Helping verbs

Functions
•Used to tell tense.
•Can be used in negation or
interrogation.
•Used in short answers
•Used to form question tags

Kinds of Auxiliaries
Primary auxiliaries
Modal auxiliaries
Semi Modals/Marginal

Primary Auxiliaries
•Be: be, is, am, are, being,
been, was, were
•Have: have, has, had
•Do: do, does, did

Modal/Modal Auxiliaries
Will, would, can,
could, may, might,
shall, should, must,
ought

Semi Modal / Marginal
•need, used &
dare

Shall/Should
Future Tense-
I shall go to Shillong next year.
Express suggestion/advice-
Shall we go to play football now?
Expresses duty/ obligation-
You shouldn’t travel without a ticket.
Used when seeking advice-
What should I do now?

Will/Would
To express future tense-
He will like your idea.
To express wish/ determination-
Given a chance, I would certainly go to the
Himalayas.
I will like to go on a cruise.
To express an invitation
Will you join us for lunch?( use would with
please)

Can/Could
Express ability, capability or capacity-
He can lift this log with ease.
Make a request-
Can you help me with this sum?
Could I borrow your vehicle for a day?(Too
polite)
Express permission-
You can go out to play.
Express past ability-
I could write neatly when I was young.

May/Might
To seek/give permission-
May I help you with your bag?
You may go out to ply now.
To express a curse/wish-
May you suffer bitterly for every mean act
you do.
May God bless you.
To express strong possibility-
It may rain this afternoon.

Must
To express duty/obligation-
We must do as our teacher tells us to do.
We must look after our parents in their old
age.
To express compulsion/ necessity-
You must be punctual in all matters.
You must hurry, otherwise you will miss the
bus.

Ought To
Used to express sense of obligation/
duty-
We ought to respect our teachers.
We ought to help the orphans.
Sense of necessity/ advice-
You ought to reach home before dark each
day.

Note:-
‘ Ought to have’ is the Past tense of
ought to.
Must expresses more compulsion
but less obligation than ought to.
Ought to expresses more moral
obligation than should and must.

Dare
Used to convey sense of courage-
How dare you enter without knocking?
How dare he speak to you like that?
He dares me to break this window.
Daren’t is used to express lack of
courage-
I daren’t go there.
They daren’t open the door.

Need
Used to convey a sense of obligation
usually in an interrogative sentence
Need she speak more?
You need to pass a driving test.
Needn’t used in negative sense.
You needn’t stay there anymore.
You needn’t yell your guts out.

Used To
Used to express a past habit/state
which has ceased now.
We used to walk all the way to school.
I am not used to waking up late in the
mornings.
I used to play football at school.

Permission- Can/may/could
Ability- can/could
Possibility- may/might/could
Make requests- can/could/would
Make Offers- can/shall/will
Give/seek Advice- should
Probability- should/will/must
Obligation- should/must/ought to
Necessity- must/have to/need to
Habit- used to/ would

Let’s check...................
o You ______read in dim light.
o I _____ my essay by tomorrow.
o He _______ speak English fairly well.
o I ______ have made some mistakes.
o I ____ run faster than you.
o We _____ to study at the time of
examination.
oHe ______ know when the train will arrive.
oI _______ read a lot of books when I was
young.

1. Should not
2. Have to
3. Can/can’t
4. Might/must
5. Can
6. Ought
7. Might
8. Used to

Helping verbs

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Helping verbs