There are twenty-two helping verbs. They are placed before the main verb in a sentence and often indicate time. When I was in eighth grade, my English teacher put the following rhyme on the blackboard to make it easier for students to memorize the helping verbs. Yes, back in 1958, students had to memorize such things.  Since I remember the rhyme all these years later, it must be effective.

Here is the rhyme:

Do, did, does,
Is, are, was,
Were, can, could,
Will, would,
Shall, should,
Have, has, had,
May, might, must,
Be, am, been.

Here are some example sentences that include helping verbs and show how they indicate tense, mood, or voice:

He is laughing.
He was laughing.
He had been laughing.
He might have been laughing.
He could have been laughing.
He should have been laughing.
Has he been laughing?
Did he laugh?

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Copyright © 2015 Hazel Hart