What is an auxiliary verb?

An auxiliary (helping) verb always comes before the main verb to show its tense or a modality such as ability, permission, compulsion, obligation, threat or desirability. There are two kinds — primary auxiliaries and modal auxiliaries.

What are the primary and modal auxiliaries?

The primary auxiliaries are be, have and do. The modal auxiliaries are shall, should, will, would, may, might, can, could, must, ought to, need, dare and used to.

How are be, have and do used as auxiliaries?

A 'be' verb makes the progressive or the passive; a 'have' verb makes the perfect tense; and a 'do' verb makes negative and interrogative sentences. When they are the only verb in the sentence, they are main verbs instead.

What are the main features of modal auxiliaries?

Modals do not act as main verbs, have a single form for all subjects (they do not change for number, person or past time), two modals cannot go together, and they are always followed by the bare infinitive (base form) of the verb.

What is the difference between 'mustn't' and 'needn't'?

'Mustn't' expresses a negative compulsion or prohibition (You mustn't tell this to anybody), while 'needn't' expresses the absence of compulsion (You needn't wash these clothes — they aren't dirty).

Grammar Chapter 4: Auxiliaries

Learn and Practise Grammar · Primary & Modal Auxiliaries

English Grammar · Odisha Board Class 9 · Notes + Solved Activities + 25 Quiz

📖 Grammar Chapter 4 — Auxiliaries: Auxiliaries are the helping verbs that come before the main verb. This chapter sorts them into Primary (be, have, do) and Modal (shall, will, can, may, must…) auxiliaries, and shows exactly what each modal means — ability, permission, obligation, possibility and more.

A. What is an Auxiliary?

An auxiliary (helping) verb always comes before the main verb to show its tense or its modality — ability, permission, compulsion, obligation, threat, desirability, etc. There are two kinds: Primary and Modal auxiliaries.

In “Shekhar and Kabir have known each other…”, have is the auxiliary and known is the main verb.

The Family of Verbs

Verb	Kinds
Main verb	play, study, read, write, run…
Primary auxiliaries	be, have, do
Modal — paired	will–would, shall–should, may–might, can–could
Modal — single (Pure)	must, ought to
Modal — single (Semi)	need, dare, used to

B. The Primary Auxiliaries — be, have, do

be, have and do can each be a main verb or an auxiliary. When they are the only verb, they are main verbs; when they go with another verb, they are auxiliaries.

Verb	As AUXILIARY	As MAIN VERB
be	makes the progressive (is going) or the passive (is invited)	tells the identity / quality / position (She is the monitor)
have	makes the perfect tense (has done)	means possess / experience (She has a bicycle)
do	makes negatives & questions (Do you…? I don't…)	means perform an activity (I do my homework)

C. The Modal Auxiliaries

Modals express meanings like necessity, obligation, advice, permission, certainty and possibility. Their special features:

They do not act as main verbs.
They have a single form for all subjects — no change for number, person, or even past time.
Two modals cannot go together in a simple sentence.
They are always finite and come before all other verbs.
They are followed by the bare infinitive (base form) of the verb (can go, must do).

In some uses, should, would, might, could act as the past forms of shall, will, may, can.

Shall / Will

shall (with I/we) → plain future, permission, promise, order, offer. With other subjects → threat / compulsion (You shall not use my bicycle again). Short: shan't.
will → plain future, willingness, request, prediction. With I/we → certainty/promise. Short: won't.

Should / Ought to

should → advice or obligation. ought to is similar but stronger, used for a moral obligation or an obligation that comes from outside (You ought to respect your parents).

Would / Used to

would → request, invitation, probability, or past habit (I would spend hours with my toys). used to → past habit only; it has no present equivalent and is not used with a definite period of time.

Can / Could

can → ability, possibility, or permission (He can run fast; Can I use your bicycle?). could → past ability, or a polite request (Could I come in, sir?).

May / Might

may → permission, factual possibility, or a wish (May I come in? May God bless you). might → a remote possibility, or a past purpose (He died that others might live).

Need / Dare

need and dare are mostly used in negative and interrogative sentences (You needn't speak so loudly; Need you leave so soon?). Sometimes they act as main verbs (You don't need to come; I didn't dare to go near the snake).

Must

must → strong obligation, necessity, compulsion, or a logical conclusion / inference (He has two big houses — he must be rich).

mustn't vs needn't: mustn't = a negative compulsion / prohibition (You mustn't tell this to anyone). needn't = the absence of compulsion (You needn't wait for me).

💡 Quick Recap

① An auxiliary comes before the main verb. ② Two kinds: Primary (be, have, do) and Modal. ③ be → progressive/passive, have → perfect, do → negatives/questions. ④ Modals take the base form and never change for the subject. ⑤ must = strong obligation/inference; mustn't = prohibition; needn't = no compulsion.

Solved Textbook Activities (with answers)

1AActivity 1(A) — Fill with the proper form of be / have / do.

Nilu is my classmate. She lives near our house on the same road. A few days ago they had a big garden in front of their house. But now they have built an office room in that garden. They have lost their beautiful garden. Nilu's father is a lawyer. He doesn't go to the office at ten o'clock everyday. Does your father go to work at a fixed time everyday?

2Activity 2 — Fill with shall / will / shan't / won't (Nandankanan).

i. shall (Daddy, shall we go to Nandankanan during the summer vacation?) ii. will (I think it will be better if we go there in winter.) iii. will (We will have to queue for hours for the boat ride.) iv. won't (We won't get time to see everything.) v. won't (the weather won't be so good in summer.) vi. will (The animals will stay in their caves all the time.) vii. shall (So, what shall we do?) viii. Shall (Shall we go there in December?) ix. won't (It won't be so crowded then.) x. will (the weather will be better.)

3Activity 3 — I (think / don't think) … should … + a suitable expression.

1. It is late. I think we should go home now. (done) 2. It's very late. I don't think you should go to work today. (done) 3. Your bicycle is very old. — I think you should sell it. 4. They need a change. — I think they should have a holiday. 5. He doesn't look well. — I think he should go to the doctor. 6. She's very intelligent. — I think she should go to university. 7. You are not very well. — I think you should phone them now (to inform them). 8. They are too young. — I don't think they should get married.

4Activity 4 — Choose Do you like / Would you like.

1. Would you like a banana? — No, thank you. 2. Do you like bananas? — Yes, I love them. 3. What would you like to drink? — Water, please. 4. I like ice-cream but I don't eat it very often. 5. I'm tired. I'd like to go to sleep. 6. Would you like something to eat? — No, thanks. I'm not hungry.

5Activity 5 — Complete using shall / should / will / would.

A. Sumit: Really? Will he be in hospital for long? Lata: No, he won't be there very long. … Sumit: How long will he have those medicines? Lata: … May be he will have to take them for three days. Sumit: I hope he will be all right soon. How shall we play the football match without him? B. Shall I turn the light off? · Shall I fetch you a glass of water? · Shall I call the doctor? · Mother says she will be all right if she lies in bed… Shall I (make the bed) for you?

7Activity 7 — Complete the offers/invitations with ‘Would you like…?’

• I've just made some tea. Would you like some? • You haven't got an umbrella, have you? Would you like to borrow mine? • There is a teacher of English living on the first floor. Would you like to know her? • We're going to a party tomorrow night. Would you like to come? • You don't have enough money… Would you like me to lend you some money?

8Activity 8 — Complete with could / couldn't (Mr Das, 70).

i. could (Five years ago I could read the newspaper without glasses.) ii. could (A few years ago I could walk to the shops.) iii. couldn't (we couldn't watch television — they didn't exist.) iv. could (they could keep us amused for hours.) v. could (I could play the flute very well.) vi. could (I could play it only for a few minutes.) vii. couldn't (I couldn't play it at a high pitch.) viii. couldn't (I couldn't remember my telephone number this morning.)

9Activity 9 — Answer using may / might (you are unsure).

Sample answers (both ‘may’ and ‘might’ are acceptable): (i) I'm not sure yet, I may/might go to Puri. (ii) I don't know yet. I may/might celebrate it at home. (iii) I'm not sure. I may/might see him next month. (iv) I haven't decided yet. I may/might buy a new shirt. (v) I may/might go to a movie. (vi) I may/might phone her tomorrow. (vii) I may/might have rice and curry.

10Activity 10 — Fill with may/might/could (not) — weather forecast.

… but the rain may not / might not reach the south coast till the evening. … Temperature may / might reach 35°. Winds will increase from the east and may / might reach the speed of 80 kilometres per hour in the coastal region but they may not / might not be strong inland. … Well, it could / may be better really.
(Multiple answers are possible.)

11Activity 11 — Fill with can / can't / will / won't / would / wouldn't.

My brother can speak three languages. At the moment he's learning Bengali and by the end of this year he will be able to speak four languages. … I would like to speak two languages! I can speak only Odia and I can't really speak English very well. … Do you think I will really be proficient in that language?

12Activity 12 — Complete the responses (must / can't / may have…).

(i) I haven't heard from him for years. — He must have forgotten you. (ii) Can I have something to eat? — You can't be hungry. You have just had your dinner. (iii) I can't find the key to my bicycle. — You must have left it in the classroom. (iv) He has no idea what the book is about. — He can't have read it. (v) The last bus hasn't arrived yet. — It can't have arrived. There is no passenger at the bus-stop.

13Activity 13 — Complete with mustn't / needn't + a verb from the box.

• Your clothes aren't dirty. You needn't wash them. • I must hurry. I mustn't be late. • You mustn't stick your tongue out at people. It's not decent. • We have enough time. You needn't hurry while driving. • You needn't wait for me, I will meet you at the school. • You needn't buy an umbrella. It's not going to rain. • This is a secret. You mustn't tell it to anybody. • You needn't buy this book. You can borrow mine. • This book is very important. You mustn't lose it.

14Activity 14 — Ask politely with may / could / would you mind if…

Sample polite requests: • May I / Could I switch on the TV? / Would you mind if I switched on the TV? • Could I have a glass of water, please? • May I have another piece of cake? • Could I have a piece of paper and a pen? • Would you mind if I borrowed today's newspaper for a few minutes? • Could you pass me the salt, please?