In order to be a complete sentence, a group of words must contain a subject and a predicate. This is also stated as a noun and verb. There are many words that are considered verbs, and these words show action, directly or indirectly. Verbs can be in past, present or future tense, and when a sentence contains a single verb, the verb is called a main verb. Examples of verbs are words such as "walk," "sit," "run," "look," "see," "help," "is" and "need."
Helping verbs, also called auxiliary verbs, are words used in conjunction with verbs. They assist the verbs in portraying details such as time and mood. Helping verbs include words such as "shall," "may," "might," "can," "to," "should," "is" and "need." Many helping verbs are able to serve as main verbs in sentences. An example of this is the verb "is" in this sentence: "He is tall." The verb "is" in this sentence is a main verb because it stands alone. The sentence "He is running fast" shows an example of the word "is" acting as a helping verb to the word "running." Therefore, main verbs can be mistaken for helping verbs in some cases.
Verb phrases must contain a main verb and a helping verb, such as "Jimmy has run this race several times." The main verb in this sentence is "run" and the word assisting the verb is "has." This helping verb helps illustrate timing. The verb phrase in this sentence is "has run." If the sentence read, "Jimmy ran the race," the only verb would be "ran," which is not considered a verb phrase.
Verb phrases do not always consist of two verbs in sentences that are next to each other. For example, the sentence "Do you love me?" illustrates a verb phrase with a main verb and an action verb that are separated by another word. The verb phrase is "do love." "Do" is the helping verb to the main verb "love."