Helping 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
o to make continuous tenses (He is watching TV.)
o to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big fish.)

• have
o to make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework.)

• do
o to make negatives (I do not like you.)
o to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?)
o to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your exam.)
o 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

Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands of
main verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:

Transitive and intransitive verbs

A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive
verb does not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or
intransitive. Look at these examples:

transitive:

• I saw an elephant.
• We are watching TV.
• He speaks English.

intransitive:

• He has arrived.
• John goes to school.
• She speaks fast.

Linking verbs

A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said
about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different
state or place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are
linking verbs).

• Mary is a teacher. (mary = teacher)

• Tara is beautiful. (tara = beautiful)
• That sounds interesting. (that = interesting)
• The sky became dark. (the sky > dark)
• The bread has gone bad. (bread > bad)

Dynamic and stative verbs

Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous
tenses. Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and
cannot normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with
continuous tenses with a change in meaning).

dynamic verbs (examples):

• hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples):

• be
• like, love, prefer, wish
• impress, please, surprise
• hear, see, sound
• belong to, consist of, contain, include, need
• appear, resemble, seem

Regular and irregular verbs

This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between
regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past
participle forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is
always the same: -ed. For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle
ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart.

regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• look, looked, looked

• work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• buy, bought, bought

• cut, cut, cut
• do, did, done

Regular Verbs List

There are thousands of regular verbs in English. This is a list of 600 of the more common
regular verbs. Note that there are some spelling variations in American English (for
example, "practise" becomes "practice" in American English).

• accept • allow • applaud • attach

• add • amuse • appreciate • attack
• admire • analyse • approve • attempt
• admit • announce • argue • attend
• advise • annoy • arrange • attract
• afford • answer • arrest
• agree • apologise • arrive • avoid

• alert • appear • ask

• back • beg • boil • brake
• bake • behave • bolt • branch
• balance • belong • bomb • breathe
• ban • bleach • book • bruise
• bang • bless • bore • brush
• bare • blind • borrow • bubble
• bat • blink • bounce • bump
• bathe • blot • bow • burn
• battle • blush • box • bury

• beam • boast • brake • buzz

• calculate • choke • compare • cough
• call • chop • compete • count
• camp • claim • complain • cover
• care • clap • complete • crack
• carry • clean • concentrate • crash
• carve • clear • concern • crawl
• cause • clip • confess • cross
• challenge • close • confuse • crush
• change • coach • connect • cry
• charge • coil • consider • cure
• chase • collect • consist • curl
• cheat • colour • contain • curve
• check • comb • continue
• cheer • command • copy • cycle

• chew • communicate • correct

• dam • deliver • disapprove • dress
• damage • depend • disarm • drip
• dance • describe • discover • drop
• dare • desert • dislike • drown
• decay • deserve • divide • drum
• deceive • destroy • double • dry
• decide • detect • doubt
• decorate • develop • drag • dust
• delay • disagree • drain

• delight • disappear • dream

• earn • end • excite • explain
• educate • enjoy • excuse
• embarrass • enter • exercise • explode
• employ • entertain • exist
• empty • escape • expand • extend

• encourage • examine • expect

• face • fetch • flash • force
• fade • file • float • form
• fail • fill • flood • found
• fancy • film • flow • frame
• fasten • fire • flower • frighten
• fax • fit • fold
• fear • fix • follow • fry

• fence • flap • fool

• gather • grab • grin • guard
• gaze • grate • grip • guess
• glow • grease • groan
• guide
• glue • greet • guarantee
• hammer • harm • heat • hug
• hand • hate • help • hum
• handle • haunt • hook • hunt
• hang • head • hop
• happen • heal • hope • hurry

• harass • heap • hover

• identify • increase • intend • invite
• ignore • influence • interest • irritate
• imagine • inform • interfere
• impress • inject • interrupt • itch
• improve • injure • introduce

• include • instruct • invent

• jail • jog • joke • juggle

• jam • join • judge • jump

• kick • kiss • knit • knot

• kill • kneel • knock

• label • learn • lighten • load
• land • level • like • lock
• last • license • list • long
• laugh • lick • listen • look

• launch • lie • live • love

• man • matter • milk • move
• manage • measure • mine • muddle
• march • meddle • miss • mug
• mark • melt • mix • multiply
• marry • memorise • moan
• match • mend • moor • murder

• mate • mess up • mourn

• nail • need • nod • notice

• name • nest • note • number

• obey • obtain • offer • overflow
• object • occur • open • owe

• observe • offend • order • own

• pack • permit • pop • prevent
• paddle • phone • possess • prick
• paint • pick • post • print
• park • pinch • pour • produce
• part • pine • practise • program
• pass • place • pray • promise
• paste • plan • preach • protect
• pat • plant • precede • provide
• pause • play • prefer • pull
• peck • please • prepare • pump
• pedal • plug • present • punch
• peel • point • preserve • puncture
• peep • poke • press • punish

• perform • polish • pretend • push

• question • queue
• race • refuse • remove • rhyme
• radiate • regret • repair • rinse
• rain • reign • repeat • risk
• raise • reject • replace • rob
• reach • rejoice • reply • rock
• realise • relax • report • roll
• receive • release • reproduce • rot
• recognise • rely • request • rub
• record • remain • rescue • ruin
• reduce • remember • retire • rule

• reflect • remind • return • rush

• sack • shiver • soothe • stop
• sail • shock • sound • store
• satisfy • shop • spare • strap
• save • shrug • spark • strengthen
• saw • sigh • sparkle • stretch
• scare • sign • spell • strip
• scatter • signal • spill • stroke
• scold • sin • spoil • stuff
• scorch • sip • spot • subtract
• scrape • ski • spray • succeed
• scratch • skip • sprout • suck
• scream • slap • squash • suffer
• screw • slip • squeak • suggest
• scribble • slow • squeal • suit
• scrub • smash • squeeze • supply
• seal • smell • stain • support
• search • smile • stamp • suppose
• separate • smoke • stare • surprise
• serve • snatch • start • surround
• settle • sneeze • stay • suspect
• shade • sniff • steer • suspend
• share • snore • step
• shave • snow • stir • switch

• shelter • soak • stitch

• talk • thaw • trace • trot
• tame • tick • trade • trouble
• tap • tickle • train • trust
• taste • tie • transport • try
• tease • time • trap • tug
• telephone • tip • travel • tumble
• tempt • tire • treat • turn
• terrify • touch • tremble • twist
• test • tour • trick
• type
• thank • tow • trip
• undress • unite • unpack • use

• unfasten • unlock • untidy

• vanish • visit
• wail • waste • whirl • work
• wait • watch • whisper • worry
• walk • water • whistle • wrap
• wander • wave • wink • wreck
• want • weigh • wipe • wrestle
• warm • welcome • wish
• warn • whine • wobble • wriggle

• wash • whip • wonder

 • x-ray
• yawn • yell
• zip • zoom

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are an important feature of English. We use irregular verbs a lot when
speaking, less when writing. Of course, the most famous English verb of all, the verb "to
be", is irregular.

What is the difference between regular verbs and irregular verbs?

Base Past Past

Form Simple Participle

With regular verbs, the rule is simple...

finish finished finished

The past simple and past participle always
stop stopped stopped
end in -ed:
work worked worked

But with irregular verbs, there is no rule...

Sometimes the verb changes completely: sing sang sung

Sometimes there is "half" a change: buy bought bought

Sometimes there is no change: cut cut cut

Verb Classification

We divide verbs into two broad classifications:

1. Helping Verbs

Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:

• I can.
• People must.
• The Earth will.
Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably
not! That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own.
They are necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us
very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main
verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a
main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.

2. Main Verbs

Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:

• I teach.
• People eat.
• The Earth rotates.

Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you?

Probably yes! Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and
have meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of
main verbs.

In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs.
Notice that all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping
verb.

helping verb main verb

John likes coffee.

You lied to me.

They are happy.

The children are playing.

We must go now.

I do not want any

Tenses

The English Tense System

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses. In each lesson we look at two
aspects of the tense:

• Structure: How do we make the tense?

• Use: When and why do we use the tense?

Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your
understanding.

Present Tense
I do do, I do
Present Continuous Tense
I am doing, I am doing tomorrow
Present Perfect Tense
I have done
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been doing

Past Tense
I did do, I did
Past Continuous Tense
I was doing
Past Perfect Tense
I had done
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been doing

Future Tense
I will do
Future Continuous Tense
I will be doing
Future Perfect Tense
I will have done
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been doing