STUDY GUIDE - VERB PHRASES
A.
A verb phrase (VP) is made up of 1-4 words: 0-3 helping verbs (HV) plus one main verb (MV).
EXAMPLES: Ed won. (0 HV = 1 MV)
Ed has won. (1 HV + 1 MV)
Ed should have won. (2 HV + 1 MV)
Ed could have been winning. (3 HV + 1 MV)
B.
MOST (of the main verbs) show action – to be action, you must be able to do not be it! However,
if there is no action verb in the sentence, the main verb must be one of the “special” 23 verbs.
EXAMPLE
The cat jumps. (You can “jump.”– be sure to use the root word for the test.) The
cat is curious. You cannot “curious”, so the verb is just “is.”
C.
The special 23 words can be used either as a helping verb or as the main verb, which is why they
are special.
1.
Some teachers or grammar books may call these special words auxiliaries instead of
helping verbs. The two terms mean basically the same thing--the meaning of auxiliary is
helper.
2.
Because no other word can be a helping verb, MEMORIZE all 23 perfectly. Remember
them in groups by tense.
BE-8
am \
is | present
are /
was \ past
were/
be \
being | no
been / tense
HAVE-3
have |
has / present
had - past
DO - 3
do \ present
does/
did - past
MODALS-9
Present:
can
will
shall
may
must
Past:
could
would
should
might
PAST RULE: All helpers that end in d, plus was, were, and might are past tense.
D.
VERB TENSE: The first word of the verb phrase tells what the tense or time of the verb is.
1.
There are only two tenses:
PAST AND PRESENT
a.
If the first word of the verb phrase ends in d, the tense is past--but there are other
past tense verbs.
b.
If the verb phrase has only one action with no helper, you may find these two
TENSE TESTS helpful:
(1)
The baby walks.
PRESENT TENSE
(2)
Yesterday he/they walked.
PAST TENSE
E.
A word that ends in –ing MUST have a “BE” word in front of it to be a verb!
1.
We went fishing. (“fishing” does not have a helper, so it is not a verb)
2.
I am going with him. (“going” has a helping verb, so it is a verb)
F.
Parts of a verb may be separated by other words. EXAMPLES:
Sue has often helped me.
G.
Did Greg leave early?
Tom wouldn’t change his mind.
You can use the following system to find the verb phrase in a sentence.
1.
First, cross out any prepositional phrases in the sentence. A verb cannot be in either a
prepositional phrase or a noun phrase.
2.
Look for the ACTION verb--a word you can do! Underline it twice.
3.
Check in front of the action word for 1-3 of the helpers. Underline helpers twice.
4.
If there is no action, your verb phrase will be comprised of the “special” verbs.
5.
Determine present or past tense by the first word of the verb phrase.
Hipskind
Grammar Studies
8/08
Study Guide – Verb Phrases