A verb is often defined as a word which shows action or state of being.

The verb is the heart of a sentence - every sentence must have a verb. Recognizing the verb is often the most important step in understanding the meaning of a sentence. In the sentence The dog bit the man, bit is the verband the word which shows the action of the sentence. In the sentence The man is sitting on a chair, even though the action doesn't show much activity,sitting is the verb of the sentence. In the sentence She is a smart girl, there is no action but a state of being expressed by the verb is. The word be is different from other verbs in many ways but can still be thought of as a verb. Unlike most of the other parts of speech, verbs change their form. Sometimes endings are added (learn - learned) and sometimes the word itself becomes different (teach-taught). The different forms of verbs show different meanings related to such things as tense (past, present, future), person(first person, second person, third person), number (singular, plural) and voice (active, passive). Verbs are also often accompanied by verb-like words called modals (may, could, should, etc.) and auxiliaries(do, have, will, etc.) to give them different meanings. One of the most important things about verbs is their relationship to time. Verbs tell if something has already happened, if it will happen later, or if it is happening now. For things happening now, we use the present tense of a verb; for something that has already happened, we use the past tense; and for something that will happen later, we use the future tense. Some examples of verbs in each tense are in the chart below:

Present look move talk

Past looked moved talked

Future will look will move will talk

Verbs like those in the chart above that form the past tense by adding -d or ed are called regular verbs. Some of the most common verbs are not regular and the different forms of the verb must be learned. Some examples of such irregular verbs are in the chart below:

Present see hear speak

Past saw heard spoke

Future will see will hear will speak

The charts above show the simple tenses of the verbs. There are also progressive or continuous forms which show that the action takes place over a period of time, and perfect forms which show completion of the action. These forms will be discussed more in other lessons, but a few examples are given in the chart below:

Present Continuous is looking is speaking is talking

Present Perfect has looked has spoken has talked

Simple present tense verbs have a special form for the third person singular. Singular means "one" and plural means "more than one." Person is used here to show who or what does the action and can have the following forms: 1st person or the self (I, we) 2nd person or the person spoken to (you) 3rd person or a person not present (he, she, it, they) The third person singular forms are represented by the pronouns he, she, it. The chart below shows how the third person singular verb form changes:

Singular 1st Person (I) see hear come see hear come sees hears comes 1st Person (we)

Plural see hear come see hear come see hear come

2nd Person (you)

2nd Person (you)

3rd Person (he, she, it)

3rd Person (they)

A verb must "agree" with its subject. Subject-verb agreement generally means that the third person singular verb form must be used with a third person subject in the simple present tense. The word be - the most irregular and also most common verb in English - has different forms for each person and even for the simple past tense. The forms of the word be are given in the chart below:

Number Singular

Person 1st (I) 2nd (you) 3rd (he, she, it) 1st (we) 2nd (you) 3rd (they)

Plural

Present am are is are are are

Past was were was were were were

Future will be will be will be will be will be will be

Usually a subject comes before a verb and an object may come after it. The subject is what does the action of the verb and the object is what receives the action. In the sentence Bob ate a humburger, Bob is the subject or the one who did the eating and the hamburger is the object or what got eaten. A verbwhich has an object is called a transitive verb and some examples are throw, buy, hit, love. A verb which has no object is called an intransitive verb and some examples are go, come, walk, listen. As you can see in the charts above, verbs are often made up of more than one word. The future forms, for example, use the word will and the perfect forms use the word have. These words are called helping or auxiliary verbs. The word be can serve as an auxiliary and will and shall are alsoauxiliary forms. The chart below shows two other verbs which can also be used as auxiliaries:

Number 1st (I) Singular 2nd (you) 3rd (he, she, it) 1st (we) Plural 2nd (you)

Person

Present have do have do has does have do have do

Past had did had did had did had did had did

3rd (they)

have do

had did

There is a type of auxiliary verb called a modal which changes the meaning of a verb in different ways. Words like can, should, would, may, might, andmust are modals and are covered in other lessons. There are other lessons that cover the use of verbs. This lesson presents some of the important features of verbs and also shows some common forms. Review this lesson as many times as you want, and when you are ready, take the pop quiz on this chapter. END OF CHAPTER 3

Transitive Verbs: These verbs involve a direct object.

Example 1: The boy throws the ball. Here throws is the verb and ball is the direct object. Example 2: The man reads the book. Here reads is the verb and book is the direct object

List of Verbs, Verb Examples

Accept Achieve Add Admire Admit Adopt Advise Agree Allow Disagree Drag Drive Drop Earn Eat Employ Obey Offend Offer Open Paint Pay Pick

Encourage Play Enjoy Pray Print

Announce Establish

Appreciate Estimate Approve Argue Arrive Ask Assist Attack Bake Bathe Be Beat Become Beg Behave Bet Boast Boil Borrow Breathe Bring Build Burn Bury Buy Call Catch Exercise Expand Explain Fear Feel Fight Find Fly Forget Forgive Fry Gather Get Give Glow Greet Grow Guess Harass Hate Hear Help Hit Hope Identify

Pull Punch Punish Purchase Push Quit Race Read Relax Remember Reply Retire Rub See Select Sell Send Sing Snore Stand Stare Start Stink Study Sweep Swim Take

Challenge Interrupt

Change Cheat Chew Choose Clap Clean Collect Compare

Introduce Talk Irritate Jump Keep Kick Kiss Laugh Learn Teach Tear Tell Thank Travel Type Understand Use Visit Wait Walk Want Warn Wed Weep Wink Worry Write Yell

Complain Leave Confess Confuse Construct Control Copy Count Create Cry Damage Dance Deliver
Destroy

Lend Lie Like Listen Lose Love Make Marry Measure Meet Move
Murder

Action verbs tell about something a person, animal, force of nature or thing can do or be. Can you cry, march, rinse, or turn? Can the wind blow or a cup fall? Yes, those are all actions. Use this list to think of other action verbs.

add allow bake bang call chase damage

drop end escape fasten fix gather grab

hang hug imagine itch jog jump kick

knit land lock march mix name notice

obey open pass promise question reach rinse

scatter stay talk turn untie use vanish

visit walk work yawn yell zip zoom

Verbs also use special rules for telling when something happened - in the past, the present, or the future. Here is a list of examples for each verb tense using the verb break. Try putting other verbs in the place of break.

Example sentences

She came across some old love letters. The small dog was reluctant to learn new things. Finally, we can afford to buy a new house. Walking on the ice, she slipped and fell. Open the door to let the fresh air in. To make lemonade, you first need some lemons.
1) I am "running" outside today 2) I "ran" outside today 3) I am "cooking" dinner 4) I am "returning" home 5) I am "making" a phone call 6) I am "speaking" on the phone 7) I "spoke" to my mother 8) I am "eating" lunch 9) I "ate" lunch 10) I am "singing" a song 11) I "took" a photograph 12) I am going to "take" a picture 13) I "bought" this car 14) I "need" money 15) I "Understand" what you are saying 16) I "Understood" what you said 17) I "put on" a hat 18) I "reside" in a house 19) I "fell" down 20) I "jumped" over the cat

bend - He bent the branch until it broke. break - My boy has broken three windows this week! buy - Janice bought a new watch last week. - Have you caught the flu? come - We came home earlier yesterday. cut - How pieces have you cut? draw - She drew a beautiful picture in class. drink - I was so thirsty I drank two bottles of water. drive - Have you ever driven across the US? eat - We ate lunch early today. find - Have you found him yet? fly - Cheryl flew to Brazil last month. forget - Have you forgotten (forgot - UK) you had an appointment? give - They gave us an early appointment. go - Have you ever gone on vacation alone? grow - She grew up very poor. have - I had some toast for breakfast. hit - He's hit me three times! hold - She held on tightly and entered the tunnel. keep - Have you kept your word to Peter?

Because it was starting to rain outside, Mary reached for her umbrella. Reaching a something Mary can doespecially if she doesnt want to get wet. Jennifer watched the pretty birds building a nest. Watching is something that Jennifer can do. The fireworks exploded in the night sky. Exploding is something fireworks can do and they do it very well! The water churned and boiled over the hot flame. Churning and boiling is something water can do.

Verb sentences:

1.

My dog was scratching the door.

2. I was flicking the flies with a fly-squatter. 3. I touched the bottom of my foot. 4. He recited a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. 5. She sang a beautiful song. 6. The kid plays quietly in his room. 7. I studied for my exam. 8. I cried for no reason. 9. My flowers died. 10. They picked the white roses.

11. His dad fixed my car. 12. I ate all the cake by myself. 13. Why did you kick me? 14. The cat licked himself. 15. He ran the other way. 16. The movie showed violent scenes. 17. The lady wrecked her jeep. 18. I prayed for you. 19. Who drank my soda? 20. The students brought their books home. 21. Mary bought some new shoes. 22. Coach Roy screamed at us. 23. Mom washed the dishes. 24. Dad cleaned the rest of the house. 25. Grandpa watched TV. 26. Grandma baked pies. 27. Lucy reorganized her closet. 28. Michael fed the animals. 29. Betty yelled at Scot. 30. Henry wrote a letter to the President. 31. Vickie hugged her baby brother. 32. Tommy read a book. 33. Stephanie helped Michael with his homework. 34. Jason rode a bike. 35. Erica vacuumed her room. 36. Rudy danced to the music. 37. Priscilla punched the wall. 38. William milked the cow. 39. Judy was juggling fruit. 40. George programmed the remote. 41. Doris stopped the school bus. 42. Felipe fumbled the ball. 43. Marcus auditioned for the role of Romeo. 44. Kelly threw a stick at me. 45. Richard stole a toy from his brother. 46. Jessica lied about her weight. 47. Nicolas groaned in pain.

48. Amy dyed her hair pink. 49. Lester cut the tree down. 50. Yesenia poured coffee in mom's cup. 51. Kevin mowed the lawn. 52. Laura jumped over the fence. 53. Oscar pushed the door open. 54. Quincy drove his dad's truck without permission. 55. Rita tickled her dog Delilah. 56. Bret killed a rat.

Speak

Swim

Deliver

Handwrite

Cut

Push

Dyed hair

Dance

Watch tv

Eat

Cry

Flicking

Juggling fruit

Prayed

Wash

Clean

Fixed

Touch