Unit 4

VERBS
 What are Verbs?

• A verb is one of the main parts of a sentence or question in English.

• In fact, you can’t have a sentence or a question without a verb!

• The verb signals an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Whether

mental, physical, or mechanical, verbs always express activity.
 Mental, Physical & State of Being
Verbs
Mental verbs have meanings that are Physical verbs are action
related to concepts such as discovering, verbs. They describe
understanding, thinking, or planning. specific physical actions.

• I know the answer. • Let’s run to the corner

• She recognized me from across the and back.
room. • I hear the train coming.
• Do you believe everything people tell • Call me when you’re
you? finished with class.

Also known as linking verbs, state of being

verbs describe conditions or situations that
exist. State of being verbs are inactive since
no action is being performed. 

• I am a student.
• We are circus performers.
• This place is quiet.
 Action Verbs
Action Verbs are verbs that express action. Ex: run, walk, do, drive.
I’ll do my homework when I get home.

Most action verbs are defined as transitive or intransitive

1. Transitive verbs always receive a direct object:

• Richard annoys his boss so much that he’ll never get a promotion.
(His boss is the direct object of annoys and a promotion is the direct object of get)
• Jenna brings Mrs. Smith lunch every day.
(Mrs. Smith is the direct object of brings. Jenna is the subject.

2. Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object in order to complete

their meaning. Many are followed by an adjective, adverb, preposition
or verb complement
•If Cathy continues to be late for work, the boss will fire her.
(Continues is followed by an infinitive (to be), with no direct object.)
•The bomb exploded in the city center.
(Exploded is followed by a preposition of place with no direct object.)
 Auxiliary/Helping Verbs
Auxiliary (or Helping) verbs are used together with a main verb to show the verb’s tense
or to form a negative or question. The combination of one or more helping verbs is called
a verb phrase.

Elmer was using the computer.

Helping verbs perform a number of action to support the main or action verb.

• By expressing tense ( providing a time reference, i.e. past, present, or future)

• Grammatical aspect (expresses how verb relates to the flow of time)
• Modality (quantifies verbs)
• Voice (describes the relationship between the action expressed by the verb and the
participants identified by the verb’s subject, object, etc.)
• Adds emphasis to a sentence

There are just three common auxiliary verbs:

Have
Do
Be
Auxiliary/Helping Verbs- Have
Has, have, had, having

“Have” is a very important verb that can stand alone in all its tenses, It is
usually used to denote ownership, and it can also be used to discuss ability or
describe appearance.

“Have” is also a very popular substitute for the verbs “eat” and “drink.” For
example: “Let’s have dinner.”

• Ram has a large coffee stain on his shirt. → Has =

action verb
• Ram has bought a new shirt to replace the one
that was ruined earlier. → Has = auxiliary verb;
bought is a past participle that competes the verb
phrase.
• Ram should have been more careful! → Have =
auxiliary verb; phrase “should have been”
expresses time and evaluates Jerry’s actions.
 Auxiliary/Helping Verbs- Do
to do, do, does, done, did, do not, does not, did not .

Do” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses. When
used as an auxiliary verb, do is always paired up with another verb to create a
complete verb phrase.

• Because he spills things so often, Ram does more laundry than most
people. → Does = action verb
• Ram didn’t put his coffee in a cup with a lid. → Didn’t = auxiliary verb
• Ram doesn’t always spill things, but it happens a lot. → Doesn’t = auxiliary
verb

• In some cases, it is used to add emphasis: “I did put the

garbage out!” 
• It is also used in sentences, where the main verb is
understood and is omitted as a result. For example: “He
plays piano well, doesn’t he?” or “They all had dinner, but
I didn’t.”
 Auxiliary/Helping Verbs- Be
be, to be, been, being, am, are, is, was, were, was not, are not, were not.

“Be” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tense.

When used as an auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another verb to

create a complete verb phrase. It can be singular or plural, present or past.
Negative sentences are formed by adding the word “not”.

• Ram is messy. → Is = action verb

• Although he is always complaining about his
accidents, Ram fails to pay attention. → is =
auxiliary verb
• Ram is going to be doing extra laundry for the rest
of his life. → to be = auxiliary verb
 Auxiliary/Helping Verbs- Modals
Can, Could, May, Might, Must, Ought to, Shall, Should, Will, Would

In addition to the three main auxiliary verbs, have, do, and be, there are

additional auxiliary verbs. These are called modal auxiliary verbs, and they
never change form.
• Tom can write poetry very well → can = modal, write = action verb
• I could fly via Amsterdam if I leave the day before. → could = modal, fly = action
verb
• You may not wear sandals to work. → may not = modal, wear = action verb
• Our company might get the order if the client agrees to the price. → might =
modal, get = main verb
• I must finish this project by tonight. . → must = modal, finish = action verb
• I ought to visit my aunt during summer break. → ought to = modal, visit =
action verb
• We shall overcome some day. → shall = modal, overcome = action verb
• I should have been more cautious. → should = modal, have been = main verb
• We will not tolerate injustice. → will not = modal, tolerate = main verb
• Would you mind if I sat here? → would = modal, mind = main verb
 Auxiliary/Helping Verbs
23 helping verbs

may being do should have will

might been does could has shall

must be am did would had can

is
are
was
were
(Main) (Main) (Main)
 Verb Tenses
A verb tense indicates the time of an action, event or condition by changing
its form.

Based on time frame The verb tenses may be categorized according to the
time frame:

• Present Tense
• Past Tense Based on Aspect Verb tenses may also be
• Future Tense categorized according to aspect. Aspect
refers to the nature of the action described by
the verb. There are four aspects: •

• Indefinite or Simple
• Continuous or Progressive
• Perfect or Complete
• Perfect Continuous
 Verb Tenses
• Indefinite Tense:
The three indefinite tenses, or simple tenses, describe an action but do
not state whether the action is finished.

• Continuous Tense:
The three continuous tenses, incomplete tenses, or progressive tenses,
describe an unfinished action.

• Perfect Tense:
The three complete tenses, or perfect tenses, describe a finished action.

• Perfect Continuous Tense:

To combine the complete tenses and the incomplete tenses, to describe
an action which was in progress and then finished
 Verb Tenses

Verb Tenses

Present Past Future

Present simple Past simple Future simple

Present Continuous Future Continuous
Past Continuous
Present Perfect
Past Perfect Future Perfect
Present Perfect Cont.
Past Perfect Cont. Future Perfect Cont.
 Verb Tenses

Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect

Continuous

Present 1st form + s / am/is/are + have/has + have/has +

es 1st form + ing 3rd form  been + 1st
form + ing

Past 2nd form was/were + had + 3rd had been +

1st form + ing form 1st form + ing 

Future will/shall + 1st will be + 1st will have + 3rd will have +
form form + ing  form been + 1st
form + ing
 Verb Tenses
Present Simple:
• Positive: Most kids like milk.
• Negative: I do not like milk unless it’s
chocolate.
• Yes/No Questions: Do you like milk?
• Wh-Questions: When do we board the
train for Paris?
• Tag Questions: You like scuba diving,
don’t you?
Present Continuous
• Positive: You are learning to use perfect
English.
• Negative:You are not sleeping now.
• Yes/No Questions: Are you eating?
• Wh-Questions: What are you watching?
• Tag Questions: You aren’t eating
liverwurst, are you?
Present Perfect:
• Positive:They have been to Paris.
• Negative:You haven’t gone overseas.
• Yes/No Questions:Have you been to
London?
• Wh-Questions:Why are we here?
• Tag Questions:You haven’t been to Zurich,
have you?
Present Perfect Continuous
• Positive:They have been swimming for
more than an hour.
• Negative:You haven’t waited thirty minutes
yet.
• Yes/No Questions:Have you been waiting
long?
• Wh-Questions:What time did you begin
waiting?
• Tag Questions:You haven’t been waiting
long, have you?
 Verb Tenses
Past Simple:
• Positive:I visited my grandmother
yesterday.
• Negative:We didn’t watch the movie on
Saturday.
• Yes/No Questions:Did you have spaghetti
for dinner last night?
• Wh-Questions:Why didn’t you wash the
car yesterday?
• Tag Questions:You went to Paris last
year, didn’t you?
Past Continuous
• Positive:We were watching TV when the
power went out.
• Negative:You were not listening to the
teacher’s instructions yesterday.
• Yes/No Questions:Were you
skateboarding when you broke your leg?
• Wh-Questions:What were you doing
when you heard the news?
Past Perfect:
• Positive:He had studied French before
traveling to Paris.
• Negative: She hadn’t studied French before
last semester.
• Yes/No Questions:Had you studied French
before you traveled to Paris?
• Wh-Questions:Why hadn’t you studied
French when you knew you’d be traveling to
Paris soon?
• Tag Questions:You hadn’t visited the U.S.
before your trip in 2010, had you?
Past Perfect Continuous
• Positive:We had been waiting for more than
three hours when the train finally arrived.
• Negative:We had not been waiting for more
than thirty minutes when her plane landed.
• Yes/No Questions:Had you been waiting
for longer than three hours?
• Wh-Questions:Why had you been waiting
for the last two hours?
 Verb Tenses
Future Simple: Future Perfect:

Be Going To:We are going to the • You will have perfected your
movies tonight.
French by the time you come back
Shall: I shall help your grandmother
later.
from Paris.

Future Continuous Future Perfect Continuous

Present Simple and Present • We will be waiting for him when his
Progressive with Future plan arrives tonight.
Meaning:Sam will be coming home any
minute.
 Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t take on the regular –d, -ed, or -ied spelling
patterns of the past simple or past participle . Many of the irregular past simple
and past participle forms are the same. such as: cut – cut, had – had, let – let,
hurt – hurt, fed- fed, sold-sold . Here are nine that are used more often than the
rest.
Go, Get, Say, See, Think, Make, Take, Come, Know

• Go get your brother. It’s time to eat dinner.→ In this example, all three

irregular verbs (go, get, and eat) are in base form.
•
I awoke to find that a spider had bitten me. Although the wound didn’t bleed,
it itched terribly.→ In this example, the irregular verb awoke is the past simple
form of “awake.” Bitten is past participle form of “bite” and bleed is base form.
 Gerunds and Infinitives
A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions as a noun that
names an activity rather than a person or thing. Any action verb can be made into
a gerund.
• Jogging is a hobby of mine • Daniel quit smoking a year ago.

• I look forward to helping you paint the • Paul avoids using chemicals on

house the vegetables he grows.

An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a sentence. It

is formed with to + base form of the verb.

• Jim always forgets to eat.

• To travel around the world

requires a lot of time and money.

• Tara has the ability to succeed.

Now take the assessment on
Verbs!