Helping Verbs (Auxiliary Verbs)

Helping verbs – or auxiliary verbs – are the little verbs which go along with the main verb. Helping verbs don’t show the action of the subject, they just show the tense of the verb.

Matt used to like playing golf.

The main verb is like, and used to is the helping verb which tells us it was in the past.

What did you do on your holidays?

The cat was playing with string.

Tonight, it will be snowing.

When we were growing up, we liked to play in the park.

Helping verbs are also used in conditional sentences; these verbs help to create the state of condition.

If you work hard, you should get to wherever you want to be.

Alex might come over tomorrow, if he gets his essay finished.