American Dictionary

Define dictionary terms easily in our powerful online English dictionary.

Searching for...

No matching words found

Try a different search term or browse the dictionary

Definition auxiliary verb in American English

auxiliary verb noun

[countable] noun
/ɔɡˈzɪljəri/
1

the verbs 'be', 'do', and 'have' in English, when they are used with another verb to form tenses, questions, question tags, and the passive. For example in the sentences 'I am listening', 'Are you working?', 'You don't like her, do you?' and 'The bill has been paid', 'am', 'are', 'do', and 'has been' are all auxiliary verbs.

Synonyms and related words
Definition auxiliary verb in American English