Linking verbs and helping verbs

by Honeyleth Castillo
(Philippines)

What is the difference between the two? What are "has" and "have"?

Ola's answer:

A linking verb is a verb that connects the subject with an adjective or a noun that describes it.

For example:

"Am"

"Become"

"Turn"

Example sentences:

"I am a singer." (AM connects the subject I with the noun SINGER.)

"She became angry." (BECAME connects the subject SHE with the adjective ANGRY.)

"Amy turned red." (TURNED connects the subject AMY with the adjective RED.)

A helping verb (also called an "auxiliary verb") is a verb that is used together with the main verb of the sentence to express the action.

Main verb + helping verb = a complete idea

The main helping verbs are:
be, am, is, are, was, were, do, did, have, has, had.

Example sentences:

"We have eaten." (HAVE is the helping verb, and EATEN is the main verb. They are used together to express the action.)

"They are working." (ARE is the helping verb, and WORKING is the main verb. They are used together to express the action.)

"She has been studying all morning." (HAS and BEEN are the helping verbs, and STUDYING is the main verb. They are used together to express the action.)

"You will win." (WILL is the helping verb, and WIN is the main verb. They are used together to express the action.)

In conclusion, the difference between a helping verb and a linking verb is the following:
- The linking verb is used to CONNECT the subject with something that describes it:

"I am tall."
-The helping verb is used together with an additional main verb to express the action:

"I am running."

(The above examples also show you that the same word can be used as a linking verb, as well as a helping verb!)

Regarding "has" and "have," they can be used as helping verbs.

For more data visit the parts of speech section.