We will look at the topic of  “Use of Helping Verbs In Sentences” in this lesson. The importance of helping verbs cannot be overstated because they are required for the creation of a sentence structure. The helping verb elaborates the meaning of the main verb in a sentence. Helping verbs are also very helpful for the creation of interrogative sentences. Helping verbs can also be used to convey a variety of situations in more detail.

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Use of introductory subject ‘It’

‘It’ is used as the subject of a verb e.g.

• It snows on the mountains.

‘It’ is used as the subject when we are talking about time, data, distance, weather, and season. e.g.

• It is 4 o’clock now. (time)
• It is the 20^th of December today. (date)
• It is two miles from the school. (distance)
• It is very fine today. (Weather)
• It is spring. (Season)

‘It’ is used to represent an animal, a baby, and a noun in the neuter gender.  E.g.

• It will be a cute baby.
• It is a beautiful cat.
• It is a useful book.

‘It’ is used to emphasize any part of a sentence. e.g.

• It is a moral duty to respect elders.

Affirmative Sentence

1. ‘It’ is used as the subject at the beginning of a sentence.
2. Then ‘is or was’ is used.
3. Lastly, we translate the object and put a full stop (.) At the end of the sentence.

Examples:

• It was raining.
• It is 3 o’clock.
• It is hot today.
• It was a sweet baby.
• It is a laptop.

Negative Sentence

1. First of all, place ‘It’ at the beginning of the sentence.
2. Then insert ‘is or was’.
3. Put ‘not’ after the use of ‘is or was’
4. Write an object and put a full stop (.) at the end of the sentence.

Examples:

• It is not pleasant today.
• It is not the 10^th of march today.
• It is not
• It is not a cat.
• It is not a table.

Interrogative Sentences

1. We put ‘Is’ or ‘was’ at the beginning of a sentence before ‘It’.
2. We write object and put the sign of interrogation (?) at the end of that sentence.

Examples:

• Is it evening?
• Is it 4 o’clock?
• Is it spring?
• Was it a useful animal?
• Was it hailing outside?

Use of introductory subject ‘There’

We use ‘There’ to express the presence or absence of something.

• There are five students in the classroom.
• There is no milk in the cup.

‘There’ is also used to point towards things at a distance.

• Jan is sitting

Affirmative Sentence

1. First of all, we write ‘There’ at the beginning of the sentence.
2. Then we write ‘is’ or ‘was’ for the singular noun and ‘are’ or ‘were’ for the plural noun.
3. Lastly, we translate the object and put a full stop (.) at the end of the sentence.

Examples:

There is a cat under the tree.

There are flowers in the vase.

There was a lion in the zoo.

There were birds in the nest.

Negative Sentence

We put ‘no’ or ‘not’ after the use of ’is’, ‘are’, ‘was’ or ‘were’ to make the sentence negative.

Examples:

• There is no honey in the hive.
• There are no colorful fish in this pond.
• There was not any player in the playground.
• There were no stars in the sky.

Interrogative Sentences

We write ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’, or ‘were’ at the beginning of the sentence and put the question mark (?) at the end of the sentence to make it interrogative.

Examples:

• Is there a bird in the nest?
• Are there twenty students in the class?
• Was there water in the jug?
• Were there many people in the park?

Use of ‘Is’, ‘Am’ and ‘Are’

‘is’, ‘am’, and ‘are’, are verbs. They are used in sentences; either as the ‘principal verb’ or as ‘helping verb’. Here they are used as ‘principal verb’.

• He is a boy.
• I am a girl.
• They are

Affirmative Sentence

1. ‘Is’ is used with ‘He’, ‘She’, ‘It’ or singular noun.
2. ‘Am’ is used with ‘I’
3. ‘Are’ is used with ‘you’, ‘we’, ‘they’, or plural nouns.

Examples:

1. I am a student.
2. You are an honest man.
3. Jan is a cunning woman.

Negative Sentence

Not is put after ‘is’, ‘am’ or ‘are’ to make the sentence negative.

Examples:

• I am not a doctor.
• He is not
• They are not

Interrogative Sentence

‘is’, ‘am’, or ‘are’ is put at the beginning of the sentence whereas the question mark (?) is put at the end to make it interrogatives.

Examples:

• Am I intelligent?
• Are we neighbors?
• Is it an interesting book?

Use of ‘was’ and ‘were’

‘Was’ and ‘were’ are also used in ‘principal verb’ or as the ‘helping verb’. Here they are used as the ‘principal verb’ in the ‘simple past tense’ e.g.

• Quaid-e-Azam was an honest man.
• They were

Affirmative Sentence

• ‘was’ is used with I, He, She, It, or singular noun.
• Were is used with we, you, they, or plural noun.

Examples:

• I was
• She was a teacher.
• They were
• We were

Negative Sentence

‘Not’ is put after ‘was’ or ‘were’ in the sentence.

Examples:

• He was not absent.
• The shirt was not green.
• We were not poor.
• You were not rich.

Interrogative Sentence

We use ‘was’ and ‘were’ at the beginning of the sentence. And put a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence.

Examples

• Was it a holiday yesterday?
• Was he busy?
• Were the trees tall?

Use of ‘Has’ ‘Have’ and ‘Had’

Both ‘has’ and ‘have’ point to be the owner of something in the present tense. ‘Had’ is used to show possession or ownership of something in the past tense.

Examples:

I have a laptop.

He has a car.

They had a beautiful house.

Affirmative Sentences

‘Has’ is used with he, she, it, or singular subject.

‘Have’ is used with ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘you’, ‘they’ or plural subject.

‘Had’ is used with all subjects.

Examples:

• It has four legs.
• I have long hair.
• She had a precious watch.

Negative Sentences

Put ‘not’ or ‘no’ after ‘has’, ‘have’ or ‘had’ to make the sentence negative.

Examples:

• He has no
• They have not any servant.
• I had no

Interrogative Sentence

‘Has’, ‘have’ or ‘had’ is placed at the beginning of the sentence to make it interrogative.

Examples:

• Has the queen a golden crown?
• Have your headache?
• Had I a new laptop?

Use of ‘Will’ and ‘Shall’

• We use ‘will’ to speak over what we suppose will appear in the future.
• We use ‘will’ to make requests, decisions, offers, promises.
• To communicate about the future. We can frequently use “will” + infinitive without “to” to consult later events.
• For making a suggestion or offer with ‘I’ and ‘We’ use ‘shall’ to answering someone.

Examples:

• You will have to use your pen. That is mine.
• Will you close the door, please.
• We shall encourage them.

Affirmative Sentences

‘Will’ is used with I, we, or singular noun.

‘Shall’ is used with he, she, it, they, and you.

Examples:

• It will rain yesterday.
• India will lose this match.
• We shall eat pizza.

Negative Sentences

Put ‘not’ or ‘no’ after ‘will’ or ‘shall’ to make the sentence negative.

Examples:

• We shall not play.
• He will not enter the Hall.
• Ali will not play.

Interrogative Sentence

‘Will’ or ‘Shall’ is placed at the beginning of the sentence to make it interrogative.

Examples:

• Will he come?
• Will Jan take care of his cat?
• Shall go to America?

Examples Of Helping Verbs Usage

• She could solve the puzzle in record time.
• The sun has set, and it’s getting dark.
• He could become a famous actor someday.
• We should call the plumber to fix the leaky faucet.
• He was singing his favorite song when I walked in.
• I might join the gym to get in shape.
• I am feeling quite tired after a long day.
• We could try the new restaurant downtown.
• I have been learning Spanish for a year.
• He should take a break and relax.
• They are going to the beach for vacation.
• He was watching TV when the phone rang.
• She might have left her keys at the office.
• We should have left earlier to avoid traffic.
• They have been waiting for the bus for over an hour.
• He had forgotten to bring his umbrella, and now it’s raining.
• The concert can be rescheduled due to bad weather.
• He was studying all night for the exam.
• They might not attend the party if it rains.
• He will go to the store later.
• He will bring snacks to the movie night.
• We were hiking in the mountains last weekend.
• We may have dessert after dinner.
• We may have to cancel the picnic if it rains.
• The children can swim in the pool this afternoon.
• She should practice her singing more often.
• She will be traveling to Europe next week.
• I am reading a fascinating book.
• They might arrive early for the meeting.
• They have completed their homework.
• They will be traveling to Asia next month.
• They were playing soccer in the park.
• I am studying for my final exams.
• She had already left for work when I called.
• The cat can climb the tree easily.
• She is playing the piano beautifully.
• You should have listened to their advice.
• He can’t attend the party because of a prior commitment.
• We may visit the beach this weekend.
• She would always help her friends in times of need.
• They have been working on this project for months.
• The cat is sleeping on the windowsill.
• She will have completed the marathon by noon.
• They will visit their grandparents on the weekend.
• The flowers have bloomed beautifully in the garden.
• She had been working at the company for five years.
• I have seen that movie three times already.
• The chef has prepared a special dish for us.
• I will cook dinner for the family tonight.
• We had visited the museum before it closed.

Must Try:

12 Basic English Grammar Tenses with Examples

The Usage of Tenses in English Grammar