AUXILIARY VERBS

Auxiliary means secondary or supporting and that is exactly what these verbs do. There are
only three true auxiliary verbs in English: Have, Do and Be. These verbs also have meanings
as main verbs and it is important to realise their different functions as both main verbs and
auxiliary verbs. Lets look at each of them in their different roles.
Have- Main verb: To possess, own, contain, experience, eat, drink
Auxiliary verb: when combined with the past participle done it indicates the use of
the perfect tense.
We use has in the third person
In the following examples the main verb is highlighted in italics.
I have visited Paris She has seen the play He has opened the shop We have left the cat
at home He has had breakfast
To form questions we switch the position of the subject and the auxiliary:
Have you visited Paris? Has she seen the play? Has he opened the shop? Have we left
the cat at home? Has he had breakfast?
To form the negative we put not or the contraction -nt between the auxiliary and the main
verb:
I have not visited Paris She has not seen the play He has not opened the shop We
havent left the cat at home He hasnt had breakfast
By changing the auxiliary verb, this can be modified to suit any perfect tense:
I had visited Paris She will have seen the play He had opened the shop We had left the
cat at home He will have had breakfast

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University

Task 1
Change these sentences into the present perfect
1. I go to Scotland.

2. You try bungee jumping.

3. I eat too much.

4. My sister see that film.

5. They are a long time.

6. Cardiff is the capital city of Wales for more than fifty years.

Task 2
Change these sentences into questions
1. You have visited your mother this week.

2. We have paid the bill.

3. You have studied all day.

4. Gary has heard that song.

5. They have read the papers.

6. Mel has had this problem before.

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University

Task 3
Change these sentences into negative sentences
1. You have met my family.

2. We have bought enough.

3. I have had a break today.

4. Malcom has been to Malaysia.

5. I have finished my homework.

6. Tracey has made a mistake.

Task 4
Change the sentences 1, 2 and 3 into the past perfect using had
1. You have been to Spain before the last holiday.

2. Our teacher told us that we havent written enough.

3. I havent had a headache like the one I had yesterday.

Change the sentences 4, 5 and 6 into the future perfect using will have
4. Gerry has slept by tomorrow morning.

5. I have finished my course by next year.

6. We have been married for a year in three months.

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University

Do-

Main verb: to perform an act, to accomplish.

Auxiliary verb: Do is used when we want to form questions and negatives in the
absence of another auxiliary verb.
A verb is a doing word and therefore, similar to the function of pronouns, many
verbs can be replaced by do when we are aware of the action we are referring to.
We use does in the third person and we dont change the main verb

In the following examples the main verb is highlighted in italics.

Questions:
Do you like chocolate? Does she read every night? Do we know the answer?
Notice that the word do comes before the subject when we form questions. It denotes the
start of an interrogative sentence as a question mark denotes the end.
Negatives:
I do not like football He doesnt work hard They dont eat much
Here we have a choice of using do not or the contracted form dont. It is placed between the
subject and the main verb.
This can be modified to suit the past simple tense:
Did you like chocolate? Did she read every night? Did we know the answer?
I did not like football He didnt work hard They didnt eat much
Task 1
Change these sentences into questions
1. You go to university.

2. You like Mexican food.

3. They drink enough water.

4. My sister plays tennis.

5. You do too much.

6. Computers help us to work.

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University

Task 2
Change these sentences into negative sentences
1. You come from Texas.

2. I enjoy skiing.

3. They try hard enough.

4. My father works for the government.

5. We understand the question.

6. The children cry.

Task 3
Change the sentences into the past simple using did
1. Do you arrive early?

2. Do they help you with your homework?

3. Do we get paid?

4. They dont enjoy the game.

5. I dont feel nervous before the exam.

6. James and Ami dont look well.

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University

Be-

Main verb: To exist, live, happen, occupy

Auxiliary verb: The verb be is used as a tense indicator when combined with the
continuous form doing AND when it is combined with the past participle done it
forms the passive voice.

In the following examples the main verb is highlighted in italics.

Continuous
I am studying She is watching the play He is opening the shop We are leaving the cat at
home He is having breakfast
Passive
It is studied The play is watched The shop is opened The cat is left at home Breakfast
is had
To form questions we switch the position of the subject and the auxiliary:
Continuous
Are you visiting Paris? Is she watching the play? Is he opening the shop? Are we
leaving the cat at home? Is he having breakfast?
Passive
Is it studied? Is the play watched? Is the shop opened? Is the cat left at home? Is
breakfast is had?
To form the negative we put not or the contraction -nt between the auxiliary and the main
verb:
Continuous
I am not visiting Paris She is not watching the play He is not opening the shop We arent
leaving the cat at home He isnt having breakfast
Passive
It is not studied The play is not watched The shop is not opened The cat isnt left at
home Breakfast isnt had
This can be modified to suit any continuous tense:
I was visiting Paris She will be watching the play He was opening the shop We were
leaving the cat at home He will be having breakfast
Or any tense in the passive:
It was studied The play will be watched The shop was being opened The cat has been
left at home Breakfast is going to be had

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University

Task 1
Change these sentences into the present continuous
1. I go to school.

2. You eat well.

3. They drink from the stream.

4. My little brother plays football.

5. You do the right thing.

6. My telephone works.

Task 2
Change these sentences into negative sentences
1. I am meeting my friends.

2. You are helping me work.

3. We are talking to each other.

4. Marc is earning a lot of money.

5. You are getting worse at maths.

6. My dog is barking all night.

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University

Task 3
Change the sentences 1, 2 and 3 into the past continuous using was
1. You are working all night.

2. Our teacher is telling us what to do.

3. I am fixing my car.

Change the sentences 4, 5 and 6 into the future continuous using will be
4. Andrew is working tomorrow morning.

5. I am studying engineering next year.

6. We are going on holiday in three months.

Task 4
Put these sentences into the passive voice
1. They are building an office.
2. Alberto broke my bicycle.
3. Kimi watches wildlife programmes.
4. She cant hear her husband.
5. You dont need help.
6. We didnt catch the bus.
7. I will start the party.
8. Universities are going to make exams harder.

ELTC Cardiff Metropolitan University