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Questions tagged [auxiliary-verbs]

An auxiliary verb modifies the main verb to give more information about the main verb.

For instance, in the sentence "He has been sleeping", has is an auxiliary verb, and been is an auxiliary verb.

For more information on auxiliary verbs, see Wikipedia's pertinent page.

See also:

280 questions
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Can a person say "And I you"?

In a film I thought I heard a man say "And I you." I wondered if it were OK because there seemed to be no verb? Another man said to him "I like you my buddy". So why did he not reply "So do I buddy"?
The Beefer Fan
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What are the following words called: Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Be, Being, Been?

Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Be, Being, Been What are the above words called? I think someone called them auxiliary verbs. Edit: When I learned them, my curriculum called them "State of Being verbs" or just "Being verbs".
Arlen Beiler
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Que sera seria - What will be WOULD be

While addressing backshifting of epistemic 'would' over on English Language Learners, I ended up trying to analyse will/would usage in the context of... 1: Considering how long it's been out of the fridge, I think the fish will be putrid 2: ?…
FumbleFingers
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Auxiliary verbs

I wonder if there are more other auxiliary verbs in addition to that 23 common verbs. for example when we say : "I let him go." , can we consider the verb "let" as an auxiliary, just because of that it's followed by a bare infinitive as that 23…
iliabala
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1 answer

"What just happened?" vs "What did just happen?"

I've always used "What did just happen?" because I believe we are asking about the object of the verb "happen" so I use an auxiliary and the infinitive. However, I've heard native speakers say "What just happened?", is this correct too?
Jose
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1 answer

Sentence start with auxiliary-verb

Only after the journal transaction has been committed in this fashion can the kernel do the real metadata writes at its leisure; should the system crash in the middle, the information needed to safely finish the job can be found in the journal.…
Edwin
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2 answers

about " so that"

Consider the sentence structure: S + V1 + "so that" + S + (aux. V) + V2 For example: Mike went to the theater early so that he could find a seat. What happens if I take out the auxiliary verb? Mike went to the theater early so that he…
Letherette Jmsn
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"To be an influence" or "to have an influence"

Is there a rule for when one has to say to be a positive influence on... or to have a positive influence on...? For example, The practice of singing songs is/has a positive influence on people.
Matthaeus
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Who I've sold your cats *are/is* those people

I have already posted questions about wh-cleft verb agreement, but after having watched all the links you'd graciously provided, I was able to find no answer that'd explain which verb to use in this example. Who I've sold your cats are those…
Mr realtor
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can "should" be used as a modal auxiliary verb for emphasis in a conditional?

Based on the grammar books, for example, https://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/auxiliary.htm "Do & did" are used as an auxiliary verb for emphasis as in He does like spinach He never did understand his father While there are a few examples where…
B Chen
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Is it incorrect to use "belong" as an auxiliary verb?

Say I used the sentence: We belong doing this. In this case, belong would be the auxiliary verb, similar to should or ought to be, and doing would be the full verb. Is this incorrect, or simply an uncommon use of the word?
noone
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3 answers

"Didn't" or "Wouldn't"?

When I was in high school, a mosquito bite used to be itchy for many weeks. It didn't subside for a month or more. Is the word didn't proper here or should I use wouldn't? Wouldn't sounds better to my ear but I do not know why. The itch used to…
huggie
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Omission of Auxiliaries

I have heard this sentence, said by somebody: Okay, let's check your homework. Sentence 1... correct, sentence 2... also correct, sentence 3 correct as well, and sentence 4... correct, too. Now, I've really wondered why there's no is used. I…
user473457
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Which verb to use with "pair of X"

Which of the following is correct: Every pair of two different people are of different countries. Every pair of two different people is of different countries.
Median Hilal
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Are there terms to distinguish the auxiliary verbs in a multi-auxiliary verb phrase?

In phrase constructions that include multiple auxiliary verbs, as in "he has been sleeping all day", is there terminology commonly used to distinguish them? For example, might you call the first one "the primary auxiliary" and the next "a secondary…
tangosquared
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