Verbs - What Is A Verb And How It Is Used

What Is A Verb?

A verb is the action taking place in a sentence and is also known as the predicate. The verb lets you know what the subject of the sentence is doing. Examples of a verb include:

• run
• walk
• play
• work
• sleep

Exercise

1. Name 10 verbs and write them 10 times.

Verb Tenses

A verb has many "tenses" to signify when the action is taking place. There are 3 basic verb tenses, past, present and future.

Past Tense Verbs

The past tense verb tells you the action happened sometime in the past and is often spelled with "ed" at the end of the verb. Examples of past tense verbs include:

• dated
• worked
• walked
• played

Those are examples of actions that have already been done. An action that has already been done is a past tense verb. There are examples of past tense verb spelt in a different manner which will be covered in the Spelling Rules - Tips To Help You Spell Any Word section.

Exercise

1. Name 10 past tense verbs and write them 10 times each.

Present Tense Verbs

A present tense verb is a verb where the action is currently taking place. Examples include:

• sit
• stand
• shout
• eats

Exercise

1. Name 10 present tense verbs and write them 10 times each.

Singular Present Tense Verbs

Sometimes that verb will be singular if the subject is singular. If there is only one person behind the action, it is a singular subject. Pronouns often used to signify singular include:

• he
• she
• it

• plays
• sings
• dances
• laughs

In the example of singular present tense verbs with singular subjects, you could make a sentence such as:

• He plays.
• She sings.
• Mary dances.
• Sam laughs.

Notice how the action is taking place now. Also notice only one person is involved in that action. A singular noun must match up to a singular verb.

Exercise

1. Name 10 singular present tense verbs and write them 10 times each.
2. Write 10 simple sentences using a singular present tense verb with a singular subject.

Plural Present Tense Verbs

In other cases, that verb will be a plural if the subjects are plural. If more than one person is performing the action, the verb used must be plural. Pronouns often used to signify plural include

• they
• we

In these plural verbs, the word does not end in the letter "s". Examples include:

• play
• sing
• dance
• laugh

In the example of plural present tense verbs with singular subjects, you could make a sentence such as:

• They play.
• We sing.
• Sarah and Jane dance.
• Paul and Joan laugh.

Notice how the action is taking place now. Also notice more than one person is involved in that action. A plural noun must match up to a plural verb.

Exercise

1. Name 10 plural present tense verbs and write them 10 times each.
2. Write 10 simple sentences using a plural present tense verb with a plural subject.

Future Tense Verbs

A future tense verb implies the action to take place has not happened, but will in the future.

A future tense verb often begins with the helping verb such as:

• will
• shall
• may
• can
• must
• must not
• cannot
• shall never
• may never
• shall not
• will not
• can't
• won't
• shan't

• will go
• shall play

To use a future tense verb in a simple sentence, you must use the basic form of the verb with the helping verb. Examples include:

• He will play.
• She shall fight.
• They will shop.
• Mary will eat.
• John shall dance.

Exercise

1. Name 10 future tense verb and write them 10 times each.
2. Write 10 simple sentences using future tense verbs.

Progressive Verbs

When more than one action is taking place in a sentence, progressive verbs are used to convey the idea of the order these actions are taking place. These progressive verbs can be past, present or future. Examples include:

• Past - Yesterday, I went to the the store and bought candy then played a video game.
• Present - I am sorting through my clothes, ironing them and putting them in the drawers.
• Future - Tomorrow, I will travel on an airplane where I will eat a great meal and shall see the land below me.

Exercise

1. Create 5 sentences using past progressive verbs.
2. Create 5 sentences using present progressive verbs.
3. Create 5 sentences using future progressive verbs.

Perfect Tense Verbs

The perfect tenses give the idea that one event happens before another time or event.

The perfect tenses are formed by using a form of the verb "have" plus the past participle form of another verb such as in these examples:

• have gone
• has eaten
• had been

These perfect tense verbs can be in the past, present or future.

Past Perfect Tense Verbs

You use the past perfect to write or talk about an action that was completed before another past event or an action that was completed before a specific past time focus. Examples include:

• Sam had spilled the milk before I came into the room.
• The cat had eaten her tuna treat yesterday afternoon.
• He had eaten when they arrived to take him to lunch.

Note in these examples, the subjects have already performed some action before the current period of time in which the rest of the sentence is focused.

Sam already spilled the milk, but now I am coming into the room. The cat already ate tuna, but that was yesterday. He has already had his meal at the moment they came to take him to lunch.

In those examples, something already happened as you are now telling the story.

Exercise

1. Write 5 sentences using the past perfect tense verbs.

Present Perfect Tense Verbs

You use the present perfect to write or talk about an event that occurred an an unspecified past time; the action is completed, but the time period is not completed. Examples include:

• Bill has seen the circus in Chicago before.
• We have gone to the gym to exercise a few times.
• They have been jogging around the block for a few hours.

In the examples above, you can see the subject is engaged in some activity at a past point of time, but from the point of view of the person telling the story, it is within the context of happening now.

Bill already seen the circus, that is before now. We have already done the gym thing a few times before now. They have been doing their jogging around the block for a few hours and it seems are still in the process of doing it.

Exercise

1. Write 5 sentences using the present perfect tense verbs.

Future Perfect Tense Verbs

You use the future perfect to talk or write about an action that will be completed before another time or event in the future. Examples include:

• I will have eaten lunch by the time they get here.
• They will have discovered life on Mars by the year 3000.

Note in the sentences above, the subject has not yet performed an action, but will do so in the future. I did not yet eat, but will do so before they get here. They have not yet discovered life on Mars, but life will be found before the year 3000.

Exercise

1. Write 5 sentences using the future perfect tense verbs.

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