Is the word was an auxiliary verb

1. What is an Auxiliary Verb?

Auxiliary verbs “help” other verbs form different tenses and moods; they are used to define when actions take place, or to emphasize other actions or objects in a sentence. For this reason, auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs. The word that the auxiliary verb is “helping” is called the main verb or full verb.

The most common auxiliary verbs are forms of be, do, and have.

All three of these verbs can also be used as main verbs that stand alone. When they are used as auxiliary verbs, they team up with other verbs to form a complete idea.

Example 1:

Mike is very tall.

• In this example, the verb “is” (a form of be) is the only verb in the sentence.
• This tells us that in this case, “is” is the main verb.

Example 2:

Mike is planning to play in the NBA someday.

• This example also uses the verb “is” (a form of be).
• However, in this case “is” teams up with the verb “planning.”
• We know that in this sentence, “is” serves as an auxiliary verb that is helping the main verb.

2. Examples of Auxiliary Verbs

Example 1

Melissa is watching her favorite movie.

• In this example, the auxiliary verb “is” (a form of “be”) is followed by the present participle “watching.”
• These verbs work together to form the present progressive tense.
• The use of present progressive shows us that the action (watching a movie) is happening right now.
• The auxiliary verb “is” helps the main verb “watching” show exactly when the described action is happening.

Example 2

Justin will have started high school by this time next month.

• This sentence used the word “will,” the auxiliary verb “have,” and the past participle “started.”
• Together, these words form the future perfect tense.
• This tense is used to show that an action (starting high school) will be completed in the future.
• The auxiliary verb “have” helps the main verb “started” indicate exactly when this action will take place.

Example 3

Do you go to school with your sister?

• This question uses the auxiliary verb “do” with a subject (you) and a main verb (go).
• This combination of words creates the emphatic tense.
• In this case, the emphatic tense is used to form a question.
• The auxiliary verb “do” helps the main verb “go” ask a question.

3. Types of Auxiliary Verbs

Let’s take a look at how to use the auxiliary verbs be, have, and do.

a. Auxiliary verbs that form the progressive tense

The auxiliary verb “be” is most often used to form progressive tenses. Progressive tenses show when an action took place, and all progressive tenses need a form of “be.”

Present

For example, the present progressive tense is formed when am, is, or are (forms of the verb “be”) is followed by a present participle. A present participle is a present tense verb that ends in “ing.”

You can use the present progressive tense when you want to show that something happens frequently or is happening right now.

Example:

Alexis and Zoey are finishing their math homework.

• In this sentence, the auxiliary verb “are” is followed by the present participle “finishing.”
• Together, these verbs form the present progressive tense.
• This tense tells us that the action described in the sentence (finishing math homework) is happening right now.

Past

Another type of progressive tense is the past progressive. This tense is used to show that an action continued in the past or that one action is interrupted by another.

To form the past progressive tense, you pair the verbs “was” or “were” (forms of the verb “be”) with a present participle.

Example 1:

I was hoping to get a puppy for my birthday.

• In this example, the auxiliary verb “was” teams up with the present participle “hoping.”
• Together, these two verbs form the past progressive tense.
• In this case, the past progressive tense is used to show that the action in the sentence (hoping for a puppy) continued in the past. The sentence does not describe this action coming to an end.

Example 2:

While Tommy was watching TV, his little sister Brianna stole the last piece of cake.

• The auxiliary verb “was” is followed by present participle “watching.”
• These verbs also form the past progressive tense.
• In this example, the past progressive is used to show one action (Tommy watching TV) interrupted by another (Brianna stealing the cake).

Future

Future progressive is another progressive verb tense. Future progressive is used to show that an action will continue to happen in the future.

It follows this formula: Will + Be + Present Participle.

Example:

Soon, we will be visiting our grandmother in Colorado.

• In this sentence, the word “will” is followed by the auxiliary verb “be” and the present participle “visiting.”
• This forms the future progressive tense.
• The use of future progressive in this sentence shows that the action being described (visiting grandmother) will continue into the future.

b. Auxiliary verbs that form passive voice

Various forms of the verb “be” are also used to form passive voice. Passive voice is useful when you want to place more importance on the object of a sentence (thing or person receiving the action) than on the subject (thing or person performing the action). It’s also a stylistic choice that may flow better in some sentences.

To learn about the passive voice, it is important to know about transitive verbs because these are verbs that have direct objects and can be either active or passive. A direct object is the person or thing that receives the verb’s action, or that the action is performed on

Writing in the passive voice follows this pattern:

Direct object as the subject of the sentence + Form of the verb “be” + Past participle + By + Subject as object of the preposition.

Example:

The ball was kicked by Stephanie.

• The direct object (the ball) is the subject of the sentence.
• The direct object is followed by the verb “was” (a form of be).
• “Was” (a form of be) is followed by the past participle “kicked.”
• After “kicked,” we see the preposition “by.”
• Finally, the preposition “by” is followed by the subject (Stephanie) as its object.
• The structure of this sentence makes it an example of passive voice.

Unlike the passive voice, active voice is when a subject is followed by a verb, and the verb is followed by a direct object. It is much smoother and more direct than passive voice. So while the passive voice should be avoided most times, sometimes it is necessary to use it to change style or tone of voice.

c. Auxiliary verbs that form the perfect tense

On the other hand, the auxiliary verb “have” is usually used to form perfect tenses, which also give more information about when an action happened.

Present

Present perfect is formed when the verbs “has” or “have” are followed by a past participle. A past participle is a past tense verb usually ending in “ed.”

Present perfect is often used to show that an action began in the past but continues or is completed in the present.

Example:

The rain still has not stopped.

• In this sentence, the auxiliary verb “has” (a form of “have”) is followed by the past participle “stopped.”
• Together, these verbs form the present perfect tense.
• In this sentence, the present perfect shows that an action that started in the past (the rain not stopping) continues in the present.

Past

Another perfect tense is the past perfect tense, which is formed by pairing the auxiliary verb “had” (a form of have) with a past participle.

This tense usually shows that one action in the past happened before another action in the past.

Example:

The new student had studied English before moving to the United States.

• This sentence pairs the auxiliary verb “had” with the past participle “studied.”
• When these verbs team up, they form the past perfect tense.
• In this example, the past perfect tense is used to show that one action (studying English) happened before another (moving to the United States).

Future

The last perfect tense is the future perfect tense. The future perfect tense looks like this: Will + Have + Past Participle. It’s used to explain that an action will be finished in the future.

Example:

By next week, we will have finished our football season.

• In this example, the word “will” is used with the auxiliary verb “have” and the past participle “finished.”
• This combination of verbs creates the future perfect tense.
• The future perfect tense is used to describe that an action (finishing the football season) will be completed in the future.

d. Auxiliary verbs that form the emphatic tense

Lastly, the auxiliary verb “do” can be used to form the emphatic tense, which can be used to ask a question or emphasize an action.

To emphasize

When using the emphatic tense to add emphasis to a sentence, use any form of the auxiliary verb “do” plus a main verb.

Example:

“I did clean my room, Mom, I promise!”

• This example uses the auxiliary verb “did” (a form of “do”) and the main verb “clean.”
• This verb pair forms the emphatic tense.
• In this case, the emphatic tense is used to emphasize an action (cleaning the room). The speaker wants to make it very clear that the room is clean.

To form a question

If you are using the emphatic tense to form a question, the formula is:

Any form of the auxiliary verb “do” + Subject + Main verb.

Example:

Does Jacob like cheeseburgers?

• This question contains the auxiliary verb “does” (a form of “do”), a subject (Jacob), and a main verb (like).
• Together, these words form the emphatic tense.
• Here, the emphatic tense is used to form a question.

As you can see, auxiliary verbs “help” main verbs by adding emphasis or more information about when the main verb’s action took place.

There are plenty of questions associated with the verb to be. “To be or not to be,” for one. On a less existential note, there’s the question of how to use to be in the grammatically correct way. I am, you are, he was, they were—the forms of the verb to be, among many other things, are messy in English.

You might find yourself puzzling out a sentence such as: If she was unhappy, she should have said so. Is this sentence correct? Or should If she was switch to the phrase If she were?

Was vs. were, what’s the difference?

Much of the confusion lies in when to use was versus were, which are the past tense forms of to be. The answer all depends on two factors: 1) is your verb using first, second, or third person? And, 2) is your verb in past indicative or past subjunctive tense? Past indicative is used for ordinary objective statements or questions, and past subjunctive is used for imaginary or hypothetical statements or questions.

Were is always correct in the past subjunctive:

• I were
• You were
• He/she/it were
• We were
• You were
• They were

If this looks a little odd, remember that these constructions are often accompanied by a word like if, as if, and though. You might say, “If I were a rich man …”

Don’t we all wish we were rich … so would you say “wish I was” or “wish I were”?

To conjugate to be in the past indicative, however, using was or were depends on the subject:

• I was
• You were
• He/she/it was
• We were
• You were
• They were

It’s possible to get mixed up even with this straight conjugation in mind. But there are some tips and tricks to remember to make sure you use the correct verb form every time.

When to use was

Was is a past tense indicative form of be, meaning “to exist or live,” and is used in the first person singular (I) and the third person singular (he/she/it).

You use the past indicative when you’re talking about reality and known facts. If you went to the store, for example, then you would say, “I was at the store” because it is something that definitely happened. The same is true if you’re talking about someone else in the third person (or if you make the choice to talk about yourself in the third person). You would say, “Sarah was at the store,” for example, or “She was at the store.”

Another way to use was is as an auxiliary verb with a singular subject in the past continuous tense. An auxiliary verb is used with another verb that follows it in the sentence to express different tenses, aspects, moods, etc., and the past continuous tense refers to something that was ongoing in the past.

If you were to modify the previous example (I was at the store) with an auxiliary verb, you would say, “I was searching for spices at the store.” Was is the auxiliary verb (or helping verb) used to talk about what you were doing in the past (searching).

Examples of was in a sentence

So to recap, if you’re talking about something real that happened in the past, use the past tense indicative: I was or he/she/it was. (Were is used with the other pronouns.) Here are some example sentences:

• I was sick last night.
• He had an amazing imagination when he was a child.
• We turned down the music because it was too loud.

When to use were

Whereas was is the singular past tense of to be, were is used for both the third person plural past tense (they and we) and the second person past tense (you).

In the past indicative, were acts similar to was. “They were at the store,” you could say, for example. It also acts similar as an auxiliary verb, as in “They were searching for spices at the store.”

Things get a little more complicated with were, though, and it’s all thanks to this thing called the subjunctive mood.

The subjunctive mood is the opposite of indicative, and it’s all about things that are unreal or conditional. When you’re talking about your hopes and dreams, you’re using the subjunctive mood. The same goes for talking about something you intend or want to do, as well as for things you know will never be true or are no longer true.

A telltale sign that you’re working with the subjunctive mood is the word if, because this suggests a hypothetical. “If I were to go shopping, I could search for spices,” for example. It doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural, or if it’s first, second, or third person. If you’re using the subjunctive mood, the grammatically correct past tense of to be is were.

Speech is always evolving, and the subjunctive mood is used far less extensively than it was in the past. And what’s more, much of the way we talk and write in everyday English isn’t what our old schoolteachers would wag the ruler at us as “grammatically correct.” But if you want to conform with those standards, use were when it comes to the past tense of to be.

Examples of were in a sentence

If you’re discussing things that are unreal or conditional, then use were: I were and he/she/it were. Here are some example sentences:

• If I were in better shape, I would run in the race.
• She took over the meeting as if she were the boss.
• His father talked to him as though he were a child.

When to use was vs. were

To sum it all up, always use was for the past indicative first and third person singular. That goes for whether it’s a simple verb or auxiliary. “I was ready to watch the Auburn Tigers win the game,” and “He was watching number two score the winning touchdown.”

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For the past indicative second person and all plural forms, use were. “They were in the stadium,” and “You were standing the whole game.” Also use were for the hypothetical or fantastical subjunctive mood for both singular and plural forms, as in “If they were to bring back popcorn, I would eat it.”

There was vs. there were

Was and were are also used in some instances with the pronoun there. This pronoun introduces a sentence or clause in which the verb comes before its subject (or those instances where the verb has no complement). When the subject that follows is singular, use was: When I opened the fridge, I found there was no more milk left. When the subject that follows is plural, use were: When I opened the fridge, I found there were no more eggs left.

In the end, yes, you were technically correct when you noted that the class lyric “I wish I was a little bit taller” should have been “I wish I were a little bit taller.” But don’t fret if you get it technically wrong at times. Were may be formally correct, but because the subjunctive mood has largely fallen out of common use, was may slip into yours and others’ speech at times.

Translingual[edit]

Symbol[edit]

was

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Washo.

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• wus
• wuz

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English was, from Old English wæs, from Proto-Germanic *was, (compare Scots was, West Frisian was (dated, wie is generally preferred today), Dutch was, Low German was, German war, Swedish var), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂we-h₂wós-e, from *h₂wes- (“to reside”), whence also vestal. The paradigm of “to be” has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form be is from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become”). The forms is and are are both derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Lastly, the past forms starting with w- such as was and were are from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”).

Pronunciation[edit]

(stressed)

• (UK, New Zealand) enPR: wŏz, wŭz, IPA^(key): /wɒz/, /wʌz/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) enPR: wŭz, wŏz, IPA^(key): /wʌz/, /wɑz/
• (General Australian) enPR: wŏz, IPA^(key): /wɔz/
• Rhymes: -ʌz, -ɒz

(unstressed)

• (UK, US) enPR: wəz, IPA^(key): /wəz/
• (in the phrase “I was there.”)

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Verb[edit]

was

1. first-person singular simple past indicative of be.

2. third-person singular simple past indicative of be.

   It was a really humongous slice of cake.

   • 1915, John Millington Synge, The Playboy of the Western World, I:

     I killed my poor father, Tuesday was a week, for doing the like of that.
3. (now colloquial) Used in phrases with existential there when the semantic subject is (usually third-person) plural.

   There was three of them there.
4. (now colloquial or nonstandard) second-person singular simple past indicative of be.
5. (colloquial, nonstandard) first-person plural simple past indicative of be

   • 2001, Darrel Rachel, The Magnolias Still Bloom, page 104:

     “What happened here, Hadley?” the chief asked. “We was robbed, damn it, we was robbed.”

6. (colloquial, nonstandard) third-person plural simple past indicative of be

   • 1968, Etta James; Ellington Jordan; Billy Foster (lyrics and music), “I’d Rather Go Blind”, performed by Etta James:

     When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now baby / Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah

Derived terms[edit]

• wasband
• wasbian

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• If I Was or If I Were: Easy Guide on Appropriate Use, grammar.yourdictionary.com
• When to use «If I was» vs. «If I were»?, english.stackexchange.com
• if I were you, if I was you at Google Ngram Viewer

Anagrams[edit]

• ASW, AWS, SAW, Saw, aws, saw

Afrikaans[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

was (uncountable)

1. wax

Verb[edit]

was

1. past of wees

Verb[edit]

was (present was, present participle wassende, past participle gewas)

1. to wash

Banda[edit]

Noun[edit]

was

1. water

References[edit]

• «Elat, Kei Besar» in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Slang variant of wala

Pronoun[edit]

was

1. (slang) (informal) nothing; none.

Adjective[edit]

was

1. (informal) absent.

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ʋɑs/
• Rhymes: -ɑs

Etymology 1[edit]

Cognate with English wash.

Noun[edit]

was m (plural wassen, diminutive wasje n)

1. laundry, clothes that need to be washed, or just have been washed.

Derived terms[edit]

• een kind kan de was doen
• wasbeurt
• wasmachine
• wasmand

Descendants[edit]

• Negerhollands: wasch, was

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Dutch *was, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą. Cognate with German Wachs, English wax, Danish voks, Swedish vax.

Noun[edit]

was m or n (plural wassen)

1. wax
2. growth

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Cognate with English was.

Verb[edit]

was

1. singular past indicative of zijn
2. singular past indicative of wezen

Etymology 4[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb[edit]

was

1. first-person singular present indicative of wassen
2. imperative of wassen

Anagrams[edit]

• swa

German[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• wat (colloquial in western and parts of northern Germany)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle High German waz, from Old High German waz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod. Cognate with Bavarian was, wås, Silesian German woas (was), Dutch wat, English what, Danish hvad. Doublet of wat.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /vas/
• (Bavaria)
• Rhymes: -as

Pronoun[edit]

was

1. (interrogative) what

   Was machst du heute?

   What are you doing today?

2. (relative) which (referring to the entire preceding clause)

   Sie tanzte gut, was er bewunderte.

   She was a good dancer, which he admired.

3. (relative) that, which (referring to das, alles, etwas, nichts, and neuter substantival adjectives)

   Das ist alles, was ich weiß.

   That’s all that I know.

   Das ist das Beste, was mir passieren konnte.

   That’s the best that could have happened to me.

4. (relative, colloquial) that, which (referring to neuter singular nouns, instead of standard das)

   Siehst du das weiße Haus, was renoviert wird?

   Do you see that white house, which is being renovated?

5. (indefinite, colloquial) something, anything (instead of standard etwas)

   Ich hab was gefunden.

   I’ve found something.

   • 2017, Simone Meier, Fleisch, Kein & Aber 2018, p. 39:

     Er wollte Anna was antun.

     He wanted to do something to Anna.

Usage notes[edit]

• Was is colloquially used with prepositions, chiefly but not exclusively in southern regions. Otherwise it is generally replaced with a pronominal adverb containing wo- (or in a few cases wes-). Hence: Womit hast du das gemacht? (“With what did you do that?”), instead of Mit was hast du das gemacht?, and weswegen instead of wegen was.
• The genitive case, and the dative case if necessary for clearness, can be paraphrased by means of welcher Sache (“what thing”). Possessive genitives are more commonly paraphrased with wovon (“of what”). It is also possible to use the genitive form wessen, but it wouldn’t be used in questions such as Wessen ist das? because here it would be understood as the genitive form of wer.
• The colloquial was meaning «something» can only be the first word in a sentence if followed by an adjective: Was Wichtiges fehlt noch. (“Something important is missing.”) Otherwise the full form etwas must be used: Etwas fehlt noch. (“Something is missing.”) The reason for this is that the latter sentence could be misinterpreted as a question if was were used.

Declension[edit]

Declension of was
nominative	was
genitive	wessen or (dated) wes
dative	—
accusative	was

Derived terms[edit]

• komme, was wolle
• was ist dir; was ist Dir
• was kostet es
• was zum Geier; was zum Kuckuck

• tun, was man nicht lassen kann
• was auch immer
• was der Bauer nicht kennt, das frisst er nicht
• was geht
• was gibt’s Neues
• was du nicht sagst; was ihr nicht sagt; was Sie nicht sagen

Determiner[edit]

was

1. (archaic) what; what kind of

   Synonym: was für

   • 1718, Johann Caspar Schwartz, Johann Caspar Schwartzens Fünfftes Dutzend Wund-artzneyischer Anmerckungen von vielerley Arten der Geschwülste und Geschwüre, Hamburg, page 97:

     […] denen Thieren und Gewächsen aber, von was Arten und Geschlechten selbige auch nur immer seyn mögen, […]

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

   • 1742, Johann Christoph Gottsched, Versuch einer Critischen Dichtkunst, Leipzig, page 442:

     Held August, du kühner Krieger! / Du bist der beglückte Sieger, / Vor, und in, und nach dem Fall. / Auf was Arten, auf was Weisen, / Soll man deine Thaten preisen / Hier und da, und überall?

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

   • 1786, Johann Michael Schosulan, Gründlicher Unterricht für das Landvolk: Wie und auf was Weise jedermann seinen etrunkenen, erhängten, erstickten, erfrornen, von Hitze verschmachteten und von Blitz berührten unglücklichen Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten, der Retter aber für sein eigenes Leben sich selbst sicher stellen solle., Wien, title:

     Wie und auf was Weise jedermann seinen […] Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten […] solle.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Usage notes[edit]

• In the dative and genitive feminine, the inflected form waser occurred.

Adverb[edit]

was

1. (colloquial) a little, somewhat

   Ich komm was später.

   I’ll arrive a little later.

2. (interrogative, colloquial) why, what for

   Synonyms: warum, wieso, weshalb

   Was bist du heute so stumm?

   Why are you so silent today?

Gothic[edit]

Romanization[edit]

was

1. Romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐍃

Gros Ventre[edit]

Noun[edit]

was

1. bear

Hunsrik[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle High German waz, from Old High German waz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /vas/

Pronoun[edit]

was

1. (interrogative) what

   Was machst-du?

   What are you doing?

2. (relative) what

   Was-ich net esse, essd de Hund.

   What I don’t eat, the dog eats.

3. (indefinite) something, anything

See also[edit]

• etwas

Further reading[edit]

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

Low German[edit]

Verb[edit]

was

1. first-person singular simple past indicative of węsen
2. third-person singular simple past indicative of węsen
3. apocopated form of wasse (“wash”), second-person singular imperative of wassen (mainly used in the Netherlands, equivalent to other dialects’ wasche/waske)
4. apocopated form of wasse (“wax”), second-person singular imperative of wassen
5. apocopated form of wasse (“grow”), second-person singular imperative of wassen

Usage notes[edit]

Notes on the verb węsen (to be): In recent times (~1800) the old subjunctive wer is used in place of was by many speakers. This might be the old subjunctive which is now used as a preterite or a reduction of weren, which is the preterite plural indicative of the verb. It might also be an imitation of the High German cognate war. Many smaller dialectal clusters do this, but no dialect does it. That means: even though there are many regions within e.g. Lower Saxony that use wer for was, maybe even the majority, there is no straight connection between them, i.e. which form is used can depend on preference, speaker and specific region. Due to this «one town this way, one town that way»-nature of the situation no form can be named «standard» for a greater dialect, such as Low Saxon.

Lower Sorbian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [was]

Pronoun[edit]

was

1. genitive of wy
2. accusative of wy
3. locative of wy

Mayangna[edit]

Noun[edit]

was

1. water
2. stream, river

References[edit]

• Smith, Ethnogeography of the Mayangna of Nicaragua, in Ethno- and historical geographic studies in Latin America: essays honoring William V. Davidson (2008), page 88: The location of 46 settlements from this list containing the term ”was» —meaning «water» or «stream» — were obtained[.]

Middle Dutch[edit]

Verb[edit]

was

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of wēsen

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old English wæs (first/third person singular indicative past of wesan), from Proto-Germanic *was (first/third person singular indicative past of *wesaną).

Verb[edit]

was

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of been

   • c. 1375, “Book VI”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß […] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2)‎^[2], Ouchtirmunſye: Iohannes Ramſay, published 1489, folio 21, recto, lines 431-434; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:

     Thyꝛwall þ[at] was þ[air] capitain / Wes þ[air] in þe baꝛgain slain / ⁊ off his men þe maſt p[ar]ty / Ϸe laue fled full affrayitly

     Thirlwall, who was their commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.

2. (dialectal) second-person singular past indicative of been
3. (dialectal) plural past indicative of been

Descendants[edit]

• English: was
• Scots: was, wis
• Yola: waas, was, waz, ‘as, as

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

was

1. Alternative form of whos (“whose”, genitive)

Middle Low German[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• wass

Verb[edit]

was

1. first/third-person singular preterite indicative of wēsen

Old High German[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• uuas, ƿas – Manuscript spelling

Verb[edit]

was

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of wesan

Pennsylvania German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Compare German was, Dutch wat, English what.

Pronoun[edit]

was

1. (interrogative) what

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /vas/
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: was

Pronoun[edit]

was

1. genitive/accusative/locative of wy

Proto-Norse[edit]

Romanization[edit]

was

1. Romanization of ᚹᚨᛊ

Scots[edit]

Noun[edit]

was

1. plural of wa

Seychellois Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French ouest.

Noun[edit]

was

1. west

References[edit]

• Danielle D’Offay et Guy Lionnet, Diksyonner Kreol — Franse / Dictionnaire Créole Seychellois — Français

Somali[edit]

Verb[edit]

was

1. fuck

Descendants[edit]

• → English: wass

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From WhatsApp.

Noun[edit]

was m (plural was)

1. a message sent or received over WhatsApp

[edit]

Tok Pisin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English watch.

Verb[edit]

was

1. angel; any supernatural creature in heaven according to Christian theology

   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:24:

     God i rausim pinis man na meri, na em i makim ol strongpela ensel bilong sanap na was i stap long hap sankamap bilong gaden Iden. Na tu em i putim wanpela bainat i gat paia i lait long en na i save tanim tanim long olgeta hap. Oltaim ol dispela ensel wantaim dispela bainat i save was i stap, nogut wanpela man i go klostu long dispela diwai bilong givim laip.

     →New International Version translation

Welsh[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /waːs/

Noun[edit]

was

1. Soft mutation of gwas.

Mutation[edit]

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
gwas	was	ngwas	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Yola[edit]

Verb[edit]

was

1. Alternative form of waas

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3:

     At by mizluck was ee-pit t’drive in.

     Who by misluck was placed to drive in.

References[edit]

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 84

Auxiliary (or Helping) verbs are used together with a main verb to show the verb’s tense or to form a negative or question. The most common auxiliary verbs are have, be, and do.

1. Does Sam write all his own reports?
2. The secretaries haven’t written all the letters yet.
3. Terry is writing an e-mail to a client at the moment.

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, add functional or grammatical meaning to the clauses in which they appear. They perform their functions in several different ways:

• By expressing tense ( providing a time reference, i.e. past, present, or future)
• Grammatical aspect (expresses how verb relates to the flow of time)
• Modality (quantifies verbs)
• Voice (describes the relationship between the action expressed by the verb and the participants identified by the verb’s subject, object, etc.)
• Adds emphasis to a sentence

Auxiliary verbs almost always appear together with a main verb, and though there are only a few of them, they are among the most frequently occurring verbs in the English language.

How to Identify an Auxiliary Verb

You probably know that every sentence has at least one verb in it. There are two main types of verbs. Action verbs are used to depict activities that are doable, and linking verbs are used to describe conditions. Both action verbs and linking verbs can accompany auxiliary verbs including the three main ones: do, be, and have.

Sometimes actions or conditions occur only one time and then they’re over. It’s at times like these that some of the same verbs that are used as auxiliary verbs are instead used as action or linking verbs. In this example, we see the word “is”. This is one of the most common auxiliary verbs, but because it stands alone here, it is not functioning as an auxiliary verb.

Jerry slammed the car door on his thumb. He is in horrible pain.

“Is” is a linking verb in this sentence. Because it stands alone, it is not an auxiliary verb.

At other times, an action or condition is ongoing, happening predictably, or occurring in relationship to another event or set of events. In these cases, single-word verbs like is are not accurately capable of describing what happened, so phrases that include auxiliary verbs are used instead. These can be made up of anywhere from two to four words.

A main verb, also known as a base verb, indicates the kind of action or condition taking place. An auxiliary or helping verb accompanies the main verb and conveys other nuances that help the reader gain specific insight into the event that is taking place.

Read the following sentences and explanations to gain greater insight into how auxiliary verbs work.

1. Jerry caught his thumb in the car door as coffee spilled from his cup onto his favorite shirt.
2. Jerry is always spilling things.
3. Since Jerry is also accident prone, he should have been drinking coffee from a mug with a lid, which would not have spilled on his favorite shirt.

In sentence one, caught and spilled, single-word verbs, describe quick, one-time actions of both Jerry and his messy coffee. This sentence does not contain an auxiliary verb.

Since Jerry often has unfortunate accidents, is spilling communicates the frequency of his clumsy actions in sentence two. In sentence three, the auxiliary verbs that make up should have been drinking and would have stained express time relationships as well as an evaluation of Jerry’s actions.

Three Common Auxiliary Verbs

There are just three common auxiliary verbs:

• Have
• Do
• Be

In this section, we’ll take a closer look at how these common verbs work, plus you’ll see some examples.

Have

“Have” is a very important verb that can stand alone in all its tenses, including has, have, having, had, and hadn’t or had not. It is usually used to denote ownership, and it can also be used to discuss ability or describe appearance. “Have” is also a very popular substitute for the verbs “eat” and “drink.” For example: “Let’s have dinner.”

When used as an auxiliary verb, have is always teamed up with another verb to create a complete verb phrase, making it easy to differentiate between uses. You can see the difference in the sentences below:

• Jerry has a large coffee stain on his shirt. → Has = action verb
• Jerry has bought a new shirt to replace the one that was ruined earlier. → Has = auxiliary verb; bought is a past participle that competes the verb phrase.
• Jerry should have been more careful! → Have = auxiliary verb; phrase “should have been” expresses time and evaluates Jerry’s actions.

Do

“Do” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses, including to do, do, does, done, did and didn’t, doesn’t or did not .

When used as an auxiliary verb, do is always paired up with another verb to create a complete verb phrase. In some cases, it is used to add emphasis: “I did put the garbage out!” Do is often used to form questions and negated clauses. It is also used in elliptical sentences, where the main verb is understood and is omitted as a result. For example: “He plays piano well, doesn’t he?” or “They all had dinner, but I didn’t.”

• Because he spills things so often, Jerry does more laundry than most people.  Does = action verb
• Jerry didn’t put his coffee in a cup with a lid.  Didn’t = auxiliary verb
• Jerry doesn’t always spill things, but it happens a lot.  Doesn’t = auxiliary verb

Be

“Be” or “to be” is an important verb that has a multitude of uses in English. It can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses including be, to be, been, am, are, is, was, were, wasn’t, was not aren’t, are not, weren’t and were not.

When used as an auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another verb to create a complete verb phrase. It can be singular or plural, present or past. Negative sentences are formed by adding the word “not”.

• Jerry is messy.  Is = action verb
• Although he is always complaining about his accidents, Jerry fails to pay attention.  is = auxiliary verb
• Jerry is going to be doing extra laundry for the rest of his life.  to be = auxiliary verb

Modal Auxiliary Verbs

In addition to the three main auxiliary verbs, have, do, and be, there are additional auxiliary verbs. These are called modal auxiliary verbs, and they never change form. A complete list of modal auxiliary verbs follows:

• Can
• Could
• May
• Might
• Must
• Ought to
• Shall
• Should
• Will
• Would

Auxiliary Verb Examples

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs and verb phrases. In the examples below, the verb phrase is italicized and the auxiliary verb is in bold.

1. Jessica is taking John to the airport.
2. If he doesn’t arrive on time, he’ll have to take a later flight.
3. Unfortunately, our dinner has been eaten by the dog.
4. I have purchased a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that were lost in my luggage.
5. We hope you don’t have an accident on your way to school.
6. She was baking a pie for dessert.
7. Dad has been working hard all day.
8. The bed was made as soon as I got up.
9. Sarah doesn’t ski or roller skate.
10. Did Matthew bring coffee?

Auxiliary Verb Exercises

Fill in the blank with the correct auxiliary verb from the choices presented:

1. What ________________ the kids doing when you last saw them? (was, were, are, did, been)
2. Carla ________________ always wanted to try skydiving. (was, doesn’t, has, is, have)
3. Where __________________ you go on your summer vacation? (were, been, are, did, does)
4. Why do you think she __________ call you like she said she would? (didn’t, is, hasn’t, has been, have)
5. Mary _____________ going to be upset when she hears what happened. (will, don’t, is, didn’t, has)
6. Jeremy _____________ want to go to the movies; he wants to stay home instead. (doesn’t, isn’t, wasn’t, hasn’t, was not)
7. I _________________ appreciate his jokes. They weren’t funny. (did, have, been, didn’t, haven’t)
8. I really like fish but I _______________ care for meat. (weren’t, been, don’t, is, was)
9. Where _____________ you going when I saw you last night? (were, was, is, do, did)
10. Tara ________________ called yet; she’s late as usual. (are, were, has, hasn’t, wouldn’t)

Answers: 1 – were, 2 – has, 3 – did, 4 – didn’t, 5 – is, 6 – doesn’t, 7 – didn’t, 8 – don’t, 9 – were, 10 – hasn’t