Lesson 2 - Verbs
A verb is a word or more than one word (verb phrase) that is used to express an action or a state of being of the subject. The verb is an essential element in the construction of a sentence as almost every sentence has a verb. Without a verb, a sentence is left incomplete.
Most sentences consist of a noun as the subject and a predicate. The predicate typically includes one or more verbs. The verb follows the subject, to which it must match in number, even if there are words intervening between them (see Lesson 8 - Subject-Verb Agreement ). The verb in turn is followed by an object or a complement.
A verb takes the infinitive form which includes the word to (to paint, to walk) or a conjugated regular form (paint/paints, walk/walked) that is used in accordance with a grammatical classification such as person, tense or voice.
The conjugated irregular verb form introduces a change in its spelling (go/went/gone), or a change in its ending (hide/hid/hidden). Such modification of a verb to express a different grammatical category is also called inflection .
A verb that is used in a sentence is usually an action verb or a linking verb . An action verb describes the physical or mental action of the subject . A linking verb links the subject to the rest of the sentence that provides information about the subject .
A verb can be just a word.
Examples:
- She greets me.
- They left early.
A verb can be more than one word.
Examples:
- He is washing his car..
- You have broken my window..
An action verb takes an object.
Examples:
- Lee drives a car. ( Subject : Lee / Object : car)
- Someone has eaten my pizza. ( Subject : someone / Object : pizza)
A verb may not have an object.
Examples:
- The sun shines.
- It is raining..
A verb connects the subject to a complement.
The complement or subject complement can be a noun or an adjective.
Examples:
- They are my brothers. ( Subject : they / Complement : brothers)
- She is beautiful. ( Subject : she / Complement : beautiful)
Position of verbs
A verb usually follows the subject:
Examples:
- She smiles.
- The clown rides on a circus horse.
A word (intervening word) may come between the subject and the verb.
It doesn’t affect anything . The usual grammatical rules still apply: the subject and verb must agree with one another in number (singular or plural). If a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural. The intervening words are in bold in these examples.
Examples:
- I accidentally bumped my head on the bookshelf.
- She never talks about school.
A word may come between the verbs that make up a verb phrase
The verb phrase is in bold as shown here.
Examples:
- She had recently come out of a prison.
- Her cottage was partially hidden behind some trees.
A verb may come before the subject
If the word here or there begins a sentence, a verb will come before the subject.
Examples:
-
Here
comes the king.
(The subject king comes after the verb comes .)
-
There
was an eagle perched on his right shoulder.
(The subject eagle comes after the verb was .)
If a sentence begins with a phrase (underlined), the subject typically follows the verb.
Examples:
-
Across the mountain and through the narrow valley
was a dried-up stream.
(The subject stream comes after the verb was . ) -
Waving to passing trains
is
his
hobby
.
(The subject eagle comes after the verb was .)
Sometimes a sentence can be reversed without affecting its meaning if the subject and its object are the same.
Examples:
-
That monkey was the one that snatched her bag.
The one that snatched her bag was that monkey. -
My uncle is the village’s only professional wrestler.
The village’s only professional wrestler is my uncle.
In most questions , the verb comes before the subject.
Examples:
-
Is she ready to go?
(The subject she comes after the auxiliary verb is . )
-
Do you want to come along?
(The subjectyou comes after the helping verb do .)