Auxiliary and Modal Verbs: Meaning, Examples, Difference, Use, & Exercises with Answers

Auxiliary Verbs or Helping Verbs are the verbs that are used along with the main verbs to express the mood, voice, or tense of the sentence. Auxiliary verbs do not have any meaning or significance on their own. They help the main verbs form a complete sentence or verb phrase. For instance, in “I was dancing.”, ‘was’ acts as the helping verb of the main verb ‘dancing’, and describes that the action was happening in the past.

Auxiliary Verbs are divided into two types: Primary Auxiliary and Modal Auxiliary Verbs. The auxiliary verbs include English verbs like do, be, have, can, could, might, should, etc.

Example:

• They are watching the latest Wildlife documentary on the Discovery Channel.
• Did you enjoy the movie last night?
• I have asked Sam to bring me flowers.

Modal Verbs, or Modal Auxiliary Verbs, or Modals, are a type of auxiliary/helping verb. The modal verbs are used with the main verbs in a sentence to express the ability, permission, probability, attitude, possibility, necessity, or obligation of the speaker. These verbs help bring politeness, mood, and precision to the sentence.  These include shall, will, should, could, would, can, might, may, etc.

Example:

• You must take the admit card to the examination hall.
• I might go to the concert with you.
• Could you please help me with the presentation?

Auxiliary Verbs Definition: Oxford Dictionary

According to the Oxford Dictionary, an auxiliary verb is ‘a verb such as be, do and have used with main verbs to show tense, etc. and to form questions and negatives.’

Pronunciation: /ɔːɡˈzɪliəri/

Auxiliary Verbs Definition: Cambridge Dictionary

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, an auxiliary verb is ‘a verb that gives grammatical information that is not given by the main verb of a sentence.’

Example: I am going to college. Could you please give me a ride?

Also Read:

Definition of Adverbs

Definition of Noun

Definition of Articles in English

Modal Verbs Definition: Oxford Dictionary

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a modal verb is ‘a verb such as can, may, or will that is used with another verb (not a modal) to express possibility, permission, intention, etc.’

Pronunciation: /ˈməʊdl/

Modal Verbs Definition: Cambridge Dictionary

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a modal verb is ‘a verb used with another verb to express an idea such as possibility that is not expressed by the main verb.’

Example: She might not come to the party today.

Auxiliary Verbs are the type of verbs that are used with the main verbs. These verbs help complete a verb phrase. Auxiliary verbs also help in forming various verb tenses like the present, past, and future. Auxiliary verbs are divided into two parts: Primary Auxiliary Verbs and Modal Auxiliary Verbs.

1. Primary Auxiliary Verbs

Primary Auxiliary Verbs or Primary Helping Verbs are the most basic helping verbs. They help in creating verb phrases and express important grammatical features of a sentence like voice, tense, questions, and negation.

The three primary auxiliaries include:

I. Be

The first primary auxiliary is ‘Be’. It includes auxiliary verbs like is, am, are, was, were, be, been, and being. These verbs are used to create continuous tenses and passive voice.

Examples:

• The assignment was completed by Rahul. (Passive Voice)
• Rahul was completing the assignment. (Past Continuous)

II. Have

The second primary auxiliary is ‘Have’. It includes auxiliary verbs like have, has, and had. These verbs are used to create perfect tenses.

Examples:

• I have submitted my assignment.
• He had already left the building before I arrived.

III. Do

The last primary auxiliary is ‘Do’ and includes auxiliary verbs like do, does, and did. These verbs are used to write empathetic, negative, and question sentences.

Examples:

• Do you know how to fill out the application form?
• He does not know the answer to my question.

Another Example of Primary Auxiliary Verbs:

One of the most iconic scenes of Marvel Films was in Iron Man (2008), where Tony Stark declares, “I am Iron Man.” In this line, the word ‘am’ is the primary auxiliary verb. This verb is linking ‘I’, the subject, to ‘Iron Man’, the complement of the sentence. 

2. Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Modal Auxiliary Verbs or Modal Helping Verbs are the second type of auxiliary verbs. They are also used along with the main verbs. However, the English modal verbs help add meaning to the sentence by expressing the ability, permission, possibility, or obligation of the subject to complete an action.

Some of the most common Modal Auxiliary Verbs include can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must, need, dare, ought to, and used to.

Examples:

• You should eat healthy food. (advice)
• I can swim across the lake. (ability)

Another Example of Modal Auxiliary Verbs:

In one of the famous Web Series, Star Wars: Episode IV (A New Hope (1977)), the characters often say, “May the force be with you.” In this line, the word ‘may’ is the modal auxiliary verb or modal helping verb. It is helping the character express his/her wish or hopeful possibility.

Also Read:

Adjective Types & Meaning	Types of English Letter Writing
Preposition Types & Examples	English Phrases Types

Now that we have understood the meaning of auxiliary verbs and modal verbs, let’s check out the space below for a list of these verbs.

List of Auxiliary Verbs

Check the table for a list of English Auxiliary Verbs or Helping Verbs.

List of Auxiliary Verbs
Am	Had
Is	Do
Are	Does
Was	Did
Were	Will
Be	Shall
Being	Should
Been	Would
Have	Can
Has	Could

Note: The above-mentioned auxiliary verbs include primary auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliary verbs.

List of Modal Verbs

Check out the table below for a list of English Modal Verbs or Modal Auxiliary Verbs.

List of Modal Verbs
Can	Need
Could	Dare
Shall	Have to
Should	Has to
Will	Had to
Would	Used to
May	Shall not (Shan’t)
Might	Will not (Won’t)
Must	May not
Ought to	Might not

Also Read:

List of Collective Nouns

List of Synonyms

Although auxiliary verbs and modal verbs are both helping verbs, they are different from each other in many aspects. Let’s understand how auxiliary verbs are different from the modal verbs.

Basis	Auxiliary Verbs	Modal Verbs
Meaning	Verbs used with main verbs to form negatives, questions, tenses, and passive voice.	Verbs used with main verbs to describe the necessity, mood, possibility, permission, or ability of the speaker.
Types	Primary Auxiliary Verbs Modal Auxiliary Verbs	Not further classified
Includes	Be (is, am, are, was, were, been, being), Have (has, had, have), and do (do, does, did)	Can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, ought to, need, dare, used to
Verb Form	The verb form is changed based on the subject and tense.	No change in verb form
Example	I have finished my work.	I should finish my work.

Examples:

• They have gone on a trip to Thailand. (Present Perfect) (Auxiliary Verb)
• Does anyone have Sudha’s number? (Present question) (Auxiliary Verb)
• I can speak German. (Ability) (Modal Verb)
• We might go to dinner together. (Possibility) (Modal Verb)