Difference between Helping verbs and Main verbs with Examples

Understanding the difference between helping verbs and main verbs is important for all English learners. Main verbs show the main action in a sentence, like “eat,” “play,” or “write.” Helping verbs, like “is” or “are,” don’t show action by themselves and they support the main verb and help us talk about time, questions, or negatives. For example, in “They are singing,” “are” is the helping verb and “singing” is the main verb. In this article you will learn Difference between Helping verbs and Main verbs with Examples to understand easily.

Table of Contents

What Are Verbs?

Verbs in English grammar are words that show an action, condition, or state of being. They tell what someone or something does or what happens in a sentence. Verbs are the heart of a sentence because they connect the subject to the action or state. Without verbs, a sentence has no complete meaning.

Example:

She runs fast.
They are playing football.

Two Main Types of Verbs

Verb Type	Purpose	Examples
Main Verbs	Show the main action or state in a sentence.	eat, run, play, sleep
Helping Verbs	Support the main verb to form a verb phrase.	is, am, are, have, will

What Are Main Verbs?

Main Verbs are the words in a sentence that show the main action or state of the subject. They carry the real meaning and tell what someone does or what happens. Main verbs can stand alone or work with helping verbs to complete the sentence. They are important for making the message clear and complete.

Examples of Main Verbs:

Sentence	Main Verb
She writes every day.	writes
I sleep at 10 PM.	sleep
He has eaten dinner.	eaten

In the first two examples, the main verb stands alone.
In the last example, eaten is the main verb, but it needs a helping verb (has) to complete the sentence.

What Are Helping Verbs?

Helping Verbs are words that support the main verb in a sentence. They help to show the tense, mood, or voice of the action. Helping verbs make the meaning of a sentence clear and complete. They are used to form questions, negatives, and different verb forms in English.

Examples of Helping Verbs:

Helping Verb	Used To Show	Examples
is, am, are	Present Continuous Tense	She is eating.
was, were	Past Continuous Tense	He was reading.
has, have, had	Perfect Tense	They have gone.
will, shall	Future Tense	I will call you later.
can, could	Ability or Permission	She can swim.
must, should	Advice or Obligation	You should study more.

In these sentences, the helping verb supports the main verb to express the correct meaning.

Key Difference Between Helping Verbs and Main Verbs

Feature	Helping Verb	Main Verb
Shows Action?	❌ No	✅ Yes
Used Alone?	❌ Rarely	✅ Mostly
Helps to Show Tense?	✅ Yes	❌ No
Example	is, am, are, has, have, will	eat, play, go, write, read

Why Are Helping Verbs and Main Verbs Important?

Helping verbs and main verbs are important because they work together to make the meaning of a sentence clear and correct. The main verb shows the action or state, while the helping verb adds details about time, mood, or voice. Without them, sentences would be confusing or incomplete. They help us share ideas in a simple and clear way.

For example:

She is playing.
(“is” = helping verb, “playing” = main verb)

If you remove “is,” the sentence becomes:

She playing. (Wrong!)

List of Common Helping Verbs

am
is
are
was
were
be
being
been
have
has
had
do
does
did
shall
will
should
would
can
could
may
might
must
ought to
need
dare
used to

Helping verbs List in English

These helping verbs often appear before the main verb in a sentence.

List of Common Main Verbs

run
walk
eat
drink
sleep
write
read
speak
listen
talk
sing
dance
play
work
study
teach
learn
think
know
understand
believe
remember

Main verbs List in English

Main verbs are responsible for showing the core action in the sentence.

Helping verbs and Main verbs in Sentences

Helping Verbs Sentences	Main Verbs Sentences
She can swim very well.	She can swim very well.
He could run fast when he was young.	He could run fast when he was young.
You may leave the room now.	You may leave the room now.
It might rain later today.	It might rain later today.
You must finish your homework.	You must finish your homework.
Shall we go to the park?	Shall we go to the park?
You should drink more water.	You should drink more water.
They will arrive by noon.	They will arrive by noon.
I would love to join you.	I would love to join you.
You ought to be careful.	You ought to be careful.
He used to live here.	He used to live here.
You need not worry.	You need not worry.
It will be completed soon.	It will be completed soon.
I am working late tonight.	I am working late tonight.
She is reading a book.	She is reading a book.
They are playing outside.	They are playing outside.
He was sleeping when I called.	He was sleeping when I called.
We were talking about you.	We were talking about you.
The project is being reviewed.	The project is being reviewed.
She has been waiting for hours.	She has been waiting for hours.
Do you like coffee?	Do you like coffee?
Does she live here?	Does she live here?
Did you call him?	Did you call him?
I have completed my work.	I have completed my work.
She has a new car.	She has a new car.
We had lunch at noon.	We had lunch at noon.