Definition of a Helping Verb
Those verbs which are used with other verbs to express question, negative and tense are used to express possibility and willingness, they are called auxiliary verbs. These are also called helping verbs.
In other words say, The verb which helps the main verb in forming tense, voice, mood, etc. is called a helping verb.
Example: The words in bold in these sentences are helping verbs…
- I am playing.
- He will come.
- My brother has gone.
- You should do this.
The following are the main helping verbs – am, is, are, was, did, were, do, does, have, has, had, shall, will, can, could, may, might, must, ought, should, would, need, dare, used to. These Auxiliary Verbs are used like Main verbs and sometimes like Helping verbs.
Helping Verb: Definition, Types and Examples
In English grammar, a Helping verb is a verb that comes before a main verb or lexical verb in a sentence. An auxiliary/helping verb and a main verb together form a verb phrase. Helping verbs & auxiliary verbs are mostly equal. we often get confused about how to use main verbs and helping verbs in sentences. In this article, we will try to understand how a helping verb can be used.