Auxiliary Verb

An auxiliary verb is a verb used to add functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in which it appears – for example, to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, etc. Auxiliary verbs usually accompany a main verb, the main verb providing the main semantic content of the clause in which it appears. An example is the verb have in the sentence I have finished my dinner – here the main verb is finish, and the auxiliary have helps to express the perfect aspect. Some sentences contain a chain of two or more auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs, helper verbs, or (verbal) auxiliaries. They may be glossed with the abbreviation .