Action Verbs
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1/6 42 Action Verbs
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Action Verb
An action verb is a word that describes
what someone or something does. It may
contain more than one word.
Examples:
The director shouts at the cast members.
The lights are flashing above the stage.
Action verbs can be
physical,visible actions:
-shout
-flash
-arrive
-own
-juggle
-serenade
-dash
-hurt
-sob
-cackle
-jeer
-collide
Action verbs can also be
mental actions:
-remember
-forget
-evoke
-dream
-recognize
-evaluate
-memorize
-appreciate
-realize
-convey
-determine
-judge
Have, has, and had can also be
action verbs IF they name what the
subject owns or holds.
Examples:
The actors already have their costumes.
The director has a script in her hand.
Rosa had a theater program from 1959.
Direct Object
A direct object receives the action
from the verb. It answers the question
what? or whom? after an action verb.
Not every sentence has a direct
object.
Example: action verb & direct
object
The equator
divides Africa in
two.
Is the verb visible or mental?
Example: action verb & direct
object
Streams
and
wells create
oases in the
desert.
Is the verb visible or mental?
Example: action verb & direct
object
Not
even cars
cross the sand
dunes.
Is the verb visible or mental?
Example: action verb & NO direct
object
In
the eastern
Sahara, the sun
shines for
thousands of
hours every year.
Is the verb visible or mental?
Example: action verb & NO direct
object
In
flat regions
the Nile River
flows slowly.
Is the verb visible or mental?
Indirect Object
An indirect object comes after the
action verb and before the direct
object. An indirect object answers the
question to whom? or for whom?
Example: action verb with indirect
object & direct object
Jim built his
granddaughter a
sandcastle on the beach.
Indirect object
– for whom
Direct object what
Example: action verb with indirect
object & direct object
We told Mom a lie about
the broken lamp.
Direct object what
Indirect object
– for whom
Example: action verb with indirect
object & direct object
Tomas paid the mechanic
200 dollars to fix the
squeaky brakes.
Indirect object
– for whom
Direct object what
• Transitive Verb
– An action verb that is followed by a direct
object.
What
– The polar bears /eat fish.
• Intransitive Verb
– An action verb that is not followed by a
direct object.
How
– The polar bears /eat slowly.