Verb

• If a noun was the first word you ever spoke (Mama or cookie),

a verb probably followed just as soon as you learned that
"Give cookie" got you better results than "Cookie." In a
sentence, the verb expresses what the subject does
(She hopes for the job) or what the subject is (She
is confident). All verbs are one of three types:
• Action verbs
• Linking verbs
• Helping verbs
Action verbs
• In a sentence, an action verb tells what the subject does. Action verbs
express physical or mental actions: think, eat, collide, realize, dance.
Admittedly, some of these seem more active than others.
Nevertheless, realize is still as much a verb as collide:
• I finally realized my mistake.
The outfielder collided with the second-baseman.
She dances every Friday night.
• (In the present tense, statements with subjects of he, she, or it, we
add an s to the verb: I go downstairs, we go downstairs,
and ballplayers go downstairs, but he goes downstairs and Loren
goes downstairs.)
Linking verbs
• Linking verbs are the couch potatoes of verbs, that is, not very
active at all. In a sentence, a linking verb tells what the
subject is rather than what it does; linking verbs express a state
of being. For example, all the forms of the verb to be are linking
verbs: 3rd person (she, he,
2nd person (you)
1st person (I; we) it; they)
present am; are are is; are
past was; were were was; were
[have] been; [had] [have] been; [had] [has] been; [had]
participle
been been been
• These verbs connect a subject, say, Loren, with more information about
that subject: Loren is an athlete, or Loren was glad.
• Another set of linking verbs are those pertaining to our five senses--
seeing, tasting, touching, hearing, and smelling--and how we perceive the
world: the verbs appear, seem, look, feel, smell, taste, and sound, for
example. When used as linking verbs, they connect the subject with a
word offering more information about that subject:
• Loren seems anxious about the test.
The well water tastes wonderful.
My carpet still feels damp.
You sound hoarse.
The curtains smell a little smoky.
• As linking verbs, these "sense" verbs have about the same meaning as
is. Loren seems anxious is roughly equivalent to Loren is anxious; the
curtains smell smoky is about the same as the curtains are smoky.
However, these same "sense" verbs can sometimes be action verbs
instead. The real test whether one of these verbs is or is not a linking
verb is whether it draws an equivalence with the subject, almost like a
math equation: Loren = anxious; curtains = smoky. Consider the
sentence I can't taste my lunch because I have a cold. Taste here
does not draw an equivalence between I and lunch; rather, here it is
an action verb, something the subject does. In the sentence Can you
smell smoke? smell does not describe what the subject is, but what
the subject does; it is an action verb.
• Other common linking verbs include become, remain, and grow,
when they link the subject to more information (either a noun
or an adjective) about that subject:
• You will soon become tired of the monotony.
Pha has become a very responsible teenager.
I remain hopeful.
Daniel grew more and more confident.
• Again, these verbs might be action verbs in other sentences,
such as in I grew carrots.
Helping verbs
• Verbs often appear with helping verbs that fine-tune their
meaning, usually expressing when something occurred.
The complete verb is the main verb plus all its helping verbs.
• Verb tense is the name for the characteristic verbs have of
expressing time. Simple present tense verbs express present or
habitual action, and simple past tense verbs express actions that
were completed in the past; neither simple present nor simple
past tense verbs require helping verbs. However, most other verb
tenses require one or more helping verbs. Moreover, some
helping verbs express more than just time-possibility, obligation,
or permission, for example.
...have, has, had
• Every verb has three basic forms: present or simple form, past
form, and participle form. All participle forms require a helping
verb that fine-tunes the time expression:
• Comets have collided with earth many times.
Stan had known about the plan for some time.
• The table
presentbelow
or simple demonstrates these three forms with their
past form participle form participle + helper
required helping verbs:
form
has, have, had
collide collided collided
collided
is was been has, have, had been
choose chose chosen has, have, had been
know knew known has, have, had
been
...to be: am, are, is, was, were, been
• Verbs with -ing endings require a helper from the to be family of
verbs. These progressive verb tenses express ongoing present
action, continuous past action or future planned action:
• They are still working on the contract.
Phanat was studying all night.
Holly had been reviewing her notes since the day before.
We are holding student elections next September.
• Verbs with -ing endings must be used with one of the to
be helpers; an -ing word without a helper is ineligible to act as the
verb of a sentence. It can, however, be a noun (Hiking is fun) or an
adjective (The hiking trail is closed).
...do, does, did
• The helping verbs do, does, and did may be used optionally to add
emphasis: She certainly does like her morning mocha.
• While adding emphasis is optional, these helpers must be used when forming
questions: Does Andrea ski every weekend? They must also accompany the
verb in sentences that combine not with an action verb: Don't you want to take
the train? Do not wait for me past 4:30.
• When do and does are used, they change form to match the subject while the
main verb remains in simple form: instead of She likes coffee, we would
say, She sure does like her coffee. Similarly, for questions, we change the form
of the helper and leave the main verb in simple form: Does Andrea ski? The
negative is Andrea does not ski, even though the statement would have
been Andrea skis. (In the past tense, with did, the verb never changes form.)
...will and shall
• Future tense verbs require a helper, will or shall, and express
intention, expectation, or action that will happen later.
• We shall drive to Santa Barbara in August.
Krista will not attend.
We will be holding student elections in September.
...would, could, should, can, may,
might...
• The verb
helpers would, could, should, can, may, might, must, supposed 
to, ought to, used to, and have to are examples
of modal helpers. (Will and shall are technically modals as well.)
Modal helpers are little different from real verbs because they
never change form. They are easy to use because they always
are used with the simple form of the verb:
• I may want to change my flight.
You can cash your check at the grocery store.
Paul must notify his employer soon.
ADJECTIVES
• An adjective is a word used to describe, or modify, noun or a
pronoun. Adjectives usually answer questions like which
one, what kind, or how many:
• that hilarious book
the red one
several heavy books
• In English adjectives usually precede nouns or pronouns.
However, in sentences with linking verbs, such as the to be
verbs or the "sense" verbs, adjectives can follow the verb.
Dave Barry's books are hilarious; they seem so random.
• One good adjective can be invaluable in producing the image or
tone you want. You may also "stack" adjectives--as long as you
don't stack them too high. In general, if you think you need
more than three adjectives, you may really just need a better
noun. For instance, instead of saying the unkempt, dilapidated,
dirty little house, consider just saying the hovel. (It's not true
that he who uses the most adjectives wins; it's he who uses the
most suitable adjectives.)
Descriptive adjectives
• Descriptive adjectives (steamy, stormy) call up images, tones, and feelings. Steamy
weather is different from stormy weather. Steamy and stormy conjure different pictures,
feelings, and associations.
• Many descriptive adjectives come from verbs. The verb had broken, without the
helper had, is an adjective: a broken keyboard. Likewise, the -ing verb form, such as
is running, used without its helper is, can be an adjective: running shoes.
• Nouns can be used as adjectives, too. For instance, the noun student can be made to
modify, or describe, the noun bookstore: the student bookstore. Nouns often combine to
produce compound adjectives that modify a noun as a unit, usually joined by hyphens
when they precede the noun. When they follow the noun, the hyphens are omitted:
• He was an 18-year-old boy, but the girl was only 16 years old.
•  Other compound adjectives do not use hyphens in any case. In income
tax forms, income tax is a compound adjective that does not require a hyphen. 
Articles
• The, an, and a, called articles, are adjectives that answer the
question which one? The modifies a noun or pronoun by
limiting its reference to a particular or known thing, either
singular or plural. A expands the reference to a single non-
specific or previously unknown thing. An is similar to a, but is
used when the word following it begins with a vowel sound:
• the books on the table
a book from an online store, the one we ordered last week
Demonstrative adjectives
• Demonstrative adjectives answer the question which
one(s)? They are the only adjectives that have both a singular
and plural form--this and that are singular; these and those are
plural. Demonstrative adjectives point to particular or previously
named things. This and these indicate things nearby (in time or
space), while that and those suggest distance (in time or space):
• This novel is the worst I've ever read; these biographies are
much better.
Tell me more about that author; why does she write
about those events?
Indefinite adjectives
• Indefinite adjectives include some, many, any, few, several,
and all:
• some jokes
few listeners
• Note that these words can also be used as
pronouns: Some were in bad taste; few could carpool. 
Questioning adjectives
• Which and what are adjectives when they modify nouns or
pronouns:
• Which joke did you like better, and what reason can you give
for your preference?
• Like indefinite adjectives, the questioning (or interrogative)
adjectives can also function as pronouns.
Adjective order and punctuation
• Some stacks of adjectives can be rearranged freely without
changing the meaning. They are coordinate adjectives, and they
are equal and separate in the way they modify a noun. For
example, we can freely rearrange a dull, dark,
and depressing day: a depressing, dark, dull day. Separate
two or more coordinate adjectives with commas (note that no
comma goes immediately before the noun).
• Other adjective groups cannot be freely rearranged.
These cumulative adjectives are not separated by
commas. Rich chocolate layer cake cannot be changed
to layer chocolate rich cake.
• If you were born to English, you may not realize that there are rules for placing
adjective groups in order. For example, the determiner ( a, an, the) comes first,
then size words, then color, then purpose:
• a large, purple sleeping bag
• You can't freely rearrange these adjectives and say, for
example, sleeping, purple, a large bag without awkwardness, absurdity, or loss
of meaning, The rule is that a stack of adjectives generally occurs in the following
order: opinion (useful, lovely, ugly), size (big, small), age (young, old), shape
(square, squiggly), color (cobalt, yellow), origin (Canadian, solar), material
(granite, wool), and purpose (shopping, running).
• scary, squiggly solar flares
lovely, cobalt, Canadian running shoes
• Cobalt, running, Canadian, lovely shoes doesn't work.