Auxiliary verbs are a subcategory of English verbs that provide additional semantic or syntactic information about the main verb in the verb phrase such as tense, aspect, modality, and voice. The eighteen auxiliary verbs in English grammar are have, be, do, get, nine modal verbs, and five quasi-modal verbs.
Perfect Have
The first auxiliary verb in the English language is have. The verb have functions as a perfect within a verb phrase functioning as a predicate. Perfect have occurs within present perfect, past perfect, present perfect-progressive, past perfect progressive, present perfect passive, past perfect passive, present perfect-progressive passive, and past perfect-progressive passive constructions.
The conjugations of the perfect have are as follows:
- Base – Simple Present – Simple Past – Present Participle – Past Participle
have – have, has – had – having – had
For example:
- I have written the essay.
- She has spoken to them.
- No one had said anything.
- The children were having a blast.
- His uncle had had a cold.
Progressive and Passive Be
The second auxiliary verb in the English language is be. The verb be performs two functions within a verb phrase functioning as a predicate: progressive and passive. Progressive be occurs within present progressive, past progressive, present perfect-progressive, past perfect progressive, present progressive passive, past progressive passive, present perfect-progressive passive, and past perfect-progressive passive constructions. Passive be occurs within passive simple present, passive simple past, present perfect passive, past perfect passive, present progressive passive, past progressive passive, present perfect-progressive passive, and past perfect-progressive passive constructions.
The conjugations of the progressive and passive be are as follows:
- Base – Simple Present – Simple Past – Present Participle – Past Participle
be – am, is, are – was, were – being – been
For example:
- I am borrowing some books.
- The dog is barking loudly.
- You are kidding me!
- The baby was crying all night.
- Some birds were chirping.
- I am bored by this series.
- Homework is graded by the assistant.
- Cookies are sold at the counter.
- The window was broken by the storm.
- Some apples were stolen.
Do
The third auxiliary verb in the English language is do. The verb do functions as an operator within a verb phrase functioning as a predicate. Also known as dummy do, operator do occurs within negated, interrogative, and emphatic constructions.
The conjugations of the operator or dummy do are as follows:
- Base – Simple Present – Simple Past – Present Participle – Past Participle
do – do, does – did – doing – done
For example:
- We do eat bananas.
- He does dance like no one is watching.
- They did clean the oven.
Passive Get
A fourth auxiliary verb in the English language is get. The verb get functions as a passive within a verb phrase functioning as a predicate. The passive get is considered more informal than the passive be.
The conjugations of the passive get are as follows:
- Base – Simple Present – Simple Past – Present Participle – Past Participle
get – get, gets – got – getting – gotten
For example:
- I get burned by the sun.
- The baby gets scared by loud noises.
- Our garden got destroyed by the storm.
- Some walls were getting painted.
Modal Verbs
Modal verbs are a subcategory of auxiliary verbs that express modality, are neutral and defective, occupy only the initial position in a verb phrase, and perform the function of modal. Quasi-modal verbs, which share some but not all properties of full modal verbs, are a subset of the English modal verb. Modality can be defined as the grammaticalized expression of the subjective attitude of the speaker, which includes opinions about possibility, probability, necessity, obligation, permissibility, ability, desire, and contingency. The nine modal verbs and five quasi-modal verbs in English are:
- can
- could
- dare
- had better (had best)
- may
- might
- must
- need
- ought to
- shall
- should
- used to
- will
- would
Unlike prototypical English verbs, modal verbs are both neutral and defective. The neutralization of modal verbs refers to the fact that modal verbs lack a separate third person singular simple present tense form. Modal verbs lack a third person singular simple present form. For example:
- can – *cans
- could – *coulds
- may – *mays
- might – *mights
- must – *musts
- shall – *shalls
- should – *shoulds
- will – *wills
- would – *woulds
Similarly, the defectiveness of modal verbs refers to the fact that modal verbs lack non-tensed forms. Prototypical English verbs have four to six forms depending on the regularity of irregularity of the verb. The forms of a prototypical verb are a base form, an infinitive, a present participle, a past participle, a simple present form, a third person singular simple present form, and a simple past form. Modal verbs lack all but a base form. For example:
- can – *to can – *canning – *canned – *can – *cans – *canned
- could – *to could – *coulding – *coulded – *could – *coulds – *coulded
- may – *to may – *maying – *mayed – *may – *mays – *mayed
- might – *to might – *mighting – *mighted – *might – *mights – *mighted
- must – *to must – *musting – *musted – *must – *musts – *musted
- shall – *to shall – *shalling – *shalled – *shall – *shalls – *shalled
- should – *to should – *shoulding – *shoulded – *should – *shoulds – *shoulded
- will – *to will – *willing – *willed – *will – *wills – *willed
- would – *to would – *woulding – *woulded – *would – *woulds – *woulded
Like other auxiliary verbs, modal verbs appear before the head of the main verb functioning as the predicate. However, unlike other auxiliary verbs, the modal verb always appears at the beginning of the verb phrase in the initial position. For example:
- simple active → modal + base – will study
- perfect active → modal + have + past participle – will have studied
- progressive active → modal + be + present participle – will be studying
- perfect-progressive active → modal + have + been + present participle – will have been studying
- simple passive → modal + be + past particle – will be eaten
- perfect passive → modal + have + been – past participle – will have been eaten
- progressive passive → modal + be + being + past participle – will be being eaten
- perfect-progressive passive → modal + have + been + being + past participle – will have been being eaten
Auxiliary verbs provide additional semantic or syntactic information about the main verb in the verb phrase such as tense, aspect, modality, and voice. The eighteen auxiliary verbs in English grammar are have, be, do, get, nine modal verbs, and five quasi-modal verbs.
Summary
Auxiliary verbs provide additional semantic or syntactic information about the main verb in the verb phrase such as tense, aspect, modality, and voice.
Auxiliary verb is a subcategory of verb.
The eighteen English auxiliary verbs are have, be, do, get, nine modal verbs, and five quasi-modal verbs.
For more information about auxiliary verbs, see A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language: Book 1 (Level 7) and A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language: Book 1 (Level 8) of A Form-Function English Grammar.
This post was originally published on March 1, 2016 and updated on April 5, 2023.
References
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kilby, David. 1984. Descriptive syntax and the English verb. Dover, New Hampshire: Croom Helm.
Leech, Geoffrey N. 2004. Meaning and the English verb. Harlow, English: Pearson Longman.
