Verbs

As you know, every sentence has two parts: As you know, every sentence has two parts: the subject and the predicate. the subject and the predicate.

The key word in the predicate is the The key word in the predicate is the verbverb.. The The verbverb tells what the subject of the tells what the subject of the

sentence is, has, does, or feels. sentence is, has, does, or feels. –Burt Burt worksworks at the park. at the park.–He He trimstrims the trees. the trees.–She She isis a dentist. a dentist.–He He paintspaints the benches. the benches.

Action verbs describe Action verbs describe activity.activity.

The action may be physical, or may describe a quiet activity.

Physical actions: eat, walk, run, sleep,swim, scream, read, write, watch

Quiet actions: love, think, care, grow, forgive, concentrate

coughed

swallowed

awokeran

ridesang

These are Action Verbs:

clap

Can you give your own examples of action verbs?

To find the verb:Locate the subject.

Then ask yourself, “What is it doing?”

The dog barked.

Who?

barked

dog

“What did the dog do?”

The verb is barked. It’s what the dog did.

The big lion roared loudly.

Who?

roared

Lion

“What did the lion do?”

Let’s Practice:Let’s Practice:

The verb is roared. It’s what the lion did.

The lighthouse shines brightly.

What?

shines

lighthouse

“What does the lighthouse do?”

The verb is shines. It’s what the lighthouse does.

Let’s Practice:Let’s Practice:

Mrs. Smith arrives late.

Who?

arrives

Mrs. Smith

“What does Mrs. Smith do?”

Let’s Practice:Let’s Practice:

The verb is arrives. It’s what Mrs. Smith does.

Jacob beats on his drum all day.

Who?

beats

Jacob

“What does Jacob do?”

Let’s Practice:Let’s Practice:

The verb is beats. It’s what Jacob does.

The bumble bee buzzes near the flower.

What?

buzzes

bee

“What does the bee do?”

Let’s Practice:Let’s Practice:

The verb is buzzes. It’s what the bee does.

Sometimes, verbs are made up of two words.

Two-word verbs are called verb phrases!

Ex. We will go to Japan this April. She is spending some time with

her grandmother.

They are donating their books.

helping verb main verb

Helping verbs help the main verb describe action that happened in the past,is happening in the present, or willhappen in the future.

am being do have mustare can does is shallbe could had may shouldbeen did has might waswere will would

Linking VerbsLinking VerbsLinking verbs describe a state of being.They connect a noun or adjective to thesubject of a sentence.

Bob was a great baseball coach.The dinner looks wonderful.

Other linking verbs that can connect the subject to the other parts of the sentence:

is, are, was, were, has, have, tastes, seems, looks, smells, appears, feels, sounds, etc.

Ex. This juice tastes great!

In summary, there are two (2) kinds of verbs you can use.

1. ACTION WORDS: single word: sleep, eat, think, love, bring, taught, embarrassed verb phrase (2-3 words): are sleeping, has eaten, will be bringing, is teaching, have been thinking

2. LINKING VERBS: is, are, was, were, has, have, seems, tastes, appears, etc.

Be careful! Verbs are different from adjectives!Examples: Identify the verbs Zoe is the more confident and outspoken between the two. Natalie showed a type-written manuscript to Zoe. Remember: Verbs show action or links the subject to the rest of the sentence. But adjectives describe the noun or pronoun (pretty, talented, difficult, etc.)

Can you identify the verbs in the following sentences?

1. Natalie wrote a short story about school concerns.

2. Zoe insisted that the book was good enough to be published.

3. Natalie was hesitant.

4. Zoe has given Natalie a pen name.

On your own: Identify the verbs in the following sentences. Write only the verbs on your notebooks.

1. Zoe read Natalie’s manuscript in the library.

2. Natalie was looking through the glass windows.

3. Natalie is an amazing writer!

4. Zoe and Natalie talked about it on the phone.

5. In their home, Mrs. Nelson discussed what happens to a manuscript.

6. Natalie was in her room the whole day.

7. Zoe was calling her the whole time.

8. Mr. Reisman is a lawyer.

Game Time!

Simultaneous Charades1. Group 1 will play against Group 2; Group 3 against 4; Group 5 against 6

2. Group 1 will look for verbs (single word action words, verb phrases, or linking verbs) from Chapter 1 of “The School Story.” Group 2 from Chapter 2 etc…

3. Assign:a. secretary: to write down the verbs on the strips of paper; she can be an actor laterb. researchers: who will look through the book for the verbs and dictate to the secretary; they can be the actors laterc. leader: who will maintain order and discipline all throughout the gamed. timer: can be a researcher at first but during the game, she needs to time (1 minute each)

4. You have 5 minutes to research and write on the strips of paper and 10 minutes to play.5. To play:

a. Table 1 member will pick from the strips of paper of Table 2. Table 1 member has 1 minute to try to make her group mates guess the verb by just ACTING it.

b. Leaders will also be the scorers.c. Timers must strictly observe the one minute time period and warn the other group if it’s the last 10 seconds.

Are you ready to play? You have 5 minutes to look for the verbs in your book but be very quiet about it because the other groups might you! =)