Verbs
•Action Verbs
oTells an action someone did, is doing, or will do
oExamples:
▪Sue went to the store.
▪I have a headache.
▪Bob will fly somewhere over break.
oTransitive and intransitive
▪Transitive – doing to something/someone
▪Intransitive – does not transfer action to an object
▪Ask “what” after the verb
▪Sue sang a song.
•Sang what? song, so transitive
▪Bob went to the store.
•Went what? no answer, so intransitive
•Linking Verbs
oLinks adjectives, adverbs, or nouns with the subject.
oThink of them as an equal sign
oLinking verbs:
am
is
are
were
was
is being
can be
could be
may be
might be
must be
shall be
should be
will be
would be
have been
has been
had been
could have been
mayhave been
might have been
must have been
shall have been
should have been
will have been
would have been
appear
become
feel
grow
look
remain
seem
smell
sound
stay
taste
turn
oExamples:
▪She should have been a nurse.(She = nurse)
▪My brother was lazy.(brother = lazy)
▪The store will look empty after Christmas.(store = empty)
•Action or Linking?
oIf you can substitute “am”, “is”, or “are”, then it’s linking
oThe breeze felt cool.
▪The breeze is cool? (linking)
oThe boy felt the sand.
▪The boy is the sand? (action)
•Verb Phrases
oMade up of main verb and helping verb
oHelping verbs
all forms of be
do
does
did
have
has
had
shall
should
will
would
can
could
may
might
must
▪Change the meaning of the verb
•I talk on the phone.I could have been talking on the phone.
•He returned the book.He was returning the book when a dog attacked him.
oVerb phrases can be interrupted by other words.
▪The baby will cry all night.
▪The baby will probably not cry all night.
▪Will the baby cry all night?
•Parts of the Verb
oPresent:walk, run
▪I walk to the store.
▪You run from the dog.
oPresent participle:walking, running
▪I am walking to the store.
▪You are running from the dog.
oPast:walked, ran
▪I walked to the store.
▪You ran from the dog.
oPast participle:walked, run
▪I have walked to the store.
▪You had run from the dog.
•Forming tenses
oRegular verbs
▪Present participle is formed by adding –ing to the present form
▪Past and past participle are formed by adding –ed or –d to the present form
▪Pay attention to spelling!
•plotplottingplotted
oIrregular verbs
▪Past or past participle are not formed by adding –ed
Present / Present part. / Past / Past part.bring
sell
hit
sing
eat
go / bringing
selling
hitting
singing
eating
going / brought
sold
hit
sang
ate
went / have brought
have sold
have hit
have sung
have eaten
have gone
▪
▪When in doubt, check the dictionary!
•Conjugating Verbs
oConjugation – list of the singular and plural forms of a verb in a certain tense
Conjugation of the forms of the verb walkSingular / Plural
Present
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I walk
you walk
he, she, it walks / we walk
you walk
they walk
Past
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I walked
you walked
he, she, it walked / we walked
you walked
they walked
Future
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I will walk
you will walk
he, she, it will walk / we will walk
you will walk
they will walk
Present Perfect
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I have walked
you have walked
he, she, it has walked / we have walked
you have walked
they have walked
Past Perfect
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I had walked
you had walked
he, she, it had walked / we had walked
you had walked
they had walked
Future Perfect
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I will have walked
you will have walked
he, she, it will have walked / we will have walked
you will have walked
they will have walked
Present Progressive
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I am walking
you are walking
he, she, it is walking / we are walking
you are walking
they are walking
Past Progressive
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I was walking
you were walking
he, she, it was walking / we were walking
you were walking
they were walking
Future Progressive
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I will be walking
you will be walking
he, she, it will be walking / we will be walking
you will be walking
they will be walking
Present Perfect Progressive
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I have been walking
you have been walking
he, she, it has been walking / we have been walking
you have been walking
they have been walking
Past Perfect Progressive
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I had been walking
you had been walking
he, she, it had been walking / we had been walking
you had been walking
they had been walking
Future Perfect Progressive
First Person
Second Person
Third Person / I will have been walking
you will have been walking
he, she, it will have been walking / we will have been walking
you will have been walking
they will have been walking
o
•Conjugating the verb be
oPresent:
I amwe are
you areyou are
he, she, it isthey are
oPast:
I waswe were
you wereyou were
he, she, it wasthey were
•Voice
oActive – the subject does something
oPassive – something is done to the subject
oExamples:
▪Bob threw the ball.active
▪The ball was thrown by Bob.passive
▪My sister drives to school.active
▪My sister was driven to school.passive
oWhen to use each voice
▪Use active whenever possible – try to be direct
▪Use passive to emphasize the receiver, rather than who’s doing it
•Maria was given an award by the school official. (Maria is more important to us than the school official).
•The damaged car was towed away. (We don’t care who towed it).