a question
e. We shall go out for a walk  a promise

12.Will can be used to indicate the following:

a. Tom will be the new class leader  Future event
b. You will pay for this  a threat
c. I will help you  a promise
d. Will you please do this for me?  a request
e. I will write the exams well  determination

13.Should is used to indicate: (a). what is the right thing to do, (b). to give or ask for
advice, (c). to make a polite request, (d). to show what is likely to happen, & (e). to
show that something was expected but did not happen.
a. You shouldn’t be afraid to speak against him; You should speak against him.
b. Should I attend that wedding? (asking advice); Yes, you should call her (giving
advice).
c. I should be grateful if you accept our invitation.
d. The roads should be less crowded since today is Sunday.
e. He should be grateful he is not in jail.

14.Would (It is like will, but less definite and more in the past) is used in Conditional Clause
(type 2), where it indicates that ‘something is possible but not very likely’ (that is,
probable):
If you worked hard, you would pass the examination. (But you didn’t work hard & you
failed)
If the weather wasn’t so bad, we would go to the park. (But the weather is bad so we
can’t go)
If I knew where she lived, I would go and see her. (But I don’t know and hence I can’t)
It is used in the ‘future in the past’ situation:
In 1990 George met Mary whom he would marry the next year.
He promised he would send a postcard from Egypt.
He had not believed her when she said they would meet only once.
It can also be used to show ‘a past habit’:
On Sundays he would go for a walk; My teachers would always say “Sit down and shut
up!”
When we use ‘would + not’ it can also show ‘refusal in the past’  He would not do
that.

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 15.Need as an auxiliary verb can be used in the following cases:
a. Interrogative Sentences  Need I come?
b. Negative Sentences  You need not come.
c. Assertive sentences  You need come only if you are sent for.

Note: Two ‘past’ constructions of need may be noted: (a). the form need not have shows that
the effort taken was unnecessary or ‘not needed’ & (b). the form did not need to shows that
the effort/action was spared or didn’t happen.
a. I need not have gone there. (Means the Speaker went there, but it was completely
unnecessary)
b. I did not need to go there. (Means the Speaker never went there, since it was not ‘needed’).

16.Dare as an auxiliary verb can take the following meanings:

a. To challenge  I dare you to hit me again.
b. To show impudence/rudeness/bad manners  He dared to call me a liar.
c. To be bold enough  I dare not say what I feel about him.
d. As an angry exclamation  How dare you!
e. To mean ‘probably’  I dare say it will rain tomorrow.
f. To discourage someone  Don’t you dare.

17.Used to shows a past habit:

We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
I used to go out for a walk on Sundays.
Interrogative (question) form of used to often comes with do and takes the form use to:
Did you use to live in New York?
Did I use to go for a walk on Sundays?
Did she use to go to the market?
Did they use to smoke?
The negative form of used to can be either not used to or used not to:
I am not used to such treatment.
She used not to live as poorly as she does now.
I did not use to go there. (Here, it takes use to form because it is used with do)

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