Putting auxiliary verbs in order.
Putting auxiliary verbs in order. In the sentence Immigration figures may have been rising, the main verb rising follows three auxiliaries: may, have, and been. Together these auxiliaries and main verb make up a verb phrase.
- May is a modal that indicates possibility; it is followed by the base form of a verb.
- Have is an auxiliary verb that in this case indicates the perfect tense; it must be followed by a past participle (been).
- Any form of be, when it is followed by a present participle ending in -ing (such as rising), indicates the progressive tense.
- Be followed by a past participle, as in New immigration policies have been passed in recent years, indicates the passive voice (23e).
As shown in the preceding chart, when two or more auxiliaries appear in a verb phrase, they must follow a particular order based on the type of auxiliary: (1) modal, (2) a form of have used to indicate a perfect tense, (3) a form of be used to indicate a progressive tense, and (4) a form of be used to indicate the passive voice. (Very few sentences include all four kinds of auxiliaries.)
Only one modal is permitted in a verb phrase.
