Auxiliary Verbs For beginners

Learn about auxiliary verbs, like 'is', 'are', and 'have'. Simple explanations, easy examples, and practice exercises to help you understand.

"Auxiliary Verbs" in English Grammar

What Are Auxiliary Verbs?

Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs. They do not have separate meanings and are only used with other verbs to form questions, negation, different tenses, etc. The auxiliary verbs in English are:

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Be

Be can be both a main verb and auxiliary verb and it is an irregular verb in both roles. As a main verb, 'be' is used to describe the state or condition of a subject. It can show existence and location. As an auxiliary verb, it is used to form continuous tenses and refer to ongoing actions. It has several forms:

Subject

Present

I

am

He/She/It

is

We/You/They

are

Example

You are a lawyer. (main verb)

He is singing. (auxiliary verb)

Subject

Past

I/He/She/It

was

We/You/They

were

Example

He was sad. (main verb)

Be Question Forms

If 'to be' is the main verb of the sentence, it moves to the beginning of the sentence to form a question:

Statement

Question

I am Adam.

Am I Adam?

He is a doctor.

Is he a doctor?

If the sentence has a main verb and 'to be' is the auxiliary verb, it moves to the beginning of the sentence, and then subject + the main verb follow to form the question:

Statement

Question

We are staying at the hotel.

Are we staying at the hotel?

He is watching television.

Is he watching television?

Be Negative Form

To make a negative sentence with 'to be' as the auxiliary verb, just ass 'not' after it.

Statement

Negative

Short Form

I am studying.

I am not studying.

-

He is running.

He is not running.

He isn't running.

Do

'Do' as an auxiliary verb helps form questions and negatives in the present simple and simple past tense. It is used with the base form of the main verb.

Subject

Present

Past

I/We/You/They

do/don't

did/didn't

He/She/It

does/doesn't

did/didn't

Example

Do you like coffee?

In questions, 'do' is used at the beginning of the sentence and subject and the main verb come after it.

I do not play soccer.

To form negatives, 'not' is added to 'do' and the main verb comes after them.

Have

'Have' as an auxiliary verb is used to form perfect tenses and show that an action is completed.

Subject

Present

Past

I/We/You/They

have/haven't

had/hadn't

He/She/It

has/hasn't

had/hadn't

Quiz:


1.

Which sentence uses "be" as an auxiliary verb?

A

She is a teacher.

B

They are playing tennis.

C

He was tired.

D

We are friends.

2.

How would you change this statement into a question?
"He is working late tonight."

A

He working late tonight?

B

Working he late tonight?

C

Is working he late tonight?

D

Is he working late tonight?

3.

Sort the words into the correct order to form a grammatically correct question:

rightnow
to
we
going
are
?
market
the
4.

Fill in the blank with the correct auxiliary verb.

She

running in the park.

They

not go to the gym on weekends.

They

not enjoy the movie last night.

you like coffee?

I

studying for the exam right now.

are
am
did
do
is
5.

Fill in the blanks in the table with the correct auxiliary verb forms for "be" and "do."

SubjectPresentPast

I

was

He/She/It

We/You/They

are

I

do

He/She/It

did

We/You/They

did

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