Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are words that help the main verb express tense, mood, or voice in a sentence. They make sentences more meaningful by showing whether an action is happening in the past, present, or future. Auxiliary verbs are commonly used to form questions, negative sentences, and continuous or perfect tenses.

In English grammar, understanding auxiliary verbs is essential for building correct and fluent sentences. These verbs include words like is, am, are, have, has, do, does, will, and can. Mastering their use helps students speak and write English more accurately and confidently.

What Is an Auxiliary Verb?
How Many Auxiliary Verbs Are There?
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs
How to Use Auxiliary Verbs
Common Mistakes with Auxiliary Verbs
Frequently Asked Questions on Auxiliary Verbs

What is an Auxiliary Verb?

An auxiliary verb, also known as a helping verb, is a verb that adds context and functionality to clauses and sentences. You can use auxiliary verbs to express tense, modality, voice, or aspect, and to form interrogatives. Helping verbs are an important element of speech and writing, and in English grammar, they often work in concert with the main verb to form a complete verb phrase.

How many auxiliary verbs are there?

There are two main types of auxiliary verbs in English: primary auxiliaries and modal auxiliaries. Knowing their differences helps avoid many mistakes in grammar exams and writing tasks.

Primary Auxiliary Verbs

be (am, is, are, was, were, being, been)
have (has, have, had)
do (do, does, did)

These verbs help form tenses, questions, and negatives. For example: “She is writing.”, “I have eaten.”, “Did you call?”

Modal Auxiliary Verbs

can, could
may, might
shall, should
will, would
must, ought to
dare, need, used to (sometimes classed as modals)

Modal auxiliaries express possibility, necessity, permission, or ability. For example: “He can swim.”, “You must finish your work.”

Examples of Auxiliary Verbs

Here is a list of auxiliary verbs that you can use along with the other main verbs to perform the different functions of an auxiliary.

Am
Is
Are
Was
Were
Be
Being
Been
Have
Has
Had
Do
Does
Did
Can
Could
May
Might
Shall
Should
Will
Would
Must
Ought to

Total = 24 Auxiliary Verbs (14 Primary + 10 Modal)

How to Use Auxiliary Verbs?

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are used with main verbs to form sentences in different tenses, voices, and moods. They help express when an action happens, whether it is positive or negative, and if it is a question. The three main auxiliary verbs are be, have, and do. Other helping verbs, such as can, may, must, and should, are called modal auxiliaries.

1. Using Auxiliary Verbs to Form Tenses

Auxiliary verbs help in forming continuous and perfect tenses.

Be is used to form continuous tenses.

Example: She is reading a storybook.

Have is used to form perfect tenses.

Example: They have completed their homework.

Do is used in simple tenses for questions and negatives.

Example: Do you play football? / I do not like coffee.

2. Using Auxiliary Verbs in Questions

Auxiliary verbs are placed before the subject to make a question.

Is he coming to school?
Have you finished your project?
Do they know the answer?

3. Using Auxiliary Verbs in Negative Sentences

To make a sentence negative, add not after the auxiliary verb.

She is not feeling well.
I do not agree with that.
They have not arrived yet.

4. Using Auxiliary Verbs for Emphasis

Auxiliary verbs can make a statement stronger or more certain.

I do believe you are right.
He is working hard this time.

5. Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Modal auxiliaries help express ability, permission, necessity, or possibility.

You must finish your homework. (necessity)
She can sing very well. (ability)
It may rain today. (possibility)
You should study regularly. (advice)

Common Mistakes with Auxiliary Verbs

Forgetting auxiliary verbs in questions or negatives (“She not like pizza” should be “She does not like pizza”).
Using wrong forms (“He have finished” instead of “He has finished”).
Using modals with ‘to’ plus verbs (“He can to swim” is incorrect; it should be “He can swim”).
Mixing up modal meanings (confusing ‘must’ and ‘should’).

Frequently Asked Questions on Auxiliary Verbs

Q1. What is the 24 auxiliary verb?

Answer: The 24 auxiliary verbs in English, sometimes referred to as "helping verbs," are: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being (forms of "to be"); do, does, did (forms of "to do"); have, has, had (forms of "to have"); and the modal verbs can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall, should, need, ought to, and used to.

Q2. What is an auxiliary verb with an example?

Answer: An auxiliary verb, or helping verb, is a verb that assists a main verb in a sentence by providing additional grammatical information such as tense, aspect, mood, or voice, and it cannot stand alone in such a context. Common examples include the primary auxiliaries be, have, and do (e.g., "She is running," "We have eaten," "They do not like it") and modal auxiliaries like can, will, and should (e.g., "He can swim," "They will arrive," "You should rest").

Q3. What is the full meaning of auxiliary?

Answer: "Auxiliary" means providing supplementary help or support. As an adjective, it describes something that functions in a supporting, secondary, or subordinate capacity, such as "auxiliary workers" or "an auxiliary pump". As a noun, it refers to a person, group, or thing that performs this supporting role, like a "Ladies Auxiliary" or "auxiliary forces".

Q4. What is a modal auxiliary verb?

Answer: A modal auxiliary verb, or modal verb, is a helping verb that adds meaning to a main verb, expressing concepts like ability, possibility, permission, or necessity.

Q5. What are primary auxiliary verbs?

Answer: Primary auxiliary verbs are the verbs "be," "have," and "do," which function as "helping verbs" to add grammatical meaning to a main verb, forming different tenses, questions, negatives, and passive voice constructions. These three verbs can also act as main verbs in a sentence, though when used as auxiliaries, they carry little standalone meaning.

Q6. Which tenses use the auxiliary verb have?

Answer: 'Have' is one of three auxiliary verbs in English: 'be', 'do', and 'have'. We use have before -ed forms to make the present perfect and past perfect.

Q7. How can I identify auxiliary verbs in a sentence?

Answer: Auxiliary verbs are used along with a main verb to express tense, mood, or voice. For example, in the statement “We were running,” “were” is an auxiliary verb indicating that the action of the main verb, “running,” was taking place in the past.

Q8. What is the auxiliary verb must used for?

Answer: The modal verbs “must,” “have to,” and “have got to” show that something is not optional; it is necessary.

Q9. What is the difference between an auxiliary verb and a linking verb?

Answer: Linking verbs connect a subject to a subject complement (a noun or adjective describing the subject), while auxiliary (or helping) verbs work with a main verb to form a verb phrase, indicating tense, mood, or voice.