Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher , we will answer a question from Tahir about the difference between linking verbs and helping verbs.
你好！本周，在《请教老师》节目中，我们将回答塔希尔提出的一个有关连系动词和助动词之间区别的问题。
What is the difference between the verb “is” in these two sentences?
这两个句子中的动词“is”有什么区别？
He is a doctor.
他是一名医生。
Is he a doctor?
他是医生吗？
I know the first one is a linking verb. Is the second verb a linking verb or helping verb?
我知道第一个是连接动词。第二个动词是连系动词还是助动词？
Thank you Tahir for writing to us. Before I answer your question, let’s talk about the difference between linking verbs and helping verbs.
感谢塔希尔给我们写信。在回答你的问题之前，我们先来谈谈连系动词和助动词之间的区别。
Linking verbs
连系动词
A linking verb connects the subject of a sentence with more information about the subject. It is not an action verb. The verb “to be” and all of its forms are the most common linking verb. Other linking verbs include, “become,” “seem”, and sense verbs like “feel” and “smell” in some sentences.
连接动词将句子的主语与有关主语的更多信息连接起来。它不是一个动作动词。动词“to be”及其所有形式是最常见的连系动词。其他连接动词包括“成为”、“似乎”，以及某些句子中的“感觉”和“气味”等感觉动词。
Here is an example of a linking verb.
这是一个连接动词的例子。
My cat is 3 years old.
我的猫3岁了。
The verb in this sentence, “is,” connects the subject “my cat” to more information about him - that he is 3 years old.
这句话中的动词“is”将主语“我的猫”与有关他的更多信息联系起来——他三岁了。
Helping verbs
帮助动词
Helping or auxiliary verbs are also used along with a main verb. Auxiliary verbs “help” the main verb and the rest of the sentence by giving additional information about the verb, like tense.
帮助或助动词也与主要动词一起使用。助动词通过提供有关动词的附加信息（例如时态）来“帮助”主要动词和句子的其余部分。
We have three main helping verbs in English “be,” “do,” and “have.”
英语中有三个主要的助动词“be”、“do”和“have”。
Here is an example of a helping verb.
这是一个助动词的例子。
My cat is watching birds from the window .
我的猫正在窗外观察鸟类。
In the sentence the helping verb is “to be” in the third person singular (is). It is helping the verb “watch” along with the present participle ending –ing to become the present progressive tense.
在句子中，助动词是第三人称单数“to be”（is）。它帮助动词“watch”与现在分词结尾-ing一起成为现在进行时。
In this sentence, the verb “is” cannot stand on its own. It needs a main verb, like “watch.”
在这句话中，动词“is”不能独立存在。它需要一个主要动词，例如“watch”。
Linking verb or helping verb?
系动词还是助动词？
Back to your question, Tahir.
回到你的问题，塔希尔。
In your first example the verb “is” is a linking verb.
在第一个示例中，动词“is”是一个连接动词。
He is a doctor .
他是一名医生。
The verb “is” connects the subject of “he” with the rest of the sentence that describes the subject. Here the verb “is” can stand on its own without another main verb. So it is not a helping or auxiliary verb.
动词“is”将“he”的主语与描述该主语的句子的其余部分连接起来。这里动词“is”可以独立存在，不需要其他主要动词。所以它不是助动词或辅助动词。
The second example is actually a yes or no question.
第二个例子实际上是一个是或否问题。
We switch the verb to the first position and the subject to the second position to get a question.
我们将动词切换到第一个位置，将主语切换到第二个位置来得到一个问题。
Is he a doctor?
他是医生吗？
In this question, “is” has a special status called an operator. It does not need another helping or auxiliary verb to make a question because it had the role as a linking verb in the original sentence.
在这个问题中，“is”有一个特殊的地位，称为运算符。它不需要另一个助动词或助动词来提出问题，因为它在原句中起着连接动词的作用。
Here is another example of a linking verb changing to an operator within a question:
这是问题中连接动词更改为运算符的另一个示例：
Is Washington, D.C. the capital of the United States?
华盛顿特区是美国的首都吗？
The answer would be of course “Yes, Washington, D.C is the capital of the United States.”
答案当然是“是的，华盛顿特区是美国的首都。”
In the sentence, the linking verb “is” connects Washington D.C. with the rest of the information about the city.
在句子中，连接动词“is”将华盛顿特区与有关该城市的其他信息连接起来。
In the question form, “is” begins the question as an operator. It switches places with the subject Washington, D.C. to create the question.
在问题形式中，“is”作为运算符开始问题。它与主题 Washington, D.C. 交换位置来创建问题。
To tell if the verb “to be” is a linking verb or a helping verb, see if there another verb in the sentence.
要判断动词“to be”是连系动词还是助动词，请查看句子中是否有其他动词。
If there is, then “to be” acts as a helping or auxiliary verb.
如果有，那么“to be”充当助动词或助动词。
If “to be” is alone and connects the subject to more information about it, then it is a linking verb.
如果“to be”单独存在并将主语与有关它的更多信息连接起来，那么它是一个连接动词。
Please let us know if these examples and explanations have helped you, Tahir!
塔希尔，请告诉我们这些示例和解释是否对您有帮助！
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您对美式英语有什么疑问？给我们发送电子邮件至learningenglish@voanews.com