The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

5.1. Auxiliary verbs
Unit five. Time, tense and aspect

Sections 477-478; 582; 735

Auxiliary verbs, or auxiliaries, are verbs which help to make up a verb phrase in combination with a main verb. The verbs do, have and be can be used as primary auxiliaries, while can, could, will, etc. are used as modal auxiliaries.

Auxiliaries only occur by themselves if the main verb is supplied by the earlier context. They can be placed before not and also before the subject in questions.

Contracted forms of auxiliaries are typical of spoken and informal English. Most auxiliaries also have contracted negative forms.

Task one *

Identify the auxiliary verbs in the following text, underlining the primary auxiliaries once and the modal auxiliaries twice.

Ruth watched him as he dropped his bag down on the sofa, felt in his pocket and carefully laid fifteen brand new fifty-pound notes on the table. Ruth was impressed. ’Great-grandmother’s legacy? Bank raid?’

Martin was biting his lip hard. ’It’s all there. You can count it.’ Ruth fingered the money. The new logs that Mr Wellbeing had cut for her hissed and spat from the fire.

’You’re serious.’

’I had more money in my account than I thought.’

Martin began to hum as he pulled at the zip of his anorak. It was an odd, uneasy sound and Ruth had never heard it before. For the first time since she had met him, Ruth sensed that he might not be telling the truth and she was intrigued. ’You mean you cashed in your life savings for a one-legged chair?’ Ruth did laugh then. ’I think Papa would have appreciated that.’ ’Don’t mock.’

’I wasn’t mocking, Martin. Hemingway had a sense of humour. You must know that.’

’Not about himself. He didn’t like to be laughed at.’

(from Michael Palin, Hemingway’s Chair, pp. 159-160)

Task two *

Rewrite the verb phrases in the following sentences by replacing the full forms with contracted ones where possible.

1. It is going to be hard to get away with this but I will do my best.

2. Although I had made an awful mistake, Marjorie did not notice.

3. You need not worry if I have not come back by midnight.

4. Jim has been in trouble before, so he had better watch out.

5. We are getting complaints from people who have been treated unfairly.

6. Do you mind if we suspend these talks until everybody is listening again?

7. We must not condemn others as long as we are not setting an example ourselves.

8. I do not approve of what you have done but I will not tell anyone.

9. I would be prepared to lend a hand this afternoon but I am afraid I cannot come.

10. Should the Robinsons not have told us they were not going to share the costs after all?