Verbs a Me 4 A Brief Introduction OVS —— A verb forms an essential element in a sentence for it helps to provide it with meaning. ‘Technically, a sentence cannot exist without a verb. A-verb shows the action (kick, walk) or state (is, seem) in a sentence. ‘ The verb has several forms. It can function as * an auxiliary * a regular or an irregular verb * a transitive or an intransitive verb + a phrasal verb > The verb cannot be separated from tense, the time dimension, in a sentence. For a knowledge of grammar to be complete, a good understanding of the functions of the verb is essential. LD PUNO fT The Auxiliaries An auxiliary acts as a helping verb. It helps to show tense or voice in a sentence. > There are two types of auxiliaries, the primary and the modal. Primary auxiliaries verbs to do — do, does, did verb to have — has, have, had* verbs to be — is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being * they can also function as main verbs. | Modal auxiliaries | can could, may, might, must, ought, will, would shall, should, used to, need*, dare* * both these auxiliaries can also be main verbs.