HELPING VERBS
Each of the following sentences form the word go, but the helping verbs give a different meaning to each version.
- I may go. I can go.
- I might have gone. I should have gone.
- I would have been gone. I must go. I do go. I did go.
Also called auxiliary verbs, helping verbs used in a sentence are an essential part of the whole. Be sure to include them along with the "action" form -- it will always come last in the verb string.
Notice how a single verb can be just one word (go), or it can have as many as four different words included in its string, such as would have been gone.
Helping verbs help express:
Tense: will, have, has, had, have been, had been, will have been
Possibility: may, can, could, would, should, might
Ongoing action: am, is, are, was, were
Emphasis: do, does, did
From the choices in the parentheses, choose the one that best fits the sentence. Underline all helpers. Remember that the helping verbs (have, has, had and will have) call for the third principal part of the verb, the past participle, to form the perfect tense.
1. The lake has ________ over early this year. (freeze, froze, frozen)
2. Soon we will ________ to see the results of our work. (begin, began, begun)
3. Lars might have _______ if you had asked him earlier. (go, went, gone)
4. The house was ________ of the finest materials. (build, built)
5. The person ahead of me ________ the piece of cake I wanted. (choose, chose, chosen)
6. The strong wind had ________ the tree limb down. (blow, blew, blown)
7. I don't know what I would have ________ without your help. (do, did, done)
8. Did you ______ the changes in the work schedule? (see, saw, seen)
9. Last night, Jennie's friends ________ a surprise party for her. (throw, threw, thrown)
10. Vacations can often _________ one a new outlook on life. (give, gave, given)
Check out how well you did against the answers in the post below.