Verbs - Auxiliary

This lesson is all about auxiliary verbs auxiliary verbs are sometimes called helper verbs or helping verbs in the main auxiliary verbs are looking at in this lesson be do and have there are also modal auxiliary verbs they have their own lesson so please refer to that lesson for all information on modal auxiliary verbs auxiliary verbs also function as the main verb in a sentence which sometimes makes them difficult to understand and use the b is used to form the Passive Voice B and have are used as auxiliaries for verb aspects do is used to negate main verbs or to ask questions look at the passive formation we use the verb to be John F.

Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald the shop is usually opened by the manager generous donations are being sent to the charity fund for more information on Active and Passive Voice Please see that lesson for more details I would like to point out though that in using the passive voice the verb to be has to be conjugated correctly for the subject and you can see that in these examples to be into have are used as auxiliaries for verb aspects to be is used to form the continuous aspect have is used to form the perfect aspect and both are used together to form perfect continuous aspects and again the verbs must be correctly conjugated here there is a whole section on tense is an aspect so please refer to that for more information muscles look at some examples in this lesson though that to be is used to form the continuous aspect we need to conjugate the verb correctly for the tense that is being used Paul was working the night shift last week that’s a past tense sentence James was not working nights that’s a past tense with a negative.

My parents are visiting us now.

Present tense and future tense.

I will be leaving early tomorrow.

please see the appropriate lessons in the tents as an aspect section for more information we use the verb to have to form perfect aspects and we have to correctly conjugate to have for the tense being used I had worked as a programmer before moving to sales that’s the past perfect form Jane has lived in London all her life the present perfect and a future perfect example John will have finished his report by Thursday wife will negate that Eddie won’t have finished his report by then why won’t is the concatenated form of will not.

we used to be in to have together to form the perfect continuous aspects I need to correctly conjugate these as well.

But look at a past perfect continuous we had been working 14 hours a day present perfect continuous.

Tom has been trying to get in touch with you all week if we negate the present perfect continuous bill hasn’t been looking for a new job where hasn’t is the concatenation of has not than a future perfect continuous example.

Next year Joe will have been working here for 25 years I will use the verb to do to negate mean verbs to the main verb hasn’t already got an auxiliary verb with it as we’ve seen in some of the previous examples we used to do to negate it but we conjugate the verb to do add a knot and then add the main verb in its base form so we don’t conjugate the main verb anymore and the verb to be as is not a surprise to you is an exception and can just simply be negated with not.

now think of some examples of negation so we use to do conjugated plus not and then the main verb in its base form ie on conjugated form Peter works in a restaurant if we said just add not Peter works and not in a restaurant that’s that’s just incorrect and we don’t say that to Peter does not work in a restaurant or hear the abbreviated form of doesn’t work in a restaurant or another example Penny lived in the city we just tried to add a simple not we get Penny lived not in the city which is incorrect we don’t say that to a penny didn’t live in the city and this is a past tense example Tony didn’t as we’ve seen in other places the verb to be is an exception we can simply negate it with a not a poly is late for work poly isn’t late for work what isn’t is the concatenation of is not as the present tense look at the past tense.

Joan was first in her class or Joan wasn’t first in her class why wasn’t is was not and the future tense is shown here really just for completeness the future tense as a formed in a different way.

We have Don will be here soon or Don won’t be here soon we won’t.

As you can catch a nation of will not.

we also you do to ask questions if the main verb hasn’t already got an auxiliary verb as we’ve seen in previous examples we used to for the question form though we conjugate and invert the verb to do and then add the main verb in its base form so we don’t conjugate the main verb anymore and the verb to be is of course an exception we can simply invert it to make the question we do to ask questions that Peter works in a restaurant if we just try and invert it I switch around the verb in the subject we would have worked Peter in a restaurant and that’s just wrong we don’t say that so we struggle through that our use does Peter work in a restaurant as a present tense example always a penny lived in the city and if we just try a simple inversion we get lived Penny in the city which is is not correct we don’t say that I say did Penny live in the city and because it’s a past tense we have to make do a deed.

and of course the verb to be is an exception and we can simply invert subject and verb to make a question so past tense example of a statement would be you were here yesterday and as a question Were you here yesterday we just swap the first two words around that’s the inversion of a present example you are happy and as a question Are you happy and again a future tense just for completeness you will be fine on the day will you be fine on the day.