Printable Helping and Linking Verbs Worksheets
Printable helping and linking verbs worksheets for 2nd through 5th grade, with an answer key on every sheet. The sets below cover 4 different skills, so you can start where your child actually is. Available as fill in the blank and sorting activities.
Targeted Practice by Skill
Identify helping verbs
Circle Helping Verbs
Identify helping verbs
Sort Helping Main
Use helping verbs
Write Helping Verbs
Use helping verbs
Choose Helping Verbs
Identify linking verbs
Circle Linking Verbs
Identify linking verbs
Choose Linking Verb
Helping or linking
Label Helping Linking
Helping or linking
Sort Helping Linking
About Helping and Linking Verbs
What this skill is
Helping verbs (auxiliary verbs: be, do, have, can, may, must) work alongside main verbs to form complete verb phrases ("is running", "have finished"). Linking verbs (state-of-being verbs: am, is, are, was, were, look, seem, feel) connect the subject directly to a predicate noun or predicate adjective without showing physical action ("the soup IS hot"). Solvers study auxiliary verb phrases, linking verb functions, predicate adjectives, subject complements, and verb classification across grammar parsing and writing.
When children learn it
High-frequency state-of-being verbs (is, are, was, were) are introduced in 2nd grade. In 3rd through 5th grade, lessons expand to 23 helping verbs (CHAD B. SWIM list), sensory linking verbs (smell, taste, feel, look, sound), predicate adjective links, and complete verb phrase parsing across language arts units, editing drills, and writing workshops.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing linking verbs with action verbs, assuming verbs like 'looks' or 'feels' always express physical movement.
- Missing helping verbs when parsing complete verb phrases (identifying 'running' as the verb instead of 'was running').
- Using an adverb instead of a predicate adjective after a linking verb (writing 'the pie smells deliciously' instead of 'delicious').