How to Teach the Difference Between Linking Verbs and Helping Verbs

Understanding linking verbs and helping verbs is such an important step toward mastering sentence structure—and with the right approach, it can actually be fun!

Let’s walk through some teacher-tested tips and kid-friendly explanations to help your students finally get the difference between linking verbs and helping verbs (and maybe even enjoy learning about them).

Start with Kid-Friendly Definitions

Before students can identify or use linking verbs and helping verbs correctly, they need to know what they do. Here’s how I like to explain it:

Linking Verbs

A linking verb connects the subject to more information about it. It’s like an equals sign between the subject and its description. The most common linking verb is “to be” in all its forms (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been).

👉 Kid-friendly explanation:
A linking verb doesn’t show action—it links the subject to what it is or feels.

Example:

• The soup is hot.
• My dog was sleepy.
• The students are excited.

In each sentence, the verb connects the subject (soup, dog, students) to what describes it.

Helping Verbs

A helping verb (also called an auxiliary verb) helps the main verb show tense, time, or possibility. These are the words like am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had, do, does, did, will, shall, can, and might.

👉 Kid-friendly explanation:
A helping verb doesn’t work alone—it helps another verb do its job!

Example:

• She is running down the hall.
• We have finished our homework.
• They will go to the park.

Here, the helping verb works with another verb to tell us when or how something happens.

Similarities and Differences

Students often mix these up linking verbs and helping verbs because they sometimes look the same (hello again, “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” and “were” 👋). The trick is to teach them to look at what the verb is doing in the sentence.

Here’s an easy visual anchor for your students to help them understand linking verbs and helping verbs:

You can even have students highlight the main verbs in a sentence and ask:

• “Does this verb stand alone?” → Probably a linking verb.
• “Is it helping another verb?” → Then it’s a helping verb!

Bring It to Life with Practice

Like most grammar concepts, the best way to help students master linking verbs and helping verbs is through regular, short, and interactive practice.

One of my favorite ways to make that practice more engaging is with verb task cards! They give students quick, low-pressure opportunities to identify linking verbs and helping verbs while keeping things active and fun.

You can grab a ready-to-use set of St. Patrick’s Day Verb Task Cards right here on TPT. These cards include a mix of verb skills—linking, helping, irregular, and tense usage—so students get a well-rounded review.

And if you don’t happen to be teaching in March, no worries! This same resource is available in other holiday themes throughout the year, so you can easily work it into your seasonal grammar review.

Creative Ways to Reinforce the Lesson

Here are a few fun ways to help your students truly own the difference between linking verbs and helping verbs:

“Verb Detectives” Game

Give students short sentences on slips of paper and have them play detective—highlighting linking verbs in one color and helping verbs in another.

Grammar Sort

Mix up linking and helping verbs on the board (or on cards), and challenge students to sort them into categories. Then discuss why they made each choice.

Sentence Challenge

Give students a helping verb and challenge them to write a sentence using it correctly. Then do the same for linking verbs. It’s amazing how creative they get when you turn grammar into a game!

Helping students tell the difference between linking verbs and helping verbs doesn’t have to be a grammar headache. With a few clear visuals, some interactive practice, and a dash of creativity, you’ll have your students spotting and using both linking verbs and helping verbs with confidence.

And if you’re short on prep time (because, let’s be real… who isn’t?), grab the holiday-themed Verb Task Card set on TPT here. It’s an easy, engaging way to keep your grammar lessons fresh all year long!