Auxiliary verbs

Here’s Jenny. She has a brush and a bucket of paint. That garage is in need of some paint. Jenny might paint the garage. Jenny ought to paint the garage.

Jenny will be painting the garage. Did Jenny paint the garage? Well, someone did paint it. In most of these clauses, it’s Jenny who’s doing something, and all the clauses are about painting a garage. But they mean different things.

Paint is the main verb. But then there are one or several other verbs too, in each of the clauses. These verbs change the meaning of the main verb. They are called auxiliary verbs. Some auxiliary verbs place the action in time: these are the temporal auxiliary verbs.

Jenny is painting the garage. Jenny has painted the garage. Jenny will be painting the garage. Auxiliaries can change other things than time, like this: Jenny ought to paint the garage. Jenny can paint the garage.

Jenny should paint the garage. Jenny may paint the garage. These auxiliaries modify the meaning of the clause in various other ways. They are modal auxiliaries. Auxiliary verbs can also assist when we switch a clause around, like this: The garage is being painted by Jenny.

The garage was painted by Jenny. Here, the auxiliary verb puts the clause in the passive voice. It is a passive forming auxiliary. Perhaps the most common auxiliary you encounter is this one: do. This tiny little auxiliary has several different functions.

To ask questions for example. Do you paint? What do you think about the garage? Does Jenny like to paint? And it is used when you say that something is not true, to form a negation.

Jenny did not paint the garage. I do not know where the bucket of paint is. You do not use a fork when you paint. Sometimes, it’s also used to add a bit of extra stress to something, to give emphasis. You do realise it needs paint?

It does look pretty shabby. But I did paint the garage! So, we have four groups of auxiliary verbs in English: Those affecting time: temporal auxiliaries. Those affecting the contents or meaning of the clause: modal auxiliaries. Those used to form the passive voice: passive forming auxiliaries.

And we can use what’s called ‘do-support’ to question, negate, or emphasise. If you find it hard to decide which auxiliary verb to use, fret not. You can squeeze in several auxiliaries, like this: Jenny should have been finished by now. She could have started earlier. This is a verb chain.

The main verb is always last in the chain. Auxiliary verbs help to modify the meanings of other verbs.