1.0 What do Verbs Do? Review of Verbs

1.1 Existence and Action: Action and Non-Action Verbs

How do you think the universe, the earth, moon and stars started to exist?  To exist means that something IS—the opposite of IS NOT.  Five years before you were born, you did not exist, but now you do.  Many scientists, philosophers, scientists and religions have tried to answer the question of how the earth and the universe started to exist.  But at least most people think that the earth and the universe exist, and we believe that we exist.

So, we have existence.  But existence changes!  This is movement—action!  Action is simply something that changes in time.  Sometimes, something causes change—there is an effect!  English verbs also do this.  English verbs express that something exists, that things move and change, and that there is cause and effect.  It is not the only language to do this, and it is not the ‘correct way’, but it does do it in its own unique way.

1.2 Kinds of Verbs in English

• There are two kinds of verbs in English: verbs of action and non-action verbs that say that something exists (it is or is not).
• English verbs can also express cause and effect relationships, but these are also action verbs.

1.2.1 Action Verbs

• Someone/something does something.

1.2.2 Non-Action Verbs

• Existence (BE) verbs.
  • Non-action verbs used to describe something.
  • Someone/thing does not act or do something.  It simply is—it exists or does not exist.  We often use it to describe something—HOW it exists.

1.3 Where do Verbs go in a Sentence?

• In English, verbs normally go after the subject of the sentence.
  • But NOT in a question.  In a question, the verb or the helping verb goes before the person or thing which does or produces an action.
• The subject of the sentence is the person or thing doing or producing an action OR
• The subject of the sentence is described using the verb BE plus a describing word or an adverb.

1.4 What are Verb Tenses?

Verb tenses are different forms of verbs.  They give information on when something happens, for how long something happens, and tell us that there is an effect of something that happens.

There are three verb tenses:

• Simple
• Continuous (sometimes called Progressive)
• Perfect
• Perfect Continuous

Each verb tense has a past, present and future form:

• Simple Past, Simple Present, Simple Future
• Past Continuous, Present Continuous, Future Continuous
• Past Perfect, Present Perfect, Future Perfect
• Past Perfect Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous

1.5 Main Verbs, Helping Verbs and Linking Verbs

1.5.1 Main Verbs

• Follow the subject of the sentence and can be either an action verb or a non-action verb.

1.5.2 Helping Verbs

• Are non-action verbs.
• These mostly have a grammar function, sometimes showing verb tense or number.

  Examples

  Kaori is watching a movie.  (helping verb ‘is’ matches the singular subject ‘Kaori’ to make the verb also singular.)

  I will eat dinner at 6:00 p.m.  (‘will’ makes this verb a future tense verb.)

• Helping verbs always come before the main verb.  They are actually non-action verbs and only carry the meaning of existence (is, is not).

  Examples

  I am walking.

  She has been walking.

  They will not be here.

1.5.3 Linking Verbs

Linking verbs are non-action verbs that link the subject of a sentence with a describing word.  While helping verbs have the meaning of existence (is, is not), they may also have a descriptive, observational or predictive purpose—the speaker is observing something and making a prediction of what they think is true.

1.5.3.1 Some Linking Verbs

Verb BE (is, are, will be, am, etc.), seems, looks, feels, smells.

1.5.3.2 The Descriptive Purpose of Linking Verbs

The describing word can be either a noun, adjective, adverb, participle (verb serving as an adjective) or preposition phrase that gives information about the subject of the sentence.  Preposition phrases can act like either ad verbs or adjectives.

For more information and for exercises on Linking Verbs, see chapter 3 on sentence structure (4.5 Subject-Linking Verb-Modifier on part II).

2.0 Verb Forms: Participles, Gerunds and Infinitives

Many words in English function as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.  However, they can also have other forms with the same meanings.

However, verbs can also have change forms which have other purposes.  Participles, gerunds and infinitives are verb forms in which you take a verb and modify it to serve the function of participles or a nouns.

2.1 Participles

Participles can be used in passive verbs, as adjectives or as the helping verb of Perfect Tense Verbs.  They can also have active and passive forms.

Verbs can be made into participles by adding -ed or by using the participle form of the verb (see irregular verbs chart in appendix A).

2.2 Gerunds or Infinitives

Gerunds and infinitives are originally verbs, but they are used as nouns in a sentence.  They can serve as the subject, the object, or the object of a preposition in a preposition phrase.  While they serve as nouns in the sentence, they still have some properties of verbs.  They can have an object like a verb.