Verbs show an action (e.g. to run). The tricky part is that sometimes the action can't be seen on the outside (like run) – it is done on the inside (e.g. to decide). Sometimes the action even has to do with just existing, in other words to be (e.g. is, was, are, were, am).
Tenses
The three basic tenses are past, present and future. Past – has already happened Present – is happening Future – will happen
To change a word to the past tense, add "-ed" (e.g. walk → walked). ***Watch out for the words that don't follow this (or any) rule (e.g. swim → swam) ***
To change a word to the future tense, add "will" before the word (e.g. walk → will walk BUT not will walks)
Exercise 1
For each word, write down the correct tense in the appropriate space in the table below.
Past Present Future dance will plant looked runs shone will lose put dig
Spelling note: when "-ed" is added to a word ending in "y", the "y" becomes an "i" e.g. try → tried These are the basic tenses. You can break present tense up into simple present (e.g. walk), present perfect (e.g. has walked) and present continuous (e.g. is walking). Both past and future tenses can also be broken up into simple, perfect and continuous. You do not need to know these categories, but be aware that each tense can be found in different forms.
Is it a verb?
Can it be
acted out? no yes
Can it change It's a verb! tense? no yes It's NOT a It's a verb! verb!
Exercise 2
In groups, decide which of the words your teacher gives you are verbs using the above diagram.
Verbs Not verbs
Exercise 3
Identify all the verbs in the following sentences. a) Jerry aimed and then threw the ball at the stumps. b) Lungile hates to go to the doctor. c) The Heart serves both food and treats. d) Reading the question carefully before answering it is very important. e) I struggled to take the washing off as it blew wildly in the wind. f) Preparing for the day the night before helps one to be well-organised. g) Health experts recommend going for a walk once a day. h) Phile is a doctor who smokes! i) To read is to succeed. j) Gigi jotted down her name on the piece of paper and then passed it to the policeman.
Exercise 4
Identify all the verbs in the following sentences. a) The Eiffel Tower stands out as one of the best known tourist attractions. b) Roses grow best if one waters them regularly. c) Mowing the lawn gives the garden a neat appearance. d) Cars sped down the road and a siren blared in the distance. e) Cats live to eat and to sleep. f) Puzzles benefit the brain by forcing us to use our spatial awareness. g) Walking down the street, the old woman kept her hand bag tightly against her side. h) Herbert tried hard to stop himself from coughing but instead burst out in explosive fits. i) The light shone down, hurting Flavio’s eyes. j) Talking to someone is a good way to gain some perspective.
Auxiliary verbs
A common way of describing auxiliary verbs is as “helping” verbs.
They are not the main verb, which shows the action.
Auxiliary verbs help by giving the main verb number (one or many i.e. singular or plural) and tense (past, present or future). e.g. Jenna and Pedro are working together on the project. / Julian is working alone. e.g. He will be helping out tomorrow night. / He was helping out that night.
The auxiliary verb with the main verb together form the finite verb. Finite verb = auxiliary verb(s) + main verb e.g. Jenna and Pedro are working together on the project. / Julian is working alone. e.g. He will be helping out tomorrow night. / He was helping out that night.
Exercise 5
The finite verbs in the following sentences have been highlighted. Write down the auxiliary verbs. a) It felt as if they had been standing in the queue forever. b) Barbara is studying to be a registered nurse. c) Lily was born on Christmas Day. d) By the time we arrive, Grandma will have been waiting for 30 minutes! e) Theresé had never seen a dassie before. f) If we do not stop poachers, rhinos will be extinct in the next ten to twenty years. g) It could have been much worse, but Kyle did not think so at the time. h) The group of friends were planning on seeing a movie. i) The couriers should have delivered the parcel an hour ago. j) I shall not put up with this type of behaviour! k) Fred and Sandi are preparing their poster for their project.
Finite versus non-finite verbs
Finite verbs are the verbs in a sentence that have subjects (AKA “do-ers”) e.g. Mrs Petzer likes chocolate. (Ask yourself, is there someone “liking” in this sentence?)
Non-finite verbs are still verbs (action words) but there is no person or object doing that action in that particular sentence. e.g. Keenan enjoys playing soccer and watching series. (Again, is there someone “playing” and “watching” in this sentence?)
Exercise 6
Say whether the verbs underlined in the following sentences are finite or non-finite. a) Wendy went to the post office to renew her vehicle licence. b) In Grade 1, the important skills to learn are reading and writing. c) Someone should tell Patricia that there is a Maths test tomorrow. d) The FBI agent was shooting to kill. e) The FBI agent was shooting to kill. f) Preparation is the key to succeeding. g) Her friends visited her in hospital to see how she was feeling. h) Joelle always procrastinated cleaning her room. i) The coach showed the boys how to play a forward defensive shot. j) Fay’s parents felt that she was too irresponsible to look after a dog. k) Dr Phelps asked her secretary to pass on a message to her husband.
There are two types of non-finite verbs: infinitives and participles.
Infinitives
Infinitives are the most basic form of the verb and always appear in the following format:
Infinitive = to + verb e.g. to walk, to decide, to be
Exercise 7
Write down the infinitives found in each of the following sentences (there may be more than one per sentence). a) Supporters urged the long-distance runner to keep on running. b) The thief tried to pick the lock. c) Kaylee wanted to go to Paris to see the glass pyramid outside the Louvre. d) Anton and Philip played an intense game of squash to let off a little steam. e) It is bad manners to yawn when in conversation with someone. f) I can never remember to bring my own charger along when travelling. g) Denver is very nervous to find out what his mark for the test is. h) Ryan started to reach into the cupboard, but quickly snatched his hand away. i) Mrs Fitzpatrick picked up the chalk to write the definition on the board. j) The yogi demonstrated to the class how to get into the downward dog position.
Participles
Participles are forms of verbs that can do different jobs.
Put an auxiliary verb in front of a participle (a non-finite verb) and you get a finite verb! e.g. The detectives were smoking outside the crime scene. e.g. The flowers had wilted because he had not given them enough water.
Put a participle in front of a noun and you get an adjective! e.g. The smoking gun proved his guilt. e.g. The wilted flowers showed that the suspect had not been home for several days. Exercise 8
Say whether the participles underlined in the following sentences are part of a finite verb or acting as an adjective. a) The battered ship reached the harbor just as the storm abated. b) The grade head fixed the dishonest student with a probing look. c) Vincent had been trying to get an appointment at the ministry for weeks. d) Zoe had just replied to the message when her phone rang. e) Dried fruit is a quick and easy snack. f) The contents of the pot were boiling over the edge. g) Add the potatoes to the boiling water. h) Mrs Broad scolded the children for tracking mud onto her newly washed floors. i) Kurt was realising just how far he still had to go. j) Running water is a privilege not many of us appreciate. k) The librarian glared at the sniggering children.
A present participle can even act as a noun – then it is known as a gerund. e.g. Dr Quanson will never get away with murdering his wife. e.g. Killing her was a big mistake.
*** A test to see if a participle is a gerund is to put the phrase “the activity of” in front of the gerund. If the sentence still works, it is a gerund. *** e.g. Dr Quanson will never get away with the activity of murdering his wife. e.g. The activity of killing her was a big mistake.
Exercise 9
Say whether the participles underline in the following sentences are gerunds or not. a) Gardening is a good hobby to relieve stress. b) Steaming vegetables is better than boiling them. c) Real estate agents are very skilled at making dumps sound like palaces. d) Her grandfather was showing her photos of him and her grandmother when they were her age. e) Peeping eyes stared back at her through the window. f) Travelling can be very stressful for some people. g) Ursula is going on Eurotour next year. h) Poaching rhinos should be a capital crime. i) The teacher emphasised the importance of summarising and revising one’s work. There are present participles and past participles.
Present participles all end in an “-ing” e.g. (is) skiing, (are) sailing, (were) swimming, (will be) putting
Past participles generally (but not always) end in “-ed” e.g. (has) walked, (was) stirred, (have) created Some exceptions are: (has) swum, (was) given, (have) shown
Don’t confuse a verb of simple past tense with a past participle – a participle always appears with an auxiliary verb in its verb form. e.g. I walked away from him. (simple past tense) I had walked only a few steps before he called me back. (past participle)
Exercise 10
Write down all the participles, past and present, in the following sentences. (There may be more than one per sentence in some cases.) a) Once the gate had opened, the car drove down the winding road. b) The exhausted Olympic swimmer had been feeling out of sorts for a week. c) The little girl was throwing a huge tantrum right there in the middle of the aisle. d) Being there for one another is vital in a friendship. e) Benny has dived from the highest diving board. f) The Grade 8 class was told to watch out for Mr Flannigan. g) Slamming the door is not a good idea, even if you are fuming about your parents’ grounding you. h) The sinking ship looked like a toy boat tossing on the stormy sea. i) Franz had gone to watch the movie without his brother. j) Failing the test had taught Osmond a lesson. k) Jocelyn has been diligently working on her assignment for the last month. l) Posting unflattering photos of someone without their permission is seen as cyberbullying.
Strong verbs
“Strong” verbs are verbs that are more descriptive than the ordinary verbs we use every day. They give the reader a clearer and more colourful picture of events. This is useful when writing essays. e.g. Eugene walked across the field. Eugene marched across the field. Eugene limped across the field. Eugene shuffled across the field. Eugene scurried across the field. Eugene shot across the field.
Each one of these verbs hints at different story whereas “walks” can be used in almost any situation and therefore doesn’t give the reader as clear a picture as the others.
Exercise 11
Replace each of the verbs underlined in the following sentences with a “stronger” verb without changing the core meaning of the sentence. a) The class looked at the example the teacher was doing on the board. b) Gloria put the book down on the table. c) Lawson took the cellphone from her hand. d) The waves came onto the beach. e) Theo said, “That is my laptop.” f) Isha ran across the quad. g) Quentin looked at Cheyenne angrily. h) The young boy spoke to his friend sitting next to him.
Exercise 12
Write a paragraph of 10 to 15 lines in which you describe how a student arrives at school just as the first bell for registration rings and tries to get to class before the second bell rings. Be conscious of using strong verbs.
VERBS
You need to be able to: Identify which words in a sentence are verbs. Give the correct past, present and future tense of given verbs Identify finite verbs in a sentence (including any auxiliary verbs) Identify non-finite verbs in a sentence and say whether they are infinitives or participles Identify gerunds in a sentence Use “strong” verbs to improve your writing