Abstract After having reviewed the discussion concerning the categorical status of auxiliaries, Palmer (1979b:3) concludes that the argument is not one for which a clear-cut “Yes” or “No” answer can be given, but rather that judgments of appropriateness must be made. While this is in fact the position one is likely to arrive at when aiming at a taxonomic description of auxiliaries, a different perspective emerges once one analyzes auxi!iaries in terms of the dynamics that give rise to them, especially when one interprets them as products of grammaticalization, as is done here.