A verb is a part of speech that displays action, described in the offer. This structure of this rule is relevant for, but not for English. In an international language, a verb can be both semantic and auxiliary. Thanks to this technique, grammar becomes easier, and sentences are built much faster. What are auxiliary verbs in English, how to arrange and modify them correctly?

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Introduction

The whole complexity of the English language lies in the large number of temporary forms on the basis of which it is built.

Times in turn formed by auxiliary verbs, which have an indefinite form, and are modified depending on the pronoun that stands before them.

In other words, it is a pointer that shows us who is doing something and when. For accuracy of understanding, below is a table of auxiliary in English, and after it a clear decoding of all the nuances is given.

The table highlights three groups, each of which has a present, past and future (present, past, future). For each individual group, you need to use a specific auxiliary verb, which changes depending on the time in which we use it.

Present, Past, Future Indefinite

A tense group that allows us to describe daily events that occur regularly or periodically. Examples are the following: I work in a factory, we walk in the park in the evenings, and so on. In the times of the Indefinite group, the most simple and short sentences English, which are accessible and understandable to a Russian-speaking person. Well, now let's look at what an auxiliary verb in this category is and how it should be used.

To Do literally translates as "to do", but in the group of tenses Indefinite acts as the very indicator of time and pronoun in question. In the sentences of the affirmative form of the present tense, he is not put, but if you need to ask a question or refute something, then his participation is mandatory. For the present the word forms Do and Does are used, depending on the pronoun:

• Do is used for I, You, We, They (I, you, we, they);
• Does - for He, She, It (he, she, it or that).

You can consider both options with examples in interrogative sentences with Do: “Do you play piano? “Do you play the piano?” or “Does he live in Chicago? Does he live in Chicago?

Similar examples can be seen in negatives: “We do not play football. – We do not play football”, “She does not like potatoes. She doesn't like potatoes.

This is the basic rule for Do and Does, which allows you to competently and clearly build the most used sentences in English. These forms of the auxiliary verb tell us the pronoun in question, as well as the tense in which the main action takes place.

The verb form Do in the Past Indefinite form is Did. In this case, he same for all pronouns, and is used only in interrogative and negative sentences. It sounds something like this: “Did you go to school yesterday? - Did you go to school yesterday?", which may be followed by a negative answer "I did not go to school yesterday - I did not go to school yesterday." It turns out that in cases where the verb Did is placed in a sentence, we can automatically attribute it to the past tense. Moreover, it immediately becomes clear that we are talking about a question or a negative answer to it.

As for the future tense, here for all pronouns, and for all forms, whether it be affirmative, interrogative or negative, we use the word Will. It does not change depending on the pronoun, so learning this rule will be very simple. Let's look at the usage with an example:

• She will go to the park tomorrow - She will go to the park tomorrow.
• Will she go to the park tomorrow? Will she go to the park tomorrow?
• She will not go to the park tomorrow - She will not go to the park tomorrow.

Attention! In the future definite tense, the auxiliary verb Shall also takes place. It is used only in combination with the pronoun "I" in all forms of the sentence. However, recently it has become rarely used, thereby simplifying the scheme for this time. You can hear the phrase “I shall” only from a resident of the UK, but all the rest of the English-speaking countries say “I will”.

Present, Past, Future Continuous

The tenses of the Continuous category, which translates as "long", indicate an unfinished action.

It may be happening at the moment, it may be unfinished in the past or in the future. In the Russian version, such statements sound like: “I read yesterday”, “She swims in the pool”, “We will play checkers tomorrow”, etc.

As in the case of Do, for the previous group of tenses, there is an auxiliary verb form here, indicating the duration and incompleteness of the action.

To be- a verb, the literal translation of which sounds like "to be." Based on its semantic load, it follows that it belongs to times with an incomplete meaning. To understand how it works, it is enough to literally translate the simplest sentence with his participation: "To be reading - to be a reader." Like the forms of the verb Do, the varieties of To Be vary with pronouns and tense.

• Am (I) - am.
• You, We, They (you, we, they) - are.
• He, She, It (he, she it) - is.

This scheme is used for the present indefinite time. For example, consider short statements with its use: “I am dancing - I am dancing”, “They are drawing - they are drawing”, “She is watching TV - she is watching TV”. The verb to be in the above forms is used in positive, interrogative and negative sentences and is a "calling card" unfinished action.

For the past tense of this category, the rule is slightly simplified. Sentences with to be can be divided into two groups, the first of which is singular, the second is plural:

• I, He, She, It (I, he, she, it) - was.
• We, You, They (we, you, they) - were.

Now examples with the following words: “She was cooking - she cooked”, “We were swimming - we swam”.

When it comes to the future unfinished tense, the scheme becomes even simpler. For all pronouns, we use be with the prefix will, and we get the following: "I (He) will be running - I (he) will (et) run."

Advice! In the tenses of the Continuous group, all semantic verb forms have the ending -ing. It is assigned to them regardless of the pronoun, as well as in the past tense, present and future.

Present, Past, Future Perfect

This grammatical category is used to describe a clearly completed case. In the present tense, a past action that has a result at the moment is characterized in a similar way.

As for the past and the future, such forms are used extremely rarely. They indicate a fully completed action that preceded another, incomplete, in the past or in the future. We propose to consider how such a grammatical structure is formed.

The auxiliary verb Have is an integral part of the entire Perfect section. It also has its forms, depending on time and pronoun, and it is thanks to them that we identify what is happening. Let's start, as always, with a real and brief scheme for using To Have:

• I, You, We, They (I, you, we, they) - have.
• He, She, It (he, she, it) - has.

Let's give examples in which this grammatical phrase occurs: “He has gone - he left”, “We have done that - we did it”. present Perfect- a very common occurrence in everyday English speech, since it is this grammatical structure that perfectly reflects everyday events.

In the past tense of this category, people speak and write extremely rarely. The structure of the sentence itself is simple and clear, it is based on the verb form Had, which is the same for all pronouns: "Train had left - the train left." Similar simplicity is also characteristic of the future form, where the auxiliary verb looks like Will Have, for example: "She will have receive a letter - she will receive a letter."

Important! In the tenses of the Perfect group, all semantic verbs, even in the future, are put in the past form. In the table of irregular verbs, this is the third column, and for all others, the ending -ed is used. Even in those cases when the form Had or Will Have is used, as if already indicating the time, the semantic verb must always remain in the past tense.

Types of auxiliary verbs in English

Learning English - Auxiliary Verbs

Conclusion

We briefly examined the main grammatical forms of the English language, on the basis of which speech is built. For many, it was previously a mystery why there are two verbs with different meanings in the sentence, how to translate and comprehend this. Knowing when to use Do and Does, Have and Has, as well as a number of other auxiliary words, makes it much easier for any English-speaking citizen to understand.

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 one, 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".

Welcome to the lesson in which we will talk about how to use auxiliary verbs in English (auxiliary verbs). Let us analyze in detail each of the auxiliary verbs, see in what tenses certain verbs are used and be sure to consider examples of their use in English sentences. Auxiliary verbs include the following verbs: do / does, did, am / are / is, was / were, have / has.

Auxiliary verbs are used with interrogative and negative sentences to correctly indicate the time when an action will occur. Auxiliary verbs are not always needed. Below we will consider everything in order.

When are auxiliary verbs not used in English?

If in a sentence you see the words will, can, be, then auxiliary verbs are not used when posing an interrogative sentence.

I will call you day after tomorrow. - I'll call you the day after tomorrow.
Will I call you day after tomorrow? - I'll call you the day after tomorrow?
The verb will already indicates that the action will take place in the future, so auxiliary verbs are not needed here.

I can help you. - I can help you.
Can I help you? - I can help you?
Here we are addressing in the present tense with the verb can, so the auxiliary verb is not needed.

Her address is not found. - Her address was not found.
What is her address? - What's her address?
We used the verb to be in the present tense, that is, the time is already determined, so in such cases the use of auxiliary verbs is not necessary.

Use of auxiliary verbs in English

The auxiliary verb do (for I, you, we, they) / does (for he, she, it) is used for Present Simple tense.

Do you like New York? - Do you like New York?
Does he like Moscow? - Does he like Moscow?

The auxiliary verb did is used for the Past Simple tense.

What did she say? - What she said?
Did you ask anything? - Did you ask something?

The auxiliary verb am (for I) / are (for they, you) / is (for he, she, it) is used for Present Continuos (Present Continuous).

Are you coming back to home? - Are you coming home?
Is he going to the movies? - Is he going to the movies?

The auxiliary verb was (for singular) / were (for plural) is used for Past Continuos (past continuous).

What was she doing? - What did she do?
What were we doing? - What did we do?

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 verbs in English are not translated, but they perform an important function. It is the auxiliary verbs that tell us how to translate the sentence correctly. For example, the presence of the auxiliary verb do is a sure sign of an interrogative or negative sentence. And the verb will tells us that the sentence is in the future tense.

To have a general idea of ​​English auxiliary verbs, take a look at the table. This table shows examples of how to use English auxiliary verbs (verbs to DO, WILL, to BE, to HAVE and WOULD).

For each auxiliary verb from this table, there will be a detailed analysis and many examples.

How many auxiliary verbs are there in English?

Let's see what auxiliary verbs are in English and what each of them stands for. There are five such verbs:

1. to be
2. to have
3. to do
4. will (would)
5. shall (should)

Particular attention should be paid to the first three (to be, to have, to do) auxiliary verbs. There are several reasons for this:

• These verbs are used more often.
• They change in faces.
• They are abbreviated
• They are "two-faced" - they can be both an auxiliary verb and a semantic one.

How do auxiliary verbs change by person?

Auxiliary verbs to be, to be and to have change by person. All forms of the present tense for these three verbs are collected in the table:

In the past tense, only the verb to be changes:

I, he, she, it was
They, we, you were

The auxiliary verbs to do and to have in the past tense, respectively, will be did and had in all persons.
The verbs will, would, shall, should do not change by person.

Auxiliary verb to do.

To do is the most important of all the auxiliary verbs in the English language. It is used to construct negative and interrogative sentences. For example, many people love cats and say about themselves:

I like cats.
I love cats.

But what if you do not share this love? Everything must be denied.

I do not like cats.
I do not like cats.

That is, we put immediately after the subject the auxiliary verb do with a negative particle not and we get a negation instead of an affirmative sentence. Instead of do not often written for brevity don't.

You can just as easily construct a question that will allow you to figure out inveterate cat ladies in a crowd of people:

Do do you like cats?
You love cats?

Just put the auxiliary verb do before the subject and get an interrogative sentence.

More examples of interrogative and negative sentences:

I don't know it.
I do not know that.

She didn't watch this cartoon.
She did not watch this cartoon.

Do do you speak English?
Do you speak English?

But one must always remember that there is an exception to the general rule for constructing negative and interrogative English sentences. The verb do is not substituted in sentences containing modal verbs. Read more about the correct handling of modal verbs.

Auxiliary verb to have

As a rule, the verb have is translated directly - as a semantic verb. Its meaning is to have, to possess. If we talk about to have as an auxiliary verb, it is used to form complex temporary constructions, in the name of which there are words such as Perfect / Perfect Continuous. These temporary structures, it must be said, are not the most common. And beginners can do without them. However, this is almost half of the English "tenses" and it is desirable to have an idea of ​​​​how they are formed.

For clarity, I will briefly explain what Perfect / Perfect Continuous is.

If the action you describe is characterized by:

• completion of the action (optional) ;
• the importance of the message for the interlocutor;
• the opportunity for the interlocutor to use the message about the action performed;

then it's Perfect.

If the sentence reports an action that takes place over a period of time, which is indicated explicitly or implied, then this is Perfect Continuous.

The predicate in such sentences is built according to one of the 3 formulas given in the table:

Each of these formulas has an auxiliary verb to have. And instead of asterisks, you need to substitute the infinitive of the main verb. But what is important, if we want to put the sentence in the past or future tense, then we need to apply these tenses to the verb to have, and not to the main verb. That is, in the past tense, instead of have, we put had, and in the future - will have.

I haven't played this computer game before.
I have not played this computer game before (Present Perfect)

I have been playing this musical composition for two hours.
I have been playing this piece of music for two hours now (Present Perfect Continuous)

I have finished reading this book by 3 o'clock today.
I finished reading this book by 3 o'clock today (Past Perfect)

I had been reading this book for 30 minutes when he called.
I had been reading this book for 30 minutes when he called (Past Perfect Continuous).

The verb have can also be used as a modal verb. Read about it in the article "Modal verb have to".
Also, do not forget that the verb have changes by person - see the table at the beginning of the article.

Auxiliary verb to be

As a semantic verb, to be has the meaning "to be", "to be". The fact is that in an English sentence there must always be both a subject and a predicate. In Russian we can say:

I'm a doctor.

As you can see, there is no predicate here, and when translating into English, we will have to cram some kind of verb into this sentence. In such situations, the verb to be is used. The correct translation of this sentence would be:

I am a doctor.

It literally means " I am a doctor.”

And so it is always, when a predicate is omitted in a Russian sentence when translated into English, we add the necessary form of the verb to be after the subject.

I'm a doctor.
I am a doctor.

She is a student.
She is a student.

They are idiots.
They are idiots.

As an auxiliary verb, to be is used when constructing sentences that describe an action that requires a certain amount of time. These are the so-called Present / Past Continuous.

Such proposals are built according to a simple scheme:

Subject + Required form to be + Main verb with –ing added

We are watching a good film now.
We are watching an interesting movie now.

They are loudly discussing the results of competitions.
They loudly discuss the results of the competition.

Tom was reading a magazine when the telephone rank.
Tom was reading a magazine when the phone rang.

By the way, if you are not familiar with English tenses, read the answer to the main question of English grammar “What is the difference between present indefinite and present continuous?” continuous

Auxiliary verb will

With this verb, everything is simple. By itself, it is never used, but as an auxiliary verb, it is used to form the future tense. Just put an auxiliary verb will after the subject and get the future tense. For example:

Auxiliary verb would

Verb would used to construct sentences called future in the past. This is when the main sentence is in the past tense, and the subordinate clause is in the future. In this case, in the subordinate clause for the formation of the future tense, not will is used, but the auxiliary verb would. For example:

I knew that she would come here.
I knew she would come here.

You can read more about this verb in the article “Will and shall. The rule for the formation of the future tense in English. .

Auxiliary verb shall/should

The main thing to know about these verbs is that they are not used in modern English. In case you have to read 19th century texts, remember that when translating shall is the same as will and should is the same as would.