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Primary Auxiliary verbs

Definitions

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.

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Complication 1

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

5. The factory cans tomatoes
6. She can tell you tomorrow
7. She is a teacher
8. She is arriving now
9. She has the papers
10. She has been to the USA

5. The factory cans tomatoes: here the verb means something like preserve and is lexical.
6. She can tell you tomorrow: here the verb refers to ability or permission and has no meaning without the verb tell.  It's an auxiliary verb.
7. She is a teacher: here the verb is lexical, telling you the relationship between she and teacher.
8. She is arriving now: here the verb is an auxiliary and tells us how the verb arriving should be viewed.  (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 auxiliary and tells us how the verb been should be viewed.  (It's another example of aspect.)

Here, we are only concerned with the auxiliaries.

Complication 2

There are two kinds of auxiliary verbs in English: Primary Auxiliaries and Modal Auxiliaries.
Modal Auxiliaries 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.
The ones in focus here are the primary auxiliaries and for our purposes, these are be, have, do and get.

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 Auxiliaries.  That is not the approach taken here.  If you want to learn more about the functions of will and would, go to the guide to modality.

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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 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 verb in things such as: He did the work carefully, She is doing her homework, They do that a lot etc.  The lexical verb does not concern us here.

The second thing to note is that this verb only functions as a Primary Auxiliary in present simple and past simple tenses.  Nowhere else.  For this reason, it is often referred to as an oparator because it can operate as 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 verb (enjoys).

do as a Primary Auxiliary

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.
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.
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.

The summary of do:

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

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The first thing to note is that have can function as a lexical verb and frequently does.  For example:

• I have a shower every evening (meaning, roughly, take)
• I have his address (meaning, roughly, possess)

The second thing to note is that when it is a lexical verb, we can:

• Use it with the do auxiliary (as above) to make questions or negatives when have is a lexical verb 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 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

What function is the verb have performing in these examples?

1. Have you seen the film?
2. I won't have done it by then
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?
2. I won't have done it by then
3. I haven't eaten this before
4. He has spent all his money
   In all these cases 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.  For more see the guide to the present perfect.
5. He had already left when I arrived
6. I hadn't expected something so beautiful, had you?
   In both these cases the verb is used to form what is called the past perfect.  This usually refers to an event before a past event.  For more, see the guide to the past perfect.
7. I had my tooth taken out
8. I'll have the window repaired
   In both these cases 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.).  For more, see the guide to the causative.

The summary of have:

This diagram is incomplete.  The verb have as a Primary Auxiliary also performs the function of making other perfect tenses as in, e.g.
    I will have finished by 6
    Will you have had time to do it?
etc.

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The first thing to note is that the verb be can function as a lexical 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): be (the base form), am, is, are (present forms), was, were (past forms), being (the present participle and gerund) and been (the past participle, often of the verb go).  All of these can be used when the verb is acting as a lexical verb or as an auxiliary.  That is confusing for learners at lower levels.

be as a Primary auxiliary

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. The window was broken by a bird
5. 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
   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 or arranged now for the future.  This is usually called the progressive aspect.  For more about this go to the guide to tense and aspect.
4. The window was broken by a bird
5. The car has been repaired
   In both these cases the verb is followed by the past participle of a lexical 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 but it can function this way as well as functioning as a lexical 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 an auxiliary.

get as a Primary Auxiliary

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 and 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 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.

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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Summary

Here's the big picture:

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Take a short test.

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Related guides
modality essentials	for a guide to the other sort of auxiliary verbs
modal auxiliary verbs one by one	for a traditional guide to pure (or central) modal auxiliary verbs
semi-modal verbs	the more technical guide to semi- and marginal modal verbs
tense and aspect	to see how primary auxiliaries work to make tense and aspect forms
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 causative	a more technical guide to using have and get to make a form of the passive

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