Understanding Verbs: Past, Present, and Future Tense

1. Verbs: past, present, and future tense By :Alexis Kitchens

2. Verbs • A verb is a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence , and forming a main part of the predicate of a sentence, such as, hear, become, and happen • A verb can express a physical action, a mental action or a state of being • These are examples of some verbs… • Abide ,accelerate ,accept, accomplish ,achieve acquire, acted, back ,bake ,balance ,ban , bang, bare, drop,end,escape,fasten,fix,gather,grab..etc • Verbs are perhaps the most important part of speech in the English language.

3. Verbs that express physical actions • Many verbs express physical actions. • She sells pegs and lucky heather. • (In this example, the word sells is a verb. It expresses the physical activity to sell.) • The doctor wrote the prescription. • (In this example, the word wrote is a verb. It expresses the physical activity to write.) • Alison bought a ticket. • (The word bought is a verb. It expresses the physical activity to buy.)

4. Verbs that express mental actions • She considers the job done. • (The word considers is a verb. It expresses the mental activity to consider.) • Peter guessed the right number. • (The word guessed is a verb. It expresses the mental activity to guess.) • I thought the same thing. • (The word thought is a verb. It expresses the mental activity to think.)

5. Verbs that express a state of being • A small, but extremely important group of verbs do not express any activity at all. The most important verb in this group being the verb to be. • this is seen in forms like is, are, were, was, will be, etc. • Edwina is the largest elephant in this area. • (The word isis a verb from the verb to be.)It was a joke. • (The word was is a verb from the verb to be.)I am. • (The word am is a verb from the verb to be.)(I am is the shortest sentence in English.)

6. Cart of the verb to be

7. Helping verbs • Helping verbs, also called auxiliary verbs, do not stand alone or express action but are apart of verb phrases that “help” the main verb. • Helping verbs define the tense (past, perfect, future) or change the meaning of the main verb • Do you need a tissue? • ( do is the helping verb) • We are helping the third-grade class. • ( are is the helping verb) • Hank might have been driving the wrong way. • (have is the helping verb

8. Helping verbs • These are some common helping verbs… • May, might, must, be, being, been, am, are, is, was, were, do, does, did, should, could, would, have, had, has, will, can, shall • The three primary helping verbs are be, do, and have • Beis used .. to make continuous tenses (He is watching TV.) • to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big fish.) • Have is used .. to make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework.) • Do is used… to make negatives (I do not like you.) • to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?) • to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your exam.) • to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks faster than she does.)

9. Linking verbs • Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. • Some words can function both as a linking verb and an action verb • My sister is smart.( isis the linking verb) • The picture appeared blurry. ( appeared is the linking verb) • Your supper smells delicious. • (smells is the linking verb)

10. Linking verbs • The following are some linking verbs.. • Am, are, are, being, appear, be, become, feel, get, grow, have/has, been, is, lie, look, might be, might have been, prove, remain, seem, sit, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn, were • Forms of to be are sometimes used as linking verbs such as is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been etc. • Linking verbs can describe and rename the subject

11. Irregular verbs and regular verbs • Irregular verbs are unlike regular verbs whose conjugation follows the typical pattern of the language it belongs to. • Therefore irregular verbs’ conjugation follows a different pattern • Some irregular verbs are.. • Awake, be, beat, become, bend, bite, blow, buy, come, dig, do ,draw, drink, eat, fall, feel, fight, forget, get, go, grow, hang, have, hit, keep, lay, lead, make, read..etc • With regular verbs the past simple and past particle always end in –ed • With irregular verbs, there is no rule.

12. Irregular verbs and regular verbs chart Regular verbs Irregular verbs

13. Conjugation of verbs • A verb will change it’s form depending on the subject • Ex: I write / He writes • Ex: The camel laughs / The jackals laugh • When verbs change in this way it is called conjugation. • The subject of the verb can be in six forms: I, You, He/she/it , We, You ,and They • The first three forms are singular forms (first person, second person and third person singular) • The second three are plural forms ( first person, second person, and third person plural)

14. Conjugation of verbs • The infinitive form of a verbs is when a verb is preceded by the word to it is said to be in it’s infinitive form or most basic form • I have to smoke that! (to smoke - infinitive form of the verb) • The infinitive form is the verb that Is modified to conjugate it. • Therefore the infinitive form cannot have a -s, -es, -ed, or -ing ending. • Infinitives can lose their to when it follows certain verbs like feel, hear, help, let, make, etc. • Infinitives can be used as nouns adjective or adverbs

15. Past tense verbs • Past tense Is one of the three main tenses • Verbs whish express actions in the past are in the past tense • It thus provides a grammatical means of indicating that the event being referred took place in the past • The past tense of regular verbs is made by adding –d or –ed to the base form of the verb • The past tense of irregular verbs is made in a various ways that depend on which irregular verb you use

16. Past tense verbs • He talked with more claret than clarity. (Susan Ertz) (talked - past tense of the verb to talk) • I ran to the lake.(ran - past tense of the verb to run) • They were all there.(were - past tense of the verb to be) • The past tense is categorized further depending on whether the action was in progress or has been completed. There are four parts of past tense. • These four parts are simple past tense, past progressive past tense, past perfect tense and past perfect progressive tense.

17. Past tense

18. Present tense verbs • Present tense is another one of the three main tenses • Verbs that express actions present are said to be present tense. • Present tense is often used to refer to future events (I am seeing James tomorrow; My train leaves at 3 o'clock this afternoon). • John jumps out the window. • (jumps - present tense of the verb to jump) • Who is ill? • (is - present tense of the verb to be) • He is the kind of a guy who lights up a room just by flicking a switch. • (is - present tense of the verb to be)(lights up - present tense of the verb to light up) • The four present tenses are simple present tense, present progressive tense, present perfect tense, and present perfect progressive

19. Present tense verb

20. Future tense verbs • Verbs which express actions in the future are said to be in the future tense. These are usually formed by preceding the verb with the word will. • I will take the blame. • (will take - future tense of the verb to take) • They will surrender. • (will surrender - future tense of the verb to surrender) • Give me where to stand, and I will move the earth. (Archimedes, 287-212 BC) • (will move - future tense of the verb to move) • The four future tenses are simple future tense,future progressive tense, future perfect tense, and future perfect progressive.

21. Future tense verbs

22. Gerunds • A gerund is a verb form ending in –ing. • A gerund can be the subject, object of a verb ,subject complements, direct objects, and indirect objects because gerunds function as nouns. It can also act as the object of a preposition. • Smoking can cause cancer. (Here the gerund smoking acts as the subject of the verb.) • I am thinking of taking a break. (Here the gerund taking is the object of the preposition of.) • She is confident of winning.(NOT She is confident of to win.) (NOT She is confident to win.)

23. Subject of a verb • The person or thing performing the action of the verb is said to be the subject of the verb or the subject of the sentence. • Tony stole the boat. • (Tony - subject of the verb to steal) • Tony is guilty. • (Tony - subject of the verb to be) • Who was that? • (Who - subject of the verb to be, i.e., was)

24. Direct object of a verb • Many verbs perform an action on something. This is called the direct object of the verb. • Terry kissed her hand. • (her hand - direct object of the verb to kiss) • Beverly will eat a whole chicken. • (a whole chicken - direct object of the verb to eat)

25. Indirect object of a verb • Some verbs have two objects, a direct object (see above) and an indirect object. The indirect object is the person or thing for whom the action was performed. • Jamie read the children a story. • (a story - direct object; the children - indirect object)  • I will bake him a cake. • (a cake - direct object; him - indirect object)  • The postman gives Anne a letter everyday. • (a letter - direct object; Anne - indirect object)

26. Intransitive verbs • Some verbs cannot have a direct object. These verbs are said to be intransitive verbs. • The rain fell heavily. • (The rain fell, but it did not perform an action on anything. In this example, the verb to fall is an intransitive verb.) • Jack protested in the street. • (Jack protested, but he did not perform an action on anything. In this example, the verb to protest is an intransitive verb.) • Verbs that can have a direct object (most of them) are called transitive verbs. • Barney copied the answer. • (the answer - direct object of the transitive verb to copy)

27. Passive sentence • The subject of a sentence does not always do the action of the verb. Sometimes, the action is done to the subject. Such sentences are called passive sentences, because the subjects are being passive, i.e., not doing anything.  • Carl was arrested. • (Carl is not doing anything, but he is the subject of the sentence.)(Note: Carl is the subject of the verb to be, i.e., was.) • Passive verbs always comprise two parts (was arrested in this example). The person doing the action of the verb in a passive sentence is usually shown with the word by. • Carl was arrested by PC Adams. • Passive verbs are said to be in the passive voice. Passive sentences are quite useful: • The carpet was damaged. (< passive sentence - no blame) • We damaged the carpet. (< active sentence)

28. Active sentences • Active sentences are the opposite to passive sentences (see above). In an active sentence, the subject of the verb performs the action. • We damaged the carpet. • (This is an active sentence. We is the subject. We damaged the carpet.) • Jamie read a story. • (This is an active sentence. Jamie is the subject.Jamieread a story.)

29. Sited courses • "What Are Verbs?" What Are Verbs?N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "Punctuation." What Are Verbs?N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "What Are Verbs?" English Grammar RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "The Verb." The Verb. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "MomsWhoThink -." List of Verbs. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.

30. Cited sources • "The Linking Verb." The Linking Verb. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "The Linking Verbs." Linking Verbs. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "Linking Verbs Explained." Reading Worksheets Grammar Comprehension Lesson Plans. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "Irregular Verbs." Irregular Verbs. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. • "The Infinitive." The Infinitive. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013

31. Cited sources • "Punctuation." Past Tense (grammar Lesson). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.