Verb Phrases

A verb phrase is a group of words that works together as the verb in a sentence. It is made up of a main verb and one or more helping verbs (auxiliaries) that come before it.

What You'll Learn

• What a verb phrase is and how to spot one in a sentence
• How helping verbs (auxiliaries) combine with the main verb to form verb phrases
• How to identify the main verb and the auxiliary verb(s) within a verb phrase

When to Use

1. Actions happening right now: "The children are playing in the garden."
2. Actions that have already finished: "She has eaten her lunch."
3. Actions that will happen later: "We will go to the library tomorrow."
4. Asking questions: "Is your brother sleeping?"

How to Form

Parts of a Verb Phrase

A verb phrase always has two parts: a helping verb (auxiliary) and a main verb.

Common Helping Verbs

Key Rules

1. A verb phrase needs at least two words: A single verb like "runs" is not a verb phrase. A verb phrase has a helping verb plus a main verb: "is running."

2. The main verb comes last: In a verb phrase, the main verb always appears at the end. In "has eaten," the main verb is "eaten" and the helping verb is "has."

3. The helping verb changes to match the subject: The helping verb must agree with the subject. "He is running" (singular), but "They are running" (plural).

4. Words can come between the parts: In questions or negative sentences, the helping verb and main verb may be split. "She is not running." The verb phrase is still "is running," even though "not" sits between them.

5. Do not confuse the helping verb with the main verb: In "She is reading a book," the main verb is "reading" (the action). "Is" is just the helper. But in "She is happy," the word "is" acts as the main verb because there is no other verb.

Common Mistakes

Clue Words

Helping verbs that signal a verb phrase

is, am, are, was, were, has, have, had, will, shall, can, could, may, might, must, should

Time clues for different verb phrases

• Continuous (be + -ing): now, right now, at the moment, currently
• Perfect (have + past participle): already, just, yet, never, ever
• Future (will + base verb): tomorrow, next week, soon, later

Tip: Look for a helping verb followed by another verb. If you spot two verbs working together, you have found a verb phrase! Think of the helper as the "warm-up act" and the main verb as the "star of the show."

Practice Tips

1. The two-verb check: Read the sentence and look for two verbs sitting near each other. If one is a helping verb (is, has, will, can) and the other is the action, you have found a verb phrase.

2. Circle and underline: Circle the helping verb and underline the main verb. This helps you see which word is doing the helping and which is doing the action. In "They are swimming," circle "are" and underline "swimming."

3. Split and test: Try removing the helping verb. Does the sentence still sound right? "She running" sounds wrong, so "is" is needed. The helping verb and the main verb belong together as a verb phrase.

4. Watch for interruptions: In questions like "Is she reading?" the subject "she" comes between the helping verb and the main verb. Mentally move the words back together -- "is reading" -- to find the verb phrase.

Quick Reference