English [5.1] Action, Linking, and Helping Verbs Mitsa Tutoring Organization || 2021.
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Action, Linking, and Helping Verbs
MEASURE Test your knowledge!
We do actions in our everyday lives. From waking up in the morning, thinking
about so many things, and wishing things to get better, actions play an
important role in how we function as human beings. To test your knowledge
on action words, try doing the following selection of words in your house right
now, and check the boxes if you could do these words.
jump
are
breathe
spin
beautiful
If you could do these words, we call them action verbs, because they denote
actions that can be done by a person, animal, or thing.
INSPIRE Set your goals!
Differentiate between action, linking, and helping verbs.
Define action, linking, and helping verbs and when they are used in
sentences.
Use action, linking, and helping verbs in constructing sentences.
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TEACH Learn with us!
Action Verbs
Action verbs are simply words that describe an action.
EXAMPLES: run, jump, bark, suspect, and push
When you are using action verbs in a sentence, they always need a doer to function
correctly. The doer can either be a person, a thing, or an animal.
EXAMPLES: Olivia drives past her ex-lover’s street.
[In this sentence, drives is the verb, while Olivia is the doer.]
Doja Cat rode a spaceship to Planet Her two weeks ago.
[In this sentence, rode is the verb, while Doja Cat is the doer.]
This module was written by the Mitsa Tutoring Organization.
[In this sentence, was written is the complete verb, while
module is the doer; it is the one being written.]
Linking Verbs
Linking verbs are words that are used to link or connect a subject with a description or
more information about them. They do not show any action whatsoever.
EXAMPLES: is, are, was, were, and to be
Common examples of descriptions that are added onto the subject using linking verbs
are conditions and relationships.
EXAMPLES: When I was a young boy, my father took me to the city to see a band.
[In this sentence, was is the linking verb, connecting the subject I to the condition
of him being a young boy.]
I am a strong and independent woman who needs no man.
[In this sentence, am is the linking verb, connecting the subject I to the condition
of her being a strong and independent woman.]
NOTE [Identifying Linking Verbs]
To easily find out if a word in a sentence is a linking verb, try replacing the
word with is or are. If the sentence still makes sense after that, then the word
that you replaced functions as a linking verb in that sentence.
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Helping Verbs
Helping verbs, or auxiliary verbs, are verbs that help the main verb in the sentence by
extending its meaning or defining the time frame in which the sentence occurred.
EXAMPLES: I was fighting some monsters when my best friend suddenly died.
[In this sentence, was is the helping verb, extending the meaning of the
main verb fighting.]
You have baked some delicious cookies over the past year.
[In this sentence, have is the helping verb, extending the meaning of the
main verb baked.]
NOTE [Common Examples of Helping Verbs]
There are three common types of helping verbs, and the rest just function as
their various tenses.
To be
am, is, are, was, were, be, been
To have
have, has, had
To do
do, does, did
SUMMARIZE Wrap it up!
Action Verbs Linking Verbs Helping Verbs
describe actions link subjects help main verbs
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APPLY Check your learning!
INSTRUCTIONS: Identify the ten (10) verbs in the short paragraph below and
classify them as either an action verb [AV], a linking verb [LV], or a helping
verb [HV].
Once upon a time, there lived a young man named Jhemerlyn. Jhemerlyn is a
very smart, sociable, and kind boy. As he was walking through the dark and
scary forest, he suddenly tripped on the loose branch. Oh no! Jhemerlyn had
been crying for ten minutes when a beautiful girl named Mimi Yuh helped
him get back on his feet. When they arrived in the village, Jhemerlyn married
Mimi Yuh as a sign of thanks.
ANSWER HERE:
VERB AV, LV, or HV?
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ANSWER KEY
MEASURE: APPLY:
jump 1. lived - AV 6. had been - HV
are 2. is - LV 7. crying - AV
breathe 3. was - HV 8. helped - AV
spin 4. walking - AV 9. arrived - AV
beautiful 5. tripped - AV 10. married - AV
REFERENCES
Action verbs and linking verbs. Gallaudet University. (2021, January 12).
https://www.gallaudet.edu/tutorial-and-instructional-programs/english-
center/grammar-and-vocabulary/verbs/action-verbs-and-linking-verbs/.
Shrives, C. (n.d.). Helping verbs. Helping Verbs | What Are Helping Verbs?
https://www.grammar-
monster.com/glossary/helping_verb.htm#:~:text=A%20helping%20verb
%20(also%20known,%2C%20had%2C%20having%2C%20will%20have.
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