Language Structure
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      • Adverbial Complement
      • Objective Predicative (Po)
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  • Verb Phrase
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    • Progressive-simple
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Lexical v Auxiliary verb

Lexical versus Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary means to help or support something else, to act as a backup, and to be secondary to something more significant. Auxiliary verbs are often called helping verbs. There is a fixed number of auxiliary verbs in English as opposed to lexical verbs which are infinite and can be added to all the time. Lexical means "relating to words." Lexical verbs are the main verbs in a phrase or sentence. To put it simply, lexical verbs are any verbs which are not auxiliary verbs. Lexical verbs carry their own meaning, (full verbs), and therefore can use but don't necessarily need a helping (auxiliary) verb.
  • I was playing football yesterday.
"Was" is the auxiliary verb and "playing" is the lexical verb because it describes the state or action in the sentence.
  • If we go to that restaurant, I will want the steak.
In the main clause, "Will" is the auxiliary and "want" is the lexical verb.
  • The auxiliary verbs are: be, is, was, have, had, do
  • The Modal auxiliary verbs can, could, would, will, might, may, shall, should

After seeing the video tutorials test your knowledge on a quiz about modal, auxiliary, lexical verbs

This website contains all the video tutorials and information directly useful for the various chapters of the course textbook.
  • Home
    • Contact
    • About me
    • How to study grammar
    • Learning method
  • Essentials
    • Abbreviation List
    • Sentences used for study
    • Levels of analysis
    • Finite (non-finite) verbs
    • Head of subject
    • Function & form
    • P at clause level
    • Clausal patterns
    • Sentence vs clause
    • Basic syntax trees
  • Levels of analysis
    • What is grammar?
    • Sentence level
    • Clause level >
      • Adverbial Complement
      • Objective Predicative (Po)
    • Phrase level
    • Word level
    • More syntax trees
  • Noun Phrase
    • Complex Noun Phrases
    • (un) Countable nouns
    • Apostrophe
    • Irregular-foreign plurals
    • Articles and nouns
    • Collective nouns
    • that or which ?
  • Verb Phrase
    • Finite (non-finite) verbs
    • Lexical-Auxiliary verb
    • Modal auxiliares
    • Marginal modals
    • Tense and Aspect
    • Mood
    • Passive-active
    • Progressive-simple
  • Word Class
    • Adjectives
    • Adverbs
    • Adverbial
    • Pronouns
  • Other stuff
    • Numerals
    • Prepositions
    • non Finite Clauses
    • that Clauses
    • Uses of IT
    • Cleft Sentence
    • Conjunctions
    • Ellipted Subject
    • Fixing your writing >
      • Sentence overload
      • Run-on & Comma Splice
  • Send-in Tasks
  • Self-Study Tasks
  • Online seminars
  • Exam(s)
    • Exam questions
    • Exam Preparation
  • Course Info-schedule