To be or not to be?
…or a unit on VERBS.
Verbs Express VISIBLE ACTION.
• Verbs are DOING words. They usually express
an action in a sentence.
• Examples:
– The doctor wrote a prescription.
– Alison bought a ticket.
• In these examples, “wrote” and “bought” are
the verbs because they express VISIBLE
ACTION.
Verbs express MENTAL ACTIONS, too.
• Yes, verbs express physical actions like
running, jumping, walking, etc. BUT your mind
does stuff, too!
• Mental actions are things like thinking,
guessing, learning, etc.
• Example:
– I guessed the correct answer.
– I thought verbs were describing words.
PRACTICE (that’s a verb, too)
• Identify the verbs in the following sentences.
Label it as VISIBLE or MENTAL.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The posse drove the bank robbers out of town.
I learned that song in kindergarten.
Some people worry about everything.
A nurse held the baby up to the nursery window.
Mom jogs 2 miles every morning.
TRANSITIVE VERBS
• An action verb is TRANSITIVE if it directs
action toward someone or something.
(Meaning it needs an OBJECT)
• Examples:
– Miguel Cabrera hit the ball over the fence.
• (HIT is the transitive verb, BALL is the object)
– Ms. Krygier threw a pencil at her sleeping student.
• THREW is the transitive verb, PENCIL is the object)
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
• INTRANSITIVE VERBS do not direct an action
at someone or something. (Meaning they
DON’T need an object)
• Examples:
– The temperature fell during the night.
• (FELL is the intransitive verb, the action is not directed
at anyone or anything!)
– Fran awoke early.
PRACTICE (yup, still a verb)
• Identify the verb in the following sentences.
Label it as TRANSITIVE or INTRANSITIVE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Who called?
Someone ate my sandwich.
Mark reads the dictionary for pleasure.
Icicles hung from the roof.
George reads very well for his age.
Verbs also express a state of being.
• A small, but extremely important group of
verbs do not express any action at all. The
most important verb in this group is the verb
'to be'. This is seen in forms like: is, are, were,
was, will be, etc.
• The verb “to be” is THE MOST IMPORTANT
VERB. EVER. Think about it. You know I’m
right.
To Be – Present/Past Tense
Singular
1st Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
I am
I was
You are
You were
He/She/It is
He/She/It was
Plural
We are
We were
You are
You were
They are
They were
LINKING VERBS bring everything together.
• A linking verb is a verb that CONNECTS a noun
or pronoun at the _____________ of the
sentence with a word at or near the ________
of the sentence.
Practice
• Underline the form of to be in the following
sentences. Then draw an arrow between the
words that are linked by the verb.
1. Helena is our class president.
2. Both candidates were certain of victory.
3. The applicant was someone with a strong
business background.
4. I am nervous about the interview.
5. The play was a huge success.
Other Linking Verbs
Appear
Become
Feel
Grow
Look
Remain
Seem
Smell
Sound
Stay
Taste
Turn
Practice
• Underline the linking verb in the following
sentences. Then draw an arrow to show which
words are linked by the verb.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The book became a bestseller.
Erica sounded happy about the results.
Peter Pan stayed a child all of his life.
Everyone feels a little lonely at times.
The bill became a law despite the President’s
veto.
Helping Verbs
Helping Verbs
• HELPING VERBS are verbs that can be added
to ANOTHER verb to make a singe verb
phrase.
– Remember, a phrase is a grammatical term for
GROUP OF WORDS.
– All of the forms of TO BE can be used as helping
verbs!
Helping Verbs Other Than TO BE
Do
Does
Did
Have Shall
Can
Has Should Could
Had
Will
May
Might
Must
Examples!
•
•
•
•
•
I sang. (no helping verb)
I am singing.
I will sing.
I have been singing.
I can sing.
Practice
• Complete each of the sentences with
appropriate helping verbs.
1. Judd ________ written a poem about growing
up.
2. ________ you finish your homework?
3. I still _______ not found my record album.
4. The governor ________ ______ running for a
second term.
5. The party ________ _________ ended by now.
A note about VERB PHRASES…
• The words that form a verb phrase may or
may not directly follow one another. Especially
in questions, verb phrases are often broken
up.
– Words Together: They will be staying overnight.
– Words Separated: They will definitely not be
staying overnight.
– Words Separated: Have you and the others met
our friends?
Practice
• Underline the complete verb phrase from
each of the following sentences. Include all
helping verbs. Do not include words that
interrupt the verb phrase!
1. You must have wondered about the missing
fruit.
2. Who is making the first speech?
3. Those plants will probably never bloom again.
4. Should Alan have been playing with those tools?