Grade 3 Helping Verbs — Underwater

About this English worksheet for Grade 3

Identifying helping verbs is foundational to third-grade grammar mastery, as students must recognize auxiliary verbs (is, are, was, were, have, has, do, does) that work alongside main verbs to form complete predicates. Teachers can use this worksheet as guided practice during grammar instruction, then assign it independently to assess whether students can isolate helping verbs in sentences before moving to more complex verb tense activities.

This printable English worksheet is designed for Grade 3 students and covers Helping Verbs. The Underwater theme keeps kids engaged while they practice essential English skills. Every worksheet includes a full answer key making it easy for parents and teachers to check work instantly. Aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Grade 3 English. Print-ready at US Letter size. No login required — download and print in seconds.

Last updated: April 2026

Why Helping Verbs matters in Grade 3

Helping verbs are the foundation of how we express time and possibility in English. At age 8-9, your student is moving beyond simple past and present tense to describe more complex actions—things that are happening right now, things that will happen, or things that could happen. When children master helping verbs like "is," "are," "was," "were," "have," and "will," they gain the ability to write with greater precision and express their ideas more fully. This skill directly supports their writing assignments, reading comprehension, and verbal communication. Third graders who understand helping verbs can write richer sentences, follow written directions more accurately, and begin to recognize grammatical patterns in the books they read. Without this foundation, students often struggle with verb tenses in upper grades and may produce unclear or confusing sentences when they try to explain events or ideas.

What your student will practice

• Identify helping verbs in sentences and distinguish them from main verbs
• Use helping verbs correctly in past, present, and future tense sentences
• Recognize when a sentence needs a helping verb versus a main verb alone
• Write original sentences using different helping verbs

Common mistakes to watch for

Many third graders drop the helping verb entirely, writing "I going to the park" instead of "I am going to the park," or they confuse "was" and "were" because they haven't internalized the rule that "was" pairs with singular nouns while "were" pairs with plural nouns. You'll also notice students sometimes adding helping verbs where they don't belong, such as "She is went to school." These errors happen because helping verbs are abstract—students can't touch or see them like they can a noun. Watch for these patterns in their daily writing, and gently point out where the helping verb goes by reading the sentence aloud together so they hear the difference.

Teacher & Parent Tip

Try the "Action Prediction" game at home: describe an action your child can see (like a sibling building blocks) and ask them to complete sentences like "She ___ building a tower" and "She ___ build a tower tomorrow." Have them fill in the helping verb ("is" or "will"), then act out the difference so they feel the grammar in their body. This bridges the gap between abstract grammar rules and real movement, making helping verbs concrete and memorable for this age group.