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Helping Verbs

Helping or auxiliary verbs are used for tense as well as for permission, ability, or necessity.

Helping (auxiliary) verbs for necessity, permission, possibility, ability, habitual past action, willingness, intention.
Helping (auxiliary) verbs for necessity, permission, possibility, ability, habitual past action, willingness, intention.

English verbs use helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) for degrees of necessity; permission, possibility, ability; habitual past action; or willingness or intention.

Necessity, obligation, advice

  • Shall
  • Must
  • Have to
  • Need to
  • Ought to
  • Should
  • Supposed to

Permission, possibility, ability

  • May
  • Might
  • Can
  • Could

Habitual past action

  • Used to

Willingness or intention

  • Will
  • Would

Rated according to degrees of requirement for each helping word:

  • “Shall” and “must” are the strongest, at the level of legality.
    • The negatives, “must not” and “shall not” prohibit the activity.
  • “Have to” and “need to” are similar to each other, somewhat less than “must” but more than the others.
    • The negatives, “doesn’t/don’t have to” and “doesn’t/don’t need to” offers a choice. The action is allowed but not required.
  • “Ought to” is at the level of advice, rather than requirement.
    • The negative, “ought not to,” remains advice.
  • “Should” and “supposed to” have the least force.
    • The negatives, “should not” and “not supposed to,” advise against.
  • “Shall” carries obligation with it, a commitment by someone to do something.
    • In 1942, General Douglas MacArthur promised his forces in Corregidor, “I came through and I shall return.” [Eventually, he did.]
  • In a legal sense, “shall” states a requirement to do something.
    • The contract read, “The superintendent shall supervise the entire process of construction.”
  • Both “shall” and “will” share the contraction “’ll” (apostrophe plus double “l”).
    • We’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.
  • Insert “not” between “shall” and the main verb to form the negative sentence.
    • You shall not fly the airplane without a pilot’s license.
  • The negative contraction “shan’t” is not commonly used.
    • You shan’t fly the airplane without a pilot’s license.

In the positive as helping verbs, “shall,” and “must” are similar.

In the negative, “must not” and “shall not” are prohibitions.

  • “Must” indicates a necessity. It states a command, an obligation, even a law.
    • You must wipe your feet before you come into the house I just cleaned!
    • Everyone who drives must have a license.
  • A negative with “must” indicates a prohibition.
    • You must not enter my house with dirty feet.
    • No one must drive without a license.
  • “Must” also indicates a logical deduction, either positive or negative.
    • It must be getting late. The sun has set.
    • He must not be coming. He would have been here by now.

“Must” does not have a positive contraction with its subject. However, “mustn’t” is sometimes used in dialogue.

As positive helping words, “have to,” and “need to” are similar.

In the negative, “not have to” and “not need to” imply a choice.

  • “Have to” implies
    • a necessity with a sense of urgency
      • I have to study for the exam tomorrow, or I will fail the class.
      • We have to be home before dark. We have no headlights.
    • likelihood
      • Looking at these three choices of answers, it has to be the third one.
      • The lambs have to be hungry. They haven’t had anything to eat since this morning.
    • emphasis
      • You have to tell me the truth.
      • I can’t find my keys. They have to be here somewhere.
    • strong desire
      • Mommy, I have to have a pony for my birthday!
      • She begged and pleaded that she had to go to the prom.
  • “do not have to” >> it is not required, you have a choice
    • I don’t have to study for the exam tomorrow. It’s snowing, and school has been canceled.
    • We don’t have to be home before dark. I bought new headlights.

In the positive, “have to” and “need to” are similar.

In the negative, “not have to” and “not need to” imply a choice.

  •  “need to” implies something important, required for my own benefit
    • I need to comb my hair before I go to town.
    • They need to wash the car before they pick up their girl friends.
  • “do not need to” removes the requirement; the action is not required, a choice
    • I do not need to comb my hair. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m alone at home.
    • They don’t need to wash the car today. They washed it yesterday, and it’s been sitting in the garage.

“Ought to” as a helping word carries less requirement.

  • “ought to” offers advice, the right thing to do
    • You ought to comb your hair even if you don’t go out.
    • They ought to wash the car today. They didn’t do a good job yesterday.
  • “ought not to” is advice against doing it
    • You ought not to go out without combing your hair.
    • They ought not to take the clean car through the muddy lane.

While “should” is technically the past tense of “shall,” it carries different intentions.

  • Advice, suggestion, opinion
    • You should leave soon, before it gets dark.
  • Probability:
    • It should take you about an hour to get there from here.
  • Condition:
    • Should it take you longer, you may have taken the wrong route.
  • Opinion:
    • The highway department should put up better directional signs.
  • Formal language or to soften harsh language:
    • I should expect you to be more careful on the road.
  • “Should” shares its contraction (“’d” – apostrophe plus “d”) with “would.”
    • You’d want to take a flashlight with you.
  • “should not” gives advice, suggestion, opinion against an action
    • The negative “not” follows “should” and comes before the main verb.
      • You should not get lost in the dark with a flashlight.
    • The negative contraction is “should” plus “n’t” (with the apostrophe replacing the “o” in “not”).
      • You shouldn’t get lost in the dark with a flashlight.
    • With “ ’ve” (apostrophe plus “ve”) following the contraction, you can create a double contraction.
      • You shouldn’t’ve left that late without a flashlight.

Technically, “supposed to” is not a helping word, but it does carry some authority.

  • “Supposed to” indicates the best choice, but it is a choice, an expectation
    • We’re supposed to eat our vegetables, but I don’t like broccoli.
    • They’re supposed to be home before dark.
  • “not supposed to” gives advice against an action
    • We’re not supposed to leave our vegetables on our plate.
    • They’re not supposed to stay out after dark.

Those of us who were raised in the previous century tend to use “may” for permission and “can” for ability. That distinction seems to be disappearing or already has.

Helping verbs for permission/possibility/abililty

“May” does not have a contraction with the subject. As a helping word, the contraction “mayn’t” is not commonly used.

  • “May” is used for permission, either asking for or giving.
    • May I have my allowance today instead of tomorrow?
    • “May we drive the new car to town?”  
      • “No, you may not!”
  • “May” also indicates probability.
    • She may give it to me if I ask very nicely.
    • If it stops snowing, they may go to town.
  • As with other helping verbs, the negative “not” follows “may” and precedes the main verb.
    • Benjamin may not make it home before nightfall.
  • The negative contraction follows the common rule of “may” plus “n’t” (“n” plus apostrophe plus “t”). It is only used in certain dialects of English.
    • They mayn’t ever drive after dark while they use my car.

As with “may,” the helping word “might” does not contract with the subject. In the negative, it sometimes contracts with “not.”

  • “Might” in terms of requesting or giving permission is less certain of the outcome.
    • “Might we have spaghetti for supper?”
      • “We might, if I can find the sauce.”
  • As for possibility in the present or the future, “might” is more tentative than “may.”
    • If I have my allowance today, I may take you to the movies.
      • If I have my allowance today, I might take you to the movies.
    • When they give me my allowance, I may take you to the movies.
      • When they give me my allowance, I might take you to the movies.
  • When referring to the past, use “might have” with the past participle (“might have baked”).
    • Yesterday I might have taken you to the zoo if I had my allowance then.
    • If it had rained, I might have worn my new raincoat.

“Might” does not have a contraction with its subject.

  • The contraction for “might have” is “might’ve” (“might” plus apostrophe plus “’ve”.) Avoid using “of” after “might” or “must.”
    • I asked because she might’ve found some extra money before payday.
    • If it had rained, I might’ve worn my new raincoat.
  • The negative contraction for “might” is “mightn’t.”
    • They mightn’t pay her tomorrow either.
    • Then again, I mightn’t want to get it wet.

“Can” is the present tense of this helping verb.

(This is not the same use of “can” as to preserve something by processing it into a glass or metal container.)

  • “Can” indicates ability.
    • My three-year-old can count to 20.
    • A horse can run faster than a cat.
  • “Can” is now allowed to ask or give permission, interchangeable with “may.”
    • Can I give her 20 pieces of candy to count?
    • Can I ride your horse?
  • Another meaning is theoretical possibility, often with an “if” clause.
    • We can teach all children such skills if we have the resources.
    • I can teach the cat to ride the horse if the horse will allow it.
  • The negative of “can” may be written either as “cannot” (one word) or “can not” (two words). (Written as one word is more common.) If it is used in the phrase “can not only,” the “can” should be separate from “not.”
    • The furnace cannot share its heat with me when the cats lie on the registers.
    • The furnace can not share its heat with me when the cats lie on the registers.
    • The cats can not only soak up all the heat, but they refuse to share the air conditioning vents as well.
  • The negative contractions is “can’t” (only one “n”).
    • The dog can’t climb the tree to chase the cat.
    • I can’t lose weight if I keep eating all the time.
  • “Could” indicates ability in the past.
    • Back then, I could name all 50 states and their capitals.
    • Before she broke her leg, she could run faster than anyone else.
  • As with “can,” it may suggest a theoretical possibility, often with an “if” clause.
    • I could even add their governors if I had enough time.
    • As old as I am, she could beat me on her crutches.
  • “Could” is a more polite form of asking permission.
    • Could you please let me study them before I do it now?
    • Could we give her time to heal before setting the next race?

Like “can,” “could” by itself does not have a positive contraction with its subject.

  • Used with “have,” “could have” becomes “could’ve” (“could” plus apostrophe followed by “ve”). Avoid using “of” after “could.”
    • The team could have won if their star player had been there.
    • The team could’ve won if their star player had been there.
  • Insert “not” between “could” and the main verb to create a negative sentence.
    • They could not have been defeated with Thomas on the floor.
    • Thomas could not have played with his broken wrist.
  • Reduce “not” to “n’t” attached to “could” for the negative contraction. With “have,” add “’ve” (apostrophe plus “ve”) to the first contraction to make it a double.
    • They couldn’t’ve been defeated with Thomas on the floor.
    • Thomas couldn’t’ve played with his broken wrist.

“Will” is the helping verb to indicate the future.

  • It can indicate willingness or intention.
    • (If you give me some money, I will buy us ice cream cones.)
    • (Their mother will pay for the dresses if the girls clean their room.)
  • Negative (“will” plus “not” plus main verb)
    • (I will not have enough money of my own to buy cones for both of us.)
    • (They will not go to the prom without new dresses, so they will clean their room.)
  • Negative contraction (“won’t”)
    • (I won’t have enough money of my own to buy two cones.)
    • (They won’t go to the prom without new dresses, so they will clean their room.)
  • “Will” is often contracted to a subject pronoun as “’ll” (apostrophe plus double “l”) or to a subject noun or name, more often in conversation than in narrative writing. Contractions should not be used in formal writing.
    • (I’ll walk to the store, so the ice cream may melt before I get home.)
    • (If it rains, we’ll have to cancel the picnic.)
  • The negative contraction for “will” is “won’t.”
    • (I won’t be able to keep it cold enough.)
    • (If it doesn’t rain, we won’t cancel the picnic.)
  • While it is often interchangeable with “going to,” the latter implies a more planned action or activity, greater expectation.
    • (Will you give me the money?)
    • (Are you going to give me the money?)
  • “Would” is the helping verb to indicate the future in the past. When writing in past tense, to indicate that someone will do something in what is then the future, “would” is appropriate.
    • (She asked if he would buy her a new car.)
    • (He promised that after it rained, he would plant the garden.)
  • It is also used to indicate what someone might do or is/was willing to do.
    • (Now that you have money from the lottery, would you buy me a new car?)
    • (After you plant the garden, I would buy a new hoe.)
  • It can also demonstrate a probability.
    • (If he won the lottery, he would buy a new car.)
    • (After the seeds germinate, the weeds would kill them.)
  • “Would” also shows something that was done regularly in the past, similar to “used to.”
    • (Back then, I would buy a new car every three years.)
    • (Last year I would pull weeds every day.)

Contractions for “would”

  • The contraction for “would” is simply “’d” (apostrophe plus “d”).
    • (We’d love to have a new car.)
    • (They’d never plant too many seeds.)
  • The negative inserts itself between “would” and the main verb.
    • (I’m sure he would not want to buy me a new car.)
    • (I would never have a garden without flowers.)
  • The negative contraction keeps the entire “would” and adds “n’t” (“n” plus apostrophe plus “t”)
    • (What if he wouldn’t have enough money to buy a Rolls Royce?)
  • A double contraction can be formed if “have” and a past participle follow the negative of “would.”
    • (What if he wouldn’t’ve had enough money to buy a Rolls Royce?)

“Used to” is actually a helping phrase rather than a helping word.

  • “Used to” indicates an action that was repeated (usually on a regular basis) in the past.
    • (Liberace, the highest paid entertainer during the 1950’s to 1970’s, used to practice eight hours a day every day of the year.)
    • (Not so successful or famous, I used to practice whenever my mother made me sit at the piano.)
  • A negative sentence with “used to” is often formed with “did not” (“didn’t).
    • (We did not used to have a piano, so I could not practice.)
    • (We didn’t used to have a piano, so I couldn’t practice.)
    • (My father did not used to think a piano was important until he watched “Mr. Showmanship.”)
    • (My father didn’t used to think a piano was important until he watched “Mr. Showmanship.”)

 

Credit: Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash


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