What Is a Helping Verb?
- Michele Coutinho de Oliveira
- 11 de abr. de 2019
- 1 min de leitura
Definition: All sentences need at least one main verb; however, certain tenses, sentence structures, and ideas require a helping verb (also called an auxiliary verb), which assists the main verb to form a complete thought. Without helping verbs, certain ideas would be impossible to express, and our speech and writing would be dull and incomplete. Remove the helping verb, and you might end up sounding like a caveman (or woman)! Try removing the helping verb from any of the examples in this lesson and you'll get the idea.
Verb Phrases Helping verbs and main verbs combine to form verb phrases.
The main verb is always the last verb in the phrase.
Helping Verb + Main Verb = Verb Phrase Common Helping Verbs
Below you will learn about the most common helping verbs and how they're used. You'll notice that many helping verbs are used in specific verb tenses. The tense of a verb tells us the time period when an action occurs, such as in the present, past, or future.
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