Today, we will concentrate on helping verbs. A verb is described as a doing word and is used to denote an action, occurrence, example, or state of being. It is one of the main parts of a sentence.
The English language has various elements known as parts of speech. A part of speech is a category to which a word is assigned based on its functions or use. The English language has 8 parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.
There are three types of verbs:
- Main verbs/ action verbs.
- Linking verbs
- Helping verbs/auxiliaries.
The Main verb indicates a specific action that a subject (a part of a sentence that contains the person or thing performing the action) is performing. Examples:
- Jump
- Cry
- Run
- Go
Main verbs can be transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb is used with an object( a person or thing that is affected by the verb). An intransitive verb, on the other hand, does not have an object.
Examples:
The children sang carols. [transitive]
I want to leave early. [intransitive]
Linking verbs are verbs that do not show any action but link the subject to the rest of the sentence. They are also known as state of being verbs or be verbs. They add details about the subject of a sentence.
The examples of linking verbs are in bold in the sentences below:
- My father is excited about his book’s new ‘rights reserved’.
- She appears upset about the announcement.
What is a helping verb?
Helping verbs, also known as auxiliary verbs, support/help the main verb. Helping verbs always come before the main verb in a sentence. They help to show the main verb’s tense, time and possibility, or to form a question or negative.
Together, the helping verb and the main verb form verb phrases. However, it’s worth noting that verb phrases in a sentence should not include more than three helping verbs.
What are the main helping verbs?
The main auxiliary verbs(helping verbs)are :
- “To be” helping verbs: am, is, are, was, were, being, been, will be.
- “To Have”: has, have, had, having, will have.
- “To Do”: does, do, did, will do.
They are used in continuous and perfect tenses.
What are all the 23 helping verbs?
- am, is, are
- was, were
- be, been, being
- do, does, did
- have, has, had
- may, can, must, might
- shall, will
- should, would, could
Some of the helping verbs mentioned above fall under modal helping verbs.
A modal helping verb is an auxiliary verb that helps the main verb to indicate possibility, ability, permission, and obligation.
Modal helping verbs are different from normal verbs in the following ways:
1: They don’t use an ‘s’ for the third person singular.
2: They make questions by inversion (‘she can go’ becomes ‘can she go?’)
Examples of modal verbs are: can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would.
Some of the ways in which modal verbs carry out their functions are:
1. Probability
Modal helping verbs like can, may and might can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something happened / is happening / will happen.
Example:
- It’s raining, so it must be very cold outside.
- I don’t know where Kate is. She might have missed the bus.
- This charge can’t be right. It’s too high!
2. Ability.
We use the helping words ‘can’ and ‘could’ to indicate a skill or ability.
Example:
- She can draw portraits.
- My grandfather could play golf very well.
3. Obligation.
The helping verbs ‘must’ or ‘should’ are used to say when something is necessary or unnecessary, or to give advice.
Example:
- Children must do their homework.
- You should stop smoking.
4. Permission
‘can’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ are used to ask for and give permission. We also use them to say something is not allowed.
Example:
- Could I leave early today, please?
- You may not use the car tonight.
- Can we swim in the lake?
5. We can also use ‘will’ and ‘would’ to talk about habits or things we do, or did in the past.
Example:
- When I lived in Italy, we would often eat in the restaurant next to my flat.
- John will always be late!
What is a helping verb example?
Helping verbs expressing tense
- Peter was singing for an hour.
In this example, the to be verb “was” forms the progressive tense -which is used for ongoing actions.
- Michael had eaten the chicken before we could stop him.
Here, the helping verb “had” helps to form the perfect tense, which is used to express an action’s completion.
- Maria had been eating before her race.
In this example, the helping verbs “had” and “been” help to form the perfect progressive tense which is used to express the completion of an ongoing action.
Helping verbs expressing voice
- The chicken was eaten by the king
- The cars are routinely stolen by visitors.
In these examples, “to be” helping verb forms the passive voice. Here the helping verb helps us to write the sentence in a manner that the subject takes the action of the verb instead of performing it.
Helping verbs expressing mood
- Did she lose?
The helping verb “to do” is used to form the interrogative mood, i.e., to ask a question.)
- Don’t breathe out until I say.
Here, the helping verb “to do” (in its negative form) is used to form the imperative mood, i.e., to give an order.
Is did a helping verb?
Yes! The verb “did” is a helping word/verb is used for past tense. It is also used to help the main verb not.
Here are a few examples;
1.When asking questions about the past
- When did you come?
- Did you come yesterday?
2.Making a negative statement regarding the past
- I didn’t come yesterday.
- James didn’t care to call back.
Clap
