Printable Helping and Linking Verbs Worksheets
Helping and linking verb worksheets teach students to identify auxiliary verbs and state-of-being words in sentences. These printable sheets clarify verbs like is, was, have, and been through sorting drills, fill-ins, and clear answer keys.
Helping and Linking Verbs Practice Pack. Ready to Print.
Structured, printable skill sheets with step-by-step guidance for Helping and Linking Verbs.
Build My PacketIncluded with Practice Buds MembershipTargeted Practice by Skill
Identify helping verbs
Circle every helping verb in each sentence
Identify helping verbs
Sort helping and main verbs
Identify linking verbs
Circle the linking verb
Identify linking verbs
Choose the linking verb
Use helping verbs
Write a helping verb for each sentence
Use helping verbs
Choose the helping verb
Helping or linking
Label each verb helping or linking
Helping or linking
Sort helping and linking phrases
About Helping and Linking Verbs
What this skill is
Helping verbs (such as has, was, will, could) assist the main verb to indicate tense or condition, while linking verbs (such as is, are, seem, feel) connect the subject to a noun or adjective that renames or describes it.
When children learn it
Basic forms of "to be" are introduced in 1st and 2nd grade. Distinguishing linking verbs from helping verbs and identifying compound verb phrases is taught in 3rd and 4th grade grammar curricula.
Teaching Tips
- Teach the "Equal Sign Test" for linking verbs: in "The soup is hot", can you replace "is" with an equal sign ("Soup = hot")? If yes, it links the subject to a description. On worksheets, have them circle the helping verb and underline the main action verb together as a team.
Common Mistakes
- Failing to recognize that "is", "am", "are", "was", and "were" can be verbs because they do not show visible physical action.
- Mistaking a helping verb for the main verb and ignoring the action verb that follows right after it.
- Confusing linking verbs with action verbs when sensory words like "smells" or "looks" are used in descriptive contexts.