English Verbs (Part 1) - Basic Terms This article reviews some basic terms relating to English verbs.

Being familiar with these terms will help you understand language points as they appear in the course of your English studies. 1. A verb is a word that expresses an action ( to run), occurrence ( to happen), or state of being ( to appear). It is one of the nine parts of speech in English grammar. Non-action verbs are also referred to as linking or stative verbs, such as to be, to seem, to sound. Verbs comprise the third largest group of words in English (about 10%) and appear in any sentence as a major mandatory element tying the subject and predicate together. Verbs indicate time (past, present, future) and are used in English in relatively many verb tenses. The verb can be thought of as the center, heart, or anchor of an English sentence.
Verbs of... Examples

action Maria dances at the studio and performs every Sunday. occurrence occurrence Maria became a professional dancer. state of being Maria's studio has stood there ever since she was a child. 2. Tests for verbs: A good way to identify a verb when a word is in doubt is to ask, Can I do it? I can succeed (do it) is correct but I can success is incorrect. This means succeed is a verb and the related part of speech success is not a verb; in this case, success is a noun. Another test for verbs is to use the word in question in a different verb tense. If the sentence still makes sense, the word is a verb. Original: Thats the updated version of the software. Test: Thats the will update version of the software. [the word updated here is not a verb because using it in the future simple tense in the second sentence does not result in a logical sentence; It is an adjective describing the noun version] 3. Verbs can also be recognized by some common verb suffixes and prefixes.
Suffix or Prefix Meaning Examples

-ate -fy or -ify -ize (British -ise) -en been-

to cause, make to transform into to make like to make/turn into forms transitive verbs that mean "cause" to bring into the condition of

to activate, to differentiate to signify, to clarify to realize, to criticize to redden, to soften to befriend, to beseech to encode, to engender

4. Verbs in English indicate the following grammatical categories:

Categories Type Examples

1st person person 2nd person 3rd person singular Number plural present Tense past future

I go You go She goes He has written They have written I eat I ate I will eat

Categories

Type

Examples

Aspect

Mood Voice

simple, progressive, perfect, perfect-progressive indicative imperative subjunctive active passive

I study every day. I am studying today. I have studied for years. I have been studying for hours. I am always on time. Be there on time ! If I were on time, I would Germans consume a lot of beer. A lot of beer is consumed in Germany.

As there are relatively many English verb tenses, verbs in English come in many forms that provide different shades of meaning. However, English verbs comprise a much easier verb system than that of other languages that have distinct inflectional verb endings for different persons and number, or even change the verb stem with various tenses and aspects. In English only one verb ending remained, for verbs in the third person singular in the Present Simple tense. Dan cooks dinner for us 3 times a week. [3rd person, singular, present, simple, indicative, active, meaning: habit in the present] Yesterday we were cooking for hours on end. [1st person, plural, past, progressive, indicative, active, meaning: action in the past that continued over an extended period of time] She would have cooked if you had asked her to. (but in reality you didnt ask so she didnt cook) [ would have cooked: 3rd person, singular, past, conditional, active, meaning: hypothetic outcome in the past, contrary to fact] [ had asked: 2nd person, singular, past, perfect, subjunctive, active, meaning: hypothetic assumption in the past, contrary to fact] I suggest that dinner be cooked no later than 20:00. [3rd person, singular, present, subjunctive, passive, meaning: strong recommendation which will not necessarily be fulfilled] 5. English verbs have 5 principal parts with which other forms are derived using verb auxiliaries: base/stem, simple past/preterit, past participle, present participle and the infinitive (the name of the verb). Some also include the third person singular in the present tense as a principle part, as it is the only verb form that kept its inflectional ending in Modern English.
Grammatical term Infinitive Symbol to + V1 Regular Verb to watch Irregular Verb to see

Base Form / Stem Present Simple third person singular Past Simple / Preterit Past Participle Present Participle

V1 V1+s V2 V3 Ving

watch watches watched watched watching

see sees saw seen seeing

The following article explains the six functions of individual verbs within the predicate in English grammar that students must learn.

Within the predicate, individual verbs perform specific grammatical functions. The six grammatical functions performed by verbs within the predicate are:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Predicate Progressive Perfect Passive Modal Operator

Both native speakers and ESL students must learn the six functions to properly construct predicates in both spoken and written English.

Verbs as Predicates
The first grammatical function that verbs can perform within the predicate is the predicate. A predicate is defined as a word or phrase that expresses the action performed by or condition of the subject. For example, the following italicized verbs function as predicates:
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A puppy ate the sweet potato. My brother is washing the dishes. The patient has swallowed the pill.

All clauses must contain a verb functioning as a predicate. The verb functioning as the predicate is also the head of the verb phrase.

Verbs as Progressives
The second grammatical function that verbs can perform within the predicate is the progressive. A progressive is defined as an auxiliary verb that expresses the progressive aspect. The progressive aspect expresses incomplete or ongoing actions or conditions at a specific time. The auxiliary verb that can function as the progressive is the verb be. For example, the following italicized verbs function as progressives:
The student is alerting the teacher. Our neighbors were listening to loud music. She had been closing the windows when the storm hit.

Progressives must appear with predicates and can also appear with perfects, passives, and modals.

More on this topic

Verb Voice: Active Voice and Passive Voice in English Modal Auxiliary Verbs: The Grammar of Modal Verbs in English Verb Tense: Present Tense and Past Tense in English

Verbs as Perfects
The third grammatical function that verbs can perform within the predicate is the perfect. A perfect is defined as an auxiliary verb that expresses the perfect aspect. The perfect aspect expresses the consequences resulting from a previous action or condition. The auxiliary verb that can function as the perfect is the verb have. For example, the following italicized verbs function as perfects:
The parents have finally named the baby. The general had misled his troops. My brother has sold his car.

Perfects must appear with predicates and can also appear with progressives, passives, and modals.

Verbs as Passives
The fourth grammatical function that verbs can perform within the predicate is the passive. A passive is defined as an auxiliary verb that expresses the passive voice. The passive voice is a grammatical voice that moves the direct object of an active sentence into the subject position. The auxiliary verb that can function as the passive is the verb be. For example, the following italicized verbs function as passives:
The cookies have been eaten by the children. The crops were harvested last week. The house is being painted by professionals.

Passives must appear with predicates and can also appear with progressives, perfects, and modals.

Verbs as Modals
The fifth grammatical function that verbs can perform within the predicate is the modal. A modal is defined as an auxiliary verb that expresses modality. Modality expresses possibility, necessity, and contingency. The nine auxiliary modal verbs that can function as modals are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would.
You may borrow the car tonight. By the time I could start, you will have already finished. You must wash your hands before eating.

Modals must appear with predicates and can also appear with progressives, perfects, and passives.

Verbs as Operators
The sixth grammatical function that verbs can perform within the predicate is the operator. An operator is defined as an auxiliary verb that facilitates the expression of a negation, interrogatives, and emphasis. The auxiliary verb that can function as the operator is the verb do. For example, the following italicized verbs function as operators:

Do you like cucumbers? He does not care for acorn squash. The baby sure did enjoy the pumpkin puree!

Operators must appear with predicates but cannot appear with other auxiliary verbs. The six functions of verbs within the verb phrase functioning as the predicate are predicate, progressive, perfect, passive, modal, and operator. Both native English speakers and ESL students must learn the six functions in order to fully and correctly form predicates in both spoken and written English. Sources Kosur, Heather Marie. "The Form-Function Method for Teaching Grammar: Learning English Grammar by Studying Grammatical Form and Function." Suite 101. 16 Apr. 2009. Suite 101. 5 Aug. 2009.

Read more at Suite101: Verb Functions in Predicate Verb Phrases: Grammatical Functions of Modals, Auxiliaries, and Operators | Suite101.com http://suite101.com/article/verb-functions-inpredicate-verb-phrases-a136667#ixzz20U8DfLQZ

Words that are normally verbs can often be used as adjectives. If a word modifies a noun or pronoun, it is an adjective, even if that word is usually associated with a different part of speech. Sometimes the present participle (verb plus ing) form of a verb becomes an adjective: A rolling stone gathers no moss. Sometimes the past participle form of a verb becomes an adjective: I will accept a written apology. Such adjectives are sometimes called participle adjectives. Each sentence may contain any number of verbs and adjectives, but only one word will be a participle adjective. Underline that word. Write the main verb it comes from after the sentence. The first two have been done for you.

1.

Many kind carpenters offered to repair the broken porch. break 2. Never kiss a smiling crocodile. smile 3. My father prefers to drink filtered spring water. 4. This isnt chocolate ice cream; its frozen chocolate milk! 5. The fallen leaves covered the new driveway. 6. She was happy to find the translated version of the book. 7. The sleeping dogs snoring was louder than a freight train. 8. We pushed our way through the newly driven snow. 9. Id rather eat at a recently inspected restaurant. 10. Are you just hoping it will happen or is it a done deal? 11. Maria forgot to bring her new fishing pole. 12. Sadly, as she aged, he became just another forgotten name.

In linguistics, the verbal noun is a noun formed from or otherwise corresponding to a verb. It is a non-finite verb form and its use across different languages corresponds roughly to the infinitive or gerund in English language usage. In English the infinitive form of the verb is formed when preceded by to, e.g. to sell; different languages may have one or more grammatical processes for forming a noun from a verb. In many languages that have an infinitive, such as English, the infinitive form of a verb can be used as a noun; in English, this use is known as the "supine" or "to-infinitive", in which the bare infinitive is preceded by the particle to:
"To err is human, to forgive divine."

In English, the supine functions as a mass noun. The English supine is a non-finite verb, that is, it cannot be inflected to mark person or tense. While it cannot have a grammatical subject, it may take an object: "His greatest desire was to serve his country." When languages have a second grammatical process for forming verbal nouns, it is often called the gerund. In English, the gerund is formed by the ending -ing:
"Speaking is silver, silence is golden."

This form is more flexible in its use; for example, it can be used as a count noun: "Most verses of the psalm have multiple readings." Like the supine, the English gerund is a non-finite verb. The terms "supine" and "gerund" are taken from Latin grammar, in which they also denote verbal nouns, which however differ in many aspects from the correspondingly named English constructions. The variety of verbal nouns across languages does not allow for a unified treatment.

[edit] Other nouns derived from verbs

Many nouns that are derived from verbs do not fall under the category of verbal nouns. For example, although the noun "discovery" was formed from the verb "discover", it is not generally classified as a verbal noun. The reason is that its formation is not productive; that is, it is not an instance of a general grammatical process, as shown by the fact that there is no noun "uncovery" formed from the verb "uncover".

[edit] Other languages

In other languages (e.g. Latin), a broader concept of verbal noun is used:
A verbal noun is any noun that is derived from a verb and that still can have a subject and/or an object.[citation needed]

With this definition, "discovery" is a verbal noun as its subject and object might be "the discovery of America by Columbus". In Latin, the nouns "Columbus" and "America" would be in the genitive case to emphasize the fact that they are subject and object of another noun.

With this rule also, nouns like "love" are verbal nouns (e.g. the love for nature) even though the formation from "to love" cannot generally be applied to all nouns (e.g. there is no such word as *a discover). In Old Irish, the verbal noun is used in the progressive construction:
At-t in fer oc marbad ind loch.

Literally, "the man is at the killing of the warrior", i.e. "the man is killing the warrior". The verbal noun is formed rather unpredictably in a number of different ways (and not necessarily from the same stem as the verb). Macedonian verbal nouns ( , glagolska imenka) are formed by adding the suffix - to the verb form. Example of this is: (igra, he plays) (igranje, playing). These forms are derived from verbs.

absorb account add adjust admit agree apply appeal argue argue arrange arrive apologize approve ask accuse smb arrest smb

in for to to to with for to with about for in / at (byk mekanlarda in ,kk mekanlarda at) for of for of smt for smt on for with from in to about from for smt on smb for / about for between

B
base beg begin benefit believe belong boast borrow blame smb blame smt

C
care cater choose

comment on collide with communicate with compare with / to compete with complain about compose of concern about / with concentrate on confess to confuse with congratulate on consist of contribute to cope with correspond with count on cover with crash into charge smb with smt (sulamak) charge smb for smt (para tahsil etmek) convict smb of smt convince smb of smt cure smb of smt

D
decide dedicate depend despair deter differ disagree disapprove discuss devote dream dress drink demand smt derive smt discourage smb distinguish smb/smt distract smb on / against to on of from from with of with to of / about in to from smb from smt from smt from/between smb/smt from smt on from

E
elaborate emerge

escape experiment excuse smb exchange smt exclude smt expel smb explain smt

from on for smt for smt from smt from smt to smb with like about against/with/for about for something

F
face feel feel fight forget forgive someone

G
guess get married get rid get tired grumble at to of of about of / about from of / for with smt from smt

H
hear hide hope help smb hinder smb/smt

I
impress insist insure interfere invest involve smb/smt on on against with / in in in smb/smt

J
joke about about at/about to for to smb

K
know

L
laugh listen long lend smt

M
meet mistake get married with for to to on in for in for for from for smt with smt from smt with smt for smb for smb about smt with smb against / to on from to on to from to in from for of smt of smt for to at at in to for at

O
object operate

P
participate pay persist pray prepare prohibit praise smb present smb prevent smb provide smb provide smt punish smb

Q
quarrel quarrel

R
react recon recover refer rely reply resign respond result retire room remind smb rob smb

S
search see shout smile specialise speak stand stare

stem subscribe substitute succeed suffer save smb sentence smb share smt subject smb suspect smb

from to for in from from smt to smt with smb to smt of smt to about of/about to about smt for smt into smt with smt for for

T
talk talk think turn tell smb thank smb translate smt trust smb

U
use

V
vote

W
wait for wonder at work on worry about write to / about warn smb about/against 1. The Verb + -ing used as a Noun or Gerund Gerund is the ing form of a verb, and is used in the same ways as a noun. It is used as a subject or as an object in a sentence. It can also be used as a subject and an object within the same sentence, as follow: a) Washing his car is the only thing he does almost every Sunday. b) She prefers any of the household chores to mopping. c) Skipping to him is a better alternative to jogging. The gerunds in the above sentences (washing, mopping, skipping, and jogging) are ing forms of the verbs: wash, mop, skip and jog. In (a), washing is the noun acting as the subject in the sentence. In (b), mopping is the object in the sentence (the object of the preposition to.) In (c), the two gerunds skipping and jogging act as subject and object of the same sentence.

a) Using Gerund as Subjects or Objects

The gerunds are used as subjects or objects of a verb

Watching television is a waste of time. Attending church regularly is important. Smoking is very bad for you. Working in a foreign country can be very difficult. Learning a foreign language can be a real challenge. My sister does not like cooking. Every morning she goes jogging.

b) Verb + gerund

A gerund is used as the object of the verb, and it usually comes after the verb. A preposition is not needed between the verb and the gerund.

EXAMPLE: They discussed getting married. (NOT: They discussed to getting married.) I like walking in the rain. (Verb like followed by gerund walking) She enjoys playing with her puppies. The dog stopped barking when I gave it a bone. He has just finished painting the room. Neil has consistently denied murdering his estranged wife.

We can use be used to / get used to + ing form of the verb

I was used to watching birds on the hill side, but I never have the time now. Sarah is used to donating her blood at the medical centre. After his wife died, he had to get used to looking after the kids on his own.

A negative statement using not can be used before the ing form.

I am frustrated not having enough money to buy her a birthday present.

c) Phrasal Verbs + Gerund

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition which together have its own meaning.

EXAMPLE: cut down = to reduce the amount of something. The following phrasal verbs + gerund are in bold. Julia carried on talking even though no one was listening. (Phrasal verb: carried on) Jack keeps on scratching his head and we wonder why. (Phrasal verb: keeps on) Jill gave up smoking last year. He doesn't know when he'll get around to doing the roof repair.

We stayed up watching the movie late last night.

d) Prepositions + Gerund

When there is a preposition + verb, we must use an ing form for the verb.

Prepositions + gerund are in bold as follow: He is addicted to playing online games. His parents were well accustomed to working hard. She is very excited about meeting him for the first time. Julia is very pleased with getting the desired exam results. He will always be remembered for winning the first gold medal for the country. We apologized for arriving late. Jill has become interested in catching butterflies for fun. Jack looks forward to running his own business.

We can use an ing form after such words as before, after and since.

Mr. Black usually says a prayer for good luck before going to bed. Mrs. White felt quite scared after watching two crocodiles fight. I have learned to be careful since knocking my head against the wall.

e) Gerund used in other expressions It's no use crying over spilt milk. This new gadget is for opening tinned food. Where do you usually go for fishing? One thing I hate most is ironing my clothes. Now you regret being so rude to her. If only you had stopped talking and listened to her. We could go on dancing all night. She prefers having dinner at home to eating outside. I think your hair needs shampooing.

f) Gerund used in compound nouns The old man moves about with the help of a walking-stick. She cleans the sitting-room almost every week. The swimming-pool was most crowded at weekends. 2. The Verb + -ing used as the Present Participle a) The present participle is the verb + ing. It is used: 1. as the present continuous tense of the verb.

EXAMPLE: It is raining at the moment. / The dog is barking at the clown. 2. after an action verb. EXAMPLE: He went fishing with his father. / They played catching the ball on the beach.

3. after the verb and object , that is verb + object + present participle. EXAMPLE: The detectives caught someone pickpocketing. / We saw a small dog chasing a cat. Here, the verbs caught and saw are followed by the objects someone and dog, and then the present participles pickpocketing and chasing. The use of present participle indicates the action was still going on. 4. to show two actions are done by the same person and are happening at the same time. EXAMPLE: Walking to the gate, he turned to wave to his neighbour.

b) Verb + preposition + ing form I had to apologize for stepping on her toes. Her main aim now is to concentrate on passing her exam. We finally decided on holidaying in Hawaii. Sometimes Jack and Jill think of going up the hill. The gang of youth was arrested for fighting in the street.

c) Linking word + ing form Mr. Wood went to play golf in spite of feeling unwell. Although joining the company only a year ago, she's already been promoted twice. Johnny has not been seen for a year since leaving home. He never fails to turn off the light when leaving his room. She is paid well for cleaning the office. We always have hot drinks after swimming.

d) Using verbs and verbs + ing form We can use either the simple form of the verb or the ing form of a verb. There is very little difference in meaning between the two forms. a) I saw Jack walkt along the river. b) I saw Jack walking along the river. c) I heard Jill sing in the bathroom.

d) I heard Jill singing in the bathroom. There is no difference in meaning between (a) and (b), and (c) and (d). The ing form of a verb is better used with while. EXAMPLE: I saw Jack while he was walking along the river. The use of while indicates an action is still going on. "I heard Jill while she was singing in the bathroom" means the singing was still going on when I heard it. 3. The Verb + -ing used as an Adjective a) The adjective using verb + ing is usually placed before the noun it modifies. Some nations are experiencing a dwindling population due to very low birth rate. There are people who doubt the disappearing rain forest contributes to global warming.

b) The verb + ing form can be used after possessive adjectives. We do really appreciate your helping to get all this work done. I will not tolerate his behaving in that manner again. She said she doesn't mind our going over to her place for a drink.