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Lesson 1.11 Helping and Linking Verbs

Helping verbs help to form the main verb in a sentence. They add additional detail to
the verb, such as clarifying time or possibility. The primary helping verbs are forms of the
verbs be, have, and do. They are the most common helping verbs.
I had hoped you would arrive before the show started.
The robins were singing this morning as Martin left for work.
Did you remember to turn off the lights?
Other helping verbs are can, could, will, would, may, might, shall, should, and must.
The painters can spread drop cloths over the furniture.
The crew might cancel the flight due to mechanical problems.
Linking verbs connect a subject to a noun or adjective. They do not express an action.
The most common linking verbs are forms of the verb to be, such as is, are, was, were,
been, and am.
Nevaeh is the highest ranked student on the chess team.
Most turtles are shy and will quickly withdraw inside their shells.
Other common linking verbs relate to the five senses (smell, look, taste, feel, sound) or a
state of being (appear, seem, become, grow, remain).
The rocks feel slimy when they are submerged in water.
The children grew restless waiting for the speaker to arrive.
Identify It
In each sentence below, circle the verb. On the line, write LV or HV to identify it as a
linking verb or helping verb.
1. ______ The mysterious statues of Easter Island have fascinated scholars for almost
300 years.
2. ______ The giant statues lining the coasts seem like guardians protecting the island.
3. ______ Do you know what the local people call Easter Island?
4. ______ Rapa Nui is the island’s name in the local language.
5. ______ At first, historians could only guess how these massive statues got there.
6. ______ Most scholars have concluded that the native people rolled the statues on
logs.
7. ______ The statues weigh many tons, so how could the people stand them up?
8. ______ The answer might not surprise you.
9. ______ Ropes, levers, and ramps were used to hoist a statue into an upright position.
10. ______ Religion is the most likely reason the native people built the statues.

Spectrum Language Arts Chapter 1 Lesson 1.11

Grade 8 Grammar: Parts of Speech
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704595 INT 8.indd 27 3/16/20 4:36 PM

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Lesson 1.11 Helping and Linking Verbs

Complete It
Add helping verbs and linking verbs to the following paragraph. There may be more
than one possible option for each blank, but be sure the verb you choose makes sense
in the sentence.

You ________________ know that the top of Mount Everest ________________ the
highest place on Earth, but ________________ you know where the deepest place
________________? The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean plunges more than
36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. The intense pressure that far underwater
________________ be deadly without the right equipment. If you ________________ to swim
that deep, the weight of the water ________________ like dozens of semi trucks stacked on
your body! But humans ________________ visited the bottom of the trench several times
by traveling in specially made submarines. The first trip to the bottom ________________ in
1960. Since then, other people, and even robots, ________________ made the trip.

Believe it or not, but life ________________ exist that far below the surface.
Most of the creatures ________________ single-celled organisms and bacteria. They
________________ to live mostly around hydrothermal vents. Some small crustaceans,
snails, and bivalves ________________ survive there as well. The snails’ shells
________________ softer than normal snail shells, because hard shells ________________ too
difficult to grow where water pressure ________________ so intense.
Try It
What is a strange, or even impossible, place you would like to visit? Write a paragraph
describing where it is and why you would like to go there. Use at least three linking verbs
and three helping verbs in your paragraph. Underline the linking verbs and circle the
helping verbs.
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Spectrum Language Arts Chapter 1 Lesson 11

Grade 8 Grammar: Parts of Speech
28

704595 INT 8.indd 28 3/16/20 4:36 PM