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Grade 5 - English Language
Be - As a Helping Verb

HELPING VERB (be - am, is, are, were, and will)

A helping verb tells when the action of a sentence takes place. The helping verb be has several forms am, is, are, were, and will. These helping verbs can be used in all three tenses.

Examples:
Present: Bob was talking. We were eating.
Past: I am coming. Dan is walking. They are singing.
Future: I will sing. They will eat.

In the present and past tense, many verbs can be written with or without the helping verbs be. When the verb is written with a form of be, add ing. Was and is are used with singular subjects. Were and are are used with plural subjects.

Examples:
Present tense: Sally sings. Sally is singing. The children sang. They are singing.
Past tense: Sally studied. Sally was studying. They studied. They were studying.

The helping verb 'will' is always needed for the future tense, but the ing ending is not used with will. Will is both singular and plural.

Examples:
Future tense: I will eat. They will eat.

Directions: Find the helping verbs in the following sentences. Write your own example sentences using different forms of the helping verb "be".