Verbs and Nouns in the Complete Sentence
Verbs
A verb is a word that: 1. Shows action
Ex: Bill painted the barn.
Some action verbs: run, ran, park, parked, eat, ate, sit, sat, jump, jumped, paint, painted
2. Links another word to the subject
Ex: The coffee was hot. (links “coffee” to “hot”)
Some linking verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been,
taste, feel, smell, sound, look, appear, become, seem, grow, remain, stay
3. Helps another verb
Ex: Elmer iscutting the lawn. (is helps the verb cutting)
Some helping verbs: am, is are, was, were, be, being, been, have, has, had, do, does, did, shall, will, should, would, may, might, must, can, could (many of these words are also linking verbs)
4. Indicates existence
Ex: The actors are on the stage.
Nouns
A noun is a word that names a: 1. Person
Ex: doctor, sister, Harold, clerk
2. Place
Ex: Ohio, garden, county, *WritingCenter
3. Thing
Ex: rock, pencil, hammer, car
4. Idea
Ex: beauty, gladness, courage, determination
Personal pronouns are also forms of nouns.
Ex.: I, me, she, he, it
A Gerund is: A word that looks like a verb but functions as a noun.
Ex: running, jumping, painting
Ex: I like swimming.
Ex: Painting is boring.
*Note: Nouns may be made up of one or more words. Ex: WritingCenter,
mother-in-law
Complete Sentences(The word(s) that is underlined once is the simple subject, and the word(s) that is underlined twice is the verb.)
1. A complete sentence must include a subject and a verb. The subject is the word in the sentence that is completing the action. Not every noun or pronoun in a sentence is the subject.
Ex: The boywent to the store. (The word “store” is a noun, but it is not the subject of the sentence because it is not doing the action.)
2. Sometimes, simple subjects will be separated from verbs by another word(s).
Ex: The row of bushes was planted to form a privacy screen. (The prepositional phrase “of bushes” separates the simple subject and verb.)
3. Sometimes, dependent clauses with nouns and verbs will come before or after the actual subject and verb of the sentence.
Ex: When I get up in the morning, Ibrush my teeth. (“When I get up in the morning” is the dependent clause. It has nouns and a verb, but those are not the simple subject and verb of the sentence. That phrase could not stand alone.)
Ex: Ido my homework before I watch television. (The phrase “before I watch television is the dependent clause.)
4. Sometimes, the verb will come before the simple subject.
Ex: There are thirty-five pages in the chapter. (“Pages” is the subject of the sentence, and “are” is the verb.)
5. Sometimes, the subject of the sentence is not a word in the sentence. In a command, “you” is understood as the subject.
Ex: Go to the store! (“You” is the subject because that is whom the sentence is commanding to “go.”)
6. Sometimes, more than one word represents the subject of a sentence.
Ex: Ashley and Johnare going to the mall. (Both “Ashley” and “John” are the subjects of this sentence. They share the verb phrase “are going.”)
7. Sometimes, one subject can have more than one verb.
Ex: Robert ran to the store and bought a carton of milk. (Both verbs were performed by the subject of the sentence.)
8. Sometimes, more than one subject and verb can be joined to form a compound sentence.
Ex: The dogran in circles, and the catsat in the sun.
Extra Practice – Identifying simple subjects and verbs in sentences
Directions: Underline the simple subject or subjects of the sentence with one line, and underline the verb or verbs with two lines.
- Even though we have clean water, fresh water is scarce in some countries.
- Artists are needed in many different fields today.
- Abraham Lincoln publicly debated with Stephen A. Douglas on the issue of slavery.
- Eat your supper!
- The teacher discouraged cheating on the test and encouraged lots of studying.
- There is a dog for sale at the pet store.
- Swimming and running are my favorite hobbies.
- The boats by the dock need repair.
- General Motors is a huge corporation.
- Sarah walked to the store, and her mom made dinner.
Verbs and Nouns in the Complete Sentence Answer Key
- wateris
- Artistsare needed
- Abraham Lincolndebated
- You(understood)eat
- teacherdiscouragedencouraged
- dogis
- swimmingrunningare
- boatsneed
- General Motorsis
- Sarah walkedmommade
Asb 6-11-08