Verb Forms

A Verb is a word that tells or asserts something about a person or thing. The verb tells of action or doing.

Example:

Walk, ride, laugh, hunt, sing, think, feel, recall, play, look, want, like,

We shall look at some types of verbs

We shall look at some types of verbs

Ordinary verbs

Ordinary verbs occur by themselves in sentences and convey some action.

Example:

Play, take, go, come, walk, sing, jump, play, run, think, feel, see

Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are verbs that have to be used with other verbs. They only add meaning to other verbs. They are used with Ordinary verbs.

Example:

• to be, to have, to do, to be able (can), may, must, will, shall, ought to, used to. Usage:
• Is playing, have taken, do come, may go, must come, shall walk, ought to study, used to walk.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Depending on whether the action denoted by the verb is transferred from the subject to the object or not, verbs are said to be transitive or intransitive. Transitive means passing over.

Transitive verb

When the action denoted by the verb helps passes over from the doer or subject to some object. The verb is called a Transitive verb

 

• The boy took the turkey.
• Oliver finished the soup.
• The horse crossed the bridge
• The young trainee read carefully, and loudly all the pages of the company brochure.
• A tired old man brought his cart up the hill.

Intransitive verb

When the action denoted by the verb stops with the doer or subject and does not pass over to an object the verb is called an Intransitive verb. An intransitive verb may also express a state or being.

Example:

• He walked a long distance (action)
• The girl laughs (state)
• There is a mistake in the recipe (Being)

Would you like to see some verbs used both transitively and intransitively?

Most verbs can be used transitively and intransitively. Therefore it is better to say that a verb is used transitively or intransitively rather than calling a verb a Transitive or an Intransitive verb.

Used Transitively	Used Intransitively
Ted spoke the truth.	Ted spoke angrily.
The driver stopped the bus.	The bus stopped suddenly.
The sportsman fights fear.	The boys fight fearlessly.
The men broke the wall.	The glass broke.
The boy burst the balloon with a pin.	The bubble burst.
He opens the window.	The window opens to the lake.

Spoke what? - the truth

Stopped what? - the bus

Tense

We use the tense of the verb to denote the time of action.

Time can be classified as Past, Present and Future.

Tense can be classified as Present tense and the Past tense

Generally the link between Tense and Time is simple.

Note

Ask the question WHAT after the verb. If you get an answer then it is used transitively.

Present tense

is used for Present time and Future time

Example:

• He buys books. (present time)
• He is singing a song. (present time)
• He has a headache. (present time)
• He leaves for Paris tomorrow. (future time)
• He is going on a business trip next month. (future time)
• He will buy her a gift for Christmas. (future time)

Past tense

It is used for Past time.

Example:

• He bought a book yesterday. (past time)
• He left for Paris last year. (past time)
• They sang songs at the wedding. (past time)
• We were playing on the hill. (past time)

Each tense has a simple form indicating action, a progressive form, indicating ongoing action; a perfect form, indicating completed action; and a perfect progressive form, indicating ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time.

	Simple	Progressive	Perfect	Perfect progressive
Present	Take / takes	Is/ are taking	Has/ have taken	Has/ have been taking
Past	Took	Was/ were taking	Had taken	Had been taking

 

Take

 

• The Simple Present Tense is used to express habitual action or general truths.
• Peter takes his dog for a walk.
• I drink coffee everyday
• The sun rises in the east

 

Is taking

Present Continuous Tense is used for an action going on at the time of speaking.

Peter is taking his dog for a walk (now).

I am reading a book (now).

The boys are playing hockey outside (now).

 

Has been taking

The Present Perfect Continuous is used for an action which began at some time in the past and is still continuing.

Peter has been taking his dog for a walk regularly.

I have been studying since 5 O'clock.

I have been watering the plants, yet they are dying.

 

Has taken

Present Perfect Tense is used to denote an action that began in the past and the effect of which has continued to the present

Verbs also are singular or plural. The verb takes the same number as its subject has, in the given sentence. When the subject is singular, the verb is singular. When the subject is plural, the verb is plural.

Number	Subject	Verb	Sentence
Singular	The boy	Plays	The boy plays.
Plural	The boys	Play	The boys play.
Singular	A bird	Is singing	A bird is singing.
Plural	Some birds	Are singing	Some birds are singing
Singular	A stone	Was shining	A stone was shining
Plural	The stones	Were shining	The stones were shining

 

Uncountable nouns take on singular verbs.

	Singular (one)	Plural (more than one)
Present tense	Sings	Sing
Past tense	Sang	Sang
Present tense	Is singing	are singing
Past tense	was singing	Were singing
Present tense	Has sung	Have sung
Past tense	Had sung	Had sung
Present tense	Has been singing	Have been singing
Past tense	Had been singing	Had been singing

 

 

Example:

• The furniture has to be changed
• The crockery was exquisite
• The milk has spilt.
• Tea is a popular drink.

Person

Verbs behave peculiarly with pronouns.

• We say I am but he is,
• We say you are even if 'you' refers to a single person.
• Would you like to see a table to explain number with person?

 

Read the passage and observe the use of the verbs:

 

A hunter was going through the woods. He was a proud man. He met a woodcutter. He told the woodcutter that he was searching for a bear.

He asked the woodcutter, "My, good man, have you seen a bear?"

The brave woodcutter put down his axe, "Yes, I have seen bears. I will take you to the den".

The hunter became white with fear. He began to shake. "I am looking for bear tracks, not for bears" he stammered. The hunter ran away.

Verb: take Verb: to be
First person singular	I I	take am happy	I take a walk. I am happy
First person plural	We We	take are	We take a walk. We are happy
Second person singular	You You	take are	You take a walk. You are happy
Second person plural	You You	take are	You take a walk. You are happy
Third person singular	He / she He/she	takes is	He takes a walk. He is happy.
Third person plural	They They	take are	They take a walk. They are happy
Verb: take
First person singular	I	am	I am taking a walk.
First person plural	We	are	We are taking a walk.
Second person singular	You	are	You are taking a walk.
Second person plural	You	are	You are taking a walk.
Third person singular	He / she	is	He is taking a walk.
Third person plural	They	are	They are taking a walk.