2.13: Verbs: Introduction and Overview
- Page ID
- 52368
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)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"