Helping Verbs
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00:00Thanks for joining us today. Today we are going to learn about helping verbs.
00:05Helping verbs! So much fun!
00:09So, helping verbs. What's up with helping verbs? What are helping verbs?
00:14And how do we use them?
00:17You might have found this to be true in your own life, but sometimes you can't do things alone.
00:23Sometimes you need a buddy, you need a helper, you need a friend that can help you accomplish things.
00:30We work better together, don't we?
00:33Sure, sometimes we don't get along and sometimes we don't work well together, but still, we need helpers.
00:42And, you know, we can be there for each other. We don't just do things alone, by ourselves.
00:51You don't say much, do you, Bob?
00:55Hey, did you know verbs can be like that, too?
00:59Yeah, pretty weird, huh?
01:01You see, sometimes a verb can express an action or a state all by itself.
01:07Yay! All by itself. Here's the certificate. Yay! Good job, me. Pat on my back.
01:13You know, sometimes you can do something by yourself and sometimes a verb can do something all by itself.
01:20That's fun, that's good, but that's not always the case.
01:26Now and then, verbs need a buddy that helps them express an action or a state.
01:33They need a buddy, they need a helper, and we call those helping verbs.
01:38We're going to learn what those are and how we use those in sentences,
01:41but what's important for you to get right now is that helping verbs help a main verb express an action or a state.
01:49They are literally helpers. They're buddies, and that's why we call them helping verbs.
01:56Okay, let's give you an example. Here is a picture of a park, and let's say this is our sentence.
02:02The park has opened. The park has opened.
02:10Now we know that opened is the main verb because it tells us the action that's happening with the park,
02:18but notice there's another verb there that comes just before it that helps it state the action.
02:26The park has opened. The word has is the helping verb.
02:32The word has, the helping verb, is helping open, which is the main verb, express the action.
02:40Alright, now we're going to share an interesting fact with you.
02:44The helping verb is always just before the main verb, so it's really easy to spot which verb is the helping verb.
02:52It always comes before. Let's look at our example again.
02:56The park has opened. Remember, has is the helping verb, and it's just before opened, which is the main verb.
03:07The helping verb comes first and helps out the main verb, so it's helping verb and then the main verb. Really easy.
03:17Here's another example. Here's a picture of a man playing soccer, and let's say this is our sentence.
03:24He will kick the ball. He will kick the ball.
03:35Well, we know that kick is the main verb because kick expresses the action.
03:41He will kick the ball, but notice there's another verb just before the word kick that helps it state the action.
03:50What's that word? Yeah, will. Will is the helping verb.
03:57Will helps the word kick express the action.
04:03And notice again, the helping verb always comes before the main verb.
04:12Let's try this one. Here's a picture of a woman and a girl laughing.
04:17Let's say this is our sentence. They are laughing. They are laughing.
04:27Now we know that the word laughing is the main verb because that's what's expressing the action.
04:33They are laughing, but notice there's another verb just before the word laughing that helps express that action.
04:42That's helping the word laughing. What is that word? What's that helping verb?
04:48Yeah, the word are. Are is the helping verb because are helps the word laughing express the action. Are is the helping verb.
05:04All right, let's try this one. The seagull is flying. Look at this picture of the seagull. The seagull is flying.
05:15Okay, you tell us what is the main verb. Which word is the main verb?
05:23Yeah, flying. Flying is the main verb because it tells us the action.
05:30But notice there's another verb just before it that helps it state the action.
05:37What's the helping verb in this sentence? Yeah, the word is. Is is the helping verb because the word is helps the word flying express the action.
05:52Is is the helping verb. You're getting the hang of this. Here's the last example.
06:02I am driving. I am driving. Okay, so what's the main verb?
06:13Uh-huh, driving. Yeah, driving is the main verb because it tells us the action.
06:18But notice, just like the other ones, there's another verb that's helping out. What's the helping verb?
06:26Uh-huh, the word am. Yeah, the word am is the helping verb. Great job.
06:38And notice again, the helping verb always comes before the main verb.
06:46To review, helping verbs help a main verb express an action or a state.
06:55Oh, and don't forget, the helping verb is always just before the main verb, so they're always easy to spot.
07:06Okay, Bob, that's what helping verbs are. Oh my goodness, they're like the buddies of main verbs.
07:13Helping verbs, we use them all the time. They're exciting. They're fun. They're easy to spot.
07:20You're still not saying anything, are you, Bob? Nothing? You're just not. You just don't like to talk.
07:26That's okay because you know what? We still had fun learning.