Helping Verbs

The main verb in a sentence shows action or a state of being. Words like run, swim, think, dance and love are main verbs. A helping verb helps the main verb express action or a state of being. Helping verbs give you more information about the action or state of being. They work with main verbs to show a different meaning, state or tense. Together, the main verb and the helping verb make up a verb phrase. Nisha can sing that song very well. In the sentence above, can sing is the

• verb phrase.

• helping verb.

• main verb.

• helping action.

Some helping verbs change the tense of the main verb. This means that they change the time that the action of the main verb happens. For example, the helping verb was changes the main verb to past tense. It shows that the action of the main verb happened in the past. The helping verb will changes the main verb to future tense. It shows that the action of the main verb will happen in the future. For example, he was running yesterday, but he also will run tomorrow. In the sentence below, what does the helping verb will show? I will cook dinner for my family on Thanksgiving.

• I ought to cook.

• The cooking takes place in the future.

• The cooking took place in the past.

• I am able to cook.

Sometimes, a sentence has more than one helping verb. In the sentence "You could have talked to me," the main verb is talked. It shows the action. Could and have are both helping verbs that give more information about the action. In addition to should, what is the other helping verb in the sentence below? She should have asked him the question already.

• asked

• question

• have

• already

Helping verbs like can, must, may, might, and could change the meaning of a sentence. For example, can shows ability. In the sentence, "She can ride a bike," can shows that she is able to ride. Might shows possibility. In the sentence, "Dena might have another piece of cake," "might" shows that it’s possible she’ll have an extra piece. May shows ability or permission. For example, in the sentence “You may have another piece of cake,” “may” shows that you’re allowed to have another piece. In the sentence below, what does the helping verb may show? You may play outside until dinnertime.

• You are playing outside right now.

• You ought to play outside.

• You played outside in the past.

• You have permission to play outside.

Should and would are two more helping verbs that change the meaning of a sentence. Should shows that something ought to be done. For example, "You should finish your homework.” Would shows that something might happen under certain conditions, like in the sentence "I would play soccer with you if it weren’t raining outside." In the sentence below, what does the helping verb should show? She should look both ways before crossing the street.

• She ought to look both ways.

• She has permission to look both ways.

• She will look in the future.

• She looked in the past.

Some verbs can be either a helping verb or a main verb, depending on how they are used. For example, in the sentence "I have a bird," have is the main verb. But in the sentence "I have seen a bird," have becomes a helping verb. The main verb is now seen. In the sentence below, is the verb has a helping verb or a main verb? He always has hockey practice after school.

• main verb

• helping verb