Learn Spoken English – Chapter 5 | Auxiliary Verbs

After learning about forms of verbs the next lesson we will be learning is about Auxiliary Verbs. It plays a very major role in the English language as helps in the formation of sentences.

Click here for Chapter 4 – Learn Spoken English | Forms of Verbs.

What are Auxiliary Verbs?

Auxiliary Verbs are the helping verbs used in a sentence.

They include: am, is, are, was, were, do, does, did, can, could, will, shall, would, should, may and might.

AM / IS / ARE

*Am is used only with I. It is used only to speak about the present. Ex: I am a student. / I am a singer.

*Is has to be used only with he/she/singular subject. It is used only to speak about the present.

Ex:

• He is a student.
• She is singer.
• John is a dancer.
• My father is a farmer.
• Dubai is a nice place.
• Lion is a wild animal.

*Are is used only with you / we / they / plural subject. It is used only to speak about the present.

Ex:

• You are a student.
• You are students.
• We are good singers.
• They are farmers.
• The children are very small.
• The monkeys are in the forest.
• The oranges are very sweet.

EXERCISE TIME

Fill in the blanks with auxiliaries: am/is/are

1. He……..a poor farmer.
2. I………..a tall man.
3. He…….a good actor.
4. She………a short girl.
5. They……….from Tamil Nadu.
6. The buses……….on the road.
7. We………..beautiful people.
8. You………good listeners.
9. You………a playful boy.
10. The trees……….nice to see.

WAS / WERE

*Was is used only with I / he / she / singular subject. It is used only to speak about the past.

Ex:

• I was a student.
• He was a good singer.
• She was a nice dancer.
• My brother was a fast swimmer.
• India was a poor country.
• Thomas was absent yesterday.
• It was a rainy day.

   *Where is used only with you / we / they / plural subject. It is
also used only to speak about the past.

Ex:

• You were a student last year.
• Your were students last year.
• We were good dancer.
• They were fast runners.
• The children were present for class yesterday.
• The teachers were late for class in the morning.

EXERCISE TIME:

Fill in the blanks with was/were

1. You……an attentive student last week.
2. He………..a rich farmer.
3. You……….very neat always.
4. She………..sick last month.
5. Her mother……….not at home yesterday.
6. Our friends……….sad in the morning.
7. Their school………….closed last month.
8. The tigers…………hungry and thirsty.
9. Delhi………..beautiful to see.
10. It………….. a horrible accident.

Correct the mistakes

1. He am absent for class yesterday.
2. I were a farmer in the village.
3. She are the sister of my friend.
4. They was very pretty girls.
5. The cows was in the field.
6. The cat were in the kitchen.
7. My father are awake early morning.
8. We am slow to study Tamil.
9. Her friends were very happy to see us.
10. The dog is in the house.