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Linguistics & Grammar vocabulary · Tense, Aspect and Verb Forms

Auxiliary verb

Meaning in linguistics & grammar, with examples

/ɔːɡˌzɪliəri ˈvɜːb/nounCore term

In linguistics & grammar, auxiliary verb means: A verb used with a main verb to form tenses, questions, negatives and the passive, mainly be, have and do, plus modal verbs such as can and will.

In Turkish: yardımcı fiil, yardımcı eylem

How it is used

Often shortened to auxiliary or called a helping verb. Auxiliaries move in questions (Have you finished?), take not (doesn't) and appear in short answers and question tags (Yes, I do; ..., isn't it?).

Example sentences

  1. In 'Did you call her?', did is the auxiliary verb and call is the main verb.

  2. English forms most questions by moving an auxiliary verb in front of the subject: 'Has she left?'

Common collocations

  • auxiliary do
  • modal auxiliary
  • primary auxiliary
  • auxiliary and main verb
  • modal verbAn auxiliary verb such as can, could, may, might, must, should, will or would that expresses ideas like ability, possibility, permission, obligation or advice.
  • verbA word that shows an action, event or state, such as run, become or know; in English it changes its form to show tense and agreement.
  • tenseA grammatical category, shown by the form of the verb, that places an event in time relative to the moment of speaking, such as present or past.
  • aspectA grammatical category that shows how an action unfolds in time, for example whether it is ongoing, completed or repeated, rather than when it happens.
  • passive voiceA sentence structure in which the subject receives the action instead of doing it, made with be plus a past participle, as in 'The bridge was built in 1973'.

More terms: Tense, Aspect and Verb Forms

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