Lecturer: Rina Dewi Yana, S. S. M. Hum. English Department Unikom Parts of Speech : Verbs Lecturer: Rina Dewi Yana, S. S. M. Hum. English Department Unikom

Introduction We know that every sentence has two parts: A subject A predicate that makes a statement about the subject The most important part of the subject is the noun, because it tells us who or what the sentence is about. The most important of the predicate is the verb, because it tells us what action takes place in the sentence. A verb is an action word. It tells us what happens. It can also express a state of being. Open the next page to read further division of verbs.

The categories of verbs Verbs are classified into: Action verbs State of Being Auxiliary verbs (helping verbs) Transitive verbs Intransitive verbs

Action Verbs Most verbs involve actions like running, swimming, dancing, living, breathing, etc. You will also notice that verbs, for example to walk, to kick, to type, to drink, to sleep, etc., have the word to in front of them. This is because they are in the basic form called the infinitive.

State of Being State of being verbs are different. No action happens-these verbs simply tell us about circumstances. For example: He is a policeman. The verb is tells us about his state of being. Verbs like walk, talk, eat, sleep can tell us about the actions, but is tells us about his condition. All the time he eats, talks, walks; he is a policeman. An even better example is the verb to seem. For example imagine that you are sitting in a café with a friend. Your friend turns to you and says: Look, there is my father. He seems angry. You reply: Yes, I see him but he seems happy. If you think about it, you will see that you can seem happy, seem sad, seem angry or seem anything else without taking any action at all. It describes to someone else the condition you appear to be in.

Auxiliary Verbs Auxiliary verbs or helping verbs help the main verbs tell what the subject is doing by asking a question, giving a command, or making a statement. Remember them as the helping verbs which help connect as the subject and the main verb. Think of them as the verb helpers which connect the subject and the verb of the sentence. The main helping verbs are is, be, am, are, was, were, been, have, has, had, must, ought, can, might, could, would, should, shall, will, do, does, and did. Here are the examples: The reporters have written the story. He will tell her the news. The ceiling was designed with the great seal.

Transitive Verbs Transitive verbs are verbs which need an object or complement. For example: He killed a snake. She ate rice. The boy kicked the ball.

Intransitive Verbs Intransitive verbs are verbs that are not followed by an object. For example: Water boils. Cows walk. River flows. All babies sleep.

Exercise Identify the verbs in the following sentences by underlining them. The stamp appears in the right corner. Ms. Wright uses abbreviations in long letters. He printed the following letters for the signature of his employer,Fred Jones. A good bookkeeper is never neglectful of tools. The books confused the owner, the accountant, and him. Ability improves with practice. They consisted of the declaration of Independence, a treaty with France, a treaty with England, and the Constitution. Many citizens frequently respected a deep and abiding faith in the common man. Is it important? Scan your application form carefully!

Thank you for your attention and please keep practicing!