An important difference between auxiliary verbs and main verbs is that auxiliaries never occur alone in a sentence. For instance, we cannot remove the main verb from a sentence, leaving only the auxiliary:
I would like a new job ~*I would a new job
You should buy a new car ~*You should a new car
She must be crazy ~*She must crazy
Auxiliaries always occur with a main verb. On the other hand, main verbs can occur without an auxiliary.
I like my new job
I bought a new car
She sings like a bird
In some sentences, it may appear that an auxiliary does occur alone. This is especially true in responses to questions:
Q. Can you sing?
A. Yes, I can
Here the auxiliary can does not really occur without a main verb, since the main verb -- sing -- is in the question. The response is understood to mean:
Yes, I can sing
This is known as ellipsis -- the main verb has been ellipted from the response.
Auxiliaries often appear in a shortened or contracted form, especially in informal contexts. For instance, auxiliary have is often shortened to 've:
I have won the lottery ~I've won the lottery
These shortened forms are called enclitic forms. Sometimes different auxiliaries have the same enclitic forms, so you should distinguish carefully between them:
I'd like a new job ( = modal auxiliary would)
We'd already spent the money by then ( = perfective auxiliary had)
He's been in there for ages ( = perfective auxiliary has)
She's eating her lunch ( = progressive auxiliary is)
The following exercise concentrates on three of the most important auxiliaries -- be, have, and do