VERBS
Mrs. Vickers
Language Arts/PreAP Language
Verbs show action or state of
being.
Examples: go, is
 An action verb expresses a
physical or mental action.
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Example: He paints.
We thought about it.
A
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C
T
V
I
E
O
R
N
B
S
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An action verb is a word that names
an action. It may contain more than
one word.
Notice the following action verbs.
Sports experts write about the
football player Jim Thorpe even
today. Thorpe blocked like a tank.
He tackled like a tornado. In every
game Thorpe attacked his
opponents with all his might. He
caught the ball skillfully and
charged ahead fearlessly. Experts
still remember and honor Thorpe’s
greatness.
Action Verbs
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Most verbs are action verbs.
Some action verbs refer to physical
action that can be seen by other
people.
Others refer to mental action that
cannot be seen.
Physical Action: The gardener
feeds the ducks.
 Mental Action: She likes the
migrating birds best.
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A
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C
T
I
O
N
V
An action verb can express physical
actions, such as writing and running, or
mental activities such as thinking and
honoring.
Physical
Mental
R
write
remember
B
block
honor
S
tackle
prefer
catch
excel
charge
regarded
E
Being Verbs
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Other verbs express a state of
being.
These verbs do not refer to action
of any sort. They simply tell what
the subject is.
Burt is the gardener’s assistant.
 He seems afraid of the swans.
 One swan looks angry.
 In fact, swans are hungry.

The most common being verbs
are forms of be itself.
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Am
is
Are
Was
Were
Be
Being
been
Other being verbs:
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Appear
Become
Feel
Grow
Look
Seem
Remain
Smell
Sound
Stay
taste
Identify each verb in the
sentences below. Does it
express action or being?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
We parked and locked our bicycles in the rack at the
library.
Many, many resources were available there.
I considered several books about wild animals.
All of the books looked interesting.
Finally, I decided on one about tropical birds.
The book described many birds from countries in
Central and South America.
I especially liked the photographs in the book.
The pictures of the birds are very colorful.
Some of the birds’ feathers are pink, orange, red, and
green.
I carried the book home in my backpack.
Class Activity
Grammar and
Composition
Handbook
p. 98
LINKING
VERBS
Linking Verbs and Predicate Words
Linking verbs tell what the subject is or is like.
A linking verb connects the subject
of a sentence with a noun or an
adjective in the predicate.
Linking Verb
John McGraw was the manager.
Subject
Predicate Noun
Common Linking Verbs
be
grow
seem
appear
look
smell
become
turn
taste
feel
sound
Many of these linking verbs can also be used
as action verbs.
Chandra turned thirteen. (Linking Verb)
The car turned the corner. (Action Verb)
Predicate Nouns
A predicate noun follows a linking verb.
It tells what the subject is.
Sam is a pitcher.
Susan was our best player.
Will you be my friend?
Predicate Adjectives
A predicate adjective follows a linking
verb. It describes the subject by telling
what it is like.
Samantha is beautiful.
Susan was bored with sports.
Will the game be interesting?
Which sentence in each of the following
pairs contains a linking verb.
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11. A monkey appears from behind a tree. It
appears excited.
12. The young deer grew taller. The male deer
grew antlers.
13. The koala baby looks cute. It looks for its
mother.
14. The koala tastes a leaf. Does it taste good?
15. We smell the eucalyptus tree. It smells
pleasant.
16. We feel the tree’s bark. It feels smooth.
List the verbs in the sentences
below. Label each verb action
or being.
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17. Photographs, television, and movies show us a
variety of unusual creatures.
18. We can see animals in their natural habitat in
national parks, nature sanctuaries, or even city parks.
19. Few animals look strange to us today.
20. Some animals still seem unusual, however.
21. The anteater is one example.
22. The head and snout of this animal form a long tube.
23. A giant anteater becomes six feet long.
24. It grows a coarse coat of hair.
25. The front toes and claws of the anteater fold under.
26. The animal actually walks on its knuckles.
List the verbs in the sentences below.
Label each verb action or being.
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27. The giant anteater usually appears shy.
28. It enjoys dark, wet tropical forests.
29. Ants and termites appear in this animal’s
diet.
30. The anteater is a peaceful animal.
Activity 2
Grammar and
Composition
Handbook,
pp. 102-103
HELPING
VERBS
Main Verbs and Helping Verbs
Verbs have four principal parts that are
used to form all tenses. The chart below
show how the principal parts of most
verbs are formed..
Principal Parts of Verbs
Base Form
jump
Present
Participle
Past Form
Past
Participle
jumping
jumped
jumped
The principal parts of verbs are often combined
with helping verbs to form verb phrases.
Helping Verbs Defined
A helping verb is a
verb that helps the
main verb tell about
an action or make a
statement.
Helping Verbs List
is
have
should shall
was
has
could
will
were
had
would
do
are
did
am
may
does
be
might
can
been, being
must
A verb phrase consists of one or more
helping verbs followed by a main verb.
Helping Verbs and Verb Phrases
The students are jumping rope now.
In the sentence above, the
word are is the helping verb, and
the present participle jumping is
the main verb. Together they
form a verb phrase.
A verb phrase consists of one or more
helping verbs followed by a main verb.
Activity 3
GUM WORKBOOK
PAGES 49
MEMORIZE
HELPING VERBS
TRANSITIVE AND
INTRANSITIVE
VERBS
Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs have direct objects.
Direct objects receive the action of a
verb. It answers the question whom?
or what? after an action verb.
Direct Object
Action Verb
what?
The quarterback throws the football.
Intransitive Verbs
Sometimes an action verb does
not have a direct object. Then
the verb is intransitive.
Action Verb
The singer sang well.
In the above sentence , well
does not answer the question
whom? or what?.
Verbs with Indirect Objects
An indirect object answers the
question to whom? or for whom?
an action is done
Action Verb
Michael Jordan shows his teammates new
shots.
what?
to whom?
Direct Object
Indirect object
Activity 4
GUM WORKBOOK
PAGES 50-51
VERB TENSE
Present, Past, and Future Tenses
The tense of a verb tells when an action takes place.
A present tense of a verb names an
action that happens regularly. It
can also express a general truth.
Present Tense Forms
Singular
Plural
I race.
We race.
You race.
You race.
He, she, or it races.
They race.
The tense of a verb tells when an action takes place.
A past tense of a verb names an
action already happened.
The past tense of many verbs is formed by
adding –ed to the base form of the verb.
Past Tense Forms
Singular
Plural
I raced.
We raced.
You raced.
You raced.
He, she, or it raced.
They raced.
A future tense of a verb names an
action that will take place in the
future.
In the future tense the word will is used with
the verb. Sometimes shall is used when the
pronoun I or we is the subject.
Future Tense Forms
Singular
Plural
I will (shall) go.
We will (shall) go.
You will go.
You will go.
He, she, or it will go. They will go.
Helping Verbs Tense
Present
Past
Past Participle
am – is - are
was -were
have – has - had
Combine with the
present participle
form of the verb.
Combine with the
past participle
form of the verb.
Activity 8
Write the Present Participle, Past,
and Past Participle form of the
following verbs.
Make 4 columns.
1. dance
2. fly 3. score
4. run 5. adjust
7. sing
9. profit
6. break
8. bounce
10. drive
Helping Verbs – Past Participle
Using Have, Has, Had
Singular
Plural
I have jumped.
We have jumped.
You have jumped. You have jumped.
She has jumped. They have jumped.
Singular
I had jumped.
You had jumped.
She had jumped.
Plural
We had jumped.
You had jumped.
They had jumped.