Editing Auxiliary verb

{{Short description|Verb adding grammatical meaning rather than content meaning}}
{{globalize|date=January 2016}}

An '''auxiliary verb''' ([[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] {{smallcaps|'''aux'''}}) is a [[verb]] that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the [[clause (linguistics)|clause]] in which it occurs, so as to express [[grammatical tense|tense]], [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]], [[Linguistic modality|modality]], [[voice (grammar)|voice]], emphasis, etc. Auxiliary verbs usually accompany an [[infinitive|infinitive verb]] or a [[participle]], which respectively provide the main semantic content of the clause.<ref>The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', Second Edition, defines an auxiliary verb as "a verb used to form the [[grammatical tense|tenses]], [grammatical mood/moods], [grammatical voice/voices], etc. of other verbs." OED Second Edition, 1989. Entry for ''auxiliary''.</ref> An example is the verb ''have'' in the sentence ''I have finished my lunch.'' Here, the auxiliary ''have'' helps to express the [[perfect aspect]] along with the participle, ''finished''. Some sentences contain a chain of two or more auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs are also called '''helping verbs''', '''helper verbs''', or '''(verbal) auxiliaries'''. Research has been conducted into split inflection in auxiliary verbs.<ref>{{Citation|last=Anderson|first=Gregory D. S.|title=The Origins of Patterns of Inflection in Auxiliary Verb Constructions|date=2006-06-08|work=Auxiliary Verb Constructions|pages=302–389|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280315.003.0007|isbn=978-0-19-928031-5}}</ref>

==Basic examples==
Below are some sentences that contain representative auxiliary verbs from [[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[German language|German]] and [[French language|French]], with the auxiliary verb marked in bold:

::a. '''Do''' you want tea? <small>– ''do'' is an auxiliary accompanying the infinitive, ''want'', used here to form a question – see [[do-support|''do''-support]].</small>

::b. She '''has''' given her best shot. <small>– ''have'', from which ''has'' is [[inflection|inflected]], is an auxiliary used in expressing the [[perfect aspect]] of ''give''.</small>

::c. '''He''' cogido tu lápiz. <small>– ''he'' is an auxiliary accompanying the infinitive ''coger'', used here to form a verb phrase, the perfect present in Spanish.</small><ref>Concerning the use of ''coger'' as an auxiliary in Spanish, see for instance https://chimichurris1ba.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/manual-sintaxis-1c2ba-bachillerato.pdf.</ref>
:::(I) have grabbed your pencil = 'I have taken your pencil.'

::d. Das '''wurde''' mehrmals gesagt. <small>– ''werden'', from which ''wurde'' is inflected, ''become'' is an auxiliary used to build the [[passive voice]] in German.</small><ref>Concerning the use of ''werden'' as an auxiliary in German, see for instance Engel (1994:114).</ref>
:::That became many times said = 'That was said many times.'

::e. Sie '''ist''' nach Hause gegangen. <small>– ''sein'', from which ''ist'' is inflected, 'be' is an auxiliary used with movement verbs to build the perfect tense/aspect in German.</small><ref>Concerning ''sein'' as an auxiliary in German used to form perfect tense/aspect, see Eroms (2000:138f.)</ref>
:::She is to home gone = 'She went home/She has gone home.'

::f. J{{'}}'''ai''' vu le soleil. <small>– ''avoir'', from which ''ai'' is inflected, 'have' is an auxiliary used to build the perfect tense/aspect in French.</small><ref>Concerning the selection of ''avoir'' or ''être'' as the auxiliary verb to form perfect tense/aspect in French, see Rowlett (2007:40f.).</ref>
:::I have seen the sun = 'I have seen the sun/I saw the sun.'

::g. Nous '''sommes''' hébergés par un ami. <small>– ''être'', from which ''sommes'' is inflected, 'be' is an auxiliary used to build the passive voice in French.</small><ref>Concerning ''être'' as the auxiliary used to build the passive voice in French, see Rowlett (2007:44f.).</ref>
:::We are hosted by a friend.

These auxiliaries help express a question, show tense/aspect, or form passive voice. Auxiliaries like these typically appear with a full verb that carries the main semantic content of the clause.

==Traits across languages==
Auxiliary verbs typically help express grammatical [[tense (grammar)|tense]], [[grammatical aspect|aspect]], [[grammatical mood|mood]], and [[grammatical voice|voice]]. They generally appear together with an infinitive. The auxiliary is said to "help" the infinitive. The auxiliary verbs of a language form a [[closed class]], i.e., there is a fixed, relatively small number of them.<ref>Concerning auxiliaries forming a closed class, see Kroeger (2004:251).</ref>

Widely acknowledged verbs that can serve as auxiliaries in English and many related{{clarify|date=October 2012}} languages are the equivalents of ''be'' to express passive voice, and ''have'' (and sometimes ''be'') to express [[perfect aspect]] or past time reference.<ref>That the equivalents of ''have'' and ''be'' are perhaps the most widely acknowledged auxiliaries across languages (related to English) can be verified by glancing at the literature on auxiliaries, e.g., Engel (1994:104ff.), Eroms (2000:137ff.), Rowlett (2007:24ff.).</ref>

In some treatments, the [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] ''be'' is classed as an auxiliary even though it does not "help" another verb, e.g.,

::The bird '''is''' in the tree. <small>– ''is'' serves as a copula with a [[predicative expression]] not containing any other verb.</small>

Definitions of auxiliary verbs are not always consistent across languages, or even among authors discussing the same language. [[Modal verb]]s may or may not be classified as auxiliaries, depending on the language. In the case of English, verbs are often identified as auxiliaries based on their grammatical behavior, as described below. In some cases, verbs that function similarly to auxiliaries, but are not considered full members of that class (perhaps because they carry some independent lexical information), are called ''semi-auxiliaries''. In French, for example, verbs such as ''devoir'' (have to), ''pouvoir'' (be able to), ''aller'' (be [[going to]]), ''vouloir'' (want), ''faire'' (make), and ''laisser'' (let), when used together with the infinitive of another verb, can be called semi-auxiliaries.<ref>Concerning the term ''semi-auxiliaries'' for French, see Warnant (1982:279).</ref> There has also been a study on auxiliary verb constructions in Dravidian languages.<ref>Anderson, Gregory D. S. 2015. “Areal-typological perspectives on the morphosyntax of auxiliary verb constructions in Dravidian languages.” In G. K. Panikkar, B. Ramakrishna Reddy, K. Rangan and B. B. Rajapurohit (eds.) V. I. Subramoniam Commemoration Volume I. Studies on Dravidian. Thiruvananthapuram: International School of Dravidian Linguistics, pp. 61–79.</ref>{{Relevance inline|reason=What is the significance or result of this statement?|date=May 2022}}

==English==
{{main article|English auxiliaries and contractions}}
The following sections consider auxiliary verbs in English. They list auxiliary verbs, then present the diagnostics that motivate this special class (subject-auxiliary inversion and negation with ''not''). The [[modal verb]]s are included in this class, due to their behavior with respect to these diagnostics.

===List of auxiliaries in English===
A list of verbs that (can) function as auxiliaries in English is as follows:<ref>For lists of the auxiliary verbs like the one produced here but with minor discrepancies, see for instance Radford (2004:324), Crystal (1997:35), and Jurafsky and Martin (2000:322).</ref>

::''be'', ''can'', ''could'', ''dare'', ''do'', ''have'', ''may'', ''might'', ''must'', ''need'', ''ought'', ''shall'', ''should'', ''will'', ''would''

The status of ''dare (not)'', ''need (not)'', and ''ought (to)'' is debatable<ref>For some discussion of the status of ''dare'' as a "marginal modal", see Fowler's Modern English Usage, p. 195f.</ref> and the use of these verbs as auxiliaries can vary across dialects of English. If the negative forms ''can't'', ''don't'', ''won't'', etc. are viewed as separate verbs (and not as contractions), then the number of auxiliaries increases. The verbs ''do'' and ''have'' can also function as full verbs or as [[light verb]]s, which can be a source of confusion about their status. The [[English modal verb|modal verb]]s (''can'', ''could'', ''may'', ''might'', ''must'', ''shall'', ''should'', ''will'', ''would'', and ''dare'', ''need'' and ''ought'' when included) form a subclass of auxiliary verbs. Modal verbs are [[Defective verb|defective]] insofar as they cannot be [[inflection|inflected]], nor do they appear as gerunds, infinitives, or participles.

The following table summarizes the auxiliary verbs in standard English and the meaning contribution to the clauses in which they appear. Many auxiliary verbs are listed more than once in the table based upon discernible differences in use.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Auxiliary verb !! Meaning contribution !! Example
|-
| be<sub>1</sub> || [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] (= [[linking verb]]) || She '''is''' the boss. 
|-
| be<sub>2</sub> || [[progressive aspect]] || He '''is''' sleeping.
|-
| be<sub>3</sub> || [[passive voice]] || They '''were''' seen.
|-
| can<sub>1</sub> || [[deontic modality]] || I '''can''' swim. 
|-
| can<sub>2</sub> || [[epistemic modality]] || Such things '''can''' help.
|-
| could<sub>1</sub> || deontic modality || I '''could''' swim.
|-
| could<sub>2</sub> || epistemic modality || That '''could''' help. 
|-
| dare || deontic modality || I '''dare''' not attempt it.
|-
| do<sub>1</sub> || [[do-support]]/emphasis || You '''did''' not understand.
|-
|do<sub>2</sub>
|question
|'''Do''' you like it?
|-
| have || [[perfect aspect]] || They '''have''' understood.
|-
| may<sub>1</sub> || deontic modality || '''May''' I stay?
|-
| may<sub>2</sub> || epistemic modality || That '''may''' take place.
|-
| might || epistemic modality || We '''might''' give it a try.
|-
| must<sub>1</sub> || deontic modality || You '''must''' not mock me.
|-
| must<sub>2</sub> || epistemic modality || It '''must''' have rained.
|-
| need || deontic modality || You '''need''' not water the grass.
|-
| ought || deontic modality || You '''ought''' to play well.
|-
| shall || deontic modality || You '''shall''' not pass.
|-
| should<sub>1</sub> || deontic modality || You '''should''' listen.
|-
| should<sub>2</sub> || epistemic modality || That '''should''' help. 
|-
| will<sub>1</sub> || epistemic modality || We '''will''' eat pie.
|-
| will<sub>2</sub> || [[future tense]] || The sun '''will''' rise tomorrow at 6:03.
|-
| will<sub>3</sub> || [[habitual aspect]] || He '''will''' make that mistake every time.
|- 
| would<sub>1</sub> || epistemic modality || Nothing '''would''' accomplish that.
|-
| would<sub>2</sub> || [[future-in-the-past]] tense || After 1990, we '''would''' do that again.
|-
| would<sub>3</sub> || habitual aspect || Back then we '''would''' always go there.
|}

Deontic [[Modality (grammar)|modality]] expresses an ability, necessity, or obligation that is associated with an agent subject. Epistemic modality expresses the speaker's assessment of reality or likelihood of reality. Distinguishing between the two types of modality can be difficult, since many sentences contain a modal verb that allows both interpretations.

=== List of auxiliaries unique to African American Vernacular English ===
[[African-American Vernacular English|African American Vernacular English]] makes a variety of finer [[Tense–aspect–mood|tense/aspect]] distinctions than other dialects of English by making use of unique variant forms of, in particular: [[Habitual be|habitual 'be']], reduced 'done' (dən), and stressed 'been' (BIN):<ref>{{Cite book|last=Green, Lisa J., 1963–|title=African American English : a linguistic introduction|date=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-511-07823-4|location=Cambridge, U.K.|oclc=57572547}}</ref><ref>Green, Lisa J. & Walter Sistrunk. 2015. Syntax and Semantics in African American English. In Jennifer Bloomquist, [[Lisa Green (linguist)|Lisa J. Green]] & [[Sonja Lanehart|Sonja L. Lanehart]] (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of African American Language''. Oxford University Press. {{doi|10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199795390.013.15}} http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199795390.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199795390-e-15 (10 June 2020).</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Verbal Auxiliaries in AAVE
!Auxiliary
!Meaning
!Example
|-
|be
|[[Habitual aspect|habitual]] aspect
|She '''be''' telling people she eight.
'She is always telling people she's eight'
|-
|done
|[[resultative]] modality
|I '''done''' pushed it.

'I have (already) pushed it'
|-
|been
|[[Past tense|distant past]] tense
|I '''been''' knew that.

'I've known that for a long time'
|}

===Diagnostics for identifying auxiliary verbs in English===
The verbs listed in the previous section can be classified as auxiliaries based upon two diagnostics: they allow [[subject–auxiliary inversion]] (the type of inversion used to form questions etc.) and (equivalently) they can take ''not'' as a postdependent (a dependent that follows its [[head (linguistics)|head]]). The following examples illustrate the extent to which subject–auxiliary inversion can occur with an auxiliary verb but not with a full verb.<ref>For examples of the inversion diagnostic used to identify auxiliaries, see for instance Radford (1997:50f., 494), Sag and Wasow (1999:308f.), and Kroeger (2004:253).</ref> (The asterisk * is the means commonly used in linguistics to indicate that the example is grammatically unacceptable or that a particular construction has never been attested in use).

::a. '''He was''' working today.
::b. '''Was he''' working today? <small>- Auxiliary verb ''was'' allows subject–auxiliary inversion.</small>

::a. '''He worked''' today.
::b. *'''Worked he''' today? <small>- Full verb ''worked'' does not allow subject–auxiliary inversion.</small>

::a. '''She can''' see it.
::b. '''Can she''' see it? <small>- Auxiliary verb ''can'' allows subject–auxiliary inversion.</small>

::a. '''She sees''' it.
::b. *'''Sees she''' it? <small>- Full verb ''sees'' does not allow subject–auxiliary inversion.</small>

The following examples illustrate that the negation ''not'' can appear as a postdependent of a finite auxiliary verb, but not as a postdependent of a finite full verb:<ref>The negation diagnostic for identifying auxiliary verbs is employed for instance by Radford (1997:51), Adgar (2003:176f.), and Culicover (2009:177f.).</ref>

::a. Sam would try that.
::b. Sam would '''not''' try that. <small>- The negation ''not'' appears as a postdependent of the finite auxiliary ''would''.</small>

::a. Sam tried that.
::b. *Sam tried '''not''' that. <small>- The negation ''not'' cannot appear as a postdependent of the finite full verb ''tried''.</small>
::a. Tom could help.
::b. Tom could '''not''' help. <small>- The negation ''not'' appears as a postdependent of the finite auxiliary ''could''.</small>

::a. Tom helped.
::b. *Tom helped '''not'''. <small>- The negation ''not'' cannot appear as a postdependent of the finite full verb ''helped''.</small>

A third diagnostic that can be used for identifying auxiliary verbs is verb phrase ellipsis. See the article on [[verb phrase ellipsis]] for examples.

These criteria lead to the [[copula (linguistics)|copula]] ''be'' and non-copular use of ''be'' as an [[Existential clause|existential]] verb being considered an auxiliary (it undergoes inversion and takes postdependent ''not'', e.g., ''Is she the boss?'', ''She is not the boss'', ''Is there a God?'', ''There is a God''). However, if one defines ''auxiliary verb'' as a verb that somehow "helps" another verb, then the copula ''be'' is not an auxiliary, because it appears without another verb. The literature on auxiliary verbs is somewhat inconsistent in this area.<ref>Jurafsky and Martin (2000:320) state clearly that copula ''be'' is an auxiliary verb. Bresnan (2001:18f) produces and discusses examples of subject-auxiliary inversion using the copula. Tesnière (1959) repeatedly refers to the copula ''être'' in French as an auxiliary verb, and Eroms (2000:138f.) discusses the copula ''sein'' in German as a ''Hilfsverb'' 'helping verb'. Crystal (1997:35) lists ''be'' as an auxiliary verb without distinguishing between its various uses (e.g., as a copula or not). Other definitions are less clear; Radford (2004:324) suggests that copula ''be'' is not an auxiliary, but he does not address why it behaves like an auxiliary with respect to the criteria he employs (e.g., inversion) for identifying auxiliaries.</ref>

There are also some properties that some but not all auxiliary verbs have. Their presence can be used to conclude that the verb is an auxiliary, but their absence does not guarantee the converse. One such property is to have the same form in the present tense, also for the first and the third person singular. This in particular is typical for ''[[modal verb|modal]]'' auxiliary verbs, such as ''will'' and ''must''. (Examples: ''He will come tomorrow'', ''she must do it at once'', not <s>''he wills''</s> or <s>''she musts''</s>.)

==Light verbs==
Some syntacticians distinguish between auxiliary verbs and [[light verb]]s.<ref>Concerning light verbs in English, see Allterton (2006:176).</ref><ref>Light verbs are called ''Funktionsverben'' 'function verbs' in German – see Engel (1994:105f.) and Eroms (2000:162ff.).</ref> The two are similar insofar as both verb types contribute mainly just functional information to the clauses in which they appear. Hence both do not qualify as separate [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]]s, but rather they form part of a predicate with another expression – usually with a full verb in the case of auxiliary verbs and usually with a noun in the case of light verbs.

In English, light verbs differ from auxiliary verbs in that they cannot undergo inversion and they cannot take ''not'' as a postdependent. The verbs ''have'' and ''do'' can function as auxiliary verbs or as light verbs (or as full verbs). When they are light verbs, they fail the inversion and negation diagnostics for auxiliaries, e.g.

Note that in some dialects (for example, the West and South West dialects of [[Hiberno-English]]), the inversion test may sound correct to native speakers.
 
::a. They '''had''' a long meeting.
 
::b. *'''Had''' they a long meeting? <small>- Light verb ''had'' fails the inversion test.</small>

::c. *They '''had''' not a long meeting. <small>- Light verb ''had'' fails the negation test.</small>

::a. She '''did''' a report on pandering politicians.
 
::b. *'''Did''' she a report on pandering politicians? <small>- Light verb ''did'' fails the inversion test.</small>
 
::c. *She '''did''' not a report on pandering politicians. <small>- Light verb ''did'' fails the negation test.</small>

(In some cases, though, ''have'' may undergo auxiliary-type inversion and negation even when it is not used as an auxiliary verb – see {{slink|Subject–auxiliary inversion|Inversion with other types of verb}}.)
 
Sometimes the distinction between auxiliary verbs and light verbs is overlooked or confused. Certain verbs (e.g., ''used to'', ''have to'', etc.) may be judged as light verbs by some authors, but as auxiliaries by others.<ref>Jurafsky and Martin (2000:22), for instance, lists ''have'' as a modal auxiliary when it appears as ''have to'' and Fowler's Modern English Usage (1996:195) lists ''used to'' as a "marginal modal".<!--[Dubious: these sentences would be OK in some lects] These verbs do not qualify as modal auxiliaries based upon the inversion and negation diagnostics, e.g., ''*Has Fred to help?'', ''*Fred has not to help'', ''*Used Fred to help?'', ''*Fred used not to help''.--></ref>

==See also==
* [[Compound verb]]
* [[English verbs]]
* [[Irregular verb]]
* [[Modal verb]]
* [[Tense–aspect–mood]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Auxiliary verbs}}
{{refbegin|30em}}
*Allerton, D. 2006. Verbs and their Satellites. In Handbook of English Linguistics. Aarts 7 MacMahon (eds.). Blackwell.
*Adger, D. 2003. Core syntax. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
*Anderson, Gregory D. S. 2011. Auxiliary Verb Constructions (and Other Complex Predicate Types): A Functional-Constructional Typology. Language and Linguistics Compass 5 (11): 795–828.
*Bresnan, J. 2001. Lexical-Functional Syntax. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
*Culicover, P. 2009. Natural language syntax. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
*Crystal, D. 1997. A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics, 4th edition. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers.
*Engel, U. 1994. Syntax der deutschen Sprache, 3rd edition. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag.
*Eroms, H.-W. 2000. Syntax der deutschen Sprache. Berlin: de Gruyter.
*Finch, G. 2000. Linguistic terms and concepts. New York: St. Martin's Press.
*Fowler's Modern English Usage. 1996. Revised third edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
*Jurafsky, M. and J. Martin. 2000. Speech and language processing. Dorling Kindersley (India): Pearson Education, Inc.
*Kroeger, P. 2004. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fIAleOSnXpIC Analyzing syntax: A lexical-functional approach]. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Lewis, M. The English Verb 'An Exploration of Structure and Meaning'. Language Teaching Publications. {{ISBN|0-906717-40-X|}}
*Osborne, T. and T. Groß 2012. Constructions are catenae: Construction Grammar meets Dependency Grammar. Cognitive Linguistics 23, 1, 165–216.
*[[Andrew Radford (linguist)|Radford, A.]] 1997. [https://books.google.com/books?id=eaiLBNuFDHMC Syntactic theory and the structure of English: A minimalist approach]. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Radford, A. 2004. English syntax: An introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Rowlett, P. 2007. The syntax of French. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
*Sag, I. and T. Wasow. 1999. Syntactic theory: A formal introduction. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.
*Tesnière, L. 1959. Éleménts de syntaxe structurale. Paris: Klincksieck.
*Warnant, L. 1982. Structure syntaxique du français. Librairie Droz.
{{refend}}

{{lexical categories|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auxiliary Verb}}
[[Category:Verb types]]