Verbs
Definition
 A verb is a word used to express an action, a
condition, or a state of being.
 We will be talking about the following kinds of
verbs:
 Action
 Linking
 Helping
 Phrases
Action Verbs
 Tells what the subject does.
 The action it expresses can be either physical
or mental.
 Examples:
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King Kong stomps through the streets of New
York. ~ physical action
He climbs the Empire State Building.
~physical action
Everyone fears Kong. ~ mental action
Kong loves a woman. ~mental action
Linking Verbs
 Links its subject to a
word in the predicate
 Most common are
forms of “be”
 Examples:
King Kong is a
huge gorilla.
 He seems angry.
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 Forms of “Be”
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Is, am, are, was,
were, be, being,
been
 Express condition

Appear, become,
feel, grow, look,
remain, seem,
smell, sound,
taste
Action vs. Linking
 Some verbs can serve as either action or
linking.
 Look to see if there is an action (that
something happens) or if the sentence is just
stating how something is or its condition.
 Examples:
 Kong
looks at Ann Darrow. She looks
frightened.
 He feels sad. She feels his hot breath.
Find the verbs in the sentences. State
if they are action or linking.
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The wolf ran across the yard.
My uncle is a pilot.
Sit down.
The dog barked at the man.
The pie looks good.
You seem upset.
Someone suddenly sneezed loudly.
There are holes in my shirt.
He appears happy.
The image appeared in the mirror.
Verb Phrases
 Sometimes a verb can
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be more than one word.
When a verb is more
than one word, it is
called a verb phrase.
Verb phrases can be 24 words.
Verb phrases are made
by using auxiliary
(helping) verbs.
There are 23 helping
verbs. These must be
memorized!
 Group 1: “Be” verbs
 Is, am, are, was, were,
be, being, been
 Group 2: Forms of have
 Has, have, had
 Group 3: Forms of do
 Do, does, did
 Group 4: Others
 Shall, will, should,
would
 may, might, must, can,
could
Find the verb or verb phrase in each sentence.
State main and helping
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8.
You are going to Seattle.
You have been resting too much.
We must be early.
I will be finished shortly.
She has too many friends.
You do beautiful work.
I was in Canada last week.
You are being very stubborn.
Review ~ list verb/verb phrase. State action
or linking. Underline helping verbs.
1. Jim plays basketball.
2. They will return on the airplane.
3. Badger is a funny dog.
4. I have been here a long time.
5. I should have been playing the
drums.
6. Go home.
Transitive vs. Intransitive
 While some sentences have predicates with only a
verb, other sentences have longer predicates with
additional information.
 A transitive verb transfers the action from the
subject to a word in the predicate called a direct
object.
 When the verb does not transfer action to the
predicate, the verb is intransitive.
 A direct object receives the action of a verb. It
answers the question whom? or what? after an action
verb.
Football Grammar
 Positions?
Football Grammar
Quarter back = verb
Football = action
Receiver = direct object
Football Grammar
 Plays?
Find the verb. Ask whom or what to find a
direct object. Tell transitive or intransitive.
1. Our drama and history teachers planned a
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joint project for our class.
First, our history teacher divided us into four
small groups.
Then he gave the new assignment in detail.
The whole class went to the library every
day for a week.
In our small groups, we explored everyday
life in colonial times.
Green Book, page 404
1. Japanese kabuki theaters present popular
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3.
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5.
scenes from dramas and dances.
Kabuki performers often wear very elaborate
costumes.
Male actors perform all the female roles.
Characters make entrances and exits along
the “flower way” aisle.
Instrumentalists behind a screen on stage
provide the music.
Red Book P. 99
Write the subject, verb, direct object, and
transitive or intransitive.
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10.
A transitive verb has a direct object.
Jason forgot his homework.
Three plastic deer stood in the garden.
Horatio achieved his success with hard work and
luck.
The stone goose wore a bright yellow raincoat.
The porpoises jump through hoops.
The high school drama club performed the play for
middle school students.
The baby cried loudly from her crib in the next room.
Jackie ordered a vanilla shake and a hot dog with
mustard.
Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet.
Objectives:
 To identify indirect objects
 To determine if a sentence has an indirect
object
 To use indirect objects in sentences
Indirect Objects
 Is
a word (or group of words) that
tells to whom, or for whom an action
is done.
 You must have a direct object before
you can have an indirect object!
 In a sentence containing both a
direct and an indirect object, the
indirect object almost always comes
first (before the direct object).
Hot Tip!!
 The
words “to” and “for” never
appear before the indirect object.
These words are prepositions when
they are followed by a noun or
pronoun.
 In these cases, the noun is the
object of the preposition, not an
object of the verb.
Memorize these!
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The following verbs often take indirect objects:
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–
–
–
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–
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–
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Bring
Give
Hand
Lend
Make
Offer
Send
Show
Teach
Tell
Write
How do you find the indirect
object?
1. Find the verb
 2. Find the direct object (ask “what?”)
 3. Ask “To whom” or “For whom”
 Example: I gave the doorman my coat.
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–
–
–
1. gave
2. gave what? coat
3. To whom? Doorman
So, doorman is your indirect object.
Another Hot Tip!!
To make sure you have found your
indirect object, add “to” or “for” to it, and
change its position.
 If the sentence still makes sense, then the
word is the indirect object.
 Ex: I gave the doorman my coat~~I gave
my coat to the doorman.
 JUST REMEMBER…if the word does come
after “to” or “for,” it is NOT an indirect
object
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Try it!!
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5.
You must give Francis A. Johnson some credit.
This Minnesotan could teach the world patience.
He spent 41 years on a very special project.
During each of those years, he truly had a ball.
Slowly, but surely, inch by inch, Johnson wound the world’s
largest ball of twine.
6. At 12 feet in diameter and 17,400 pounds, Johnson’s sphere
offered some other string savers an irresistible challenge.
7. Super string saver Frank Stoeber brought Cawker City,
Kansas, a measure of fame.
8. He made an enormous ball of twine the city’s biggest tourist
attraction
9. Some people might consider Texan J.C. Payne an odd guy.
10. His 6-ton, 12-foot-tall twine ball has made him famous.
Green Book P. 406
Write subject, verb, direct object, and indirect object
1. None of the musicians know the composition.
2. The orchestra leader brings the musicians the music.
3. For several days, the orchestra leader teaches the
orchestra a song.
4. The sopranos learn their part first.
5. The audience loves the musical comedy.
6. That famous director frequently gives performers
drama lessons.
7. The theater offers young people many opportunities.
8. She also gives children lessons in the afternoons.
9. She wrote plays and operas for many years.
10. Now she shows her students her special techniques.
Green Book P. 406
Write subject, verb, direct object, and indirect object
11. Students ask actors and directors questions about
different roles.
12. The expert director and producers bring the show
success.
13. The director offers her students advice about their
careers.
14. The actors memorize scripts.
15. One young writer sold a producer and director his
screenplay.
16. The theater club offers subscribers a discount.
17. The theater also sends subscribers performance
information.
18. Subscribers often buy extra tickets for their friends.
19. Generous patrons give the theater large donations.
20. The theater usually gives generous patrons free
tickets.
Write subject, verb, direct object, and indirect object (if
there).
Write transitive or intransitive.
1.
Wilbur and Orville Wright built the first successful
airplane.
2. They built their machine in Ohio.
3. They took it to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, for its first
flight.
4. Orville Wright flew the first airplane on December 17,
1903.
5. The winds at Kitty Hawk blew steadily that day.
6. The twelve-horsepower engine sputtered.
7. Soon it lifted the 750-pound plane into the air for a
flight of 120 feet.
8. Orville’s brother Wilbur ran alongside.
9. This first flight lasted only twelve seconds.
10. The Wright brothers made three more flights that
day.
Write subject, verb, direct object, and indirect object (if
there).
Write transitive or intransitive.
11. The longest one lasted fifty-nine
seconds.
12. Few newspapers carried people news
about the first flight.
13. The brothers made improvements on
their airplane.
14. More successful airplanes appeared.
15. The pilots landed carefully.
Objective Complements
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Definition: a word that follows a direct object
and renames or describes that object. It
answers the question what? after a direct object.
You must have a direct object in order to have
an objective complement.
Object complements convey information and
add important details.
Object complements are either adjectives or
nouns.
You will not have an indirect object and an
objective complement in the same sentence.
Usually, your direct object will be a person or
animal when you have an objective complement
after it. =-)
How do you find Objective
Complements?
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Find the subject and verb.
Find the direct object (ask whom?)
Find the objective complement (ask
what?)
Why would you need to find the direct
object first?
With what verbs do you find
objective complements?
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They follow certain verbs and their synonyms.
These include:
 Appoint
 Call
 Choose
 Consider
 Elect
 Find
 Keep
 Make
 Name
 Think
Let’s try it together!!
1.
2.
3.
He made an enormous ball of twine the
city’s biggest tourist attraction
Some people might consider Texan J.C.
Payne an odd guy.
His 6-ton, 12-foot-tall twine ball has
made him famous.
Find the Direct Objects, Indirect
Objects, and Objective
Complements.
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10.
Throw a few thousand of your friends a party.
Make your party memorable.
For a snack, serve everyone a burrito from La Costerna.
The editors of the Guiness Book consider at least one of the
restaurant’s burritos quite extraordinary.
In fact, they renamed the 4,456-pound burrito the largest
in the world.
Don’t forget dessert.
Offer your guests a special treat.
Order them a cake from EarthGrains in Alabama.
This bakery once created a 128,000-pound cake that many
considered a delicacy.
Of course, a cake like that might give you the world’s
largest stomachache.
Red Book ~ Pg. 94
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The temperature rose to a hundred.
Dorothy remembered the dream.
The actor’s face looks familiar.
Enrico looked into the next room.
The children were quiet.
Every culture has its own myths, legends, and fairy
tales.
The weather grew cold.
The twins are visiting their grandparents.
Maria Tallchief became a famous ballerina.
Our cat has disappeared again.
Red Book ~ P. 95
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Ants at a picnic are pests.
The workers built a house.
A tornado’s winds are dangerous.
The new mother fed her seven infants formula from a
bottle.
Tiger Woods has shown the world his talent.
The science field trip was sensational.
The mayor named Steve Vance a hero.
Mother Teresa was a religious woman.
We rode a train from Boston to Providence.
The ancient Roman gladiator was a powerful fighter.