Verbs!

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Verbs!
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Verbs Is it only what you do?

• A verb can express THREE things!
• 1. Action (Its what you do.)
• 2. Condition (verbs such as look, smell,
  feel, sound, taste, grow, appear, become,
  seem, remain)
• 3. State-of-being (the 8 forms of the verb
  to be)

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State-of-What?

• The state-of-being verbs, as previously stated,
  are the 8 forms of the verb to be.
• Just like in Spanish, we can conjugate English
  verbs into their different forms
• Present Tense (right now) Past Tense (yesterday)
• I _______ hungry. I _______ hungry.
• You _______ hungry. You _______ hungry.
• He/She/It _______ hungry. He/She/It _______
  hungry.
• We _______ hungry. We _______ hungry.
• They _______ hungry. They _______ hungry.

am
was
are
were
is
was
are
were
are
were
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Forms of To Be

• More concisely, the 8 forms of the verb to be
  are
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING

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Forms of To Be

• These words will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be VERBS
  even though they are trickier to recognize
  because they are not an action.
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING

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Infinitives

• An infinitiveto verb
• When we worked with the forms of to be, we were
  working with the infinitive of that verb.
• In Spanish, the infinitives are the words usually
  ending in er, (correr to run), ar (caminar
  to walk), and ir (escribir to write)
• Lets practice making infinitives for the
  following verbs
• running went seems
• felt jumping had

to run
to go
to seem
to feel
to jump
to have
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Finding Verbs

• Identify the verbs in the following sentences.
  Use the tricks weve just learned!
• The swimmer jumped off of the board.
• The swimmer jumped off of the board.
• The book is much better than the movie.
• The book is much better than the movie.
• This new program makes my computer faster!
• This new program makes my computer faster!
• The otters caught the first fish.
• The otters caught the first fish.
• Matt memorized all of his lines!
• Matt memorized all of his lines!
• All mammals are vertebrates.
• All mammals are vertebrates.

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What are the forms of to be again?

• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING

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Finding Verbs

• Identify the verbs in the following sentences.
  Use the tricks weve just learned!
• Annie went to the office early.
• Annie went to the office early.
• Some students left before the second bell.
• Some students left before the second bell.
• I am Sam.
• I am Sam.
• They rode for miles on the open road.
• They rode for miles on the open road.
• Amy and Sarah always giggle during tests.
• Amy and Sarah always giggle during tests.
• The two cadets were proud.
• The two cadets were proud.

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Verb Phrases

• Verbs can also come in clusters. These clusters
  are called verb phrases.
• Verb phrasesauxiliary verbs main verbs
• Auxiliary verbs is just a fancy name for
  helping verbs.
• Common auxiliary verbs include
• can could, will would, shall should, may might
  must, have had has, do did does

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What are the auxiliary verbs again?

• can could, will would, shall should, may might
  must, have had has, do did does
• can could, will would, shall should, may might
  must, have had has, do did does
• can could, will would, shall should, may might
  must, have had has, do did does
• can could, will would, shall should, may might
  must, have had has, do did does

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Verb Phrases

• For example
• She may be arriving today. She may be arriving
  today.
• I will go tomorrow. I will go tomorrow.
• Winifred can play the clarinet. Winifred can
  play the clarinet.
• Leroy should study consistently. Leroy should
  study consistently.
• Bernice must have been late. Bernice must have
  been late.
• He would go if he were invited. He would go if
  he were invited.
• I must be on time. I must be on time.
• I should practice my tuba. I should practice my
  tuba.

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So how can I recognize a verb if Im unsure?

• First, check and see if its a form of to be!
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• Next, check and see if it has some typical verb
  endings such as
• Present progressive ing (walking, jumping,
  singing, going)
• Present s (walks, jumps, sings, goes)
• Past tense ed (walked, jumped, but NOT sang
  or went! CAREFUL! This WONT always work!)
• Finally, test if it can be turned into an
  infinitive
• went to go
• saw to see
• tried to try
• thought to think
• swam to swim
• enjoys to enjoy
• If it passes any of these tests, its probably a
  verb!

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So why does it matter if I know what a stinkin
verb is anyway?

• Verbs are TURBO important in writing
• 1. EVERY complete sentence needs a verb!
• For example Well-dressed and kind.
• (No verb, and therefore makes no sense!)
• She is well-dressed and kind.
• Dudley the ball to the pitcher.
• (No verb! What did he DO with the ball?)
• Dudley tossed the ball to the pitcher.

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Verbs in Writing

• 2. Try to use ACTION verbs when you can.
• It makes your writing very vivid and visual!
  Dont depend on the forms of to be
  excessively. Theyre not as convincing.
• For example She was nice.
• (This is putting a lot of trust in the writer
  to tell the truth. Its therefore not very
  convincing and not visual at all.)
• She helped the old woman across the street
  and bought lemonade from a neighbor childs
  stand.
• (This SHOWS us that she is nice, and is
  therefore more visual and convincing.)

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Verbs in Writing

• 3. Avoid extensive verb phrases when possible.
  Be concise!
• Your writing can become wordy, which muddles
  meaning.
• For example The ball was thrown by
  Leonard.
• Leonard threw the ball.
• The test will be taken by the cadet.
• The cadet will take the test. OR
• The cadet takes the test.

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What are the forms of to be again?

• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• AM, ARE, IS, WAS, WERE, BE, BEEN, BEING
• And the auxiliary verbs?
• can could, will would, shall should, may might
  must, have had has, do did does
• can could, will would, shall should, may might
  must, have had has, do did does

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1. Every November, marching bands visit New York
City for the big Thanksgiving Day parade.2.
Even on cold days, the parade is on schedule.3.
The crowd lines the parade route and will stay
until the end.
Lets practice identifying verbs! Wahoo!
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The End!
or is it?