VERBSBy: Sandra Boyd

Revised By: T.M. Chambers

Verbs show action or state of being.

Examples: go, is

An action verb is a word that expresses a physical or mental action. It may contain more than one word.

Examples: He paints. (physical action)

We thought about it. (mental action)

Notice the following action verbs in the following paragraph.

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.

A

C

T

I

O

N

V

E

R

B

S

Again an action verb can express physical actions, such as writing and running, or mental

activities such as thinking and honoring.

A

C

T

I

O

N

V

E

R

B

S

Physical

write

block

tackle

catch

charge

Mental

remember

honor

prefer

excel

regarded

LINKING

VERBS

Linking Verbs (and Predicate Words)

A linking verb connects the subject of a sentence with a noun or an adjective in the predicate.

John McGraw was the manager.

Linking verbs tell what the subject is or is like.

Linking Verb

Subject Predicate Noun

Common Linking Verbs

be becomegrow feelseem turnappear tastelook smellsound

Many of these linking verbs can also be used as action verbs.

Linking verbs are listed on the S.A.M. sheet!

Predicate Nouns

Sam is a pitcher.

Susan was our best player.

Will you be my friend?

A predicate noun follows a linking verb. It tells what the subject is.

Predicate Adjectives

Samantha is beautiful.

Susan was bored with sports.

Will the game be interesting?

A predicate adjective follows a linking verb. It describes the subject by telling what it is like.

HELPING

VERBS

Helping Verbs

A helping verb is a verb that helps the

main verb tell about an action or make a

statement.

Helping Verbs Listis have should shall

was has could will

were had would do

are did

am may does

be might can

been, being must

Helping verbs are listed on the S.A.M. sheet!

Helping Verbs

In the sentence above, the word are is the helping verb, and the present participle jumping is the main verb.

The students are jumping rope now.

VERB TENSE

Verb Tenses

The tense of a verb tells when an action takes

place.

Principal Parts of Verbs

Every verb has four basic parts, which are called its principal parts. You must know all of these in order to form the different tenses correctly.

Present PastPresent ParticiplePast Participle

Present Tense A present tense of a verb names an action

that happens regularly.

Present Tense Forms

Singular

I race.

You race.

He, she, or it races.

Plural

We race.

You race.

They race.

A past tense of a verb names an action that has already happened.

Past Tense

Past Tense Forms

Singular

I raced.

You raced.

He, she, or it raced.

Plural

We raced.

You raced.

They raced.

The past tense of many verbs is formed by adding –d or –ed to the base form of the verb.

Future TenseThe 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 pronouns I or we is the subject.

Future Tense Forms Singular

I will (shall) go.

You will go.

He, she, or it will go.

Plural

We will (shall) go.

You will go.

They will go.

Principal Parts of Verbs

There are two types of participles:

The Past Participle (verbs usually end in -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n)

The Present Participle (verbs end in -ing)

Participles are words formed from verbs which can be used as adjectives.

The chart below shows how the principal parts

of most verbs are formed.

Principal Parts of Verbs

Base Form Present Participle

Past Form Past Participle

jump jumping jumped jumped

Principal Parts of Verbs

Present ParticipleThe present participle of a verb

always ends in –ing._________________________________

Examples:o knowingo taking (the “e” in take is

dropped)o writing (the “e” in write is

dropped)

Past Participle

The past participle of a verb **always requires a helping verb

(have, has, had).__________________________________________

EXAMPLES:o had knowno have takeno has written

Helping Verbs TensePresent

am – is - are

Past

was -were

Past Participle

have – has - had

Combine with the present participle form of the verb.

Combine with the past participle form of the verb.

Helping Verbs – Past Participle Using Have, Has, Had

Singular Plural

I have jumped.

You have jumped.

She has jumped.

We have jumped.

You have jumped.

They have jumped.

Singular Plural

I had jumped.

You had jumped.

She had jumped.

We had jumped.

You had jumped.

They had jumped.

Guided Practice…

WHAT ARE THEY?The way a verb forms its past tense determines its classification as regular or irregular.

A regular verb takes the –d or –ed ending to denote the past tense.

Regularbelieve → believedsmile → smiled

Irregularrun → raneat → ate

EXAMPLES

Irregular verbs do not take the –d or –ed ending.

They are changed in various other ways to indicate past tense.

An irregular verb forms its past and past participle by…

EXAMPLES:Choir members sing during performances.

Chelsea is singing in the program tonight.

Last year, Marie sang the opening hymn.

Rachel yelled, “We have sung that song every year since 2001!”

1. …by changing vowels

Base Present Part. Past Past Part sing (helping verb)

singingsang (helping verb)

sung

2. …by changing consonants

Base Present Part. Past Past Part make (helping verb)

makingmade (helping verb)

madeEXAMPLES:

Humans make mistakes everyday.

Camille is making a huge mistake by skipping class.

Austin made a left when he should turned right.

We have made a great decision to study.

EXAMPLES:oGood students do their homework and turn it in on time.

oGreat students are doing their best everyday to be successful.

oTeachers did everything they needed to do to be successful.

oBoth parents and teachers have done their jobs to help students be successful.

3. …by changing vowels and consonants

do (helping verb) doing

did (helping verb) done

Base Present Part. Past Past Part

EXAMPLES:Students hurt their average when they do not follow directions on assignments.

Humans are hurting the planet by polluting.

Samuel hurt his sister’s feelings by telling her she could not go with him to Six Flags.

Sometimes we hurt others’ feelings unknowingly.

4. …by making NO changes

Base Present Part. Past Past Part hurt (helping verb)

hurtinghurt (helping verb)

hurt