Helping Verbs Notes: Helping verbs, also known as auxiliary verbs, are verbs that work together with the main verb to form a complete verb phrase. They help in expressing the tense, mood, or voice of the sentence.

Helping Verbs

Let’s take a look at some examples of helping verbs:

• She is singing a song. In this sentence, “is” is the helping verb and “singing” is the main verb. “Is” helps in expressing the present continuous tense of the sentence.
• He has eaten his lunch. In this sentence, “has” is the helping verb and “eaten” is the main verb. “Has” helps in expressing the present perfect tense of the sentence.
• They will be going to the concert. Here, “will be” are the helping verbs and “going” is the main verb. The helping verbs help in expressing the future progressive tense of the sentence.
• She had been studying for hours. In this sentence, “had been” are the helping verbs and “studying” is the main verb. The helping verbs help in expressing the past perfect progressive tense of the sentence.
• He should have finished his work by now. In this sentence, “should have” are the helping verbs and “finished” is the main verb. The helping verbs help in expressing the past perfect tense of the sentence.

Helping verbs can also be used to express the mood of the sentence, such as the conditional mood or subjunctive mood.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

• If she were here, she would help us. In this sentence, “were” is the helping verb used to express the conditional mood of the sentence.
• I wish I could travel the world. Here, “could” is the helping verb used to express the subjunctive mood of the sentence.
• They might have left already. In this sentence, “might have” are the helping verbs used to express the possibility or uncertainty of the action.

In conclusion, helping verbs play an important role in forming a complete verb phrase and expressing the tense, mood, or voice of the sentence. It is important to identify the helping verb in a sentence as it helps in understanding the meaning and structure of the sentence.

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By Team Learning Mantras