{"id":92,"date":"2017-09-04T06:22:52","date_gmt":"2017-09-04T06:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/?page_id=92"},"modified":"2018-06-12T15:21:50","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T15:21:50","slug":"verbs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/verbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Verbs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a>\u00a0Workshop Index<\/a>\u00a0Next Lesson \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Verbs<\/h1>\n

While nouns describe the who and what of the sentence, verbs<\/strong><\/abbr> describe the action.<\/p>\n

The Chihuahua sauntered down the lane.<\/p>\n

The chef simmers the succotash.<\/p>\n

He gave her his all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Verbs can be singular<\/strong><\/abbr> or plural, so we choose the verb that goes with the subject’s number.\u00a0Note that collective nouns in the subject (such as money below) are usually treated as if they were singular nouns and are\u00a0given singular verbs.<\/p>\n

Singular Noun and Verb <\/em><\/p>\n

The tiger shark jumps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

She eats<\/strong> a banana every morning.<\/p>\n

Money makes<\/strong> the world go around.<\/p>\n

The murder of crows caws<\/strong> portentously.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Plural Noun and Verb <\/em><\/p>\n

Sara and Tony contemplate<\/strong> which mango would taste best.<\/p>\n

Cynics wonder<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They munch<\/strong> their way through a wonderful picnic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Collective nouns may be treated as plurals when the individuals behave independently rather than as a group.<\/p>\n

My family live<\/strong> in different towns near Vermillionville.<\/p>\n

The jury are<\/strong> deadlocked<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Types of Verbs<\/h4>\n

An intransitive verb<\/strong><\/abbr> does not\u00a0need a direct object.<\/strong><\/abbr><\/p>\n

The lightning flashed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She spoke<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A transitive verb<\/strong><\/abbr> requires\u00a0a direct object<\/strong><\/abbr> to complete its meaning.<\/p>\n

He caught<\/strong> the first flight<\/strong> to Kenya.<\/p>\n

Her imagination took her<\/strong> away.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A linking verb<\/strong><\/abbr> links subject<\/strong><\/abbr> and subject complement.<\/strong><\/abbr><\/p>\n

She was<\/strong> tired.<\/p>\n

The musician turned <\/strong>white.<\/p>\n

The music became<\/strong> his obsession.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A helping verb<\/strong><\/abbr> helps a verb form a certain tense or distinction and is placed before the verb it helps. Helping verbs include be, can, do, have, and will and are also called auxiliary verbs.<\/strong><\/abbr><\/p>\n

I could<\/strong> eat another chocolate truffle, if you insist.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll<\/strong> never know how lucky they were.<\/p>\n

I am<\/strong> knitting your present right now.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Active and Passive Verb Voice<\/h4>\n

Besides being singular or plural, verbs can also be active or passive. An active verb emphasizes the subject, and the subject does the action of the verb. A passive verb emphasizes the direct object or the verb itself, and the subject receives the action of the verb. Notice that in some cases, passive sentences lack the clarity of their active counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Active Voice<\/strong><\/td>\n Passive Voice<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Greg pulled<\/strong> the wagon.<\/td>\nThe wagon was pulled<\/strong> by Greg.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The bulldog’s walk painted<\/strong> a picture of grace and ease.<\/td>\nA picture of grace and ease was painted<\/strong> by the bulldog\u2019s walk.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
She found<\/strong> her truest self.<\/td>\nHer truest self was found<\/strong> by her.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Verb Tense<\/h4>\n

As you can see, active voice and passive voice contribute to verb form. Besides depending on verb voice, verb tense<\/strong><\/abbr> depends on time, continuation, and when the action happened in relation to other events.<\/p>\n

Past tense<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe a specific time in the past.<\/p>\n

Active: I walked<\/strong> the dog.<\/p>\n

Passive: The dog was walked <\/strong>by me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Past perfect<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe an action that occurred in the past before another event in the past.<\/p>\n

Active : That day, I had walked<\/strong> the dog before I fed the cat.<\/p>\n

Passive : That day, the dog had been walked <\/strong>by me before I fed the cat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Past progressive<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe an action occurring and continuing to occur in the past, often at the same time something else happened.<\/p>\n

Active: I was walking<\/strong> the dog when I remembered the delight of learning grammar.<\/p>\n

Passive : The dog was being walked <\/strong>by me when I remembered the delight of learning grammar.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Past perfect progressive<\/strong><\/abbr> tense verbs describe a continuing action in the past that occurred before another event in the past. Notice that the definition for past perfect progressive looks a bit like the definitions for past perfect and past progressive combined.<\/p>\n

Active : I had been walking<\/strong> the dog when I had a bright idea.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Passive voice is not usually used with perfect progressive tenses, and here’s why<\/strong><\/abbr> if you feel curious.<\/p>\n

Present tense<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs take place now or could take place now.<\/p>\n

Active: I walk<\/strong> the dog.<\/p>\n

Passive: The dog is walked <\/strong>by me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Present perfect<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe actions that have happened one or more times before now. Watch out for this verb tense. The perfect tenses describe actions taking place in relation to a specific time or event; in present perfect tense, that specific time is now (the present). It gets tricky because the time before now is the past!<\/p>\n

Active : I have <\/strong>walked<\/strong> the dog once a week since January.<\/p>\n

Passive : The dog has been walked <\/strong>by me once a week since January.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Present progressive<\/strong><\/abbr> describe what is happening and continuing to happen now.<\/p>\n

Active : I am walking<\/strong> the dog right now.<\/p>\n

Passive: The dog is being walked <\/strong>by me now.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Present perfect progressive<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe actions that have happened one or more times before now and are continuing to happen.<\/p>\n

Active : Since January, I have been walking<\/strong> the dog.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Future<\/strong><\/abbr> tense verbs describe what could happen in the future.<\/p>\n

Active: I will walk<\/strong> the dog.<\/p>\n

Passive : The dog will be walked <\/strong>by me tomorrow.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Future perfect<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe what will happen by a specific time in the future.<\/p>\n

Active : I will have walked<\/strong> the dog twice before the day is over.<\/p>\n

Passive : The dog will have been walked <\/strong>by me twice before the day is over.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Future progressive<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe something that will continue to occur in the future.<\/p>\n

Active: I will be walking<\/strong> the dog every day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Future perfect progressive<\/strong><\/abbr> verbs describe an action that will continue to occur before a specific time in the future.<\/p>\n

Active: This October, I will<\/strong> have been walking<\/strong> the dog for 13 years. It’s your turn!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Just relax about verb tense. If you’d like a little extra help, here’s a trick.<\/strong><\/abbr><\/p>\n

Regular and Irregular Verbs<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Regular verbs<\/strong><\/abbr> do just what you’d expect them to do. Most verbs follow these rules. Recall that the past participle<\/strong><\/abbr> is the form a verb takes to show a more complicated verb tense. Examples include: will have walked, have sauntered, has galloped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Present<\/strong><\/td>\nPast<\/strong><\/td>\n Past Participle<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
walk<\/td>\nwalked<\/td>\nwalked<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
saunter<\/td>\nsauntered<\/td>\nsauntered<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gallop<\/td>\ngalloped<\/td>\ngalloped<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Irregular verbs<\/strong><\/abbr> do not follow the rules for verb tense. Here are a few of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Present<\/strong><\/td>\nPast<\/strong><\/td>\n Past Participle<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
become<\/td>\nbecame<\/td>\nbecome<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
choose<\/td>\nchose<\/td>\nchosen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
do<\/td>\ndid<\/td>\ndone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
eat<\/td>\nate<\/td>\neaten<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
go<\/td>\nwent<\/td>\ngone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
get<\/td>\ngot<\/td>\ngotten, got<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ride<\/td>\nrode<\/td>\nridden<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
see<\/td>\nsaw<\/td>\nseen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
swing<\/td>\nswung<\/td>\nswung<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
take<\/td>\ntook<\/td>\ntaken<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
write<\/td>\nwrite<\/td>\nwritten<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Consistent Verb Tense<\/h4>\n

Use a consistent verb tense in the same sentence and in related paragraphs. Don’t change tenses (sometimes called shifting)<\/strong><\/abbr> unless helpful to the meaning of the sentence<\/p>\n

Instead of : The painter completed<\/strong> the mural and was taking<\/strong> a nap.<\/p>\n

Use : The painter completed<\/strong> the mural and took<\/strong> a nap.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Question<\/h4>\n

Choose the sentence with a verb-related error.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The judge retires to her office after she had a long day.<\/li>\n
  2. Gabrielle sent a dozen roses to her mother before she departed for New Zealand.<\/li>\n
  3. A gaggle of geese was all they needed to complete their dream of the perfect farm.<\/li>\n
  4. Mary Sue and Mary Jane shared a first name and a dorm room.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n

    Choice A contains the error. The verb form shifts from present (retires) to past (had) without a contextual reason. B contains a transitive verb (sent) appropriately accompanied by an object (a dozen roses). C contains a singular collective noun in the subject (gaggle) and the correct singular verb (was). Note that sentence C is also in passive voice. The compound subject in answer D, Mary Sue and Mary Jane, is accompanied by a singular verb, shared.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a>\u00a0Workshop Index<\/a>\u00a0Next Lesson \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n

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    \u2b05 Previous Lesson\u00a0Workshop Index\u00a0Next Lesson \u27a1 Verbs While nouns describe the who and what of the sentence, verbs describe the action. The Chihuahua sauntered down the lane. The chef simmers the succotash. He gave her his all. Verbs can be singular or plural, so we choose the verb that goes with the subject’s number.\u00a0Note that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-92","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":608,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92\/revisions\/608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}