AL - Grammar in usage - Skill Building packet 3: Auxiliary verbs page 1

Primary Auxiliary verbs include: to be, to have and to do. The second group consists of modal
verbs. However, for this skill packet we will only be focusing on the first group.

“be” - used to describe the qualities of a person or be, am, is, are, was, were, been,
thing (being)
“have” - to own, use, or hold (something) have, has, had (having)
“do” - to perform (an action or activity) Do, does, did, done (doing)
Modals can, could, may, might, will, would,
shall, should, must, ought to

Auxiliary verb refers to verbs which are used in forming tenses, moods and voices of other
verbs. The verb “to be” is used as an auxiliary verb with the “ing” form of the main verb to
form the continuous present/past/future tenses, as in “they are living abroad now,”, “we
were thinking of going on holiday but we changed our minds, “She will be moving to San
Francisco to attend university”. The verb “to be” is used as an auxiliary verb with the past
participle (ed) of the main verb to form the passive voice, as in “these toys are manufactured
in China,”and “her banh xeo was covered with fish sauce”.

The verb “to have”, is used as an auxiliary verb along with the past participle (ed) or the past
tense of a regular or irregular main verb to form the perfect tense, as in “They have filled the
post”, or, “She had realized her mistake”, or, “She had never gone to Paris before”. Have is
also used to form negative sentences in the perfect tense.

The verb “to be” is used as an auxiliary verb along with the main verb to form negative
sentences, as in “He is not accepting the job.”

The verb “to do” is used along with the main verb to form negative sentences, as in “He does
not believe her”. Note: Contractions = isn’t, aren’t, wasn’t, weren’t, hasn’t, haven’t, hadn’t,
didn’t, doesn’t

Auxiliary verbs are used to ask questions: “Is it my turn or yours?”,”Does he know how to
swim?”, “Have you ever been to Singapore? Without a perfect understanding of how auxiliary
verbs and their tenses are used in English grammar, a student cannot hope to achieve their
target score in TOEFL or IELTS.
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Auxiliary Verbs (to be, to do, to have) 1
Fill in each blank space with the correct auxiliary verb:
1. ________ he changed much over the years?
a) Has b) Does c) Is
2. ________ she Polish?
a) Has b) Does c) Is
3. ________ he like to drive at night?
a) Has b) Does c) Is
4. ________ you normally read before you go to bed?
a) Do b) Are c) Have
5. ________ I look tired?
a) Do b) Am c) Have
6. ________ you seen that movie several times already?
a) Do b) Are c) Have
7. ________ he leaving tomorrow?
a) Has b) Does c) Is
8. ________ she been to Greece before?
a) Has b) Does c) Is
9. ________ they coming at 7?
a) Do b) Are c) Have
10. ________ they always cheat?
a) Do b) Are c) Have

Auxiliary Verbs (to be, to do, to have) 2

Fill in each blank space with the correct auxiliary verb:
1. ________ he as mean as people say?
a) Is b) Does c) Has
2. ________ he know how to cook well?
a) Is b) Does c) Has
3. ________ you upset?
a) Are b) Do c) Have
4. ________ you told her yet?
a) Are b) Do c) Have
5. ________ they ever been here before?
a) Are b) Do c) Have
6. ________ that a good movie?
a) Is b) Does c) Has
7. ________ she in love with Marco?
a) Is b) Does c) Has
8. ________ you stopped smoking?
a) Are b) Do c) Have
9. ________ you play tennis on weekends?
a) Are b) Do c) Have
10. ________ your grandmother live in Spain?
a) Is b) Does c) Has
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AUXILIARY VERBS (To be, to do, to have) 3
Fill in each blank space with the correct auxiliary verb:
1. ________ the teacher explain this properly?
a) Did b) Was c) Had
2. ________ the professor angry?
a) Did b) Was c) Had
3. ________ you spoken to him before he called you?
a) Had b) Did c) Were
4. If you ________ told me, I would have never found out.
a) didn't b) weren't c) hadn't
5. ________ they seeing each other?
a) Did b) Had c) Were
6. ________ they continue seeing each other?
a) Did b) Had c) Were
7. ________ you learn anything?
a) Hadn't b) Didn't c) Weren't
8. ________ he in my American History class?
a) Didn't b) Wasn't c) Hadn't
9. I realized that I ________ learned a thing (= anything).
a) didn't b) wasn't c) hadn't
10. ________ your sister living in Paris for a while?
a) Hadn't b) Wasn't c) Didn't

Present continuous tense

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Simple present (to do)

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Part 2 (Future continuous) and (Future perfect)

Study this situation:

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Simple past tense

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This is the past continuous tense;

I / He / She/ it = was studying

We / they/ you = were studying

This is the Present perfect (simple) tense;

I/ we/ they/ you = have studied

He/ she/ it = has studied

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Write three questions using the present perfect simple tense;

1._________________________________________________________________________
2._________________________________________________________________________

3._________________________________________________________________________
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This is the Present perfect continuous tense;

I/ you/ we/ they = have been listening

He/ She/ it = has been listening

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Now that you have completed the skill building packet, you should go over the answers with a teacher and ask

any questions you may have if you still do not understand how Auxiliary verbs and tenses are used in English

Grammar. If you understand completely, sign your name at the bottom of this page. Good luck and keep on

working hard!

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