The word auxiliary in a sentence

Definition of Auxiliary

a group or team that provides assistance

Examples of Auxiliary in a sentence

When my grandmother retired, she joined the hospital auxiliary team that visited lonely patients.

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The fundraising profits will be given to the auxiliary group that assists the Department of Children’s Services in providing support to foster parents.

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Recently, a group of community members established an auxiliary committee to help the city find ways to restore landmarks.

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Maggie is in charge of the women’s auxiliary group which aids the minister in caring for sick parishioners.

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In addition to a large police department, our town also has an auxiliary police unit that is comprised of military veterans.

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Other words in the People groups, or groupings of people category:

Most Searched Words (with Video)

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.

1.
Not only did he have no details on that auxiliary veron store, all its controls were mapped into Thom’s lab and he would have to manually re-map each of them to get them back into here

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2.
He saw Heymon’s men had put in long hours over that auxiliary veron store, but if they had anything to report, it wasn’t in the logs

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3.
He was able to find out that the auxiliary veron store she was running in had been the target of Thom’s new tangler beam just five minutes before

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4.
They had poked around with the auxiliary veron store a bit after she disappeared, but had not done any re-mapping or re-routing at either the sensory level or the universe mapping level either before or after

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5.
It took Alan hours to do that because he wanted to be sure no one found out, and he wanted to be sure he allowed the signals into the auxiliary veron store only and not into the main system

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6.
He got the channel open, and only to the auxiliary veron store he was pretty sure

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7.
«I don’t have to keep my personification in the same render-space as yours, I just have to run from the verons in this auxiliary store

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8.
I built a small auxiliary store in the slab that the entanglement instrumentation was in and my soul was using the verons in that store when the entanglement occurred

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9.
She used that entangled photon on the auxiliary veron store that was still sitting here in Thom’s lab

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10.
“With all due respect, Auxiliary, we most certainly don’t make a habit of this

11.
“The only explosive we have, the auxiliary thruster fuel

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12.
A fast vessel with auxiliary steam power, leaving the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope on the first of January, would reach Sydney in Australia in forty days, adding twenty days for incidental interruptions, and leaving the coast of Australia on the first of March, passing through the whaling ground between New Zealand and New Holland, and the Caroline Group, touching at Ponape, and allowing 30 days for incidental interruptions, would reach the Ladrone Islands by the first of June

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13.
‘My advice – to the programmers – is to close down auxiliary processors, only allowing a partial integration

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14.
The steel leech of the auxiliary pump and drug infuser unfolded from the wall close to his

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15.
There were auxiliary neural enhancements available, favoured by the wealthy and eccentric

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16.
The American Protective League were auxiliary cops, vigilantes given sanction by the federal and local authorities

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17.
There was a wait of a few short minutes, as the Crossley tender took four pilots and four gunners over to our auxiliary field two miles south

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18.
He keyed his own microphone button, now plugged into an auxiliary jack behind the seats

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19.
He went to the auxiliary power sources

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20.
They both contributed a small number of auxiliary troops that were used mostly to bring up supplies from our staging area depot

21.
Women served in the Army Nurse Corps, Women»s Army Auxiliary Corps, Women Air Service Pilots, and the Marine Corps Reserves

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22.
Coast Guard active duty and Auxiliary personnel became increasingly visible as they carried out safety education and enforcement responsibilities

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23.
Coast Guard Auxiliary boats plied the harbor waters

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24.
Recreational Boating Safety is monitored by active-duty regular and reserve personnel, and the trained civilian personnel of the Coast Guard Auxiliary who also assist in search and rescue and security patrols

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25.
Auxiliary personnel approximate the number of active-duty (regular) Coast Guard

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26.
An active Coast Guard Auxiliary teaches boating safety courses in the Northland, and supports other Coast Guard missions as needed

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27.
,000 Auxiliary, 600 Reserves, and 70 civilians in 92 units and 48 stations, with 200 small boats, 2 air stations and 2 air facilities, two LORAN stations and 10 cutters

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28.
“Coast Guard Auxiliary More than Equal to the Task

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29.
THE COAST GUARD RESERVE AND AUXILIARY

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30.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is a civilian volunteer branch of the USCG

31.
Seven Mississippi River and Ohio River Coast Guard stations were added to the list of Auxiliary operated facilities

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32.
Jean and Robert Colby are among the decorated Auxiliary members who have saved lives in dangerous situations

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33.
Colby, wearing a cold-water survival suit, was pulled under water by a frightened 300-pound boater, but got the victim safely back to the Auxiliary boat

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34.
Auxiliaries Robert and Jean Colby again responded to the call, got crew members safely on board the Auxiliary boat, administered medical aid, got them to ambulances, and returned to the rescue scene (Larson, “Heroes

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35.
Coast Guard Auxiliary in 2005 when the “Volunteer Life-Savers” saved more than 300 lives (Soffer and Mahl, “Updated Numbers,” 2005)

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36.
In 2001 the station supported one 21-foot boat, a 41-foot Utility Boat, an active duty crew of eleven, four Reservists, and the members of Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 095-08-01 (“Station Bayfield…,” 2001)

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37.
The enormity and significance of Auxiliary activities is illustrated by the fact that 944,800 boats were registered in Michigan in 2004 (Brand, “Coast Guard Offers Free Vessel Checks,”

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38.
Coast Guard Auxiliary Division of the Eighth Western Rivers Region District under Auxiliary Captain Doug Cederholm operated on the Upper Mississippi River in 2005

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39.
Cederholm and his Auxiliary colleagues conducted weekend inspections of recreational vessels in the port areas of Wabasha and Lake City (Minnesota) and LaCrosse (Wisconsin)

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40.
Civilian Coast Guard Auxiliary units supplemented Team Coast Guard at small boat stations, marine safety offices and air stations

41.
Ninth Coast Guard District units and rescue personnel contributed to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, as did Coast Guard Auxiliary members, and Coast Guard Air Station crews from several regions

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42.
«Deck four auxiliary,» he said, unsure who was manning the post at this hour

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43.
After he checked in with Andre and picked up a datapad with reports on the ship’s systems, which had mysteriously started to fail, he made his way through the narrow corridors and elevator to the auxiliary hatch

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44.
«The auxiliary bridge,» Miles blurted out

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45.
«Where is the auxiliary bridge?»

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46.
If nothing else, the signal might be better coming from the auxiliary bridge

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47.
This bridge was large, much larger than the bridge of the Nighthawk—which didn’t even have an auxiliary bridge

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48.
The woman complied and before long a huge three dimensional projection of the system appeared, filling the center of the auxiliary bridge where all could see

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49.
there, check with the ladies auxiliary and see if they’ll do the food in exchange for a donation to their organization

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50.
 haber, to have (as auxiliary);

51.
By the aid of certain morontia auxiliary personalities, the morontia form can be made at one time as of the spirit so that it can become indifferent to ordinary matter, while at another time it can become discernible and contactable to material beings, such as the mortals of the realm

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52.
While driving on the auxiliary road to the pumps, I noticed a woman driving parallel to me, heading in the same direction

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53.
Ingrid came to attention the way she had learned to as a Luftwaffe auxiliary while Ken and the others saluted MacArthur

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54.
Despite his promise to consider her for a position as a civilian auxiliary, General MacArthur had not contacted her yet

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55.
After meeting her and questioning her about her Luftwaffe experience, Major General Sutherland had then assigned her to the operations center of General MacArthur’s headquarters in Manila, where she was now working as a civilian army auxiliary with the title of ‘tactical information coordinator’

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56.
Despite her lowly status of civilian auxiliary, Ingrid was thus filling a position normally reserved for a junior officer or a senior NCO

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57.
’’ Objected Lisa Hartmann, the most senior auxiliary held in the Tower of London

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58.
I then enrolled as an auxiliary in the Luftwaffe, out of a desire to avenge my family and help protect my country

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59.
That pilot was until five months ago a German female auxiliary of the Luftwaffe held by us in the Tower of London

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60.
‘’Yes, General! It is the name of the mascot adopted in Nancy’s history by the female aviators enrolled as auxiliary pilots by the Army Air Corps

61.
McCain gave up on changing Turner’s mind, instead concentrating on the two auxiliary aircraft transport ships docked at the single wharf of Lungaville

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62.
� I intend to jump at night above the objective, neutralize the German sentries while wearing the uniform of a German female auxiliary and then unlock an entrance door for your commandos

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63.
����������� The warrant felt immediately that something was wrong here: no self-respecting female senior auxiliary of the Luftwaffe would let one of her girls go around with such a ridiculously short skirt

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64.
����������� �I would say that a woman disguised as a Luftwaffe auxiliary landed by parachute on the roof, killed your sentry, then gave access to the British commandos through the rear entrance

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65.
� She thus had no choice left but to try to reinvent that said time distorter, using as a basis the drawings of the auxiliary systems used by the two missing physicists

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66.
� Looking at the list again, then at the group picture showing seven women plus the American ambassador and a tall American army major, he isolated the individual picture of a very young looking auxiliary, along with her name and service number

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67.
����������� ��She is married to an American officer?��� Asked the Oberhelferin Susanna Berghof, a tall blonde auxiliary of the Kriegsmarine who could have easily become a model

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68.
Anna Hauser, made suspicious by the hesitations of the SS auxiliary and remembering Ingrid�s previous words, bent forward to fix the young SS woman in the eyes

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69.
����������� ��How could I know?��� Protested the SS auxiliary

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70.
��� Answered weakly the auxiliary, who was in her thirties and clearly older than the average of the rest of the auxiliaries

71.
� Ingrid is actually a Luftwaffe auxiliary held there as a prisoner of war

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72.
����������� �We have women only in our auxiliary services

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73.
� She however helped capture a young German female auxiliary during a raid in France last January, along with other female German prisoners

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74.
� I also participated directly in a number of raids and battles, including a raid during which I captured a young German auxiliary named Ingrid Weiss

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75.
“Kingpin, we are still flying on auxiliary tanks, with our internal fuel tanks full and with our cannons and rocket tubes fully loaded

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76.
Twenty minutes later, with her drop tanks nearly empty and being now in sight of Chonan, she ordered the auxiliary tanks dropped after switching to internal tanks

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77.
I served for a while as a Luftwaffe auxiliary, then was captured by the British

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78.
Fellow Nazi Hermann Goring, as interior minister, used his position as head of police in the state of Prussia to fill the police ranks with Nazis and establish an auxiliary force of SA members

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79.
Gravity sail drives were common to all interplanetary ships and formed the main drives of many of the smaller classes of ships and of all auxiliary craft

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80.
If the Auxiliary Power switch doesn’t work, usually there’s a blown fuse somewhere

81.
‘’Well, apart from the 15, 173,520 persons now asleep in your cryogenic vault and in containers stored in your cargo holds, we were able to pack another 1,005,312 persons in the auxiliary quarters and in other available living spaces of the MARCO POLO, including 603,188 infants and young toddlers

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82.
Auxiliary quarters section of the MARCO POLO

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83.
A modular fish processing plant, a meat processing plant and a food processing and packaging plant, along with a refrigerated warehouse module and a few other auxiliary service modules, will also be installed in Toulouse, on the grounds given to us by Count Raymond to establish a market

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84.
‘’My maiden name was Ingrid Weiss and Nancy had secretly adopted me while I was being interned in the Tower of London as a Luftwaffe auxiliary

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85.
I was still a simple young Luftwaffe female auxiliary then in 1941

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86.
She may very well have met that pilot in the past, when she was still a Luftwaffe auxiliary based in occupied France

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87.
He then asked the Luftwaffe female auxiliary manning the telephone exchange to connect him with the fighter control center of the Luftflotte 3 in Wissant, near the Pas de Calais on the Northwest coast of France

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88.
The next thing they did was activate one of the auxiliary power units in order to run a portable heater

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89.
They were in a smaller corridor that branched into three offices, one of which was the auxiliary control room

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90.
Garcia made his way to the closest airlock from auxiliary control, with Brittany in the lead firing both weapons, often simultaneously and in multiple directions

91.
As Captain Tina Foster had rightly said in the past, the KOSTROMA was as much a traveling space community as a giant cargo ship and auxiliary warship

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92.
APU: Auxiliary Power Unit, a small generator used to power secondary electrical systems during aircraft pre-flight and starting procedures

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93.
He counted a total of sixteen of the boat-like armored vehicles, plus eighteen tanks, six huge towed field artillery guns and eight tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, followed by nearly 200 various types of vehicles from big tanker trucks to airport aircraft tractors towing auxiliary power units and jet engine startup units

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94.
I must say that the pay of a major general is a bit more substantial than that of a Luftwaffe auxiliary

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95.
She then had decided on the spur of her emotions to join the Luftwaffe as a female auxiliary, so that she could make a contribution, even if only a small one, to defending her homeland against further enemy air bombardment

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96.
Ingrid couldn’t help feel proud of herself then, even though she was not what someone would call a vain person: she had come a long way since when she was a simple German Luftwaffe auxiliary held as a prisoner of war by the British in 1941

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97.
In fact, I understand that, when still a teenage auxiliary in the Luftwaffe in France in 1940, she learned much about air tactics while dating such top Luftwaffe air aces as Adolph Galland and Werner Moelders

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98.
“Then let her use auxiliary control,” Garcia said

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99.
Power seemed to be out all over the Enterprise and then slowly auxiliary power kicked in

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100.
Auxiliary fuel tanks were quickly fitted to the little

Sentence Examples

There’s an auxiliary engine.

This furnishes power for the auxiliary propellers.

It’s a big sailboat with an auxiliary, a diesel engine.

15 meters. — 4 auxiliary flood.

Stop the pump, close auxiliary!

I shall make it my business to see the Lompoc Ladies auxiliary will be informed.

They said don’t pay any attention to the storm ’cause they’s gonna use some kind of auxiliary power.

Honey, you never looked better. When that ladies’ auxiliary get a load of you… they’re gonna do nip-ups all over that church.

I suppose a pilot could lie down and use auxiliary controls during the dive, but it sounds silly to me.

If something isn’t done, I’ll call out the whole auxiliary.

And the Junior auxiliary.

Plenty of these planes carry detachable auxiliary gas tanks, Which give them great range. These tanks are dropped when they reach the objective,

An auxiliary operating room, maintained at a very low temperature.

Women’s auxiliary Air Force.

Flood auxiliary from «C.»

Pump from auxiliary to sea.

auxiliary flooding slowly, sir.

Pump from auxiliary to sea. — auxiliary to sea!

industrial districts within reach of this air power… will be on the receiving end of other gigantic bombs… that contain an auxiliary charge in their tails… backed by a counterweight.

Martha and Mitzi, you both learned auxiliary nursing… and I’ve worked for the Red Cross for months.

There are four auxiliary fields.

We’ll use the auxiliary power if we have to. Right, sir.

She’s not only the daughter of the former mayor, who donated a new organ to the church, but the President of the Ladies’ auxiliary.

If the Ladies’ auxiliary don’t want ’em, I don’t want ’em.

While you’ve been cruising, those cracker boxes have sunk 2 cruisers an auxiliary aircraft carrier a 10,000-ton tanker, a large freighter a flock of barges and numerous sons of Nippon.

Jughead, ain’t you got that auxiliary tank filled yet?

«Escort over target will retain auxiliary gas tanks even if attacked.»

With that plane and that load, they’ve got maybe enough gas for another 300- if they had an auxiliary tank.

Well, they’re smart enough not to fly a heavy load in without auxiliary gas.

I saw your mother at the auxiliary meeting. I didn’t see Dolores, though.

Piping on auxiliary engine and liner elbow cracked.

As an auxiliary to the army.

Dr. Guerra set up an auxiliary hospital.

There’s an auxiliary field straight ahead.

And someday, someday… when Dickie Sutphen and Billy Nye have learned to dance… and- and they found a new driver for the bloodmobile… and- and they haven’t formed that committee… that you’ll have to form the women’s auxiliary of… and- and medical science has found a cure… for these mentally retarded do-gooders- Someday- Someday, Grace Bannerman… mark my words…

I’ve got it on the auxiliary tape, sir.

auxiliary induction gear; generator coils; red lead… Ramon!

Well. The Ladies auxiliary has already arranged… for a place where you can stay until final plans can be made.

Hook in the auxiliary pumps!

Tell him to turn on the auxiliary generators. Go ahead!

Say there, you should join the auxiliary forces.

Church Ladies’ auxiliary.

Frank, Church Ladies’ auxiliary.

Switch to auxiliary, fast!

1200 warships, with a good number of auxiliary craft.

You didnt say it had an auxiliary.

I put some fuel in the auxiliary motor for the generator.

An auxiliary verb, also called a helping verb, is a verb that is used with another verb (or two other verbs) in a verb phrase.

The auxiliary verbs (which include be, have, do, and the modal verbs like may, shall, will, can, and must) combine with verbs to do things like show a verb’s tense or form a question.

Be, have, and do are used as both independent verbs and as auxiliary verbs.

Have is used to form all the perfect tenses, the tenses that are used to refer to an action or state that is completed at the time of speaking or at a time spoken of:

I have packed the car. (present perfect)

I had packed my suitcase the night before. (past perfect)

I will have packed everything by the time you arrive. (future perfect)

I will have been traveling for three weeks by the time I return. (future perfect progressive)

Be is used to form all the progressive tenses, the tenses that are used to refer to an action or state that is continuing to happen:

I am leaving soon. (present progressive)

I was making a few calls first. (imperfect tense, also called past progressive)

I will be driving across much of the country. (future progressive)

I will have been traveling for three weeks by the time I return. (future perfect progressive)

Be is also used in the passive voice, and to join infinitives plus to to the subject of a sentence or clause:

My route was recommended by a friend. (passive voice)

I am to arrive before nightfall.

Do occurs as an auxiliary verb mainly in negative sentences and in questions:

I do not have a map.

Do you have a map handy?

Do is also occasionally used for emphasis. In this use, do is followed by an infinitive without to:

I do think I’ll be able to find my way without a problem.

Do may also substitute for another verb that has just been stated:

My dog enjoyed the drive immensely, and so did I.

A small group of auxiliary verbs, called the modal verbs (or modal auxiliary verbs, modal auxiliaries, or simply modals) are only used in combination with ordinary verbs. A modal verb changes the other verb’s meaning to something different from simple fact. Modals may express permission, ability, prediction, possibility, or necessity.

The principal modal verbs are: can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, and would.

The modal verbs are different from ordinary verbs in several ways:

1) They have no inflections at all; that is, they lack an -ing form, an -ed form, and even an -s form for the third-person singular.

2) A modal verb is always followed by the infinitive form of a verb (unless that verb has already been stated) but never follows another verb.

3) Modal verbs do not follow to and are not followed by to. (Ought to, like the near-modal verb have to, is a special case.)

In their simple form, modal verbs normally refer to present or future time:

I must be nearly there by now.

I might arrive a bit later than I’d anticipated.

A trip like this can take many hours more than one expects.

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