1. Verbs (part 1)

2. Definition A verb shows action or being or links a subject to a subject complement. Each sentence is about its subject, and the word for that subject will be the noun or pronoun, but how does the sentence say something about the noun or pronoun? The verb does that.

3. Contd. The verb is the main word about the noun; the verb tells what the noun is doing, or that it exists, or what it is equal to. Most verbs show actions or equations.

4. Actions or equations An action verb might show the verb’s action on a direct object: Verdi composed the opera. An action verb may show a simple action not on a direct object: Verdi composed carefully. If the verb is linking, then it might link the nouns to a subject complement: Yeats was a poet.

5. Sam saw him. Sam is he.

6. Linking verbs link This is one of the most important concepts in grammar. Sue caught a fish. Action Sue is my friend. Linking Sue has a new book. Linking

7. To be and the tricky ones The most common linking verb is the verb to be; I am a refugee. Alexander was a genius. There are other linking verbs, though, that at first sound like action verbs.

8. Action verbWe smelled the smoke. Linking verbSomething smells fishy. Action verbLarry grew a turnip. Linking verbLarry grew suspicious.

9. What is a being verb? “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”- Hamlet (Shakespeare) Verbs that express pure existence- being. I am a duck. One day, long ago, there was a duck.

10. Summary Action verbs express actions. Linking verbs express equations. Being verbs express existence.

11. Action verbMort saw a frog. Action verbMort has a frog. Action verbMort smells a frog. Linking verbGorf was a frog. Linking verbGorf smells good. Being verbThere was a frog.