99 Section 4.3 Verbs and Adverbs Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Helping Verbs Verbs that work with a main verb to show action are called helping verbs (or auxiliary verbs). These verbs express little meaning on their own. However, they help make the meaning of the main verb clear. Examples of helping verbs include be, been, am, is, are, was, were, has, had, have, do, does, did, can, could, may, might, will, would, should, shall, and must. In the following examples, the helping verbs are shown in italics. He is calling your name. Movies are shown in a dark room. She has walked around the track. I should press the fabric after sewing each seam. Compound Verbs A compound verb consists of two or more verbs in the same sentence. The verbs can be main verbs and helping verbs, as shown in the first example that follows. A compound verb can include two or more main verbs and no helping verbs, as shown in the second example. Jim will climb to the top of the hill. Pedro ran to the fence and jumped over the gate. The sentence, “Andrew is winning the race” uses a helping verb. Which word is it? Daniel Korzeniewski/Shutterstock.com