Auxiliary verbs are verbs that are followed by another verb (the full verb) in order to form a question, a negative sentence, a compound tense or the passive. The most common auxiliary verbs are "be," "do," and "have", and you may also use these verbs on their own. You use "Will" and "shall" to express future time.

In each of the following examples, a verb commonly used as an auxiliary verb appears as a simple predicate:

• • She is the chief engineer.

  • The tea cups are in the china cabinet.

  • Garth does this kind of thing frequently.

  • My roommates and I do the laundry every second week.

  • I can't complete my assignment because he still has my notes.

  • They have several kinds of gelato in the display case.