Grammar U4W3

Main and Helping Verbs

By Valarie Flores

​Main and Helping Verbs

• Sometimes a verb may be more than one word. The main verb tells what the subject is or does. The helping verb helps the main verb show action.

• Have, has, and had can be helping verbs. Helping verbs must agree with the subject in simple and compound sentences:

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Lee and I have decided to join the tennis team.

Marley had examined the plant’s roots, and Bryan had removed its dry leaves.

Multiple Choice

Jenna has read a book about recycling.

• about recycling

• has read

• a book

• Jenna

Multiple Choice

Nate and Jenna have talked to our class about helping.

• have talked

• Nate and Jenna

• our class

• about helping

Multiple Choice

Mr. Hart’s class had started recycling last year.

• Mr. Hart's

• last year

• recycling

• had started

Multiple Choice

Our class has asked Mr. Hart’s class to tell us what they do.

• they do

• our class

• has asked

• tell us

Multiple Choice

We have decided that we want to help his class.

• have decided

• we want

• help

• his class

​Helping Verbs

• The verb forms of be can also act as helping verbs. Is, are, am, was, were, and will can be helping verbs:

The kittens are playing with the yarn.

• The helping verb must agree with the subject of the sentence in simple and compound sentences:

The kitten is playing with the yarn.

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Next week my family​

Select answer

visit Mount Rushmore.

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We ​

Select answer

planning to leave Tuesday.​

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I ​

Select answer

reading a book about the monument.

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My dad ​

Select answer

telling us about his first trip there.

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The car trip ​

Select answer

take ten hours.

​Quotations and Commas

• Quotation marks show that someone is speaking. They come at the beginning and end of the speaker’s exact words.

• Begin a quotation with a capital letter. Commas and periods appear inside quotation marks.

• If the end of a quotation comes at the end of a sentence, use a period, question mark, or exclamation mark to end it.

• If the sentence continues after a quotation, use a comma to close.