2.13: Verbs: Introduction and Overview
- Page ID
- 52368
Introduction to Verbs
The verb is the core (center, foundation) for the English sentence. We cannot have a sentence without a verb. When trying to decide if a sentence is complete and correct, we usually look for the verb first. Verbs are so important, we can even have sentences that are only one word--the verb...
- Study!
- Help!
- Eat!
Action Verbs
Some people say the verb is the part of the sentence that shows an action. Do all of these words show action?
- Tornado
- Wave
- Windy
Answer
In fact, these words are nouns (tornado, wave) and an adjective (windy), even though they show activity
Which of these words show action? Which are verbs?
- Think
- Understand
- Show
- Laugh
Answer
All these words are verbs. Some are about activity (show, laugh) and some are not (think, understand)
So what makes a word a verb?
- A verb shows tense (time)
- Past--flew
- Present--flies
- Future--will fly
- A verb shows aspect
- Simple--flew, flies
- Continuous--is flying, was flying
- Perfect--has flown, had flown
Verbs in Past Tense
One way to decide if a word is a verb is to look at the changes you can make to the word. Can you add -ed for past? Does the word change to show past tense?
Which of these words can show past tense by changing form or adding -ed?
- Tornado
- Windy
- Think
- Understand
- Show
- Laugh
- Wave
- Fly
Answers
- Tornado (noun--no change)
- Windy (adjective--no change)
- Think (verb--thought)
- Understand (verb--understood)
- Show (verb--showed)
- Laugh (verb--laughed)
- Wave (noun--no change)
- Fly (verb--flew)
Auxiliaries
Verbs use auxiliaries to make questions and negatives and to show different voices and aspects. The auxiliaries are: "be," "do," and "have," plus modals. "Do," "be," and "have" can also change tense...
- Do, does, did
- Have, has, had
- Be, am, is, are, was, were
We use "do" to make questions and negatives in the simple aspect
- Simple present:
- EX: Do you want a souvenir?
- EX: I do not want a souvenir
- Simple past:
- EX: Did you visit the art museum?
- EX: I did not visit the art museum
We use "be" to make the continuous aspect
- Present continuous:
- EX: She is picnicking at the park
- EX: Are they flying a kite?
- EX: No, they aren't flying a kite
- Past continuous:
- EX: We were sunbathing at the beach
Remember, verbs in the continuous aspect always use "be." If you see -ing without "be," it's a gerund
We use "have" to make the perfect aspect
- Present perfect:
- EX: Have you visited downtown San Diego?
- EX: That family has immigrated to El Cajon
- Past perfect:
- EX: We had already seen the zoo
Reading Exercise
Now that you know what a verb is, try finding the verb in these sentences
- The weather today is cool and breezy
- East County, San Diego offers activities like hiking, camping, and mountain-biking
- Last week, we went to the zoo and the park
- Immigrants contribute many cultural benefits to our community
- Julian, CA, has a variety of restaurants
Answers
- The verb is "is"
- The verb is "offers"
- The verb is "went"
- The verb is "contribute"
- The verb is "has"