In this question, “is” has a special status called an operator. We switch the verb to the first position and the subject to the second position to get a question. The second example is actually a yes or no question. So it is not a helping or auxiliary verb. Here the verb “is” can stand on its own without another main verb. The verb “is” connects the subject of “he” with the rest of the sentence that describes the subject. In your first example the verb “is” is a linking verb.
In this sentence, the verb “is” cannot stand on its own. It is helping the verb “watch” along with the present participle ending –ing to become the present progressive tense. In the sentence the helping verb is “to be” in the third person singular (is). My cat is watching birds from the window. We have three main helping verbs in English “be,” “do,” and “have.” Auxiliary verbs “help” the main verb and the rest of the sentence by giving additional information about the verb, like tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are also used along with a main verb.
The verb in this sentence, “is,” connects the subject “my cat” to more information about him - that he is 3 years old. Other linking verbs include, “become,” “seem”, and sense verbs like “feel” and “smell” in some sentences. The verb “to be” and all of its forms are the most common linking verb. Before I answer your question, let’s talk about the difference between linking verbs and helping verbs.Ī linking verb connects the subject of a sentence with more information about the subject. Is the second verb a linking verb or helping verb? What is the difference between the verb “is” in these two sentences? Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Tahir about the difference between linking verbs and helping verbs.
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