2.13: Verbs: Introduction and Overview

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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"