Action and Being/Linking Verbs (Lesson 1)
Verbs - show action or state of being, tell what the subject is, has, or does
Action Verbs - refers to physical or mental action
ex. The gardener feeds the ducks.
Being Verbs - tell what the subject is
ex. The swans are hungry.
Most common being verbs are: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
Other being verbs: appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, remain, smell, sound, stay, taste
(These words may be action verbs also. It depends on how they are used in a
sentence.)
Linking verbs - "link" the subject to a noun or an adjective in the predicate
ex. Peanut is a toad. Peanut is tiny.
Some verbs can be used as action or linking verbs.
ex. The lily pond smells stagnant.(linking) The squirrel smells its food.(action)
-If you are not sure if a verb is action or linking try replacing it with one of the being verbs. If the
meaning stays almost the same it is linking.
ex. The pigeons look comical. The pigeons are comical.
Verb Phrases (Lesson 2)
consists of the main verb and its helping verb(s)
Common helping verbs:
be, am, is, are, was , were, been,
has, have, had,
do, did, does,
can, could,
shall, should
will, would,
might may
(Lessons 3, 5 and 8 on the tenses are on the chart in the other document.)
Be Have and Do
- The forms of be: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
- The forms of have: have, has, had
- The forms of do: do, doing, did, done
Irregular Verbs (Lessons 6 and 7)
Regular Verbs - follow a regular pattern when written in their participle forms (-ing and -ed endings)
Irregular Verbs - do not follow a regular pattern when written in their participle forms
verb
present participle
past
past participle
be
(is) being
was
(has) been
do
(is) doing
did
(has) done
have
(is) having
had
(has) had
begin
(is) beginning
began
(has) begun
ring
(is) ringing
rang
(has) rung
shrink
(is) shrinking
shrank
(has) shrunk
choose
(is) choosing
chose
(has) chosen
come
(is) coming
came
(has) come
drink
(is) drinking
drank
(has) drunk
go
(is) going
went
(has) gone
sing
(is) singing
sang
(has) sung
sink
(is) sinking
sank
(has) sunk
spring
(is) springing
sprang
(has) sprung
swim
(is) swimming
swam
(has) swum
Subject Verb Agreement (Lessons 13 and 14)
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Subjects and verbs must always agree in number
- singular subject - use singular verb
- plural subject - use plural verb
Compound subjects joined by and always agree with a plural verb
Compound subjects joined by or or nor - the verb always agrees with the subject closer to it
Inverted Order - all or part of the verb comes before the subject (Most sentences are in natural
order)
Interrupted Order - there is a phrase, or other descriptive words between the subject and
the verb