Main (principal) Verb and Auxiliary (helping) Verb

Introduction:

Read these sentences:

James has a new bicycle.

They have a big garden.

I go to school every day.

She teaches English.

In these sentences, the verb words has, have, go and teaches express a meaning of their own, the idea of possession or physical action.  Verbs which have a meaning of their own, agree with the Person and Number of the Subject of a sentence and show the time (tense) at which the activities happen are called MAIN (PRINCIPAL) VERBS.

Now read these sentences:

James has returned from his office.     one verb – two parts

They have caught the thief.                     one verb – two parts

I am going to school now.                         one verb – two parts

She will teach English next year.             one verb – two parts

In these sentences, though the verb words has, have, am and will are used, they do not express any idea of possession or they do not have meaning of their own.

They merely help to form the TENSES – present perfect, present continuous and simple future of the verb words return, catch, go and teach.

And those verb words which help the other verb words to form tenses (in Active & Passive) are called AUXILIARY (HELPING) VERBS.

There are different kinds of these auxiliary (helping) verbs.  Some can be used as main verbs and helping verbs, but some can never be used as main verbs at all.  The following notes will help us to understand the several complications involved in making a verb word a sensible VERB in any give sentence.

The following are the Auxiliary (helping) Verbs in English:

“Be” and its forms — am, is, are, was were, been and being

“Have” and its forms — has, had and been

“Do” and its forms — does and did

with shall, should; will, would; can, could; may, might; must; ought (to); need; dare; used (to).

{These verb words and their forms are also called ANOMALOUS VERBS!}

Before going any further in this topic, let’s take a quick look at the Anomalous Verbs.

Of all the verb words, the above-mentioned verb words are the only verbs that can take a negation (no, never and not) directly and can make a question on their own.  The rest of the hundreds of verb words which cannot take a negative directly and which cannot make a question on their own are called NON-ANOMALOUS VERBS.

Compare:

You are not a teacher.   [‘are’ with negative ‘not’ -- correct]

You are a teacher.

Are you a teacher?        [‘are’ used to make a question -- correct]

But…

He goes not to school.        [wrong – ‘goes’ cannot take a negative]

He goes to school.

Goes he to school?              [wrong – ‘goes’ cannot make a question]

Because…

‘goes’ is a non-anomalous verb, it cannot take a negative directly and cannot make a question on its own.  An auxiliary verb form of one of the anomalous verbs must be present depending on the context and tense.

Therefore…

He does not go to school. [correct]

He goes to school.

Does he go to school?         [correct]

KINDS OF AUXILIARY (HELPING) VERBS

PRIMARY AUXILIARIES & MODAL AUXILIARIES:

Introduction

Read these sentences:

The cow is grazing.

You do not write carefully.

He has done something wrong.

They had worked for hours before they rested.

The verb words is, do, has and had are auxiliary (helping) verbs in these sentences.

They just help us to express statements of fact or some physical activities.

And those verb words which merely help to express statements of fact are called

PRIMARY AUXILIARIES.  “Be” and its forms; “do” and its forms and “have” and its forms belong to this group.

These Primary Auxiliaries can be used as Main Verbs as well as Helping Verbs.

And of all the Verb Words, only the ‘BE’ forms — is, am, are, was and were — can be used with present participle (ing) form!

For example,

He is going.

I am writing.

We are playing.

She was crying.

They were working.

But no other verb word can be used with ‘ing’ form directly:

I do not playing. [wrong]    He has running. [wrong]   You have doing. [wrong]

Those incorrect verbs can be corrected with the help of one of the ‘BE’ forms – “been”:

He has been running. You have been doing… I have been playing. (positive)

He has not been running. You have not been doing… I have not been playing. (negative)

[‘has been running’ – one verb – three parts: ‘has’ helping verb, ‘been’ helping verb and ‘running’ present participle form of the main verb ‘go’ to show continuous action; this verb is in PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE!]

Now read the following sentences:

He will come.        He can come.                        He must come.

He need not come.            He would come He may come.

These sentences are not just statements of fact.  They are not expressing any physical activities.

Though they express actions or events, they exist only as conceptions of the mind — probability, possibility, obligation, wishes, etc.  Several factors may prevent these possibilities, wishes, etc. from being fulfilled.

Auxiliary verbs which help to express such conceptions of the mind are called MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS.   The word ‘Modal’ comes from the word “mood” which is related to the mind!

Modal Auxiliary (helping) verbs:

Shall, should; will, would; can, could; may, might; must; ought (to); need; dare; (used to)

These Modal Auxiliaries have three common characteristics:

a) They are never used alone – a Main Verb in its ‘bare-infinitive’ form is either present or understood: {except ‘need’, ‘dare’ and ‘used to’}

e.g.

He can fly an aeroplane.     Will you go there?

Must you do it alone?         Yes, I must.   [= Yes, I must do it alone.]

Therefore,

I will to school.  [wrong – no main verb]

I will go to school.   [correct – main verb ‘go’ is present]

b) These Auxiliaries have a ‘single form’ through out the Present Tense, whatever be the Person and Number of the subject of the sentence:

e.g.

I can swim.  You can swim.   She can swim.

Compare:

The Primary Auxiliaries have different forms depending on the

Person and Number of the subject of the sentence:

I am swimming.     You are swimming.    She is swimming.

The Finite Forms also have different forms:

I swim.   You swim.     He swims.    My friend swims.

c) The Modal Auxiliaries do not take the ‘to-infinitive’ or the ‘participle’ – present or past – forms directly:

e.g.

You shall to go. [wrong]

She can gone.  [wrong]

He may coming here. [wrong]

You shall go.   [correct]

She can go.      [correct]

He may come here.   [correct]

As these Modal Auxiliaries do not take the Infinitive forms, except, of course, the Bare-infinitive form, they are sometimes called “Defective Verbs”.

The Uses of Modal Auxiliary Verbs:

Shall

“Shall” with the First Person subject of a sentence expresses ‘simple futurity’; with the Second Person and Third Person, it may express a command, promise, threat, determination, etc.

e.g.  I shall go at once.  [ I – First Person -- simple futurity]

You shall go at once.  [you – Second Person – a command]

He shall be dismissed for negligence of duty.  [He – Third Person – a threat]

You all shall get some reward if you work hard.  [you – Second Person – a promise.]

Will

“Will” with the Second and Third Person subject of a sentence expresses ‘simple futurity’; with the First Person, it expresses determination, threat, willingness, etc.

These two rules are not given much importance these days because we use  ’ll, the contracted form of either ‘will’ or ‘shall’.

And there is little difference if it is ‘shall’ or ‘will’.  For example, “He’ll meet us at the airport.” in this sentence “He’ll” can be ‘He will’ or ‘He shall’.

When we actually want to show the difference, we use the word ‘will’ or ‘shall’ in full or rephrase the entire sentence to give us the desired meaning.

Should

‘Should’ is the Past Tense of “shall” and is used as such in the Indirect (reported) Speech.

He said, “I shall do it now.”  Direct Speech

He said that he should do it then. Indirect Speech

‘Should’ expresses duty, obligation, possibility, likelihood or doubt.

He should pay the fee in time.

We should all work for the common good.

You should be more careful.

‘Should’ expresses less possibility than ‘shall’.

Compare:

I shall be happy to meet my boss.   [more possibility of being happy]

I should be happy to meet my boss.  [less possibility of being happy]

should is the only Auxiliary that is used after the conjunction “lest”.

The police surrounded the house lest the thief should escape.

Would

‘Would’ is the Past Tense form of ‘will’ and is used as such in Indirect (reported) Speech.

She said, “I will do it tomorrow.” Direct Speech

She said that she would do it the next day. Indirect Speech

‘Would’ expresses willingness or determination.

The doctor said that he would visit us.  [willingness]

She would have her own way.    [determination]

‘Would’ and ‘would like to’ express a wish.

I would like to know what my duty is.

‘Would’ is used for asking polite questions.

Would you like a cup of coffee?

(This is more polite than using ‘will’.) 

Can

“Can” expresses ability.

She can play tennis very well.

“Can” is also used in the sense of ‘may’ to give permission thought ‘may’ is correct.

You can go now.

* “Can” is the only verb word which takes ‘not’ without a space in between; for example,

I am not done yet.               He was not in.

But…

I cannot do it alone.             He cannot come in now.

** The learners are advised to keep the distinction (difference)

between can and may in respect to giving permission and used only may for asking permission.

Could

“Could” is the past tense form of ‘can’ and is used as such in Indirect Speech.

e.g.

She said, “I can play the piano.”

She said that she could play the piano.

“Could” is used to indicate ability that a person or animal had in the past.

In my younger days I could run four miles at a stretch.

‘Could’ refers to Past only when the context makes the time clear.

In the above example, the phrase ‘In my younger days’ refers to Past time.

** Use ‘was/were + able to’ when referring to a purpose achieved in the past with some specific time:

Yesterday I could swim across the river.  [wrong]

Yesterday I was able to swim across the river.  [correct]

“Could” is used to express possibility, uncertainty or unreal condition.

You could do it if you tried hard.  (less possibility)

“Could” is also used to ask polite questions (almost asking permission politely)

Could I have a word with you, Sir?

May

“May” is used to express permission, possibility, wish, etc.

e.g.

May I come in, please?  (permission)

He may be elected chairman of the Party.   (possibility)

May God bless you!     (wish)

Compare:

The subtle difference between may and can:

Servant: “May I leave now, Sir?”

Master:  “Yes, you may.  But you cannot.  (go out now; it’s raining)

[In the second sentence the master gives permission – almost saying ‘I  have no objection if you leave’ but says the servant cannot go out because it is raining – almost saying ‘It is not possible for you to go out’.]

Might

“Might” is the past tense form of ‘may’ and is used as such in Indirect Speech.

e.g.

The man said to me, “You may leave now.”       Direct Speech

The man told me that I might leave then.        Indirect Speech

“Might” is used to indicate a more doubtful possibility than ‘may’.

e.g.

I might pass the exam.   [more doubtful – 70% doubt]

I may pass the exam.     [less doubtful – 30% doubt]

Must

“Must” expresses strong obligation or duty and also necessity, probability or

likelihood, strong determination.

e.g.

We must be loyal to our country.  [strong obligation]

We must build up a strong army to defend our country. [necessity]

We must go to visit our parents, whatever happens.[strong determination]

* “Must” remains unchanged (not inflected in form) whatever be its Tense, or the Number and Person of the subject.  It can point to the Present or Future.

It can refer to the Past only when it is used with the Present Perfect Tense form of the Main Verb.

e.g.

He must have gone home.  (past)

He must see the doctor now.  (present)

He must pay damages if he keeps breaking things.  (future)

** “Must” is much stronger than ‘should’.

Order of intensity:

I should do it now.   [strong obligation]

I ought to do it now.  [stronger]

I must do it now.    [the strongest]

Three special functions of MUST:

It is essential to know the difference between the “three uses of Must”.

“Must” used for the actual present tense in the Direct Speech becomes ‘had to’ in the Indirect Speech:

e.g.

“I must write to my father,” my friend said to me.  [present time – now] Direct

My friend told me that he had to write to his father. Indirect

“Must” used for the future time in the Direct Speech becomes ‘would have to’ in the Indirect Speech:

e.g.

“I must leave for Kenya next week,” he said to her.   [future]       Direct

He told her that he would have to leave for Kenya the following week. Indirect

“Must”, when expresses a rule that always applies, used in the Direct Speech, remains unchanged in the Indirect Speech:

e.g.

Grandma said, “Children must obey their parents.”  [a rule]      Direct

Grandma said that children must obey their parents.  Indirect (unchanged)

Ought to

“Ought” differs from other Auxiliaries in being followed by the ‘to-infinitive’.

“Ought to” expresses duty, necessity, fitness, moral obligation.

e.g.

They ought to help their friends.  (duty)

He ought to be six feet to join the Army.   (fitness)

Need

“Need” is used both as a Main Verb and as an Auxiliary Verb.  As a main verb it is used in the sense of ‘require’, in the conception of the mind, of course.

e.g.

He needs my help.

We needed some more money. 

[used as a finite verb taking ‘s’ to form singular as the subject ‘he’ is singular; taking ‘ed’ to form past tense]

He need not ask my permission.

[used as a ‘modal auxiliary’, and so, does not take ‘s’ or ‘es’ to change into singular to go with the subject ‘he’, just like other modal auxiliaries]

“Need”, when referring to Past time as an auxiliary, is followed by the ‘prefect Infinitive’. 

e.g.

He need not have lost his temper.  [but he lost his temper – Past] 

“Need” as an auxiliary in the negative answer takes ‘not’: ‘No, he need not/needn’t.’, but if the answer is in the positive, we should say: ‘Yes, he must.’

The opposite of ‘need not’ in such a context is must, not ‘need’!

Dare

“Dare” is used both as a Main Verb and as an Auxiliary.

As a main verb it is used in the sense of ‘challenge’ or ‘face something or someone boldly’, and it changes its form according to the subject and the tense of the sentence, just as “need” does:

e.g.

He dares me to a fight.

She dared to call him a liar.

As an auxiliary, “dare” is unchanged and is commonly used with ‘not’ or in interrogative sentences:

e.g.

He dare not do this. [he does not have the courage to do such a thing]

Dare he say that to the teacher?

Compare:

‘Dare & Need’

He needs my help.              [‘needs’ – main verb]

He does not need my help.

[‘does’ – helping verb with negative “not”; ‘need’ – main verb]

He need not answer my question.

[‘need’ – helping verb with negative “not”; ‘answer’ – main verb – bare infinitive]

He does not need to answer my question.

[‘does’ – helping verb with negative “not”; ‘need’ – main verb; “to answer” – ‘to-infinitive’]

I did not need to buy that book.

[‘did’—helping verb with negative “not”; ‘need’ – main verb;‘to buy’ – ‘to-infinitive’]

[= It was not necessary for me to buy that book and so I did not buy.]

I need not have bought that book.

[‘need’ – helping verb with negative “not”; ‘have bought’ --  perfect infinitive]

[= It was not necessary for me to buy that book, but I bought it!]

Same is the case with “Dare”:

He does not dare to speak to me.  [‘does’ – helping verb with negative “not”; ‘dare’ – main verb; ‘to speak’ – to-infinitive]

He dare not speak to me.     [‘dare’ – helping verb with negative “not”; ‘speak’ – main verb –  bare infinitive]

Used to

“Used to” is used to express things that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens now.

e.g.

I used to live in the country but I moved to the city three years ago.

She used to love him a lot in the early days of their marriage.

[= but now she does not love him or does not show much love to him]

Compare:

There is bound to be some confusion while using ‘used to’ and ‘be + used to’

Therefore, let’s take a quick look at these expressions:

e.g.

I used to smoke ten cigarettes a day.

[‘used’ – main verb; ‘to smoke’ – to-infinitive]

[It was my habit -- I smoked ten cigarettes a day, but now either I gave up smoking or I reduced the number.]

I am used to smoking only five cigarettes a day.

[‘am used’ – main verb; ‘to smoking’ – ‘ing’ form of ‘smoke’ with “to”]

[When I started smoking only five cigarettes a day, I found it very difficult to keep the number under control, now I am satisfied and limit myself to five cigarettes a day; it isn’t as difficult as it was in the beginning.]

conclusion:

‘used’ + to-infinitive –

I used to wake up late but now I wake up early.

‘be + used + ‘ing’ form with “to” — I am used to waking up early.

[= in the past I found it difficult to wake up early, but now I can wake up early without much difficulty]

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