Name: ______________________________________
Test Date: ______________
Teacher: _________________
ELA Grade 6 – Period: ____________
VERB STUDY GUIDE
Verbs: (page 37)
 A verb is a word that expresses action, being, or state of being.
Examples:
Helen went to school.
These books are yours.
Elizabeth and Paul sing in the choir.
Verb Phrases: (page 38)
 Some sentences contain a verb phrase. A verb phrase consists of a main verb and one
or more other verbs.
Examples:
The women are singing.
Where have you been?
Helping Verbs: (page 39)
 The last word of a verb phrase is the main verb. The other words are helping verbs.
Examples:
Beth and Jon were sitting on the bench.
Apples are displayed by the produce manager.
 Some of the helping verbs are:
am, are, is, was, were, be, being, been
has, have, had
do, does, did
can, could, must, may, might, shall, should, will, would
More Helping Verbs: (page 40)
 A verb phrase may have more than one helping verb.
Examples:
Bill should have taken the bus.
My tomato plants have been growing very quickly.
 In a question or a sentence containing a word such as not, never, or always, the helping
verb might be separated from the main verb.
Examples:
When will you decide to fix your bicycle?
Jason has not fixed his bicycle.
Using Is/Are and Was/Were: (page 41)
 Use is with a singular subject.
Example: Tasha is the winner.
 Use are with a plural subject.
Example: The boys are walking home.
 Always use are with the pronoun you.
Example: You are absolutely right!
Verb Tenses: (page 42)
 The tense of a verb tells the time of the action or being.
 Present tense tells that something is happening now.
Examples: Amanda danced in the show. My art lessons start today.
 Past tense tells that something happened in the past. The action is over.
Examples: Amanda danced in the show. My art lessons started last June.
 Future tense tells that something will happen in the future. Use will with the verb.
Examples: Amanda will dance in the show. My art lessons will start next month.
Principal Parts of Verbs: (page 43)
 A verb has four principal parts: present, present participle, past, and past participle.
 For regular verbs, the present participle is formed by adding –ing to the present. It is
used with a form of the helping verb be.
 The past and past participles are formed by adding –ed to the present. The past
participle uses a form of the helping verb have.
Examples:
Present
walk
point
cook
Present Participle
(is) walking
(is) pointing
(is) cooking
Past
walked
pointed
cooked
Past Participle
(have, has, had) walked
(have, has, had) pointed
(have, has, had) cooked
 Irregular verbs form their past and past participles in other ways. A dictionary shows
the principal parts of verbs. Some irregular verb formations are on pages 44-51.
Past tenses of See, Do, and Come: (page 44)
 Never use a helping verb with: saw did came
 Always use a helping verb with: seen done come
Examples:
We saw the movie.
They have seen it three times.
Who did the painting in the hall?
What have you done with the ham?
The rain came down hard.
He has finally come to the party.
Past tenses of Eat and Drink: (page 45)
 Never use a helping verb with:
 Always use a helping verb with:
ate drank
eaten drunk
Examples: We ate supper early.
Haven't you eaten enough?
We drank the water from the fountain.
Have you drunk an extra glass of milk?
Past tenses of Sing and Ring: (page 46)
 Never use a helping verb with:
 Always use a helping verb with:
sang
sung
Examples: We sang all day long.
They have sung before.
rang
rung
Who rang that bell?
Have the bells rung yet?
Past tenses of Freeze, Choose, Speak, and Break: (page 47)
 Never use a helping verb with:
 Always use a helping verb with:
Examples:
froze
frozen
chose
chosen
spoke
broke
spoken broken
We froze when we went outside.
The snow had frozen in the driveway.
They chose their meal quickly.
The team had chosen their captain earlier.
She spoke firmly to her.
They had spoken loudly in the library.
He broke his bat at the baseball game.
They had broken their nails when they hit each other.
Past tenses of Know, Grow, and Throw: (page 48)
 Never use a helping verb with: knew
 Always use a helping verb with: known
Examples:
grew
grown
Marty knew the correct answer.
We have known her family for years.
Weeds grew along the park paths.
Katie’s plants have grown very rapidly.
The guard threw the ball to the center.
The pitcher has thrown three strikes in a row.
Past tenses of Blow and Fly: (page 49)
 Never use a helping verb with:
 Always use a helping verb with:
Examples:
blew
blown
flew
flown
A tornado blew the roof off a house.
The wind has blown like this for an hour.
The movie star flew in a private jet.
Has your friend flown her new kite?
Past tenses of Take and Write: (page 50)
 Never use a helping verb with:
 Always use a helping verb with:
Examples:
took
taken
wrote
written
We took down our paintings.
Haven’t you taken your medicine yet?
Mario wrote an excellent business letter.
Who has written the best script for the play?
Past tenses of Give and Go: (page 51)
 Never use a helping verb with:
 Always use a helping verb with:
Examples:
gave
given
went
gone
Mr. Edwards gave us ten minutes to take the test.
Ms. Morris has given that land to the city.
Charlie went to apply for the job.
Paula has gone to sleep already.
threw
thrown