Auxiliary verbs

The use of

Auxiliary verbs

1. General Questions2. Short answers 3. Question Tags 4. Echo Questions 5. Negative Forms 6.Emphasis 7. Agreement (positive or negative)

4. Echo Questions 5. Negative Forms 6.Question Tag 7.Emphasis 8. Agreement

1. General Questions 2. Short answers 3. Question Tags

John: (1)Did you watch last night’s game? Adam: Yeah! I (2)did. I bet you liked Rooney’s goal, (3)didn’t you? John: Oh, yes! It was great! But I actually preferred Van Persie’s goal. Adam:(4)Did you? But overall he (5)didn’t play well, (6)did he? John: No, not really. But he (7)did score a great goal, right? Adam:Yeah, I guess so. But so (8)did Rooney, in my opinion.

Now, let’s see the uses of “did” in each case (1 – 8):

• (1) Question form: to ask questions: Did you do…?
• (2) Short answer: to avoid repeating the main verb: Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
• (3) Question tag: asking for clarification or approval, at the end of a statement: didn’t you?
• (4) Echo questions: expressing certain surprise at something said by someone else: did you?
• (5) Negative form: to negate a verb: didn’t play well.
• (6) Question tag: same as (3), but in positive form: did he?
• (7) Emphasising auxiliary: to emphasise that something happened or was so: he did score a great goal.
• (8) Agreement or similarity: to express agreement or similarity with a previous statement or idea: so did Rooney.

John: (1)Did you watch last night’s game? Adam: Yeah! I (2)did. I bet you liked Rooney’s goal, (3)didn’t you? John: Oh, yes! It was great! But I actually preferred Van Persie’s goal. Adam:(4)Did you? But overall he (5)didn’t play well, (6)did he? John: No, not really. But he (7)did score a great goal, right? Adam:Yeah, I guess so. But so (8)did Rooney, in my opinion.

• (1) Question form: to ask questions: Did you do…?
• (2) Short answer: to avoid repeating the main verb: Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
• (3) Question tag: asking for clarification or approval, at the end of a statement: didn’t you?
• (4) Echo questions: expressing certain surprise at something said by someone else: did you?
• (5) Negative form: to negate a verb: didn’t play well.
• (6) Question tag: same as (3), but in positive form: did he?
• (7) Emphasising auxiliary: to emphasise that something happened or was so: he did score a great goal.
• (8) Agreement or similarity: to express agreement or similarity with a previous statement or idea: so did Rooney.

1. General Questions2. Short answers 3. Question Tags 4. Echo Questions 5. Negative Forms 6.Emphasis 7. Agreement (positive or negative)

We use auxiliary verbs with so and neither to show agreement to something that has been said without having to repeat the same verb. We use so + auxiliary verb + subject to agree to affirmative sentences. A: ‘I love jazz.’ B: ‘So do I‘ A: ‘I’ll try again.’ B: ‘So will I‘ A: ‘Tom has already finished.’ B: ‘So has Gina‘ We use neither/nor + auxiliary verb + subject to agree to negative sentences. A: ‘I’m not going to accept the invitation.’ B: ‘Neither am I.‘ A: ‘I can’t concentrate’ B: ‘Nor can I.‘ A: ‘I didn’t like the food’ B: ‘Neither did I.‘ If there is an auxiliary verb in the previous sentence, we use the same verb to agree. If there is no auxiliary verb in the previous sentence, we use do or did.

To agree using so and neither

We use (Yes,/No,) + subject + auxiliary verb to show disagreement. If the verb in the previous sentence or clause is positive, we use a negative auxiliary and vice versa. A: ‘I’m not going to accept the invitation.’ B: ‘I am.‘ A: ‘I didn’t like the food’ B: ‘I did.’ I couldn’t find the solution but my wife could. A: ‘You will be here before midnight.’ B: ‘No, I won’t.’

To disagree

We use auxiliary verbs to avoid repeating the same verb or verb phrase in a sentence. If the first part contains an auxiliary verb, we use the same verb in the second part. I thought I had lost my keys, but I hadn’t. Tom can play the guitar and Tina can’t. She has never had to face such difficulties, but I have. If the first part doesn’t contain an auxiliary verb, we use do or did in the second part. She shares your opinion, but I don’t. Some wanted to go on with the plan, but others didn’t.

To avoid repetition

Thanks!