1. Week 1—The Stranger
Unit 3 Grammar

2. Action and Linking Verbs
The main word in the predicate of a sentence is a verb.
Words that show actions are called action verbs.
Most action verbs show actions you can see. Some action verbs, such as think and understand, show actions you cannot see.

3. Examples Action Verbs Mr. Bailey hit a stranger with his truck.
He regretted the accident.

4. Linking Verbs
Linking verbs do not show actions. They tell what the subject is or what the subject is like. Common linking verbs are forms of the verb to be, such as am, is, are, was, and were.
Verbs such as seem, appear, become, and feel can also be linking verbs.
Linking Verbs The man was alive.
He seemed very strange.

5. Choose the verb in each sentence.
The Bailey family lived on a farm.
Mr. Bailey struck a man with his truck.
He brought the man home.
The stranger was silent.
He appeared completely healthy.
The stranger changed the weather.
Animals trusted the strange man.
One morning the stranger disappeared.

6. Action or Linking Verb? March is a great time of year in New England.
In the fields, the snow melts into muddy puddles.
Little streams become swollen with water.
A brisk wind chases the clouds across the sky.
Birds return from their winter homes in the south.
Green shoots poke their way through the dead leaves.

7. Choose a verb to fill in the sentences
Choose a verb to fill in the sentences. If there is a L in ( ), write a linking verb. If there is an A in ( ), write an action verb.
My friend John ____ (L) crazy about nature. He _____ (A) the plants and animals in the woods near his home. Often he quietly ______(A) birds with his binoculars. Once he ______(A) a beaver dam in the stream. When he talks about what he has seen, John _________( L) very excited. Some people find the woods scary, but John _____ (L) content when he is out by himself in the natural world.

8. Test Prep—Choose the letter of the verb that completes each sentence.
A big maple tree ____ in our backyard.
be B. grows C. standing D. from
It _____ at least 100 years old.
do B. until C. is D. lasting
In summer we _______ in its shade.
play B. happy C. am D. under
Birds ______ nests in its leafy branches.
flying B. noisy C. safe D. build

9. Choose the letter of the action or linking verb in each sentence.
Our tree’s leaves turn golden yellow in October.
tree’s B. leaves C. golden D. turn
The leaves float to the ground like orange snow.
float B. to C. ground D. snow
The tree becomes a bare gray skeleton.
bare B. gray C. becomes D. skeleton
The warmth of spring gives our old tree new life at last.
A. last B. gives C. spring D. warmth

10. Find the verb in each sentence. Action or Linking?
Last spring I planted a bean in a flower pot.
A green sprout pushed through the soil a few days later.
The bean formed two big leaves.
The little plant grew rapidly.
In a few weeks, my bean was ready for the garden.
I put it in a sunny spot.
The bean seemed happy in its new home.

11. Read the label telling the type of verb that is required
Read the label telling the type of verb that is required. Then choose the phrase that correctly completes each sentence.
Action: The tree (blew wildly in the wind, is tall and strong)
Linking: The squirrels (raced across the street, were ready for winter)
Linking: The river (seems deeper than last year, overflows its banks every spring)
Action: The air (felt warm and sticky, hardly moved at all)
Linking: Summer (is a time for simple pleasures, often brings hot and humid weather.