English: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 Handouts: * Grammar 15 (Linking Verbs and Predicate Words) Homework: * Grammar 15 (Linking Verbs and Predicate Words) [If you don’t finish in class, it is homework.] Assignments due: * None

Lesson Goal: Learn about linking verbs and predicate words. Outcomes: Be able to . . . Define these terms: Subject, predicate, adjective. State two things a “linking verb” does. Describe what a “predicate noun” does. Describe what a “predicate adjective” does. Distinguish between action verbs and linking verbs in any given sentence. Identify predicate adjectives and predicate nouns in any given sentence.

Starter #1 Please take out the handout you received yesterday. Take out your comp book. Turn to the first blank page. In the upper right hand corner, write the following: Tues., Nov. 6, 2012 QW #24: Earliest Memory How far back in your life can you remember? What is your very earliest memory? Describe one of the earliest memories you can recall from your childhood.   Remember to write in complete sentences, avoiding fragments and run-ons. If you are not sure how to spell a certain word, just sound it out and circle it.

What do we mean when we refer to a “verb’s tense”? Starter #2 Let’s switch gears and review what we learned last week in our Grammar Lessons. What do we mean when we refer to a “verb’s tense”? It’s when the action takes place—past, present, or future   Present tense describes an action that happens on a regular basis: We visit my grandmother on Sundays. Present tense also describes a general, ongoing truth, like this: We visit many relatives.   Past tense describes action that has already happened. It is usually formed by adding –ed to a verb. We visited my aunt last weekend. Future tense describes action that will happen in the future. It is usually formed by adding will or shall just before the verb. We will visit my grandmother next Sunday.

Starter #3 Today we are going to learn about verbs that do NOT show action. Instead, their purpose is simply to serve as links. What does the word “link” mean? To connect   Before we learn about these “linking verbs, we need to review a few things. . . . What are the two basic parts of every sentence? Subject Predicate Subject = What the sentence is about—the topic of the sentence. Predicate = What the subject does . . . or what it is, or what it is like. Does anyone know what an “adjective” is? It’s a word that modifies (tells you more about) a noun. It answers one of these three questions: Which one? What kind? How many? Keep that in mind as we continue. . . . In fact, let’s write that down on today’s handout—remind me!

Check out this example: An avocado is a fruit. Starter #4 In today’s lesson, you need to know that a “linking verb” connects the subject of the sentence with either a noun or an adjective in the predicate. (Remember—sentences can have more than one noun. The first noun is usually the one that’s the subject of the sentence.) Check out this example: An avocado is a fruit. What’s the linking verb? is What does it connect? It connects the subject avocado with fruit. In the above sentence, fruit is a “predicate noun.” It tells what the subject (avocado) is.  

Starter #4 Some sentences, however, have a “predicate adjective,” an adjective (it modifies a noun) that follows the linking verb and tells what the subject is like. For example: This avocado is ripe. Ripe is a predicate adjective. It tells what the subject (avocado) is like (or what kind it is).   Here are the common linking verbs: appear become grow seem am, is, are, was, were feel look taste Let’s test your detective skills with today’s activity. . . . 