How to Locate: The Subject of the Verb
Simple Declarative Sentences
1.
Start by locating the finite verb
phrase.
Example: Habitat destruction, pollution
and overconsumption are reducing the
number of species of turtles alarmingly.
2.
Completely FLUSH from your mind
the idea that “subject of the verb” =
“topic of the sentence” – these are not
the same thing!
3.
In a simple declarative sentence, the
subject of the verb is generally to the left
of the verb.
Example: Habitat destruction, pollution
and overconsumption are reducing the
number of species of turtles alarmingly.
4.
Make a yes-no question with the
verb phrase. The part of the sentence
that comes after the operator is the
subject of the verb.
Are habitat destruction, pollution, and
overconsumption reducing the number
of species of turtles alarmingly?
Practice Exercise. Locate the finite verb phrase in each
sentence. Then locate the subject of the verb.
African Greys are rescued
By MANDEEP SINGH
WILDLIFE authorities in Cameroon have
rescued more than 1,200 African Grey
parrots. The animals were being trafficked
to Bahrain and Mexico for the exotic pet
trade.
Two shipments were intercepted at Douala
International Airport and the birds were
seized after the Kenya-based organisation
Wildlife Direct received a tip-off.
It alerted Cameroon's Forests and Wildlife
Ministry. The Ministry came into action.
The birds are now being cared for at Limbe
Wildlife Centre, in the fishing town of
Limbe, at the foot of Mount Cameroon.
Wildlife Direct said it was the third such
reported haul in the last seven weeks. All
these hauls had been bound for Bahrain.
Two earlier seizures were made at the behest
of the Cameroon-based Last Great Ape
Organisation - a conservation group.
Tense and Aspect: Different forces that work to shape
the verb to show time and time relationships.
Pedagogical Tense: (If you’ve ever taken a foreign
language class you’ll recognize this). A term used by
foreign language teachers to refer to the combined
changes of tense and aspect upon a verb.
The Present (Tense) Simple (Aspect) = Pedagogical:
Simple Present Tense
FORM:
BASE FORM: walk
I walk
You walk
He/she/it walks
we walk
you (all) walk
They walk
USAGE:
It does not generally describe actual present tense
activities. Instead it describes (notice the overlap in
these categories):
1. Habitual and/or repetitive actions.
I go to church (every week/on Sundays).
2. Generalizations/descriptions of facts.
The feet of parrots are distinctive. They contain three “toes”
– two twos extend from the front of the foot. One protrudes
from the back.
3. The present or ongoing conditions with certain
verbs called “statives”
Mary knows French. That woman has a lot of children. You
don’t understand the law.
The Present (Tense) Progressive (Aspect) =
Pedagogical: Present Progressive Tense
FORM: Present tense of BE + ing participle
I am walking
You are walking
He/she/it is walking
we are walking
you (all) are walking
They are walking
USAGE:
It generally describes actual current activities. The
focus of this aspect is now. –
1. Actions that are happening at the time of speaking.
I am teaching now. You are listening to me now.
2. Actions that are in the future.
His plane is arriving on Monday.
3. The present progressive aspect cannot generally be
used with statives.
BAD EXAMPLES: Mary is knowing French. That woman is
having a lot of children. You are not understanding the law.
We use the present simple aspect for these!
November 12, 1997
Exercise taken from:
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs2.htm
Today(be) __________ the second day of my trek around
Mount Annapurna. I (be) _____exhausted and my legs
(shake) _______ ; I just (hope) ______ I (can)
(complete) the trek. My feet (kill) _______ me and my
toes _______(bleed) , but I still (want) ________to
continue.
Nepal (be) ______ a fascinating country, but I (have)
______ a great deal to learn. Everything (be) ______ so
different, and I (try)_____ to adapt to the new way of
life here. I (learn)________ a little bit of the
language to make communication easier; unfortunately, I
______(learn, not) foreign languages quickly. Although
I (understand, not) _______much yet, I (believe)
_________ that I ___________(improve) gradually .
Currently, I (travel)_____________ with Liam, a student
from Leeds University in England. He _________(be) a
nice guy, but impatient. He always (walk)
_________ahead of me and (complain) _________that I
(be) _________ too slow. I (do) ________my best to keep
up with him, but he (be) _______ younger and stronger
than I (be)_______. Maybe, I (feel) ________sorry for
myself because I (get) __________ old.
Right now, Liam (sit)__________ with the owner of the
inn. They ____________(discuss) the differences between
life in England and life in Nepal. I (know, not)
___________ the real name of the owner, but everybody
just (call) _______him Tam. Tam (speak) ________
English very well and he (try) ________to teach Liam
some words in Nepali. Every time Tam (say) ________a
new word, Liam (try) ________ to repeat it.
Unfortunately, Liam also (seem) _______ to have
difficulty learning foreign languages