| Helping Verbs  | | Helping verbs are also called "auxiliary verbs". |
| Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary
for the grammatical structure of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much
alone. We usually use helping verbs with
main verbs. They "help" the
main verb (which has the real meaning). There are only about 15 helping verbs
in English, and we divide them into two basic groups: Primary helping verbs (3 verbs) These are the verbs be, do, and have. Note
that we can use these three verbs as helping verbs or as main verbs. On
this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them in the following
cases: - be
- to make continuous tenses (He is watching
TV.)
- to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big
fish.)
- have
- to make perfect tenses (I have finished my
homework.)
- do
- to make negatives (I do not like you.)
- to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?)
- to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your
exam.)
- to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks
faster than she does.)
Modal helping verbs (10 verbs) We use modal helping verbs to "modify" the meaning of the main
verb in some way. A modal helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and
changes the main verb in that sense. These are the modal verbs: - can, could
- may, might
- will, would,
- shall, should
- must
- ought to
Here are examples using modal verbs: - I can't speak Chinese.
- John may arrive late.
- Would you like a cup of coffee?
- You should see a doctor.
- I really must go now.
Main Verbs
» | Semi-modal verbs (3 verbs)
The following verbs are often called "semi-modals" because they are partly like modal helping verbs and partly like main verbs: | | |