Parts of Speech: Verbs

With Help from

Milhouse Van Houten

What is a Verb?

• A verb is a word that expresses action or otherwise helps to make a statement.

• All verbs help to make a statement. Some help to make a statement by expressing action. The action expressed my be physical, as in such verbs as hit, play, blow, and run, or it may be mental, as in think, know, image, believe.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

• Action verbs may or may not take an object—a noun our pronoun that completes the action by showing who or what is affected by the action.

• Verbs that have an object are called TRANSITIVE:– After school, Milhouse walks Samantha home.– Bart and Milhouse visit Samantha.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

• Words that can express action without objects are called INTRANSITIVE:– Milhouse tries to alert Marge that Bart has gone crazy.

– Bart runs into Milhouse and Martin.

• Although some verbs are transitive only (ignore, complete) and some intransitive only (arrive, sleep), most verbs in English can be either.– Milhouse talks to Bart about buying a comic. [v.t.]

– Milhouse talks excitedly. [v.i.]

Linking Verbs

• Some intransitive verbs help to make a statement not by expressing action, but by expressing a state of condition.

• These verbs link to the subject a noun, pronoun, or adjective that describes or identifies it.

• The word that is linked to the subject is called a SUBJECT COMPLEMENT.

Linking Verbs

• Example:– This is Milhouse.– Milhouse is Bart’s best friend.– Milhouse is nerdy.

• Common Linking verbs:– Am, is, are, was were, be, being, been, appear,

grow, seem, stay, become, look, smell, taste, feel, remain, & sound

Linking Verbs

• Some of these verbs can also be used as action verbs (without subject complements):– Milhouse looked puzzled. [linking]– Milhouse looked for the comic. [action]

• In general, a verb is a linking verb if you can substitute for it some form of the verb seem.

The Helping Verb and Verb Phrases

• A verb phrase is made up of a main verb and one or more helping verbs (sometimes called auxiliary verbs).

• Helping verbs are so called because the help the main verb to express action or make a statement.

• Examples: has played, should have played, will be coming, must have been injured

Common Helping Verbs

• am, are, is, was, were, do, did, have, has, had can, may , will (shall) be, will (shall) have, has (had) been, can (may) be, can (may) have, could (would, should) be, could (would, should) have, will (shall) have been, might have, might have been, must, must have, must have been

• The parts of a verb phrase may be separated from one another by other words.– Did you see Milhouse in school today?

Practice

• Identify all the verbs. Label as transitive [v.t.], intransitive [v.i.], linking [l.v.], and helping [h.v.].

• Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for $5.00. Shortly afterwards, Bart’s pets act hostile to him, and he thinks that Itchy & Scratchy are no longer funny. Lisa suspects that he really did lose his soul. Milhouse will only sell Bart back his soul for $50.00.

Practice (Corrected)

• Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for $5.00. Shortly afterwards, Bart’s pets act hostile to him, and he thinks that Itchy & Scratchy are no longer funny. Lisa suspects that he really did lose his soul. Milhouse will only sell Bart back his soul for $50.00.