VERBS

INTRODUCTION
• What is a verb?
• A verb tells us about an action, an activity, a process, a state of being or a
state of mind.
 Main verbs (ordinary verbs) X Auxiliary verbs.
 Auxiliary verbs work together with main verbs.
E.g.: I am thinking.
She has seen the film already.
I can help you.
We might need to get help.
 INTRODUCTION
• Most of the verbs in English are main verbs. They are also called
lexical verbs.
• Main verbs can be divided in several ways: actions and states,
regular and irregular, transitive and intransitive, etc.
• Irregular verbs are different in spelling.
• Regular: talk, talks, talking, talked.
• Irregular: swim, swims, swimming, swam, swum.
• Irregular: go, goes, going, went, gone.
 INTRODUCTION
 Auxiliary verbs allow us to talk about different periods of time,
degrees of completion, certainty or doubt.
 Primary auxiliaries help express time, and modal auxiliaries help
to express certainty and doubt.
 VERB PHRASE
 Verb phrase: main verb and auxiliary (optional).
 When a verb phrase consists of a single word, it is a simple
verb.
 We usually put the verb phrase immediately after the subject.
 The object of a verb (if there is one) normally comes after the
verb phrase.
 Subject + VP + Object
 OBJECT
 Direct object: an object that follows a verb like this:
E.g.: Rory found a pen.
 Standard word order: Subject + Verb phrase + Direct object.
 Indirect object: names the person for or to whom something
is done.
E.g.: Rob gave me a box of chocolates.
 OBJECT
 Some verbs always take a direct object, some never take a
direct object.
 Others sometimes take one and sometimes don’t, depending
on the meaning.
 When a verb has an object it is called a transitive verb.
 A verb that does not have an object is called an intransitive
verb.
E.g.: Lynn fainted.
 OBJECT
 Some verbs may be either transitive or intransitive.
E.g.:Ann was reading (a letter). (Optional direct object)
 When a verb has both an indirect and a direct object it is called
a ditransitive verb.
E.g.: Stephen gave [me] [some flowers].
 Some verbs must have an adverbial as well as a direct object.
• E.g.: She put [the umbrella] [in a corner].
 REFLEXIVE VERBS
 Reflexive verbs: the object has the same reference as the
subject.
E.g.: I hurt myself. (I and myself have the same reference)
 Reflexive pronouns are used: when the speaker is referring to
an action that he or she has caused to happen and of which he
or she is also the object; when the direct object or
prepositional object has the same reference as the subject (e.g.:
John looked at himself).
 REFLEXIVE VERBS
 The reflexive pronoun can be removed if it is obvious that the
subject was performing the action of the verb on him/herself.
E.g.: Jeremy washed and dressed, then went out.
 The reflexive can be used to make something you say stronger.
E.g.: He told me himself that he was leaving.
 The reflexive can be used with or without by meaning alone or
without help.
E.g.: I think you should try and do it yourself.
 RECIPROCAL VERBS
 Reciprocal verbs: actions that involve two people doing the
same thing to each other.
E.g.:They hugged.
 When you want to show that both people are equally involved,
you can use the pronouns each other or one another as the
object of the verb.
E.g.:They touched one another.
 LINKING VERBS
 Linking verbs: verbs that are followed by a complement
rather than an object.
 The subject complement is a word or phrase that tells us more
about the subject.
E.g.: Ricardo is a nurse.
 Word order: Subject + Verb + Subject complement.
 An adjective that functions as a complement is called predicative
adjective.
 LINKING VERBS
 Object complement: tells us more about the direct object.
E.g.:They appointed him Director.
 Word order: Subject + Verb + Direct object + Object
complement.
 IRREGULAR VERBS
 Irregular verbs: verbs that do not form the past simple tense
and the past participle by adding -ed to the base form.
 There are 3 main groups of irregular verbs.
- Group A: the base form, the past simple and the past participle
are the same.
E.g.: put, cut, let, spread, hit, hurt, set, etc.
 IRREGULAR VERBS
- Group B: the past simple and the past participle have the same
form.
E.g.: buy/bought, build/built, bring/brought, catch/caught, find/found,
etc.
- Group C: the base form, the past simple and the past participle
have different forms.
E.g.: go/went/gone, awake/awoke/awoken, break/broke/broken,
give/gave/given, etc.
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 Auxiliary verbs: be and have are the primary auxiliaries.
 Be: present continuous and past continuous.
 Have: present perfect and past perfect.
 Do: supporting auxiliary. Negatives, questions and emphatic
statements.
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 Will, may, might, could, must: modal verbs. Actions as
possible, certain/uncertain, or necessary.
E.g.: Charlie will go home on Friday.
Charlie may go home on Friday.
Charlie could go home on Friday.
Charlie must go home on Friday.
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 Auxiliaries can be combined together in a single verb phrase.
E.g.: I could have been making a bad mistake by trusting him.
 The auxiliary verb has grammatical functions: it shows
tense; it shows number and person with the subject; it takes the
negative after it; it can come before the subject to make a
question.
E.g.: I have seen it. / She has seen it. / I do not want to do that. /
Do you want to help us?
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 Modal verbs: a special kind of auxiliary verb. They add special
elements of meaning to a main verb.
- Degrees of doubt and possibility: I may not be able to do it.
- Degrees of future possibility: I could bring some more
bread home with me tonight.
- To request or give permission: May I come in?
- To make a prohibition:You cannot borrow my car.
 AUXILIARY VERBS
- To speculate: He may be very upset about all this.
- To express obligation: I must hand in my essay today.
- To refer to typical behavior: She can be very kind on
occasions like this.
- To add politeness to a request which might otherwise
sound rude: Would you please close the door.
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 Modals can all be used for future reference, especially when
they are used with a time adverbial.
E.g.: I may be late home tomorrow evening.
 Modals have only one form, the base form, and only one tense,
the present simple (different from other auxiliaries).
 AUXILIARY VERBS
 Modals come before any other auxiliary verb or main verb in
the verb phrase.
 In negative sentences, not or any other negative word comes
immediately after the modal verb and in front of all the other
verbs.
 Word order: Modal + Negative + Auxiliary + Verb.
E.g.: I may not have upset him.
EXERCISES
1) What is a verb phrase? Cite an example to illustrate.
2) Define transitive, intransitive and ditransitive verb. Cite
examples that illustrate the differences among them.
3) What is a subject complement? What type of verb occurs with
this element? Cite an example.
4) Explain the differences between the two types of auxiliary
verbs.
5) Cite an example of a modal verb expressing future time.
6) What happens to the auxiliary verb when we use different
tenses? Cite examples to illustrate.
7) Identify the elements in the sentences: verb phrase, subject, direct
object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement and
adverbial.
a) The rice tastes sweet.

b) I am declaring this center open.

c) The crowd will cheer the president.

d) Ask me a question tomorrow.

7) Identify the elements in the sentences: verb phrase, subject, direct
object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement and
adverbial.
a) [The rice] [tastes] [sweet]. Subject – VP – Subject complement

b) [I] [am declaring] [this center] [open]. Subj – VP – Direct Object

– Object complement
c) [The crowd] [will cheer] [the president]. Subj – VP – Dir.Obj.

d) [Ask] [me] [a question] [tomorrow]. VP – Indirect object –

Direct object - Adverbial
7) Identify the elements in the sentences: verb phrase, subject, direct
object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement and
adverbial.
e) She loves cooking fish.

f) John has a meeting at home.

g) They have been giving you the books.

h) Our dog is going to be fine.

7) Identify the elements in the sentences: verb phrase, subject, direct
object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement and
adverbial.
e) [She] [loves] [cooking fish]. Subj – VP – Dir. Obj.

f) [John] [has] [a meeting] [at home]. Subj – VP – Dir. Obj. - Adverbial

g) [They] [have been giving] [you] [the books]. Subj – VP – Ind. Obj. –
Dir. Obj.
h) [Our dog] [is going to be] [fine]. Subj – VP – Subj. Complement