Memorize and recite from memory the four-columned list of words, (Shown below - memorize by column) they are helping and/or linking verbs that help a verb or they are the verb in sentences.  If you can memorize this list, and can meet or beat Ms. Wilson's time; win a candy bar!  You will also qualify to compete for Top Dog in the Classroom.  

Being Verbs tell about something in a state of being. A noun or pronoun does not always take action. Sometime, it just is. For that purpose, you use a being verb. Here are the being verbs in all the past, present, and future tenses.

Present tense - I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, they are 

Past Tense - I was, you were, he/she/it, was, we were, they were 

Future Tense - I will be, you will be, he/she/it will be, we will be, they will be 

Present Perfect Tense - I have been, you have been, he/she/it has been, we have been, they have been 

Past Perfect Tense -I had been, you had been, he/she/it had been, we had been, they had been 

Future Perfect Tense - I will have been, you will have been, he/she/it will have been, we will have been, they will have been

Helping verbs do not stand alone or express action. They are part of verb phrases that "help" the main verb. Helping verbs define the tense (past, present, future) or change the meaning of the main verb. Consider these examples:

Do you need a tissue? 

We are helping the third-grade class.

Hank might have been driving the wrong way.

This is the list to memorize the commonly-used helping/linking/state-of-being verbs: