VERBS

1. VERBS

2. What is a verb? • A verb is a word that expresses action or state of being. • Every complete sentence has a verb.

3. Main verb • In many sentences, a single word is all that is needed to express the action or the state of being. • The dog barked all night. • Brett throws the ball a long way. • Mr. Rivera is the new English teacher.

4. HELPING VERBS • In other sentences, the verb consists of a main verb and one or more helping verbs. • A helping verb helps the main verb to express action or a state of being. • I canspeakboth Spanish and English. • She will learn how to write in kindergarten. • The cat should have been fed this morning. • Together, the main verb and the helping verb are called a verb phrase.

5. Common helping verbs

6. main verbs and helping verbs cont. • Sometimes a verb phrase is interrupted by another part of speech. • Suzanneshouldnotcallso late at night. • The scientists didn’tthinkthe asteroid would hit the earth. • DidyouwatchJustin Bieber’s new video?

7. identifying verb phrases and helping verbs • The Petrified Forest has long attracted many tourists. • Its spectacular beauty has captured their imaginations. • Visitors can see the Painted Desert at the same time. • The colors of the desert do not remain the same for long. • Specimens of petrified wood are exhibited at the tourist information center.

8. identifying verb phrases and helping verbs, continued • Have you ever seen a piece of petrified wood? • A guide will gladly explain the process of petrification. • Visitors can purchase the fossilized wood as a souvenir. • Tours of the Petrified Forest are not recommended for amateur hikers. • Hikes must be arranged with park rangers.

9. identifying verbs • Long ago, many people could not read. • Instead, they would memorize stories. • Then they would tell the stories to their family members and friends. • In this way, the people, or folk, passed the tales on from generation to generation. • Finally, some people wrote the collected stories.

10. identifying verbs, continued • Two German brothers, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, published a famous collection of German folk tales. • The brothers had heard many of the tales from their older relatives. • Their collection of stories became extremely popular all over the world. • “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” and “Rumpelstiltskin” were all preserved by the brothers Grimm. • In your library, you can probably find these tales and many others, too.

11. action verbs • An action verb expresses either physical or mental activity. • PHYSICAL: • I have used a computer in math class. • Please cook dinner, Jerome. • MENTAL: • Fran understands the science assignments better than anyone else does. • The magician is thinking of a number.

12. Identifying action verbs • The Maricopa people live in Arizona. • The Maricopa make unusual pottery. • For this pottery they use two kinds of clay. • One kind of clay forms the bowl or platter itself. • The other kind of clay color s the pottery. • First, the potters mold the clay by hand.

13. identifying action verbs • Then, they shape it into beautiful bowls and vases. • With the second type of clay, the potters create designs. • They often etch designs on the pottery with a toothpick. • Each family of potters has its own special designs. • These designs preserve Maricopa traditions from generation to generation.

14. Linking verbs • A linking verb connects, or links, the subject to a word or word group that identifies or describes the subject. • Sandra Cisnerosisa writer. • The firefighter had appeared victorious. • The new superintendent was she.

15. identifying linking verbs • Peanut soup made from fresh roasted peanuts tastes good. • Peanuts remain an important crop around the world. • Peanuts grow ripe underground. • The seeds are the edible part of the plant. • The peanut has become an important ingredient in more than three hundred common products, such as wood stains, shampoo, printer’s ink, and soap.

16. identifying linking verbs, continued • Of course, roasting peanuts smell wonderful. • Peanut butter was the invention of a St. Louis doctor in 1890. • Before then, thanks to George Washington Carver, the peanut had become one of the major crops of the South. • Carver, a scientist who experimented with peanuts and other plants, had been a slave. • It may seem strange, but carver once prepared an entire dinner out of peanuts.

17. Making the choice: action or linking? • Some verbs can act as an action verb or a linking verb, depending on how they are used in the sentence. • I smellthe flower. (action verb) • The flower smells fragrant. (linking verb)

19. HINT: THE EQUAL SIGN • A good way to test if a verb is action or linking is to replace the verb with an equal sign. If it is a linking verb, it will still make sense. If it is an action verb, it will sound confusing. • They sounded the bell for a fire drill. • Mom sounded happy about her new job. • They = the bell for a fire drill. - ACTION • Mom = happy about her new job. - LINKING

20. identifying action and linking verbs • One of the most successful business leaders in the United States is John Johnson. • Johnson publishes many popular magazines. • Johnson’s life was not easy. • The small Arkansas town of his childhood had no high school. • Therefore, Johnson’s mother moved to Chicago. • In Chicago, Johnson attended high school with Nat “King” Cole.

21. identifying action and linking verbs • During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Johnson’s family grew very poor. • However, Johnson studied hard. • He became an honor student and the class president. • Johnson started his first magazine with a loan. • Now he is the owner of a group of companies worth $200 million per year.