auxiliary verb

American  

[awg-zil-yuh-ree vurb, -zil-uh-] / ɔgˈzɪl yə ri ˌvɜrb, -ˈzɪl ə- /

noun

Grammar.

1. a verb used before and together with certain forms of other verbs, such as infinitives or participles, to express distinctions of tense, duration, possibility, obligation, etc., as in I am listening, We have spoken, They can see, Did you go?

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auxiliary verb British  

noun

1. a verb used to indicate the tense, voice, mood, etc, of another verb where this is not indicated by inflection, such as English will in he will go, was in he was eating and he was eaten, do in I do like you, etc

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auxiliary verb Cultural  

1. A “helping” verb that modifies the main verb, as in “Gail can win,” “Gail did win,” “Gail could have won.” A question often begins with an auxiliary verb: “Did Gail win?” “Could Gail lose?” The various forms of the verbs can, have, is, and does frequently act as auxiliaries.

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Etymology

Origin of auxiliary verb

First recorded in 1755–65

Example Sentences

Similarly, the allegedly unsplittable verb will execute is not a verb at all but two verbs, the auxiliary verb will and the main verb execute.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

He identified the Greek auxiliary verb eimi, eis, esti, I am, thou art, he is, with the Sanskrit asmi, asi, asti.

From Lectures on The Science of Language by Müller, Max

In Mth. the present definite and the imperfect are formed by conjugating the present or past tense respectively of the auxiliary verb with the present participle; thus marait chī, I am striking.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

He has no idea, unless he is a scholar, that the terminations of his futures are identical with the auxiliary verb avoir.

From Lectures on The Science of Language by Müller, Max

From the difficulty of retaining a right discrimination of tense seems to have proceeded the active auxiliary verb.

From View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 by Hallam, Henry