Verbs American Lit

Verb a word or group of words that expresses time while showing an action, a condition, or the fact that something exists help make statements, ask questions, or deliver commands every complete sentence must have at least one verb

Action and Linking Verbs Action: is a verb that tells what action someone or something is performing can be visible or mental EX: Tim baked an apple pie. EX: I thought of you. Linking: is a verb that connects its subject with a noun, pronoun, or adjective that identifies or describes the subject Ex: That man is a famous hockey player. The ice surface seems smooth.

The forms of be The verb be is the most common linking verb -most often, the forms of be that function as linking verbs express the condition of the subject, but they may also express existence Ex: The skater is on the ice. see chart on page 375 other linking verbs –see chart on page 375 some other linking verbs may also be action verbs- depends on the context of the sentence. Linking: The air felt cold. Action: The skiers felt a chilly wind.

Verbs: Either Transitive and Intransitive Transitive: directs action toward someone or something named in the same sentence the word toward which a transitive word directs its action is called the object of the verb determine the object by asking whom or what after the verb Intransitive: does not direct attention toward anyone or anything named in the same sentence linking verbs do not express action, so they are always intransitive

Examples Transitive – He drove the car around the block. – They climbed the mountain that winter. – The dangerous storm stopped the trip. Intransitive – He drove around the block. – They climbed very slowly. – The trip was stopped when the storm came.

Verb Phrases a verb that has more than one word is a verb phrase consists of a main verb and one or more helping verbs Helping verbs are often called auxiliary verbs as many as 3 helping verbs may precede the main verb in a verb phrase

Verb Phrases the forms of be can be used as helping verbs a verb phrase may be interrupted by other words other helping verbs include – do – does – did – have – has had – shall – should – will – would – can – could – may – might – must

Examples I should have taken a horse-and-carriage ride through the snow Should I take a horse-and-carriage ride through the snow? They will be going to the arena. They will soon be going to the arena.