Language of the Day: Auxiliary Verbs
The word “auxiliary” might cause some confusion, but auxiliary verbs are also known as “helping verbs.” Sometimes, it does help to use more simplified definitions!
As stated above, auxiliary verbs are ‘helping verbs’ that support the main verb in a sentence, and can be used in different tenses and moods.
In this sentence, “It does help to use more simplified definitions,” ‘help’ is the main verb while ‘does’ is the auxiliary verb. In this example, the auxiliary verb ‘does’ adds emphasis. We’ll learn more about this and other functions of auxiliary verbs below!
Auxiliary verbs are used to create complex grammatical tenses, like in the perfect and continuous tenses which show different aspects of time or how long an action takes.
Let’s look at some examples:
simple present (no auxiliary verbs): “I go to the gym.”
present continuous: “I am going to the gym.”
future perfect continuous: “In January, I will have been going to the gym for a year.”
*The main auxiliary verbs are be, do, and have.
Auxiliary verbs are also used for emphasis. For example, your friend misunderstood that you didn’t like spicy food, so when you order a spicy tuna roll at the sushi restaurant, she’s surprised and says, “I thought you didn’t like spicy food!”
To correct the misunderstanding and to emphasize the truth of your statement, you would respond with, “No, I do like spicy food! It’s my sister who can’t tolerate spices. Maybe you got the two of us mixed up.”
Most sentences are written in the active voice where the subject does the action. In the following sentence, “The student submits his test,” the student is the subject.
However, in the passive voice, the doer of the action is not the subject. For example, “The test is submitted by the student.” In this sentence, the object (the test) becomes the subject and the auxiliary be verb “is” is used in the passive voice.
Modal auxiliary verbs like could, should, can, will, must, might, may, and would help the main verb by expressing suggestions, possibility, commands, permission, and ability among other situations.
Here are some examples:
“If you have time this weekend, you should go to the Italian Day festival to try some delicious food.”
“I just checked the weather forecast and it might rain this weekend.”
“Guests must notify the hotel at least 72 hours in advance if they need to modify their reservation.”
“I asked my teacher if I could leave class early because I have a dentist appointment.”
“Did you know that she can speak five different languages?”
