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Primary Auxiliary verbs

Definition

An auxiliary verb is one which cannot usually stand alone and retain a clear meaning.  Compare, for example,

1. He can
2. He went
3. They are
4. She smokes

It's clear that the meanings of sentences 1. and 3. are obscure unless we have some more information.  We need to know what He can do and What they are or are doing.
Sentences 2. and 4., however, are complete in themselves and need no further elaboration.
The verbs can and are in these examples are auxiliary verbs and the verbs went and smokes are main or lexical verbs.  This is a crucial distinction.

In addition to issues of meaning seen above, there are grammatical characteristics of auxiliary verbs which can be used to identify them.  A list of 10 tests to identify central modal auxiliary verbs (such as can, could, may, might, should etc.) is set out in the guide to them, linked below.  Primary auxiliary verbs are, by contrast, rather easier to identify because they perform three essential functions in the language:

1. They form tenses of verbs as in, for example:
       Mary has arrived
       She is running the business
       The money will run out soon
2. They change the voice of a clause, from active to passive or from active to causative, as in, for example:
       The garden was tidied (vs. Someone tidied the garden)
       The car got damaged by a falling tree (vs. A falling tree damaged the car)
       She had her hair cut (vs. Someone cut her hair)
       She got her money stolen (vs. Someone stole her money)
3. They form questions, negatives and emphatic statements as in, e.g.:
       Do you want to come with us?
       She didn't see the reasoning
       I do like her
   Only the auxiliary verb do performs this function.

This guide considers five primary auxiliary verbs: be, have, get, do and will.

Before we start, however, we need to consider three complicating factors.

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Complication 1

There are two kinds of auxiliary verbs in English: Primary Auxiliaries and Modal Auxiliaries.
Modal Auxiliary verbs include, for example, can, may, might, should, ought to etc.  These verbs express notions such as possibility, permission, obligation, likelihood and so on.  There are guides to these elsewhere on the site.  The place to start is the guide to modality, linked in the list of related guides at the end.
The ones in focus here are the primary auxiliaries.

Complication 2

Some primary auxiliary verbs can function in both ways.  They can be auxiliaries and they can also be lexical or main verbs.  For example, in these sentences the verbs get, do, will, be and have are functioning in both ways.  Can you identify which is which?
Click here when you have an answer.

1. They got home late
2. We got the work done
3. He did the crossword puzzle in three minutes
4. Did she arrive?
5. Mary willed the rain to stop
6. Mary will be 21 on Thursday
7. She is a teacher
8. She is arriving now
9. She has the papers
10. She has been to the USA

1. They got home late:
   Here the verb means something like arrived and is lexical because it carries a simple meaning.
2. We got the work done:
   Here the verb refers to fact that the speakers / writers did not do the work themselves.  The verb functions grammatically to make what is called a causative structure.  It's a primary auxiliary verb.
3. He did the crossword puzzle in three minutes
   Here the verb is lexical and means something like finished or accomplished.  It is not acting as a primary auxiliary verb.
4. Did she arrive?
   Here the verb is functioning to form a question but it does not affect the meaning of the main verb, arrive.  It is a primary auxiliary verb.
5. Mary willed the rain to stop
   Here the verb refers to the act of wishing hard for something and carries meaning.  It is a main or lexical verb.
6. Mary will be 21 on Thursday
   Here, the verb acts to make a future form in English and is a primary auxiliary verb.
7. She is a teacher:
   Here the verb is lexical, telling you the relationship between she and teacher.  Technically, it is called a copular verb because it links two things together.  You may also hear it called a linking verb for that reason.
8. She is arriving now:
   Here the verb is an auxiliary and tells us how the verb arriving should be viewed, as an ongoing current action.  (That's called aspect, by the way.)
9. She has the papers:
   Here the verb is lexical and means something like owns or possesses or carries.
10. She has been to the USA:
    Here the verb is a primary auxiliary and tells us how the verb been should be viewed, as an event in the past which is embedded in and changes the present.  (It's another example of aspect.)

Here, we are only concerned with verbs acting as auxiliaries.

Complication 3

Some auxiliaries (notable will) are usually called modal but often act to give grammatical information by forming a tense with a main verb.  For this reason, some people will classify will and would as Primary Auxiliary verbs.  That is a sensible approach because both verbs can act in both ways.  The classification is then split so when they act as primary modal auxiliaries, that is what they should be called and, likewise, when they act as modal auxiliary verbs.
We are going to include the verb will , its alternative shall and its past form would in this guide because it sometimes acts as a primary auxiliary verb.  That it also acts as a modal auxiliary verb is a source of a good deal of confusion for learners and, alas, many teachers and even some coursebook writers.
If you want to learn more about the functions of will and would, go to the guide to modality.  See also below.

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What do the Primary Auxiliary verbs actually do?

Auxiliary verbs in general are sometimes called 'helping verbs' and, although that is rather babyish, there is a kernel of truth in it.  Primary Auxiliaries help in the sense that they provide grammatical information and tell us how to view the lexical or main verb which follows.
We'll take them one by one.

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The first thing to note about this verb is that it is very frequently seen as a lexical or main verb in things such as:
    He did the work carefully
    She is doing her homework
    They do that a lot
etc. and in these cases, the verb carries the meaning of perform an action.  As a lexical verb, do can carry other meanings but the lexical verb does not concern us here.

The second thing to note is that this verb only functions as a Primary Auxiliary verb in present simple and past simple tenses.  Nowhere else.  For this reason, it is often referred to as an operator because it can operate on a main verb in, for example:
    He does enjoy music
in which the verb takes on the ending (es) which would normally occur on the lexical or main verb (enjoys).
In this case, it simply serves to emphasise the verb enjoy.  That is only one of its functions.

do as a Primary Auxiliary verb

What function is the verb do performing in these examples?

1. Did you see the film?
2. I don't understand
3. I do demand it
4. Don't talk to me

Click here when you have an answer.

1. Did you see the film?
   Here the verb signifies that what follows is a question.  Very few languages have a dedicated auxiliary verb for this function and the form and use is difficult for learners at lower levels.
   A common alternative way to use the auxiliary to make a question is by using it as a substitute for a main or lexical verb in a tag question as in, e.g.:
       You saw the film, didn't you?
       She works hard, doesn't she?
   etc.
   We can, of course, also have negative questions as in, e.g.:
       Didn't she enjoy the film?
       Don't you like it?
2. I don't understand
   Here the verb signifies that what follows is a negative.  Again, very few languages have a dedicated auxiliary verb for this function and the form and use is difficult for learners at lower levels.
   Most languages simply use a single negator (usually translated as no or not) to perform this grammatical function (although French uses a double negator, ne ... pas).
3. I do demand it
   Here the verb signifies that the speaker wants to emphasise the following verb.  The word will often be spoken more loudly and with a higher pitch in this case.
4. Don't talk to me
   Here the verb is used to make the negative of an imperative or order.
   Sometimes the verb also emphasises a positive imperative as in, e.g.:
       Do be quiet!

The summary of do:

 

In questions, imperatives and negatives, the verb is not usually stressed.  The stress in these cases is on the lexical or main verb because that is carrying the meaning.  In emphasising uses, however, the verb is stressed.

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Again, have can function as a lexical or main verb and frequently does.  For example:
    I have a shower every evening (meaning, roughly, take)
    I have his address (meaning, roughly, possess)

When it is a lexical or main verb, we can:

• Use it with the do auxiliary (as above) to make questions or negatives in, e.g.:
      I don't have a shower every evening
      Do you have sugar in tea?
      Do you have my address? etc.
• Make negatives and questions (especially in British English) without the do auxiliary but only if the meaning is something like possess or own as in, e.g.
      I haven't (got) your address
      Have you (got) the money?
  etc.
  But not:
      I haven't (got) a shower every day
  because the meaning is take rather than possess or own.
  The use of got in these cases is almost obligatory in British English and leaving it out sounds very formal.
  American English almost always prefers the do auxiliary in these cases and there is evidence that British English is tending that way.  It is certainly easier to teach it that way.

The third thing to note is that when the verb is a Primary Auxiliary, we never use the do auxiliary with it.  Never.  It is not possible to say something like
    *Do you have met him?
and that is a cause for error at lower levels especially.

The fourth complication is that have when it is followed by to + an infinitive is a modal auxiliary verb akin to must as in, e.g.
    I have to leave now
and in this case it does not qualify as a primary auxiliary verb but is a modal auxiliary verb.

have as a Primary Auxiliary verb

What function is the verb have performing in these examples?

1. Have you seen the film?
2. I won't have done it by the time the boss gets here
3. I haven't eaten this before
4. He has spent all his money
5. He had already left when I arrived
6. I hadn't expected something so beautiful, had you?
7. I had my tooth taken out
8. I'll have the window repaired

Click here when you have an answer.

1. Have you seen the film?
   making a question about someone's experience which may change how they can speak about something now.
2. I won't have done it by the time the boss gets here
   making a negative of a future form.
3. I haven't eaten this before
   making a negative concerning past experiences.
4. He has spent all his money
   making a positive statement about how an event in the past is embedded in the present and changes it in some way.
   In sentences a., c. and d., the verb have is acting to make what is called a tense in the perfect aspect.  This usually implies an unfinished action, reference to our lives before now or a recent event which has implications for the present.  It is a way in English of embedding the past in the present and showing that a past event or state changed the present in some way.  That's why it is called the present perfect.
   For more see the guide to the present perfect, linked below.
   In the case of sentence b. we have another perfect tense form but this is the future perfect which serves to embed one future event in another and show how one will change the other.  Another example of this form is:
       I'll have finished in an hour and then I'll go home.
   which signals that the speaker is putting the viewpoint into the future and looking back on a past event from there.
5. He had already left when I arrived
   making a positive statement and setting two events in time relative to one another.
6. I hadn't expected something so beautiful, had you?
   Making a negative and then a question.
   In both these cases, e. and f., the verb is used to form what is called the past perfect.  This usually refers to an event before a past event.  It is the way English has of embedding one past event or state inside another and showing how the first event or state changed the second on.
   For more, see the guide to the past perfect, also linked below.
7. I had my tooth taken out
8. I'll have the window repaired
   In both these cases, g. and h., the verb is used to form what is called the causative.  This usually refers to an event which is either unwelcome (g.) or something one arranges for someone else to do (h.).
   It is, in English, a form of passive voice because it emphasises what happened, rather than who performed the action.
   For more, see the guide to the causative, linked below.

The summary of have:

 

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The verb be can function as a lexical or main verb and usually expresses:

1. The relationship between two things in, for example
       She is a teacher
       It is a mistake
2. The characteristics of something in, e.g.,
       They are French
       He is very clever

In these cases it is known as a copular verb and joins two things together.  For more, see the guide to copular verbs.

The second thing to notice is that this verb has eight different forms (most have only four or five):

1. be
2. am
3. is
4. are
5. was
6. were
7. being
8. been

All of these can be used when the verb is acting as a lexical or main verb or as an auxiliary.  That is confusing for learners at lower levels.  Here is this very irregular verb compared to a regular lexical or main verb, smoke, so you can see the complications: 

To show:	be	smoke
Infinitive	be	smoke
First person singular (I)	am
Second person singular or plural (you)	are
Third person plural (they)
First person plural (we)
Third person singular (he, she, it)	is	smokes
Present participle / gerund	being	smoking
Past participle	been	smoked
First person singular (past)	was
Second person singular (past)
First person plural (past)	were
Third person plural (past)

be as a Primary auxiliary verb

What function is the verb be performing in these examples?

1. I am seeing him tomorrow?
2. They were playing tennis at the time
3. She was explaining it to me
4. He was banging on the door
5. The window was broken by a bird
6. The car has been repaired

Click here when you have an answer..

1. I am seeing him tomorrow
2. They were playing tennis at the time
3. She was explaining it to me
4. He was banging on the door
   In all these cases the verb comes before a participle form ending in -ing and tells us that the action or event was continuous or progressive )b. and c.), repeated (d.) or arranged now for the future (a.).  This is usually called the progressive aspect.  For more about this go to the guide to tense and aspect.
5. The window was broken by a bird
6. The car has been repaired
   In both these cases the verb is followed by the past participle of a lexical or main verb and used to form what is called the passive voice.  The passive is often used when the doer of the action is unimportant or unknown and to lay stress on the action itself and the object of the action.  For more, see the guide to voice.  In sentence e., the auxiliary be is used alongside the auxiliary have so this sentence shows both perfect aspect (see have) and passive voice.

The summary of be:

 

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This guide is slightly unusual in classifying get as a Primary Auxiliary verb but it can function this way as well as functioning as a lexical or main verb.
As a lexical verb it has a very wide range of meanings.  Some dictionaries will list over 40 different meanings of the verb ranging from achieve, reach, arrive etc. to become, grow and leave.  Adding particles to get such as on, out, over, to etc. adds even more meanings.
Here, however, we are interested in get as a primary auxiliary verb.

get as a Primary Auxiliary verb

What function is the verb be performing in these examples?

1. I got the house painted
2. She got her foot trapped
3. The window got damaged
4. They will get arrested for it

Click here when you have an answer.

1. I got the house painted
2. She got her foot trapped
   In both these cases the verb is being used in the same way as the auxiliary have was used (see above) to make a causative sentence.  The meanings are the same: either to arrange something or to suffer an unpleasant event.  Generally, causatives with get are considered less formal than those with have.
3. The window got damaged
4. They will get arrested for it
   In both these cases the verb is followed by the past participle of a lexical or main verb and used to form the passive voice in the same way that be is used (see above).  Generally, passives with get are also considered less formal than those with be.
   In English, the verb get can only apply to what is called a dynamic passive – referring to an action rather than a state.  The verb be, on the other hand, can refer to both states (stative passives) and actions.  Examples will help:
       The girl got injured during the game
   is a less formal way of saying
       The girl was injured during the game
   and both are dynamic uses referring to an action.
   However,
       The window got broken
   and
       The window was broken
   may refer to an action but only the second of these can also refer to the state of the window.  Only in the second case, in other words, is a stative interpretation possible.
   Many languages, e.g., German, reserve different verbs for stative and dynamic uses.

So, in sentences a. and b., we can replace get with have and in sentences c. and d., we can replace it with be.
In both cases get is usually less formal.

The summary of get:

 

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We noted at the beginning that not all analyses consider this verb to be a primary auxiliary verb.  We do in this guide, however, because in one of its functions, it acts as a primary auxiliary verb.

The verb has a number of meanings considered at length elsewhere on this site (see the guide to will and would linked below, for example).
The three main meanings it carries are:

1. As a lexical verb.
   When will is used in this way it is a regular verb with two meanings:
   1. bequeath as in pass down to the next generation as in, e.g.:
          He willed his entire fortune to his dog
   2. exercise mental power (usually pointlessly) as in, e.g.:
          He willed the rain to stop
   These meanings of the verb do not concern us here.
2. As a modal auxiliary verb indicating willingness or volition.  For example:
       I'll take you to the station if you like
       Mary says she'll help with the work
   In this meaning, the past tense is formed as would so we can also get:
       I promised I would take you to the station
       Mary said she would help
       John would always help his children with their homework
   The verb when it acts in this way indicates what is known as dynamic or personal modality because it concerns the speaker's willingness to do something.
   The last example above, concerning homework is often analysed as the verb signalling habitual activity in the past and it does do that.  Here, however, it also implies a past willingness to do something and is acting as a modal auxiliary verb expressing dynamic modality.
   It can also act to express how likely something is in the speaker's view so we also get, for example:
       That will be the postman the dog is barking at
       I expect John will be working now
   with both signifying that the speaker is fairly (not 100%) sure of the truth of what is said.
   Neither of these uses of the verb concern us here because they are modal meanings concerning the speaker's willingness or belief.
3. As a primary auxiliary verb forming part of a future tense form.
   This is the use that does concern us here because the main function of primary auxiliary verbs is grammatical and in this case the way that English forms a tense referring to pure futurity is to use will or shall as a primary auxiliary verb.  For example:
       I will be 35 tomorrow
       I shall not be in London before 6
       They'll expect an answer
       It will be cold in Alaska at this time of year
       Mary will be chairing the meeting
   and so on all refer to the future and make no statement at all about the willingness of the people.  In the example about Alaska, of course, willingness or otherwise is not even in consideration because the weather cannot show volition.
   In the last example, we have a slightly different future tense form which implies that something will happen as a matter of course.

Complication

The serious complication here is that it is often not clear whether someone is using the verb as a modal auxiliary or a primary auxiliary verb.  See if you can identify the function of the verb in these cases and then click on the for some comments:

Will you marry me?	In this case, the verb is acting as a modal auxiliary verb because we can rephrase it with something like:     Do you want to marry me? or     Are you willing to marry me? showing that we are referring to volition or willingness, not to the future (although, of course, any possible wedding is set in the future).
Do you think she will marry him?	Here, the verb is a primary auxiliary verb because it is clear that the question asks the hearer to speculate about the future, not to talk about whether she is willing or not.  We can rephrase the question as:     Do you believe that she is going to marry him?
I will talk to you tomorrow	Here, the verb is ambiguous.  It could be working as a modal auxiliary verb and in that case we can rephrase this as:     I am willing to talk to you tomorrow or     I intend to talk to you tomorrow but it could also be functioning as a primary auxiliary verb meaning:     Our talk happens tomorrow and that does not state anything about the speaker's willingness or otherwise.
Jane thought she would be early	Here, the verb is a primary auxiliary verb because it is clear that the reference is to the future, not to the Jane's willingness.  It is, in fact, a future form set in the past and could be rephrased as:     Jane expected to be early.
Shall we go?	Here, the verb is a modal auxiliary verb because the question concerns the hearer's willingness to do something.  We can rephrase the question as:     Do you want to go?
I shan't be able to come	Here, the verb is a primary auxiliary verb because it is clear it is a reference to future ability not general ability.  The sense of ability is carried by the phrase be able to and not by the use of shall. We can rephrase the statement as:     I will not have the ability to come.
You will not speak to my mother like that	Here, the verb is a modal auxiliary verb but it carries a rather unusual meaning.  It could be rephrased as:     I forbid you to speak to my mother like that The meaning is, in fact, to do with prohibition or negative obligation.
I won't be necessary to get a visa	Here, the verb is a primary auxiliary verb because it is clear that the reference is to future obligation.  The sense of obligation is carried by the adjective necessary and not by the verb will. It could be rephrased as:     No visa is needed
I wouldn't do that, even if you paid me	Here, the verb is a modal auxiliary verb because it is clear that the reference is to my putative willingness in the present or future.  This is often the verb's sense in conditional forms.  The use of will is parallel in:     I won't come if she doesn't ask me
She will be at the meeting if her train is on time	Here, the verb is a primary auxiliary verb because it is clear that the reference is to the future.  The fact that it is contingent on another event (the train's performance) does not change the sense of the verb. It could be rephrased as:     We can expect her to be at the meeting if her train is on time

You can see from that little exercise that it is not easy to disentangle the meanings in all cases.  However, if we do not try with learners to make sure that the meanings of will / shall / would acting as a modal auxiliary verb or acting as a primary auxiliary verb are clear, we are asking for trouble.
Many languages, including Romance languages such as Italian, French, Spanish and more and most Slavic languages, have a special tense form for the future which English does not have.
Other languages (such as Dutch and German, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian) work a little like English in using an auxiliary verb but these languages do not all have the added complication of using the same verb to signal both willingness and futurity.
Some languages, including Chinese languages, some south-east Asian languages and Greek use a particle to denote a future time reference rather as English uses will.

The summary of will:

The anomalous nature of used

If we are including the verb would in its sense of signalling a discontinued habit, as in, e.g.:
    We would often take a trip to the market
as forming a past tense with a habitual aspect, then it is a logical extension to classify. e.g.:
    We often used to take a trip to the market
as equally an example of the verb used, followed in this case with the to-infinitive as performing a primary rather than modal function.
That is to say, that the verb forms a tense rather than expressing the usual modal meanings of obligation, likelihood, doubt, certainty and so on.
However, most authorities persist in classifying the structure used + to-infinitive as a semi-modal verb and that is what is done in the guide to those verbs on this site (link below).

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Summary

Here's the big picture:

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Take a short test on some of this.

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Related guides
modality essentials	for a guide to the other sort of auxiliary verbs
PDF document	for a list of primary and modal auxiliary verbs
modal auxiliary verbs	for a traditional guide to pure (or central) modal auxiliary verbs
semi-modal auxiliary verbs	the more technical guide to semi- and marginal modal auxiliary verbs
will and would	for more about the difficulties of this verb
tense and aspect	to see how primary auxiliaries work to make tense and aspect forms and how will operates
voice	with a focus on the active and passive
copular verbs	for a guide to how be and other verbs work to link the subject and complement
the present perfect	for a guide to how have works to form the language's most troublesome and misunderstood tense
the passive voice	for the in-service guide to a tricky area
the causative	a more technical guide to using have and get to make a form of the passive

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