Rules for the use of auxiliary verbs in English. Humble helpers you can't do without. Auxiliary verbs for the formation of negative and interrogative sentences

Auxiliary verbs (Auxiliary Verbs) in English are verbs, (to) be, (to) do, (to) have and will. They do not carry any meaning to the sentence and are not translated (if they are used as auxiliary verbs), but simply help to make a temporary sentence.

Verb "to be"

This verb can be used as an auxiliary verb, or as an independent one (that is, to carry a separate semantic load in the sentence).
If this verb acts as an auxiliary, then it is used to make time. For example:

I won’t paint every time here, just follow the links you need (above), everything is described in detail there. I will only give examples where the verb "to be" is used as an independent verb:

They are sixteen years old
They are sixteen years old / literally - They are sixteen years old

She is not sixteen years old
She is not sixteen years old / literally - She is not sixteen years old

Are they sixteen years old?
Are they sixteen?

The verb "To do"

It can also be both an auxiliary and an independent verb. When denied or questioned, " do" is used as an auxiliary verb in Present Simple and Past Simple:

The statement simply says "He plays football" (He plays football).

Negation:

He does not play football
He doesn't play football
He did not play football
He didn't play football

Question:

Does he play football?
He plays football?
Did he play football?
He played football?

If they want to use " do" as an independent verb, then use a different version of "do"

He does his homework every day (affirmative)
He daily does(does) homework

He does n't do his homework every day (negative form)
He doesn't every day does hometasks

Does he do his homework every day? (interrogative form)
He does homework every day?

The verb "to have"

As well as " to be", can act as an auxiliary or independent verb. If it is auxiliary, then it is also used to form time:

Don't forget that there is a big difference between these 4 tenses. If you forgot or don't know the differences, follow the links below. All of them are presented in this article.

The verb "will"

The only verb that can only be used as an auxiliary verb. It serves to form future () tenses:

He will not play football (Simple Future)
He won't play football

He will have played football (Future Perfect)
He will play football

When studying this part of speech, most attention is paid to irregular verbs. Undoubtedly, it is necessary to know them, but it is much more important to be aware of the use of auxiliary verbs. Teachers often compress the topic to a minimum, while without this knowledge it is impossible to freely express one's thoughts in English.

Division of verbs by meaning

All English verbs are divided into two categories:

Independent verbs are characterized by the presence of lexical meaning; express the action or state being performed:

• She works at office and walks to work through the park every day. She works in an office and walks through the park every day to work.

Service verbs do not have their own meaning, but only help in the structure of grammatical structures and bring clarity to the meaning of an independent verb.

Types of service verbs

• copulas used to form compound verbs(linking verbs):

• - help the speaker express his opinion about the action (modal verbs):

• auxiliary- without them it is impossible to form a compound predicate (auxiliary verbs):

Let's take a look at the last group.

Why are auxiliary verbs needed?

To understand the importance of auxiliary verbs, let's draw an analogy. When it is necessary to express the number, gender or time of action, the ending in Russian verbs changes; the British and Americans at this time simply use the auxiliary.

for example:

• She swims here every morning. - She swims here every morning.
• They are swimming now. - They swimming now.
• I swam on this beach a year ago. - I swam on this beach a year ago.

Be careful! Auxiliary verbs are not translated, so do not confuse them with similar semantic verbs.

• I am a student. - I am a student (the verb to be is translated as "to be").
• I am going to be come a student. - I'm going to become a student (the auxiliary verb tobe is part of the "to be going to" construction).

• Forest have a lot of money. - Mr. Forest has a lot of money (to have - to have);
• Mr. Forest have a lot of money when he is young. - Mr. Forest had a lot of money when he was young (in the first case "to have" is used to create the past perfect tense, in the second case the verb is semantic).

Auxiliary verb to be

Usage

Together with the semantic verb forms time(action currently taking place):

• I am watching an interesting movie now. - I am watching an interesting film now.
• She is cleaning now. - She is doing the cleaning now.
• They loudly discuss the results of the competition. - They are loudly discussing the results of competitions.

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Formation of questions and negations in tenses

(periodic execution of the process in real time):

• Anna visits her grandmother every weekend? - Does Ann visit her grandmother every weekend?
• They don't watch TV every evening, they are too busy. - They don't watch TV every evening. they are very busy.

(single action in the past tense):

• Did you read this article last month? - Did you read this article last month?
• Nick didn't cook such delicious desserts for me. - Nick didn't cook such tasty desserts for me.

verb to have

1. Present tenses: I/you/they have, he/she/it has.
2. For the past tense, a single form is used - had.
3. The negative form is also with the “not/(-n’t)” particle: have not/haven’t, hasn’t. hadn't.
4. It stands at the beginning of the questions: Hashe? Had they?

Participates in the formation of perfect forms of the past and present

• I haven't played this musical composition before. - I have not played this piece of music before ();
• I have been playing this musical composition for 3 hours. - I have been playing this piece for three hours ();
• I have finished to play this musical composition by 4 o'clock yesterday. - Yesterday at 4 o'clock I finished playing this piece ();
• I had been playing this musical composition for 5 hours when he called. - I had been playing this piece for five hours when he called (Past Perfect Continuous).

Verbs will and shall

Both verbs are involved in the creation of all variants of the future tense: I / we. he/she/it/you/they will. However, thanks to the Americans, only the will form is increasingly used, which makes it much easier to remember the rules.

• Kate will draw her dog tomorrow. - Kate will draw her dog tomorrow (Future Simple);
• Kate will be drawing her dog all day long. - Kate will draw her dog all day (Future Continuous);
• Kate will have drawn her dog by 10 o'clock next Friday. - Kate will draw her dog by ten o'clock next Friday (Future Perfect);
• By the end of the week Kate will have been drawing her dog for a month. - By the end of the week, Kate will have been drawing her dog for a month (Future Perfect Continuous).

To understand and master some of the rules for using auxiliary verbs, you may need a lot of time and exercises. Also pay attention to the detailed study of the formation of compound tenses, as these topics are directly related.

This lesson will cover a fairly difficult topic to remember, so you should concentrate as much as possible. Auxiliary verbs in English, the table of which will be presented below, is a part of speech that does not have an individual meaning in terms of vocabulary, but acts as helpers. Their main function is to help to correctly compose a construction with a complex form of the verb. Verbs under consideration:

• to do,
• will (would),
• to be,
• shall (should),
• to have.

We will go over the topic in detail so that you do not have any questions.

What are the auxiliary verbs for?

Auxiliary verbs in English are used when there is a need to express gender, number, or time period. In this case, this part of speech is added.

It should be noted that some parts of speech from the topic under consideration can be used as semantic, they include: to be (to be), to have (to have), to do (to do). In addition, in many cases to be is used as a link in the construction, and the verbs shall (should) and will (would) as modals. The parts under consideration are a universal assistant, but they are not translated into Russian. When translating, they are not even asked questions.

Examples:

• She is at the hospital now. - She's in the hospital now.
• She swims here every morning. She swims here every morning.
• You were young and didn't understand your father. “You were young and did not understand your father.

An example with a semantic verb:

• I'm a teacher. - I'am a teacher.

verb to have

This part of speech can be used as a semantic verb in its main meaning.

For example,

• I don't have time. - I have no time.
• I have a big family. - I have a big family.

To form the Perfect of any tense, use this part of speech.

For example,

• I will have read the article by nine. I will have read the article by nine o'clock.
• You have done a lot of work. - You've done a lot of work.
• We had finished the task by two o'clock. We completed the task before two o'clock.

verb to be

The auxiliary verb that will be considered is the only one that has a special form in the singular, plural and person. It can be used as a link, used as a semantic or used as an auxiliary part of speech in a construction.

As a semantic verb, this verb is used in the meaning of "to be" and "to be".

Auxiliary verbs in English play a very important grammatical role. They do not have a translation into Russian, which is a particular difficulty for students.

Why are auxiliary verbs needed?

This group of words is required to make statements in various tense forms. It is conditionally possible to divide such helper verbs into 2 groups:

• those that are present in all types of sentences and are part of the compound verb predicate:

I will remember about this. “I will remember this. (will is an auxiliary verb in the Future Simple)

I will not (won't) forget about this. “I won't forget about it.

Will you remember about this? Will you remember this?

• verbs that only appear in negative and interrogative sentences:

I love reading scary stories. I love reading scary stories.

Do you love reading scary stories? Do you like to read scary stories? (the verb do is auxiliary in the present simple Present Simple)

I don't love reading scary stories. I don't like reading scary stories.

Only a few English verbs can be auxiliary: to be, to have, to do, will. These words also have independent meanings and can be used in sentences in the form of semantic ones.

I have just done my homework. - I just finished my homework. (to have is an auxiliary verb in the present completed tense Present Perfect)

I have a lot of tasks to do. “I have a lot of assignments left. (to have - semantic verb)

Mary will make a delicious cake. Maria will bake a delicious cake. (will is an auxiliary verb in the Future Simple tense)

She doesn't know what else to will. She doesn't know what else to wish for. (will is an independent verb)

It is necessary to learn to distinguish in what capacity one or another of the verbs listed above is used, so as not to make mistakes during the translation. Helper words do not have equivalents in Russian sentences.

He will go on a voyage around the world. - He will sail around the world. (Incorrect: He will be sailing around the world.)

Table “Auxiliary verbs in English”

To facilitate the memorization of helper words, it is necessary to combine them into a summary table indicating grammatical tenses, types of sentences for the purpose of the statement. Some verbs can be used in pairs.

Auxiliary verb in English- the same reality as changing the ending in Russian. The mistake that everyone makes at first is to say sentences withoutauxiliary verbs.

Semantic andauxiliary verbs in English

Imagine an elegant gentleman in a tailcoat, with a cane, who wants to cross to the other side of the river where there is no bridge. On the other side, his bride is waiting for him. Of course, he can’t get it by swimming - he will get wet and lose his presentability. We need a boatman, a simple peasant who will take all the work on himself, will row, and a fresh gentleman will be delivered unchanged.

A young man in a tailcoat issemantic verb(main verb). His girlfriend, waiting on the other side of the river, is the listener to whom the meaning of the sentence needs to be conveyed.

Well, who is the boatman, you probably already guessed.

This is auxiliary(auxiliary) verb - one that does not carry a special meaning (the girl / listener is not waiting for him), but can serve as an intermediary.

As the name suggests, auxiliary verbshelpother members of the proposal. If you look at any of the phrases where there isauxiliary verb, you will notice that he always stands in front of the semantic, approximately, like a bodyguard in front of an important person.

Idon't eat pork. I don't eat pork.

(Here in the first place auxiliarydo, then semanticeat).

Imight eat this. I might eat it.

Might (may)- auxiliary verb, and it works in tandem with the semantic verbeat (eat).

In what situations are these intermediaries needed?

A rare English sentence does without them. Auxiliary verbs give us information aboutmodalities, aspect and bail. Let's brush up on these concepts a bit, shall we?

• Modalityshows how reliable the speaker's statement seems to be.

It's just a guess, a fantasy about where to spend your vacation. There is an auxiliary verb heremay, which expresses the idea of ​​possibility (with a certain percentage of doubt).

If replace may (can) on the must (should), it will have a completely different meaning:

Imust go to China. I have to go to China.

Wow, everything is more serious here, it seems that the speaker has signed an agreement with an employer in this country.

So, without changing the semantic "go”, with the help of modal auxiliary verbs, you can ensure that the sentence is understood differently.

• Aspectindicates whether the event has completed, whether it is currently ongoing, or whether it repeats regularly.

Completed event corresponds Perfect, as in Present Perfect, Past Perfect and so on.

Ihave eaten gluten-free pasta. I ate gluten free pasta.

Here haveshows the aspect of completeness: the pasta has already been eaten by the speaker, the gluten-free dinner is over.

For long events reserved Continuous, as in Present Continuous, Past Continuous, etc.

Iam eating a delicious meal right now. I'm eating delicious food right now.

If a the event happens regularly, then aspect will be usedSimplewhich means "simple". This happens in Present, Future and Past Simple. In this case, auxiliary verbs will be needed to ask a question or make a negation.

DoI know you? Do I know you?

No, you don't. No.

Do and don'tin these examples are helpers.

By the way, we have a very detailed article about the verbdo here .

• Voices, or pledges

From pledgedepends on whether the offer is passive or active.

Passive voice:

Iam followed by paparazzis. The paparazzi follow me.

Active Collateral:

Paparazzis follow me. The paparazzi are following me.

(We see the auxiliary verb -am- where the pledge is passive).

Passive Voice is always formed with a verbto be(in its various forms):

Youare loved. You are loved.

Sheis loved. She is loved.

Weare loved. We are loved.

Iwas loved. I was loved.

If you want to know more about the passive voice - read our material on this topic, .

Needinversion when auxiliary verbs will help you out

No need to explain how importantinversion, or reversal of word order in English. This is especially evident in interrogative sentences.

Usually, if the subject is after the verb, and not in its usual position, before all verbs, then we can conclude that this is a question.

There is only one point: not any verb can be put in the place of the subject.

In offers:

Do you need any help? Do you need help?

Are are you joking? Are you joking?

Do and areperform the functions of intermediary verbs. By themselves, they do not translate in any way, but along with them, as if by magic, an interrogative structure appears.

If we try to do without intermediaries, we get this:

need you any help? Do you need help?

Joking you? Are you kidding?

Here we tried to get by with only semantic verbs, but rather clumsy phrases came out, right? Never do this, always use auxiliary verbs.

The table below lists all formsbe, do and have.

Auxiliary verbs in English: table

How to recognize auxiliary verb?

Be, do and havemay sometimes take a day off from work as a boatman and be used in their own lexical meaning:

• Be - to be, to be
• Do - make
• have - have

And so, you see such a verb in a sentence, but how can you understand whether it is now “working” as an assistant or not?

You just need to see if there are any other verbs nearby.

If there are several, and it looks something like this:

• Don't eat
• is fighting
• have jumped
• has been working

This means that those verbs that are at the beginning have discarded their personal meaning and are auxiliary.

Tanyais just a child. Tanya- just a child (is a child).

Here ismeans "to be". This is the only verb in the sentence, which means that it is semantic.

Tanyais crying loud. Tanya is crying loudly.

Here isstands before another, semantic verb(crying- crying), so he dropped his meaning of "to appear." In this caseto be(in the shape of is) helps to express the aspect of duration, because the girl is crying for a while.

So if you seedo, have or be, which are combined with other verbs - this is a sure sign that there are auxiliary verbs here, and they should not be tried to be translated according to the dictionary meaning.

Auxiliary verbs in English by tenses

All tenses with "Continuous" (or "Progressive") in their name use the verbto be.

Present continuous tense- Present Continuous

Use Present Continuousto show that something happens over a period of time.

Often used abbreviations:

I am reduced to I'm

She (he, it)- before he's, she's, it's

You are, they are decrease to you're, they're.

Iam standing in line and trying to get a drink. I'm standing in line, trying to order a drink.

Am- auxiliary,standing- "ing" form of the verbto standfor the present continuous.

Heis surfing the waves like a professional. He rides the waves like a pro.

Is- auxiliary,surfing- continuous semantic formto surf.

Past continuous tense. Past Continuous

This tense is used when talking about long-term actions in the past, and also when an action in the past is interrupted by another action.

Forming it is logical: auxiliarybeput in the past tense (wasfor the singular andwere- for plural). The ending-ing, characteristic of Continuous, remains.

Iwas eating my burger, when they brought coke. I was eating my burger when the coke arrived.

We see two verbs in a row:was (was) and eating. wasnot translated, it helps the verbeatset the right time.

Theywere telling about their marriage. They talked about their marriage.

Here the auxiliary verb iswereis the plural form.

Future Continuous Tense. Future Continuous Time

Is something going to happen in the future that you feel like it will take a long time, like a renovation? Use the Future Progressive tense to explain this.

Of the auxiliary verbs we find herewill and bein the infinitive (withoutto).

Verb denoting the future tense -will,you can often hear and see in an abbreviated form:

• She'll- She will be)
• I'll- I will)
• He'll- he will)

But this can only be done with pronouns. With proper names and nouns this is not possible. Type constructions"Ivan'll", "woman'll" does not happen, although sometimes in a stream of fast oral speech it sounds exactly like that.

I'll be doing my exercises to stay in shape. I will do exercises to stay in shape.

Annawill be working with Ivan. Anna will work with Ivan.

In tenses containing the word "Perfect", without auxiliary verbs, too, nowhere.

Any of the sentences in the perfect tense contains an auxiliary verbhave. It can take the following forms:have, has, had and having.

Present Perfect

The very word "Present" indicates that the Present Perfect is associated with the present moment. Of course, the action began in the past, but the main thing is thatnowwe have the result of this action.

Hasused for the third person singular, andhave- for all other persons and numbers.

Alexhas alreadyseen the apartment. Alex has already seen the apartment.

(Has- auxiliary,seen- past participle).

Ihave rented another apartment. I rented another apartment.

(Here the auxiliary verb ishave, and took away the semantic loadrented- third form of the verbto rent - take off).

And here the abbreviations are used:have turns into 've, a has- just in 's

It's made my day! This made my day!

past perfect

Ihad already seen the apartment, so I didn't want to go there one more time. I had already seen that apartment, so I didn't want to go there again.

When an event preceded another event in the past, the Elapsed Ended tense should be used.

Here is the auxiliary verb -had, since it is the past tense ofhave.

Future Perfect

Future Completed is needed when we want to say something that will be completed in the future. The template for it is:

Iwill have seen the apartment tomorrow by 3 p.m. I will see the apartment by three o'clock tomorrow.

Will, haveare auxiliary verbs.Seen- this is Past Participle (past participle) forsee (see).

Modal auxiliary verbs

This is a special group of auxiliaries. In addition to the fact that these words are intermediaries in various grammatical constructions and perform the function of auxiliary ones, they bring a lot of their own, modal meaning to the sentence. Take a look:

Sentence without modal verb

I have a cappuccino.

Can be translated as "I drink cappuccino" or "I have cappuccino".

Same but with the verbcan:

Can I have a cappuccino?

Has the meaning: "Can I have a cappuccino?" It could also mean“Can I have a cappuccino or am I not allowed?”.

In general, modal verbs color speech in different shades of desires, possibilities and impossibilities. At the same time, they can be used to ask a question, to turn an affirmative sentence into a negative one, to give a short answer to a question, etc.

Remember that usually when asking a question (or saying a negative sentence), we use the verbdo. So, modal verbs do not tolerate other auxiliary next to them and do just fine without"do".

Here is an interrogative sentence without a modal verb:

Does your dog read your mind? Does your dog read your mind?

(Requireddoesat the beginning of a sentence).

As soon as modality appears,cantakes over auxiliary functions,do not needed:

Can your dog read your mind? Can your dog read your mind?

The same goes for negatives. Regular suggestion:

Idon't have a cappuccino. I don't have a cappuccino.

We add a modal verb, and it displacesdo:

Ican't have a cappuccino. I can't have a cappuccino / I can't have a cappuccino.

Want to know more? Follow the links and read our materials on modal verbs.

About may, can and might -

Can and could-

About should and shall -

Auxiliary verbs are not so numerous, but a very important group of words in English. It is rare that a proposal can be made without their help. Not in all languages ​​of the world auxiliaries play such a big role. So, in Russian we do fine without them. That is why it is highly desirable to take into account this difference and study English auxiliary verbs. We believe that you will definitely succeed!