VERBS

Verbs are extremely important. Every sentence –

without exception – has a verb. The verb in a sentence
tells us what the subject is doing. For this reason, you
might find it helpful to think of verbs as "doing words."
 Physical actions  to swim, to write, to climb
(You can watch a physical action)

Mental actions  to think, to consider, to

Verbs ponder (You cannot watch a physical action)

States of Being  to be to exist, to seem (his

is the hard one to grasp. It is hard because it
is such a simple idea. There is no specific
activity to observe. It is just the act of
existing, i.e., just being. It is important to
understand this idea because "to be" is – by
far – the most common verb.)
The examples =

She sells pegs and lucky heather. Verbs expression

The doctor wrote the prescription. physical actions
Alison bought a ticket.

Peter guessed the right number. Verbs expression

I think out loud too often. mental actions
She considers her words before she speaks.

Edwina is the largest elephant in this area. Verbs expression a

It was a joke. state of being
I am.
 1. Action Verb

2. Stative Verb

3. Transitive Verb

Types of 4. Intransitive Verb

verbs 5. Auxiliary Verb

6. Modal Verb

7. Phrasal Verb
8. Regular and Irregular
1. Action Verb 2. Stative Verb
An action verb expresses an •A stative verb expresses a
activity that a person or state rather than an action.
thing can do, for example: A stative verb relates to a
- Lee eats cake. state of being, a thought,
("Eat" is something Lee can or an emotion, for
do.) example:
- The bear chased the •I am at home.
salmon in the shallow rapids. •She believes in fairies.
("Chase" is something the •He feels elated.
bear can do.)
 3. Transitive 4. Intransitive Verb
Verb
•A transitive verb is one that acts •An intransitive verb is one
on something (i.e., it has a direct that does not act on
object), for example: something (i.e., there is no
•I saw the dog. (Here, the direct direct object), for
object is "the dog.") example:
•Lee ate the pie. (The direct •The rain fell.
object is "the pie.") •My throat hurts.
•The postman will give Sarah •The cat sneezed.
the letter. (The direct object is
"the letter.")
5. Auxiliary Verb / Helping Verb (accompany a
main verb)
Expresses = Consists of =
Tense Be
auxiliary verb
Voice Have
Mood Do

•:Lee has eaten all the pies. (Here, the auxiliary verb "has" helps
to express the tense of "to eat.")
•The table has been prepared. (Here, the auxiliary verbs "has
been" help to express the voice of "to prepare" (in this case, the
passive voice))
•If he were to arrive in the next 10 minutes, we would be on
schedule. (Here, the auxiliary verbs "were" and "would" help to
express the mood of "to arrive" and "to be" (in this case, the
subjunctive mood))
6. Modal Verb
A modal verb is a type of auxiliary verb used to express
ideas such as ability, possibility, permission, and obligation.

"can," "could," "may," "might," "must,"

modal verbs "ought to," "shall," "should," "will," and
"would."

The examples are

•Lee can eat a lot of pies.
(Here, the modal verb "can" helps to express the idea of
ability.)
•Lee might eat that pie before he gets home.
("Might" helps to express the idea of possibility.)
•Lee may eat as many pies as he likes. ("May"
helps to express the idea of permission.)
•Lee should give you some of that pie given you
bought it. ("Should" helps to express the idea of
obligation.)
7. Phrasal Verb
A phrasal verb is a verb made up of more than one word
(usually two words). A phrasal verb has a main verb and
another word (either a preposition or a particle). The phrasal
verb usually has a meaning different to the main verb.

The examples =
A burglar will often break a window to break in.
(Here, the phrasal verb "break in" means "to enter illegally,"
which is different to "break.")

If you drop the baton the team will drop back to last place.
(The phrasal verb "drop back" means "to fall behind," which is
different to "drop.")
PREPOSITION PARTICLES
S
Preposition = to show the Particle = to create a new verb
relationship meaning.

Preposition = cannot be Particle = can sometimes

separated from the verb be separated from the
by the object verb by the object

Examples = Examples =
He fell down from the She is running it down. (to
chair. read/investigate/look at)
He is struggling with it. He ran over it. / He ran it
over. (to hit with a vehicle)
8. Regular and Irregular
Verb
A regular verb is one that forms its simple past tense and
its past participle by adding -ed or -d to the base form of
the verb. (Note: There are spelling rules to consider too.)

Regular Verb Simple Past Tense Past Participle

love loved has loved
hate hated has hated
move moved has moved

Irregular Verb Simple Past Tense Past Participle

tell told has told
bleed bled has bled
 1. The Infinitive Form
2. Past Tense
3. Present Tense
4. Future Tense
Verb 5. Subject of a Verb
Terminolo 6. Direct Object of a Verb
gy 7. Indirect Object of a Verb
8. Passive Sentence
9. Active Sentence
10.Conjugation of Verbs
11.Participles
 The Infinitive Form

The infinitive form of a verb is the version of the

verb that appears in the dictionary. In other
words, it is the base form of the verb without
any changes.
looks They are not the
look looked infinitive forms
(base looking because some changes
form) have been applied.
The examples =

1. I have to wear that! An infinitive verb is often

preceded by “to”.
2. She wants to go home.

When an infinitive
3. I must wear a hat.
verb is NOT
4. You should go home preceded by “to”, it
is called “bare
now.
infinitive”.
 Present Past Tense Future Tense
Tense Verbs that express
Verbs that Verbs that
express actions express actions actions in the
occurring now are in the past are future are said to
said to be in the said to be in the be in the future
present tense. past tense. tense. These are
usually formed by
•John jumps out the •I ran to the lake. preceding the verb
window. •They were all with the word
•Who is ill? there. "will."
•I will take the
•He is the kind of a •He talked with
blame.
guy who lights more claret than •They will
up a room just by clarity. (Author
surrender.
flicking a switch Susan Ertz)
Subject of a Verb Direct Object of a
The person or thing Verb
Many verbs perform an action on
performing the action of something. The thing being
the verb is said to be the acted upon is called the direct
subject of the verb. object of the verb.
- Tony borrowed the boat. •Terry kissed her hand. ("Her
("Tony" is the subject of the hand" is the direct object of
verb "to borrow.") the verb "to kiss.")
- The dog looks guilty. •Our dog Beverly can eat a
("The dog" is the subject of whole chicken. ("A whole
the verb "to look.") chicken" is the direct object
- Who was that? of the verb "to eat.")
("Who" is the subject of the
verb "to be.")
 Indirect Object of a
Verb
Some verbs have two objects, a direct object and an
indirect object. The indirect object is the person for
whom the action was performed.

•Jamie read the children a story. (Here, "a story" is

the direct object, and "the children" is the indirect
object.)
•I will bake him a cake. ("A cake" is the direct object,
and "him" is the indirect object.)
•The postman gives Anne a letter every day. ("A
letter" is the direct object, and "Anne" is the indirect
 Active Sentence Passive Sentence
In an active sentence, the In a passive sentence, the
subject of the verb performs subject of the verb is being
an action. passive (not doing
anything).
•We damaged the carpet.
(This is an active sentence. •Carl was arrested.
"We" is the subject. "We" ("Carl" is not doing
performed the action of "to anything, but he is the
damage.") subject of the sentence
•Jamie read a story. and "Carl" is the subject of
(This is an active sentence. the
•Theverb "to was
carpet be.")damaged.
"Jamie" is the subject. "Jamie" (This is a passive sentence. No
performed the action of "to one is blamed for damaging
read.") the carpet.)
 Conjugation of Verbs

•A verb can change its form depending on the subject,

e.g.:
•I am. / You are. / He is.
•I write. / He writes.
•The jackal laughs. / The jackals laugh.
When verbs change in this way, it is known as
conjugation. A verb conjugates according to the
subject. The subject of a verb can be in one of six
forms:
 Form Form Name
1 I first person singular
2 you second person singular
he/ she / it
3 [any singular noun, third person singular
e.g., dog, tree]
4 we first person plural
5 you second person plural
they
6 [any plural noun, third person plural
e.g., dogs, trees]
Participles Present Past
Verb
Participle Participle
Present participles (e.g. to sing singing sung
looking, taking) to drive driving driven
to go going gone
Participles
to rise rising risen
Past participles (e.g.
to watch watching watched
looked, taken)
to be being been

Participles can function as adjectives. Here are some

examples of participles being used as adjectives:
•Our business is badly affected by the soaring price of wool. (The word
"soaring" is a present participle. Here, it is being used as an adjective to
describe "price.")
•He is a forgotten hero. (The word "forgotten" is a past participle. Here,
it is being used as an adjective to describe "hero.")