VerbsThe vital part of a sentence

By the end of this class students should be able to:

Identify verbs within a sentence. Understand the key components of

sentence building. Know the different types of verbs, e.g.

action or linking. Build an awareness of verb tenses and

usage.

Learning objectives and outcomes

Verbs tell us what people are doing or being. They can change according to the time being spoken about, past, present or future.

When you are writing, make sure every sentence has a verb in it.

E.g. Sam finished his homework in the library.

In this sentence ‘finished’ is the verb (it says what Sam did with his homework in the past).

What are verbs?

The most simple sentence type includes a noun and a verb. This sentence can be as short as two words. For example:

I ran She jumped We laughed They learned He’s walking

Write your own 2 word sentence:

All sentences need a verb.

Here are some examples:

Santosh reads the Hindu Times on the train every morning.

The bicycle belongs to me.

Why are verbs important?

Exercise: identify the verbListen to the song and fill in the blank spaces

Let it be – The Beatles

Jack always runs to school. He went to the shops. I to the Deshpande Foundation at 7.30am. We spoke with the farmers. The education good today. Tomorrow we will go to Vidyanagar. This morning at 8.00pm I went for dinner.

Which sentence has a verb?

The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence.

A verb asserts something about the subject of the sentence and expresses actions, events, or states of being.

In order for a sentence to be complete, there must be a verb.

EXAMPLES:◦ Dracula bites his victims on the neck. ◦ In early October, Giselle will plant twenty tulip bulbs. ◦ My first teacher was Miss Crawford. ◦ Karl Creelman bicycled around the world in 1899.

Overview

Action verbs are those that express the performance of an action. Action verbs refer to something that the subject of the verb can do.

EXAMPLES:◦ In the library and at church, Michelle giggles

inappropriately. ◦ Because of the spicy food, David reached for his

water.◦ The alarm clock buzzed like an angry bumble

bee.

Action verbs

In pairs, look at your role play description, decide how to act out your role.

Role play activity

Forms of to be

Present Past Perfect Continuous

I am was Have/have been

am/am being

He/she/it Is was Has/has been

Is/is being

You/we/they Are were Have been Are/are being

The verb: to be

Observe Tell Approach Gain Watch Say Agree Focus Speak Go Acquire Illustrate Talk Have Communicate Utilise Write Can Facilitate Respond Read Use Implement Provide See Sell Generate Prepare Conclude Look Anticipate Propose Learn Study Obtain

Investigate

Useful Verbs

I am a teacher. (Statement)

Am I a teacher? (Question)

Asking questions using the verb: to be

Forms of to be

Present Past Perfect Continuous

I am Was Have/have been

am/am being

He/she/it is was Has/has been

Is/is being

You/we/they are were Have/have been

Are/are being

Asking questions (just reverse it)

Am/Are Is

Question - ? “Am I disturbing you?” “Is this your coat?”

Positive answer (yes) “Yes you are.” “Yes it is.”

Negative answer (no) “No you’re not.” “No it isn’t.”

Was/were was

Question - ? “Was I disturbing you?” “Was that your old house?”

Positive answer (yes) “Yes you were.” “Yes it was.”

Negative answer (no) “No you weren’t.” “No it wasn’t.”

Two verbs are sometimes put together, especially with verbs like can, must and should.

I can see the sea from my house. You really must see the new Bond film.

We can also use more than one word to form a tense:

We have been driving for hours.

Linking verbs do not show action.

She is angry.The word is (a form of the verb to be) links the subject she to the subject complement angry.

Linking verb followed by predicate nouns:My friend is a teacher. Mike became the president of the company.

Linking verb followed by predicate adjectives:I feel nervous.That pie tastes delicious.

List of common linking verbsappear, become, feel, get, go, grow, look, prove, remain, seem, smell, sound, taste, turn and any form of the verb be.

Only become and seem are always linking verbs. Other verbs from the list above sometimes can function as action verbs.

Linking verbs

Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. The most common linking verbs are to be, to have, and to do.

EXAMPLES:◦ Mary is very tall.◦ It looks like he is going crazy.◦ My bedroom was very cold last night. ◦ I am very tired today.

Linking verbs

What is a helping (auxiliary) verb?Helping verbs help main verbs express tenses.

Here is the list of helping verbsam, are, is,was, were, be,being, beendo, does, didshall, willmay, must, mighthave, has, hadcan, could, would, should

Helping Verbs

Not every sentence has or needs a helping verb.

Any time you see a verb ending in “ing”, a helping verb usually accompanies it.

Sometimes other words separate the helping verb and main verb in the sentence. The word “not” is an example. Sarah couldn’t run as fast as Beth. Here the word “not” separates the helping verb “could” from the main verb “run.”

A few points about helping verbs

The primary helping verbs are be, do, and have. They’re called primary because they can help main verbs or they can actually be the main verb.

Here is a list of “be” verb forms: am, is, are, was, were, been, being, be.

Helping verbs – to be

Katy is watching television. (this shows a continuous tense.)

The other children are playing outside. (this example shows the passive tense.)

Helping verbs – to be

The helping verb have is used to make perfect tenses. The perfect tense shows action that is already completed.

I have finished washing the dishes. (Dish washing is complete!)

Helping verbs – To have

Do. The verb “do” can perform a variety of functions:

To make negatives: I do not care for biryani. To ask questions: Do you like biryani? To show emphasis: I do want you to eat your

biryani. To stand for a main verb: Shankar likes

biryani more than Devappa does.

Helping verbs - do

A. The house is two bedrooms. B. Their house has two bedrooms. C. Their house have two bedrooms. D. Their house is two bedrooms. E. Their house 2 bedrooms have.

Future Tenses Simple Future: They

will walk Future Progressive:

I will be walking Future Perfect:

They will have walked Future Perfect

Progressive: They will have been walking

Tenses

Present TensesSimple Present: They walkPresent Progressive: They are walkingPresent Perfect: They have walkedPresent Perfect Progressive: They have been walking

Past TensesSimple Past: They walkedPast Progressive: They were walkingPast Perfect: They had walkedPast Perfect Progressive: They had been walking