Unit 18: Helping Verbs
Can-Do Statement: I can identify helping verbs and use them with main verbs to express different verb tenses and moods.
1. Core Vocabulary
Word & Part of Speech
Definition & Translation
Contextual Example
finish (verb)
to reach the end of an activity or task
hoàn thành
hoàn thành
“I will finish my homework before dinner.”
practice (verb)
to do an activity regularly to become better at it
luyện tập
luyện tập
“My friends are practicing for the school play.”
prepare (verb)
to make something or someone ready for something
chuẩn bị
chuẩn bị
“We have prepared everything for the surprise party.”
decide (verb)
to make a choice after thinking about several possibilities
quyết định
quyết định
“She is trying to decide which book to read next.”
agree (verb)
to have the same opinion as someone else
đồng ý
đồng ý
“My teacher does agree that the lesson was difficult.”
imagine (verb)
to form a picture or idea in your mind
tưởng tượng
tưởng tượng
“Can you imagine living in a different country?”
wonder (verb)
to ask yourself questions or express a wish to know about something
tự hỏi / băn khoăn
tự hỏi / băn khoăn
“I was wondering if you would like to join us.”
ponder (verb)
to think carefully about something, especially for a noticeable length of time
suy ngẫm
suy ngẫm
“She has pondered the question for many hours.”
2. Grammar Presentation
Grammar Point 1: Common Helping Verbs (be, have, do)
Helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) are used together with a main verb to express the grammatical tense, person, or number of the action.
Structure: Subject + [am/is/are/was/were/have/has/do/does] + Main Verb
Examples:
- I am reading a classic novel by Natalie Babbitt. (Continuous Aspect)
- We have enjoyed the story so far. (Perfect Aspect)
- My teacher does agree with my opinion about the book. (Emphasis)
Grammar Point 2: Modal Helping Verbs (will, would, might)
Modal helping verbs are a specific type of auxiliary verb used to express future actions, possibilities, requirements, hypothetical conditions, or moods.
Structure: Subject + [will/would/might] + Base Form of Main Verb
Examples:
- I will ask my teacher for her advice tomorrow. (Future Intention)
- My friends wondered what they might do in her situation. (Possibility)
- I think I would choose to live forever if I could. (Hypothetical Condition)
3. Targeted Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Vocabulary Matching
Match the vocabulary verbs (1-8) with their appropriate contextual definitions or synonyms (A-H).
- finish
- practice
- prepare
- decide
- agree
- imagine
- wonder
- ponder
- A. to make a choice after thinking carefully
- B. to ask yourself questions or want to know
- C. to think deeply for a noticeable length of time
- D. to have the exact same opinion as someone else
- E. to reach the absolute end of a task or activity
- F. to form a clear picture or idea in your mind
- G. to make something completely ready
- H. to do an activity regularly to get better at it
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1 – E: finish means to reach the end of an activity. Hành động kết thúc hoặc hoàn thành một công việc.
2 – H: practice means to do regularly to improve. Luyện tập đều đặn để nâng cao kỹ năng.
3 – G: prepare means to make something ready. Chuẩn bị sẵn sàng cho một việc gì đó.
4 – A: decide means to make a choice after options. Đưa ra quyết định lựa chọn sau khi suy nghĩ.
5 – D: agree means to share the same opinion. Đồng tình, có cùng ý kiến với người khác.
6 – F: imagine means to form an idea in the mind. Tưởng tượng, hình dung hình ảnh trong tâm trí.
7 – B: wonder means to ask oneself questions. Băn khoăn, tự hỏi lòng mình về điều gì đó.
8 – C: ponder means to think carefully/deeply. Suy ngẫm kỹ lưỡng về một vấn đề trong thời gian dài.
Exercise 2: Contextual Vocabulary Gap Fill
Fill in each blank with the correct verb from the unit vocabulary bank. Change the form if necessary to fit the sentence context.
finish practice prepare decide agree imagine wonder ponder
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1. Musicians must ___________ their instruments for several hours every single day to be excellent.
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2. I will ___________ editing this essay tonight before turning it in to my instructor tomorrow morning.
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3. Before choosing a college, you should thoroughly ___________ your future career goals.
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4. The culinary students spent all morning trying to ___________ a multi-course dinner for the guests.
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5. Do you ___________ with my perspective, or do you have a completely different viewpoint?
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6. It is truly difficult to ___________ how different our world was before electricity was invented.
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7. They had to ___________ whether to spend their holidays in the mountains or near the peaceful sea.
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8. I sometimes ___________ what historical events will take place in the next one hundred years.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. practice – Base form after modal “must”. Nghĩa: Các nhạc sĩ phải luyện tập nhạc cụ của họ mỗi ngày.
2. finish – Base form after future “will”. Nghĩa: Tôi sẽ hoàn thành việc chỉnh sửa bài tiểu luận tối nay.
3. ponder – Base form after “should”. Means to think deeply. Nghĩa: Bạn nên suy ngẫm kỹ lưỡng về mục tiêu nghề nghiệp tương lai.
4. prepare – Base form used with “to-infinitive” to show purpose. Nghĩa: Học viên ngành ẩm thực dành cả buổi sáng để chuẩn bị bữa tối.
5. agree – Base form used in a simple present question with “do”. Nghĩa: Bạn có đồng ý với quan điểm của tôi hay không?
6. imagine – Base form after “It is difficult to”. Nghĩa: Thật khó để tưởng tượng thế giới của chúng ta trước khi có điện.
7. decide – Base form after “had to”. Indicates a choice between options. Nghĩa: Họ đã phải quyết định xem nên đi nghỉ ở núi hay ở biển.
8. wonder – Simple present form matching subject “I”. Nghĩa: Đôi khi tôi tự hỏi những sự kiện lịch sử nào sẽ diễn ra tiếp theo.
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice Grammar Selection
Choose the correct helping verb that successfully completes the sentence according to standard grammar rules.
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1. Right now, my classmates ___________ practicing their team presentations for the finals.
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2. Professor Miller ___________ already prepared the extensive study syllabus for the semester.
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3. Although it was hard, she ___________ eventually finish the project on time yesterday.
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4. Next autumn, our entire family ___________ move to a brand new neighborhood in Chicago.
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5. If I won the lottery, I ___________ instantly decide to buy a library filled with rare classics.
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6. Check the dark clouds outside; it ___________ rain later, so you should take an umbrella.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1 – C: are – “Classmates” is a plural subject requiring the plural present continuous auxiliary “are”. “Classmates” là số nhiều, đi với động từ tobe “are” trong thì hiện tại tiếp diễn.
2 – A: has – “Professor Miller” is singular, matching the present perfect auxiliary “has” + past participle “prepared”. Chủ ngữ số ít đi với “has” để tạo thì hiện tại hoàn thành.
3 – C: did – Emphatic “did” is used for past tense sentences with base form verbs (“finish”) referencing “yesterday”. Dùng trợ động từ “did” để nhấn mạnh hành động trong quá khứ.
4 – A: will – Expresses a definite future action plan scheduled for “Next autumn”. “Will” diễn tả một sự kiện chắc chắn sẽ xảy ra trong tương lai.
5 – B: would – Second conditional structure (“If I won… I would…”), expressing a hypothetical mood. Cấu trúc câu điều kiện loại 2 giả định, sử dụng trợ động từ “would”.
6 – C: might – Used to express weak probability or a real possibility based on current physical evidence. “Might” dùng để chỉ một khả năng có thể xảy ra trong tương lai.
Exercise 4: True or False Grammatical Verification
Read each statement carefully. Determine if the underlined helping verb is used correctly according to tense and structure rules. Write T (True) or F (False).
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1. We is practicing our dialogues together because the final exam starts at two o’clock. (____)
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2. She has pondered the philosophical dilemma for multiple hours before finding an answer. (____)
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3. They will finish their assignments by tomorrow afternoon if they work efficiently. (____)
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4. My brother does agrees that studying classic literature expands your imagination. (____)
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5. Last year, I might swim across that wide river, but I am too exhausted to try it today. (____)
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6. If she were the manager, she would prepare a brand new training schedule. (____)
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1 – F: False – Subject “We” is plural and requires the auxiliary “are”, not “is”. Sai vì chủ ngữ “We” phải đi với “are”.
2 – T: True – Singular “She” correctly pairs with “has” for the present perfect tense. Đúng, chủ ngữ “She” đi với “has” trong thì hiện tại hoàn thành.
3 – T: True – Modal “will” correctly precedes the base form verb “finish” to show a future timeline. Đúng, “will” kết hợp động từ nguyên mẫu “finish” chỉ tương lai.
4 – F: False – The emphatic auxiliary “does” must be followed by a base form verb (“agree”), not “agrees”. Sai vì sau trợ động từ nhấn mạnh “does”, động từ phải ở dạng nguyên mẫu “agree”.
5 – F: False – “Might” expresses future possibility, not past physical ability. “Could” should be used. Sai vì ngữ cảnh quá khứ chỉ khả năng phải dùng “could”, không dùng “might”.
6 – T: True – Correct use of “would” in the result clause of a second conditional sentence. Đúng, cấu trúc câu điều kiện loại 2 giả định sử dụng “would”.
Exercise 5: Sentence Reordering
Rearrange the jumbled words below into grammatically correct sentences containing a helping verb and a main verb.
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1. novel / reading / Natalie Babbitt / classic / am / a / I / by / .
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2. opinion / teacher / does / with / my / agree / My / book / the / about / .
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3. tomorrow / teacher / ask / I / advice / will / my / for / .
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4. situation / do / friends / might / wondered / what / my / in / her / they / .
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5. homework / finish / before / my / dinner / will / I / carefully / .
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6. hours / has / question / many / she / the / pondered / for / .
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. I am reading a classic novel by Natalie Babbitt. Giải thích: Cấu trúc hiện tại tiếp diễn S + am + V-ing. (Tôi đang đọc cuốn tiểu thuyết cổ điển của Natalie Babbitt.)
2. My teacher does agree with my opinion about the book. Giải thích: Nhấn mạnh khẳng định hiện tại S + does + V-(base). (Giáo viên của tôi thực sự đồng ý với ý kiến của tôi về cuốn sách.)
3. I will ask my teacher for advice tomorrow. / Tomorrow I will ask my teacher for advice. Giải thích: Cấu trúc tương lai đơn S + will + V-(base). (Tôi sẽ xin lời khuyên từ giáo viên của mình vào ngày mai.)
4. My friends wondered what they might do in her situation. Giải thích: Mệnh đề danh ngữ chứa trợ động từ tình thái “might”. (Các bạn của tôi tự hỏi họ có thể làm gì trong hoàn cảnh của cô ấy.)
5. I will carefully finish my homework before dinner. / I will finish my homework carefully before dinner. Giải thích: S + will + trạng từ + V-(base). (Tôi sẽ hoàn thành bài tập về nhà một cách cẩn thận trước bữa tối.)
6. She has pondered the question for many hours. Giải thích: Cấu trúc hiện tại hoàn thành S + has + V-ed. (Cô ấy đã suy ngẫm về câu hỏi đó trong nhiều giờ liền.)
Exercise 6: Error Identification & Correction
Identify the single grammatical error regarding helping verbs in each sentence, then write the fully corrected version below it.
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1. The team members has prepared all the necessary equipment for the training session.
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2. I would chose to explore ancient ruins if I had the opportunity to travel worldwide.
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3. She did wondered why nobody responded to her urgent email message yesterday morning.
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4. We are try to decide whether we should purchase a house or rent an apartment.
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5. Students will practicing their pronunciation exercises in the digital lab this afternoon.
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6. They does imagine a wonderful future where clean renewable energy is accessible to all.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. Correction: …members have prepared… – “Members” is plural, so the auxiliary must be “have”, not “has”. Chủ ngữ “members” số nhiều phải sửa thành “have” để hòa hợp chủ vị.
2. Correction: …would choose… – The modal verb “would” must always be followed by the base form “choose” instead of the past form “chose”. Sau trợ động từ khuyết thiếu “would” phải dùng dạng nguyên mẫu “choose”.
3. Correction: …did wonder… – The past auxiliary “did” takes a base form verb “wonder”. “Did wondered” creates double past marking. Khi có trợ động từ “did”, động từ chính phải về nguyên mẫu “wonder”.
4. Correction: …are trying to… – The auxiliary “are” requires the present participle form “trying” to establish present continuous tense. Để tạo cấu trúc tiếp diễn với “are”, động từ phải là “trying”.
5. Correction: …will practice… (or …will be practicing…) – Future modal “will” requires a base verb. Sau “will” dùng động từ nguyên mẫu “practice” hoặc dạng tiếp diễn “will be practicing”.
6. Correction: …do imagine… (or remove “does”) – Plural subject “They” requires the auxiliary form “do” for emphasis. Chủ ngữ “They” đi kèm trợ động từ nhấn mạnh dạng số nhiều là “do”.
