Auxiliary Verbs
There are two verbs in each of these sentences:
I | have | lost | my keys. |
She | can't | come | to the party. |
The hotel | was | built | ten years ago. |
Where | do | you | live? |
In these examples have/can't/was/do are auxiliary verbs.
OK. So you know what auxiliary verbs are. But when and how can they be used?
Yes, I do, etc.
You can use an auxiliary verb (without the rest of the sentence) when you don't want to repeat something:
- "Have you locked the door?" "Yes, I have." (= I have locked the door)
- George wasn't working but Janet was. (= Janet was working)
- She could lend me the money but she won't. (= she wo't lend me the money)
- "Are you angry with me" "Of course I'm not." (= I'm not angry)
Use do/does/did for the present and past simple:
- "Do you like onions?" "Yes, I do." (= I like onions)
- "Does Mark smoke?" "He did but he doesn't any more."
Polite interest
Apart from that, phases such as: have you? / isn't she? / do they? etc. can be used to show polite interest in what somebody has said:
- "I"ve just met Simon." "Oh, have you? How is he?"
- "Liz isn't very well today." "Oh, isn't she? What"s wrong with her?"
- "It rained every day during our holiday." "Did it? What a pity!"
Sometimes we use these "short question" to show surprise:
- "Jim and Nora are getting married." "Are they? Really?"
We use auxiliary verbs with so and neither:
- "I'm feeling tired." "So am I." (= I'm feeling tired too)
- "I never read newspapers" "Neither do I." (= I never read newspapers either)
- Sue hasn't got a car and neither has Martin.
Note the word order after so and neither (verb before subject):
- I passed the exam and so did Tom. (not "so Tom did")
You can use nor instead of neither:
- "I can't remember his name." "Nor can I." or "Neither can I."
You can also use "...not...either":
- "I haven't got any money." "Neither have I." or "Nor have I." or I haven't either."
I think so /I hope so etc.
After some verbs you can use so when you don't want to repeat something:
- "Are those people English?" "I think so." ( I think they are English)
- "Will you be at home tomorrow morning?" "I expect so." (= I expect I'll be at home...)
- Do you think Kate has been invited to the party?" "I suppose so." You can also say I hope so, I guess so and I'm afraid so.
The usual negative forms are:
I think so /I expect so | I don't think so / I don't expect so |
I hope so / I'm afraid so /I guess so | I hope not / I'm afraid not / I guess not |
I suppose so | I don't suppose so or I suppose not |
"Do you think it's going to rain?" | "I think so. / I don't think so." |
"Is that woman American?" | "I hope so. / I hope not." (not "I don't hope so") |
Labels: Grammar
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