Understanding English Grammar: A Course Book for chinese Learners of English

4. Auxiliary Verbs and Aspect

Introduction In Unit 3, you saw that a verb in English is not always used alone, but often together with one or more auxiliary verbs (or ‘auxiliaries’ for short) to form a verb group. In this unit, we’ll explore the most important grammatical functions that are associated with the use of auxiliaries. There are two broad types of auxiliaries in English: primary auxiliaries and modal auxiliaries. We will focus on the primary auxiliaries here, as they are much harder to learn, and are much more different from Chinese, than the modal auxiliaries. The primary auxiliaries in English are be, have, and do. You should not confuse these auxiliaries with the main verbs below: 1. My neighbour is rich. 2. He has a Rolls Royce. 3. He always does his work after dinner. The verbs be, have and do in the above sentences are main verbs and are used on their own, but what we’re dealing with in this unit are the uses of these verbs as auxiliaries, as in: 4. My neighbour is walking his dog. 5. He has bought a Jack Russell. 6. The dog does not bark at strangers. 4 Auxiliary Verbs and Aspect 58 Understanding English Grammar The Auxiliary be and the Progressive Aspect As an auxiliary, be has two main uses. The first is to mark progressive aspect. [NB: The ‘progressive aspect’ is also known as ‘continuous tense’ (is a misleading term which we’ll avoid here).] The progressive aspect is marked by the auxiliary be + the present participle form of the main verb, for example: 7. He is/was dancing with his partner. 8. They are/were singing the song ‘Changing Partners’. If be is the first verb of the verb group, it will be marked for either present or past tense, as in the above examples. The form itself is quite simple. It is much more important to understand the uses of the progressive aspect. The following questions will help you to work them out. QUESTION 1 The following sentences have verbs in the present tense with or without progressive aspect. By comparing the two, can you figure out the main use of the progressive aspect? 1. He usually plays tennis on weekends, but not today. 2. No, he’s not in his office right now. He is playing tennis at the club. 3. He washes his car every day. 4. He is washing his car now, but he should be back in a few minutes. 5. She waits for her children at the bus stop after school each day. 6. She is waiting for you at the bus stop, so better hurry now! 7. I feel very satisfied with the way I’ve lived my life. 8. I am feeling sick. I’ve got to lie down. Answer: The progressive aspect is used to indicate: Please check your answers before proceeding to the next question. Auxiliary Verbs and Aspect 59 QUESTION 2 The examples in Question 1 show only the simplest use of the progressive aspect. The following data may look similar, but if you think about it, they do not show exactly the same use of the progressive aspect as in Question 1. What similarities and differences do you notice between them? 1. She writes romantic novels for a hobby. 2. She is writing a book on Leslie Cheung at the moment. It’ll probably be finished by the end of the year. 3. My brother lives with my parents. 4. My brother is living with my parents these days, but he’ll move into his new apartment when it’s ready. 5. He normally plays villains and psychopaths in his movies, but he is now playing good guys for a change. Answer: QUESTION 3 How do you think the progressive aspect is used in the following examples? 1. I am leaving for London this weekend. 2. He is moving to the Peak next month. 3. Beijing is hosting the Olympic Games in 2008. 4. What are you doing tomorrow evening? 5. When are you starting your new job? 60 Understanding English Grammar Answer: You have seen three of the most important uses of the progressive aspect. What you should also know about the progressive aspect is that it cannot be used with all verbs in English. QUESTION 4 Which of the following verbs are wrongly used in the progressive aspect? 1. I am knowing five languages. 2...