A helping verb, also known as an auxiliary verb, is a type of verb that is used together with the main verb in a sentence to form verb phrases or clarify the tense, mood, or voice of the main verb. Helping verbs work in conjunction with the main verb to provide additional information or indicate the actions or states of the subject in various ways.
Helping verbs are used to express aspects such as ability, necessity, obligation, permission, intention, or to indicate the time frame or condition of an action. They can also express different moods like doubt, possibility, certainty, or uncertainty. Common examples of helping verbs include "is," "was," "were," "has," "have," "had," "do," "does," "did," "shall," "will," "should," "would," "can," "could," "may," "might," "must," "ought to," among others.
The role of a helping verb is to support the main verb by modifying or adding information to it, providing more details or context to the sentence. For instance, in the sentence "She is singing," the helping verb "is" helps the main verb "singing" by clarifying that the action is happening in the present and that the subject is in a continuous state of singing.
Overall, helping verbs play a crucial role in constructing grammatically correct and meaningful sentences by accompanying the main verb and conveying additional information about the actions, conditions, or states expressed by the subject.
