VERBS

Types of Verbs: Action What the subject does: throw, catch sing, play run, walk watch, listen think, speak write, read

Verb Choice Good writers pay attention to the connotative meanings of words and select specific, vivid verbs: All of the words below mean “laugh giggle snicker chuckle cackle guffaw For each word, write the dictionary definition and give one example of a situation where you would “do” the word.

Types of Verbs: Linking These verbs connect the subject with a predicate noun or a predicate adjective. Forms of the verb “to be” – be, is, are, was, were, am, been, being Other linking verbs: appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, taste Kirsti (S) was a minor character (PN) in Number the Stars. (“was” connects the subject to the predicate noun.) Kirsti (S) was stubborn (PA) when the soldier touched her hair. (“was” connects the subject to the predicate adjective.)

Verbs Have Tense – Tense is a way to show when the action happens Present -- the action is happening now. (Ex. I sing in chorus.) Past – the action happened yesterday (or otherwise, in the past) (Ex. I sang in chorus.) Future – the action will happen tomorrow (or otherwise, in the future) (Ex. I will sing in chorus.) Present Perfect – the action began in the past but continues or is completed in the present (Ex. I have sung in chorus.) Past Perfect – the action began in the past and was completed in the past. (Ex. I had sung in chorus.) Future Perfect – the action will begin in the future and will be completed at a specific time in the future. (Ex. I will have sung in chorus.)

Regular and Irregular Verbs Regular verb: We can add “ed” to show that the action occurred in the past. For example: Events occur. (present tense) Events occurred. (past tense) Events had occurred. (past perfect tense) Irregular verb: We cannot add “ed” to show that the action occurred in the past. The word changes. For example: I sing. (present tense) I sang. (past tense) I had sung. (past perfect tense)

Problem: Passive Voice vs. Active Voice ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE A verb is in the active voice if the subject is doing the action. Ex. Simon, the macaw, sang his favorite “Hello” song as the morning sun peeked over the horizon. Passive voice: Use only when absolutely necessary. Ex. A “Hello” song was sung by Simon, the macaw, as the morning sun peeked over the horizon.