Verb Definition: Verb are words that usually express an action. Verbs have the following forms: a base form (e.g. look), an s-form (looks), a past form (looked), an ing-form (looking) and a past/passive participle (looked). Here are two easy ways to identify a verb : (1) If a word can have should in front of it and the phrase sounds complete, the word is a verb. Examples: should leave, should sail, should discover, should complain. Leave, sail, discover, and complain are all verbs. (2) If a word can have to in front of it and the phrase sounds complete, it’s a verb. Examples: to leave, to sail, to discover, to complain. Leave, sail, discover, and complain are all verbs. (Note that we’re not talking here about two, too, or the to that indicates direction, as in Let’s go to the park. The Six Basic Verb Forms : Six basic verb forms are used to create the entire tense system of English: base form, present, past, infinitive, present participle, and past participle. These forms are illustrated in the following chart by the regular verb walk and the irregular verb fly. BASE FORM PRESENT PAST INFINITIFE PRESENT PARTICIPLE PAST PARTICIPLE walk walk walkes walked to walk walking walked fly fly flies flew to fly flying flown BASE FORM The base form of a verb is its dictionary entry form (e.g., "sing" for "sang"). The base form is also the source (or base) for the present (with a few exceptions), infinitive, and present participle of the verb, whether the verb is regular or irregular. The base form is used as a verb in three ways. (1) It follows certain helping verbs, the most important being the modal auxiliary verbs, or modals for short: can/could, may/might, will/would, shall/should, and must. (Modal verbs themselves have no base form, infinitive, present participle, or past participle; they have only present and past forms.) Note the base form of the verb be in the following sentences. a) I may be a little late. b) He will be in New York all week. c) You must be more careful. Other verbs followed by the base form of a verb include dare (with not), need (with not), and help. a) We need not be silent on the issue. (3)The base form is used in imperatives (commands). a) Be good!. b) Come here, please. c) Oh, stop it!. (4)Less commonly, the base form is used as a complement of certain verbs object + base-form infinitive a) We made them be quiet. b) My parents helped me be a success. A base-form infinitive is an infinitive minus the to. If an infinitive including the word to were substituted for the base-form infinitive in the first example above, the resulting sentence would be ungrammatical X We made them to be quite PRESENT With the sole exception of the verb be, the present form of all verbs is derived directly from the base form. The main difference between the present and base forms is that the third-person singular present form adds -s or -es to the base form of the verb; all other present forms are identical to the base form The base form of be is different from all of its present tense forms Singular Plural First Person I am we are Second Person you are you are Third Person he/she/it is they are Both the pronunciation and the spelling of the third-person singular present ending are predictable. If the base form ends in a sibilant sound (s, z, x, sh, ch, tch, or j (as in judge)), the ending is pronounced as a separate syllable rhyming with buzz. The ending is spelled -es, unless the base form already ends in -e, in which case only -s is added BASE FORM THIRD-PERSON SINGULAR PRESENT FORM cross crosses place places buzz buzzes fix fixes attach attache If the base form ends in a voiceless consonant sound other than a sibilant, the ending is pronounced /s/ and is spelled -es. (The voiceless consonants are usually spelled with a p, t, ck, k, f, or gh (when pronounced /f/) help collect back scoff laugh park helps collects backs scoffs laughs parks If the base form ends in a voiced consonant other than a sibilant or in a pronounced vowel (as opposed to a silent final -e), the ending is pronounced /z/ and is spelled -s. absorb absorbs forbid forbids dig digs love loves swim swims Note that if the base form ends in -y without a preceding vowel, the -y changes to -ie before the s ending (see cry above). A few verbs have irregular third-person singular present forms. be is have has Two verbs have irregular pronunciations in the third-person singular present form. do does (rhymes with buzz) say (rhymes with fez) PAST There are two types of past forms: regular and irregular. Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -ed to the base form (or simply -d if the base form already ends in -e) BASE FORM REGULAR PAST FORM open opened need needed move moved place placed The regular past ending has three different, but completely predictable, pronunciations. If the base form ends in a /t/ or /d/ sound, the -ed is pronounced as a separate syllable rhyming with bud.
