Action verbs,
linking verbs, verb
tenses, helping
verbs, and verb
phrases
Action
verbs tell what the
subject does.
An action verb names an
action. It may contain
more than one word.
Jay has visited Africa.
 The
equator divides Africa in two.
 Streams
and wells create oases in the desert.
 Camels
can travel in the desert for days
without water.
 Not
 In
even cars cross the sand dunes.
the Eastern Sahara, the sun shines for
thousands of hours every year.
A
linking verb connects the
subject of a sentence with a
noun or an adjective in the
predicate (second part of
sentence-not the subject-part
containing the verb).
Africa is a continent.
 Manatees

linking
 At

least ancient sailors thought so.
action
 Manatees

eyes seem tiny.
linking
 Their

whiskered lips appear swollen.
linking
 Manatees

look strange up close.
linking
 Their

are mermaids.
action
live in warm water.
A
verb changes its form to show tense and
to agree with its subject. The tense of a
verb tells when an action takes place.

The present tense of a verb names an action
that happens regularly. It can also express a
general truth.


The past tense of a verb names an action that
already happened.


We visit.
We visited.
The future tense of a verb names an action
that will take place in the future.

We will visit.
 Some

animals live in faraway places.
present
 Maybe

I

I will visit them someday.
future
watch animals in my own neighborhood.
present
I
especially enjoy rabbits, chipmunks, and
squirrels.

present
 Yesterday

past
I observed a raccoon.
A
helping verb is a verb that
helps the main verb tell about an
action or make a statement.
 A verb phrase consists of one or
more helping verbs followed by a
main verb.
I have learned.
 I am learning.
 They are learning.
 The linking verb is red and the
verb phrase is underlined.

Hi, I’m Harry Helping Verb, and I’m so helpful
that I will help you learn the 23 Helping Verbs
by telling you a story.
The title of the story is Old Mr. Do.
Like some stories, this story has a moral.
The moral is: “Maybe Mr. Do should have a
will.”
Read on and you will see why!!!
Once upon a time there was a wealthy merchant
named Mr. Do. Mr. Do was very old and very
rich. His many relatives were dreaming of the
day the old man would die. They wondered
which one of them would inherit his money.
Finally, one day Mr. Do did die. All the relatives
searched his house for a will. They didn’t find
one. They searched his house three times. They
still did not find a will. The relatives did not get
one dime of Mr. Do’s fortune.
**The moral: May be Mr. Do should have a will.**
Just remember the above sentence and you
will know how to set up a chart of the 23
helping verbs! The largest “family” is the “BE”
family with 8 members. The other 5 families
have 3 members each.
may
might
must
be
being
been
am
is
are
was
were
do
does
did
should
could
would
have
has
had
will
can
shall
I
was looking in the closet.
 Maria has missed the bus.
 The students were talking loudly.
 The cold weather had begun.
 Firefighters have helped people for years.
 I am trying my best.
 We are relying on each other.
 Our family was traveling during December.