Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs are helper words that work together with main verbs. They help us ask questions, make sentences negative, and show actions happening now.

What You'll Learn

In P1, you learnt how to choose is, am, are, was, were for different subjects. Now you will learn:

How to use has and have with the right subject
How to use do and does to ask questions and make negatives
How to match all these auxiliary verbs to their subjects correctly

When to Use

Telling what someone owns or has: "She has a new bag."
Asking a question: "Do you like ice cream?"
Making a negative sentence: "He does not want to go."
Describing an action happening now: "They are playing in the park."

How to Form

Choosing has / have

Subject	Auxiliary	Example
I	have	I have a pet hamster.
you	have	You have a blue pencil.
he / she / it	has	She has long hair.
we	have	We have art class today.
they	have	They have a big garden.
singular noun	has	The boy has a red cap.
plural noun	have	The girls have new bags.

Choosing do / does

Subject	Auxiliary	Example
I	do	I do not like durian.
you	do	Do you want some water?
he / she / it	does	Does she walk to school?
we	do	We do not have homework.
they	do	Do they play at the park?
singular noun	does	Does the cat drink milk?
plural noun	do	Do the birds sing?

Quick Rule: is/am/are + has/have + do/does

Subject	is / am / are	has / have	do / does
I	am	have	do
you	are	have	do
he / she / it	is	has	does
we	are	have	do
they	are	have	do
singular noun	is	has	does
plural noun	are	have	do

Key Rules

"Has" is for one person or thing: Use has with he, she, it, and singular nouns. "My brother has a toy car."
"Have" is for I, you, and more than one: Use have with I, you, we, they, and plural nouns. "The children have new shoes."
"Does" is for one person or thing: Use does with he, she, it, and singular nouns. "Does the shop close early?"
"Do" is for I, you, and more than one: Use do with I, you, we, they, and plural nouns. "Do they take the MRT to school?"

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
She have a red dress.	She has a red dress.	"She" is singular -- use has
The dogs has long tails.	The dogs have long tails.	"Dogs" is plural -- use have
Does they like swimming?	Do they like swimming?	"They" is plural -- use do
He do not eat vegetables.	He does not eat vegetables.	"He" is singular -- use does

Clue Words

Use has / does (singular helpers)

he, she, it, a boy, a girl, the teacher, the cat, my father, each, every

Use have / do (plural helpers)

I, you, we, they, the boys, the children, my friends, many, some

Tip: If the subject is one person or thing (but not I or you), use has and does. If the subject is more than one (or I / you), use have and do.

Practice Tips

Find the subject first: Look at who or what the sentence is about. Is it one or more than one?
Try the swap trick: Replace the subject with he/she or they. "The cat" becomes "he/she" (singular). "The cats" becomes "they" (plural). Now pick the right helper.
Read it out loud: Say the sentence aloud. Does it sound right? "She have a pen" sounds wrong because we always say "She has a pen."

Quick Reference

Subject	is / am / are	has / have	do / does	Example
I	am	have	do	I have a storybook.
you	are	have	do	Do you like rojak?
he / she / it	is	has	does	She has a pink eraser.
we	are	have	do	We do not have P.E. today.
they	are	have	do	They have recess now.
the boy (singular)	is	has	does	Does the boy know the way?
the boys (plural)	are	have	do	The boys have their uniforms.

Auxiliary Verbs (P2) (Primary 2)