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Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20
Get 20% Off Your First Month — Use Code EARLYBIRD20

Different Auxiliary Verb Uses

There are many different uses of auxiliary verbs in different structures.

In this lesson, you’ll learn and practise the different uses.

What are the different auxiliary verb uses?

Advanced Tenses

  • Be and have are used in the perfect and continuous tenses.

Passive Voice

  • Be is used for the passive structures. To talk about the object of sentences when you don’t know or the information is not necessary.

Emphasis

  • Do/did are used to show a very strong statement. E.g. I do like hiking.

Ellipsis (avoid repetition)

  • Use auxiliary verbs to avoid repeating verbs. E.g. I don’t like coffee but my brother does.

Question tags

  • Matching the auxiliary verb from the statement into the tag. E.g. She has finished the report, hasn’t she?

Have something done

  • Using ‘have’ in have something done to show a service that is/was done by someone else.

Examples

1. I had my computer fixed.
2. She has passed her exams.
3. The house was being painted.

Practise

Fill the gaps with the correct auxiliary verb.

Common mistakes learners make

  • Using the wrong auxiliary for emphasis
  • Using double auxiliaries incorrectly

Common mistakes learners make

  • Using the wrong auxiliary for emphasis
  • Using double auxiliaries incorrectly
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