Helping Verbs Worksheets
Free helping verbs worksheets with answer keys. Practice identifying am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had, and more — printable PDFs for grades 2-5.
Helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs) work alongside main verbs to create different tenses, moods, and voices. In "She is running," the word "is" is the helping verb that teams up with "running" to show an action happening right now. Without helping verbs, English would be stuck in one tense — they're what let us express past, present, future, possibility, and obligation.
What Students Will Practice
- Identifying the 23 common helping verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, have, has, had, do, does, did, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must, can, could
- Finding helping verbs in sentences and distinguishing them from main verbs (e.g., in "They have eaten lunch," "have" is helping and "eaten" is the main verb)
- Understanding how helping verbs change the tense ("She walks" vs. "She is walking" vs. "She has walked" vs. "She will walk")
- Recognizing helping verbs when they're separated from the main verb by other words (e.g., "She does not like spinach" — "does" is the helping verb)
- Using helping verbs to form questions ("Do you like pizza?" vs. "You like pizza.")
- Choosing the correct helping verb to complete sentences based on tense and subject agreement
Helping verbs are covered in grammar standards from grades 2-5 and are essential for understanding verb tenses, forming questions, and constructing complex sentences.
Helping Verbs Worksheet
Free printable helping verbs worksheets with answer keys. Perfect for homework, extra practice, or enhancing English skills at home.
Helping Verbs Worksheet
Free printable helping verbs worksheet with answer key. Perfect for homework, extra practice, or reinforcing English skills at home.
Helping Verbs Worksheet
Free printable helping verbs worksheet with answer key. Perfect for homework, extra practice, or enhancing English skills at home.
How to Use These Worksheets
Helping verbs are easier to learn as a system than as individual words.
- Start by memorizing the list of 23 helping verbs. Many teachers use a song or chant (set to a familiar tune) to help students memorize the list. Once the list is memorized, identifying helping verbs in sentences becomes much easier — students can simply ask "Is this word on my list?"
- For the identification exercises, teach students to find the main verb first (the action or state), then look for any helpers nearby. In "The cat has been sleeping all day," the main verb is "sleeping" and the helpers are "has" and "been." Working backwards from the main verb is often easier than scanning for helpers first.
- Pay attention to sentences where the helping verb and main verb are separated: "She did not finish her homework." Students often miss "did" as a helping verb because "not" sits between it and "finish." Teach them to mentally remove words like "not," "never," "always" when looking for the verb phrase.
- Use the sentence-completion worksheets to practice subject-verb agreement with helpers: "She (is/are) coming" — "is" matches the singular subject "She." This connects helping verb practice to broader grammar skills.
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Confusing helping verbs with main verbs: Words like "have," "do," and "is" can be either helping or main verbs depending on context. "She has a dog" — "has" is the main verb (possession). "She has eaten" — "has" is a helping verb. Teach students to check: is there another verb right after it?
- Missing helping verbs in contractions: In "She's running" or "They've gone," the helping verbs "is" and "have" are hidden in contractions. Students who don't expand contractions will miss these helping verbs entirely.
- Forgetting that questions rearrange the verb phrase: "Are you going to the store?" has the helping verb "are" before the subject "you." In a statement, it would be "You are going." Students need to recognize helping verbs even when sentence structure changes for questions.
- Thinking "not" is a verb: In "She does not like broccoli," some students identify "not" as part of the verb. "Not" is an adverb, never a verb. The verb phrase is "does like" — "not" just modifies it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my child need to know which verbs are "helping" verbs?
Understanding helping verbs is essential for constructing correct verb tenses, forming questions and negatives, and eventually for learning other languages (where auxiliary verb systems differ). It also helps with writing — students who understand verb phrases write more varied and grammatically correct sentences.
How many helping verbs are there?
There are 23 standard helping verbs in English. Some teachers add modals (should, would, could, might, must, may) as a separate category. The core group that students should memorize is: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, have, has, had, do, does, did, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must, can, could.
When are helping verbs taught in school?
Basic helping verbs (is, am, are, was, were) are introduced in 2nd grade. The full list and the concept of verb phrases are covered in 3rd-4th grade. Using helping verbs for tense shifts and complex constructions continues through 5th grade.
What's the difference between helping verbs and linking verbs?
Helping verbs assist the main verb: "She is running" (is = helper, running = main verb). Linking verbs connect the subject to a description: "She is tall" (is = linking verb, no main action verb). The word "is" can serve either role depending on the sentence. If there's an action verb after it, it's helping. If there's an adjective or noun, it's linking.
After mastering helping verbs, students are ready to explore more advanced grammar — including perfect and progressive tenses, passive voice, and modal verbs that express possibility, permission, and obligation.
