Verbs come in two flavors: actions and states of existence. There are two verbs that define states of existence: LINKING VERBS, which show how a subject exists, and HELPING VERBS, which are paired to an action verb to either restrict it with conditions, aid in subject/verb inversion, or demonstrate verb aspect.
Here are all twenty-three helping verbs:
MODALS: can, could, did, do, does, may, might, must, should, shall, will, would
NON-MODALS: am, are, be, been, being, had, has, have, is, was, were
MODALS: can, could, did, do, does, may, might, must, should, shall, will, would
NON-MODALS: am, are, be, been, being, had, has, have, is, was, were
Let's dive into the role of helping verbs.
ROLE ONE: Showing condition
Twelve of the twenty-three helping verbs change the conditions under which an action verb can act. These are called modal verbs, and each modal puts a different condition on the action verb.
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can: shows ability to (I can kick Riley)
could/might: shows possibility of (I could kick Riley) did/do/does: shows actuality (I did kick Riley) may: shows permission (I may kick Riley) must: shows obligation (I must kick Riley) should: shows preferred outcome (I should kick Riley) shall/will: shows action certain to happen in the future (I shall kick Riley) would: shows willingness but not certainty (I would kick Riley) |
Notice that these are all positive. To make them negative, add the adverbs NOT or NEVER, or turn the word into a N'T contraction. Not always follows the modal; never can usually be put before or after the modal.
ROLE TWO: Subject/verb inversion
The subject, the who or what of a sentence, is the first noun or non-possessive pronoun in a clause. Almost always, the subject comes before the verb, yet there are sentences where this doesn't happen, such as: You don't practice; neither does Jeff.
Jeff is the the only noun or pronoun in the second clause and must be its subject. The sentence places Jeff at the end of the sentence for emphasis; to facilitate this reversal, does becomes the verb representing practice. Without this representation, the subject and verb can't be inverted (otherwise, we'd get Neither practice Jeff).
While this may seem very academic and rare, we invert subjects and verbs all the times with interrogative sentences, which all start with either an interrogative pronoun or a helping verb.
Jeff is the the only noun or pronoun in the second clause and must be its subject. The sentence places Jeff at the end of the sentence for emphasis; to facilitate this reversal, does becomes the verb representing practice. Without this representation, the subject and verb can't be inverted (otherwise, we'd get Neither practice Jeff).
While this may seem very academic and rare, we invert subjects and verbs all the times with interrogative sentences, which all start with either an interrogative pronoun or a helping verb.
- Can I help you? (subject is I, verbs are can help)
- Will you pass your grammar test? (subject is you, verbs are will pass)
- Have you seen my new phone? (subject is you, verbs are have seen)
ROLE THREE: Verb aspect
Finally, helping verbs define an action verb's aspect. A verb's aspect describes how long an action takes place. Aspect is defined by the presence of the eleven non-modal helping verbs. There are four different aspects in English:
SIMPLE: Simple aspect is, frankly, easy to spot: these are verbs that have no non-modal helping verbs. These are actions that are singular and of short duration in scope.
PROGRESSIVE: Progressive aspect depicts an action that goes continuously. To create progressive aspect, add was/were (past), are/am/is (present), or will be/shall be (future) to an -ing verb.
SIMPLE: Simple aspect is, frankly, easy to spot: these are verbs that have no non-modal helping verbs. These are actions that are singular and of short duration in scope.
- PAST SIMPLE: I kicked Riley.
- PRESENT PROGRESSIVE: I kick Riley.
- FUTURE PROGRESSIVE: I will kick Riley.
PROGRESSIVE: Progressive aspect depicts an action that goes continuously. To create progressive aspect, add was/were (past), are/am/is (present), or will be/shall be (future) to an -ing verb.
- PAST PROGRESSIVE: I was kicking Riley.
- PRESENT PROGRESSIVE: I am kicking Riley.
- FUTURE PROGRESSIVE: I will be kicking Riley.
Practical question: What about "I was kicked by Riley?" Is that progressive too?
No. Progressive tense requires a non-modal helping verb and an -ing verb. Here, was is a linking verb and kicked is a past participle acting as a predicate adjective. The easy way to tell the difference is if the sentences is active or passive: I was kicking Riley is active, while I was kicked by Riley is the passive version of Riley kicked me.
PERFECT: Perfect aspect depicts an action that is now completed. To create perfect aspect, add had (past), has/have (present), or will have/shall have (future) to an -ed verb.
PERFECT-PROGRESSIVE: This merges perfect and progressive aspects to depict an action that went on continuously for a while, but has now stopped. To create perfect-progressive aspect, add had been (past), has been/have been (present), or will have been/shall have been (future) to an -ing verb.
- PAST PERFECT: I had kicked Riley.
- PRESENT PERFECT: I have kicked Riley.
- FUTURE PERFECT: I will have kicked Riley.
PERFECT-PROGRESSIVE: This merges perfect and progressive aspects to depict an action that went on continuously for a while, but has now stopped. To create perfect-progressive aspect, add had been (past), has been/have been (present), or will have been/shall have been (future) to an -ing verb.
- PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE: I had been kicking Riley.
- PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE: I have been kicking Riley.
- FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE: I will have been kicking Riley.
- Quick formulas for finding verb aspect
- SIMPLE: No non-modal helping verbs
- PROGRESSIVE: [linking verb] + -ing verb
- PERFECT: have/had/had + -ed verb
- PERFECT PROGRESSIVE: have/had/has + been + -ing verb