Verb Tenses PDF

Action Verbs, Linking Verbs, Helping Verbs​! There are three kinds of verbs: action, linking, and helping. Knowing the difference between the three types of verbs and how to use them is critical to being an effective writer. Action Verbs​ - Some tell about an action that you can see... T...

Action Verbs, Linking Verbs, Helping Verbs​! There are three kinds of verbs: action, linking, and helping. Knowing the difference between the three types of verbs and how to use them is critical to being an effective writer. Action Verbs​ - Some tell about an action that you can see... The boy​ ​kicked​ the ball. The girl​ ​flew​ a kite. The dog​ ​ate​ her dinner. Some tell about action that you can’t see. They​ ​wanted​ to win the lottery. The fans​ ​hoped​ for a victory. The children​ ​wished​ for a snow day. Linking verbs - ​These do not show action. ​They “link” a subject with another word in the sentence​. The most common linking verbs are: ​ am is are was were be being been I​ ​am​ thrilled​. The car​ ​was​ a lemon. The bear​ ​is​ angry. The team​ ​was​ sad that they lost. Marvin’s parents​ ​were​ proud of his wonderful grades. Other common linking verbs: look appear become taste seem feel sound remain smell BE CAREFUL!​ ​Context clues​ will tell you if the verb is an action or linking verb! Jeremy​ ​tasted ​the sandwich.​ (action) The sandwich​ ​tasted ​funny.​ (linking) Doris​ ​smelled ​the flower.​ (action) The flower​ ​smelled ​lovely​. (linking) The bride​ ​looked​ at her charming fiance.​ (action) The bride​ ​looked​ beautiful.​ (linking) Helping verbs​ - ​Helping verbs do just that...they ​help​ the main verb in a sentence. A main verb plus a helping verb(s) is called a ​verb phrase​.​ The main verb in a verb phrase is always the last one. ​The main verb can be an action verb or a linking verb, but it can never be a helping verb​. The most common helping verbs are: am is are was were be being been have has had do does did could would should may might must can will shall Helping verbs will be followed by a main verb​. The helpers often change the ​time​ that something occurs. We​ ​will eat​ lunch at noon.​ (“will” (HV) “eat” (MV): this will happen in the future) We​ ​are eating​ lunch.​ (“are” (HV) “eating” (MV): this is happening right now) We ​were eating​ lunch earlier.​ (“were” (HV) “eating” (MV): this happened in the past) Helping verbs allow us to create really complex ideas: We​ ​could have eaten​ lunch at noon.​ (“could” and “have” (HV); “eaten” (MV)) ○ The opportunity was there, but they decided not to eat. We​ ​should have eaten​ lunch at noon.​ (“should” and “have” (HV); “eaten” (MV)) ○ The opportunity may have been there, but they didn’t, and now they regret it. We​ ​would have eaten​ lunch at noon​. (“would” and “have” (HV); “eaten” (MV)) ○ They planned on eating at noon, but something kept them from doing it. WARNING!​ ​The orange verbs above can be ​tricky!​ Depending on how they are used in the sentence, they can be a linking verb or a helping verb. So how can you tell which it is? Here’s the key: ​If there is a verb following the orange ones, then the orange verb is a ​helping verb​. If the orange verb is by itself in the sentence, then it’s a ​linking verb​. Kerry​ ​was​ happy about her grades.​ ​ (“was” is by itself - it’s a ​linking​ verb) Kerry​ ​was bragging​ about her grades.​ ​(“was” is a ​HV​ because another verb follows it - “bragging”) The​ ​bulldog​ ​is​ sweet. ​(“is” is by itself - it’s a ​linking​ verb) The bulldog​ ​is licking​ the boy’s face.​ (​ “is” is a ​HV​ because another verb follows it - “licking”) WARNING!​ ​A verb phrase only contains verbs - a main verb and its helping verbs.​ BUT, ​lots ​of times adverbs​ will appear in the middle of a verb phrase. Just be aware that there may be sneaky words in a verb phrase that are not verbs themselves. We ​could ​not​ have eaten​ lunch at noon. (​“not”​ is an adverb and is ​not​ part of the verb phrase) We​ ​should ​never​ ​have eaten​ lunch at noon.​ (​“never”​ is an adverb and is ​never​ ​part of the verb phrase) We​ ​would ​often​ eat​ lunch at noon. (​“often”​ is an adverb and is ​never​ ​part of the verb phrase) We​ ​would ​sometimes​ eat​ lunch at noon​. (​“sometimes”​ is an adverb and is ​never​ ​part of the verb phrase)  Verb Note Highlights! Action verbs​ - Some tell about an action that you can see: run, kick, cook, spin, fly, saw, lift... ​Some tell about an action that you can’t see: think, hope, consider, wish, ponder… Linking verbs​ - ​These do not show action. ​They “link” a subject with another word in the sentence​. The most common linking verbs are: am is are was were be being been Other linking verbs are: look appear become taste seem feel sound remain smell Helping verbs - ​Helping verbs ​help​ the main verb in a sentence. A main verb plus a helping verb(s) is called a ​verb phrase​. The main verb in a verb phrase ​is always the last one​. The main verb can be an action verb or a linking verb but never a helping verb. The most common helping verbs are: am is are was were be being been have has had do does did could would should may might must can will shall The orange verbs above can be ​tricky! They can be linking verbs or helping verbs. The key to figuring out which it is: ○ If there is a verb following the orange one, then the orange verb is a ​helping verb​. ○ If the orange verb is by itself in the sentence, then it’s a ​linking verb​. A verb phrase only contains verbs - a main verb and its helping verbs​. Adverbs​ in the middle of a verb phrase are not part of the verb phrase. Watch for these common adverbs: not, never, often, sometimes, even, only, really, soon