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Verbs

Auxiliary Verbs in English Grammar

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Published on by Grammargeek
2 min read
A2 EnglishB1 English

Auxiliary verbs play a crucial role in the English language. They help form the mood, tense, and voice of other verbs in a sentence. Common examples include “be,” “have,” and “do.” These verbs are essential for creating grammatically correct sentences.

In this article, you’ll explore the definition and examples of auxiliary verbs. You’ll also find a list of auxiliary verbs and an informative infographic that can enhance your grammar skills.

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary VerbsPin
Auxiliary Verbs – Created by 7ESL

What Is an Auxiliary Verb?

An auxiliary verb (or a helping verb) is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in which it appears. It helps express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, and more. An auxiliary verb supports another verb by adding important grammatical information.

Auxiliary Verbs Examples

Common auxiliary verbs include be, have, do, will, shall, can, may, and must.

Examples:

  • She is reading a book.
  • They have finished their homework.
  • We do enjoy learning English.
  • He will arrive tomorrow.

Certain auxiliary verbs also have contracted forms, such as:

  • ’d = had / would
  • ’ll = will / shall
  • ’ve = have
  • ’re = are
  • isn’t = is not

Auxiliary Verbs List

DO

Forms of the verb do (do, does, did) help form questions, negation, and emphasis.

Examples:

  • Simple Present Tense: He does not play volleyball.
  • Simple Past Tense: He did not play volleyball.
  • Simple Present Tense: Does he play volleyball?
  • Simple Past Tense: Did he play volleyball?

HAVE

Forms of the verb have show perfect aspect or passive voice.

Examples:

  • Present Perfect Simple: He has played volleyball.
  • Past Perfect Simple: He had played volleyball.
  • Present Perfect Progressive: He has been playing volleyball.
  • Past Perfect Progressive: He had been playing volleyball.
  • Passive Voice: The house has/had been built.

TO BE

Used for compound tenses, progressive aspect, and passive voice. Note that “be” is an irregular verb.

Examples:

  • They are teachers.
  • This was a very interesting experience to them.
  • Present Progressive: He is watching TV.
  • Past Progressive: He was watching TV.
  • Present Perfect Progressive: He has been watching TV.
  • Past Perfect Progressive: He had been watching TV.
  • Passive Voice: A letter will be written.

WILL

Forms of the verb will are used to form future tenses.

Examples:

Auxiliary Verbs in English GrammarPin
Auxiliary Verbs in English Grammar – Created by 7ESL
A2 Knowledge Check · 5 questions

Auxiliary Verbs Practice Quiz (A2-B1)

1 / 5
Q1

Question 1: She ___ not like spicy food.

Question 1 options
'does' is correct because 'do/does/did' is used with the simple present tense to form negatives; 'does' matches the third-person singular subject 'she'. 'do' is for I/you/we/they, 'did' is past tense, and 'has' forms the present perfect, not simple present negation.
Q2

Question 2: Which situation correctly uses 'did' as an auxiliary verb?

Question 2 options
'Did she call you yesterday?' is correct because 'did' is the auxiliary used to form questions in the simple past tense. The other options either describe present actions, future plans, or ongoing actions, none of which use 'did' as an auxiliary.
Q3

Question 3: A: 'Did Tom come to the meeting?' B: 'No, he ___ not come. He was sick.'

Question 3 options
'did' is correct because the dialogue is in the simple past tense and 'did not' is the auxiliary structure for forming past negatives. 'does' is simple present, 'has' forms the present perfect, and 'is' forms present progressive or present simple 'be' sentences.
Q4

Question 4: We ___ been waiting for the train for over an hour.

Question 4 options
'have' is correct because the sentence describes an action that started in the past and is still continuing, requiring the present perfect progressive formed with 'have + been + -ing'. 'are' forms the present progressive without the perfect aspect, 'were' is past progressive, and 'did' is used for simple past questions and negatives, not progressive forms.
Q5

Question 5: Match each sentence to the correct grammar label.

Question 5 options
She does not eat meat.
They have just arrived at the airport.
The cake is being decorated now.
He will travel to Spain next month.
Simple present negative with 'do'
Present perfect with 'have'
Future tense with 'will'
Present progressive passive with 'be'

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

'Do/does/did' form negatives and questions; 'have/has/had' form perfect tenses; 'be' forms progressive and passive structures; 'will' forms future tenses.

Practise this topic with the Verb Conjugator.

Open the Verb Conjugator →

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