- Definition
- Action Verbs
- Linking Verbs
- Verb Phrases
- Verbs Tenses
- Subject – Verb Agreement
- Regular and Irregular Verbs
- Active and Passive Verb Forms
- Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
- Troublesome Pairs of Verbs
- Answers
Definition
- A verb is a word that:
- expresses an action
- expresses the state that something exists, or
- links the subject with a word that describes or renames it.
- Hence, there are two kinds of verbs. These are action verbs and linking verbs.
Action Verbs
- Action verbs express actions. They show what the subject does or did. Most verbs are action verbs.
Examples:
- Cats drink milk.
- The ball flew over the goal post.
- The farmer tills the land.
- Robert ran to the house. - The action may be one that you can see.
Example:
- They crowned their new King. - The action may be one that you cannot see.
Example:
- She wanted recognition. - Whether the action can be seen or not, an action verb says that something is happening, has happened, or will happen.
Linking Verbs
- A linking verb links the subject of a sentence with a word or words that :
- express(es) the subject’s state of being
Example:
- She is here. (expresses state of being)
- She seems ready. (state of being) - describe(es) or rename(es) the subject.
Examples:
- Anna is a nurse (a nurse, describes Anna)
- Joyce is cheerful (cheerful describes Joyce)
- The road is bumpy.
- express(es) the subject’s state of being
- A linking verb does not tell about an action.
Common Linking Verbs
am look grow
are feel remain
is taste become
was smell sound
were seem will be
appear
NB: Some verbs can be either linking verbs or action verbs.
Examples:
- The crowd looked at the mangled car – ACTION
- The driver of the car looked shocked – LINKING
- The chef smelled the food – ACTION
- The food smelled wonderful – LINKING
Exercise 1
Identify the verb in each of the following sentences. Then label each verb Action or Linking.
- Queen Elizabeth of England seems an interesting historical figure.
- We watched the Olympic games on television.
- The crowd cheered loudly.
- She seems calm.
- PLO Lumumba is a quick thinker.
- The hunter aimed the arrow at the antelope.
- The referee blew the whistle to start off the game.
- She was very tired after the journey.
- She is careful when crossing the road.
- The country seems prosperous.
Verb Phrases
- In some sentences, the verb is more than one word. It is in form of a phrase, which is called a verb phrase.
- A verb phrase consists of a main verb and one or more helping verbs.
- The main verb shows the action in the sentence.
- The helping verb works with the main verb. Helping verbs do not show action.
Examples:
- Mark Francis has passed the examinations
H.V. M.V.
- He will be admitted to a national school.
H.V. H.V. M.V.
- His parents are happy with him.
H.V. M.V.
Common Helping Verbs
am will can would
is shall could must
are have may was
has should were had
might - Some verbs, such as do, have and be, can either be used as main verbs or as helping verbs.
Examples:
As main verbs As helping verbs
- I will do the job I do like the job.
- Who has a pen? He has lost his pen.
- They are my friends They are coming today. - Sometimes helping verbs and main verbs are separated by words that are not verbs.
Examples:
- I do not ride bicycle any more.
- Can we ever be friends again?
- We should definitely apologise for the mistakes.
Exercise 2
Indicate H.V. under the Helping verb and M.V. under the Main verb in the following sentences.
- The school choir is singing a new song.
- The football season has finally begun.
- This car just can travel very fast.
- He had waited for this chance for years.
- My parents will be visiting us soon.
- Our friends have come for a visit.
- You must buy your ticket for the game.
- Sarah has chosen Kenyatta University for her degree course.
- She is hitting her child with a rubber strap.
- I will go for the game next week.
Verbs Tenses
- The time of an action or the state of being is expressed by different forms of the verb.
- These forms are called the tenses of the verb.
- There are three main forms of a verb: the present, the past, or the future.
The Present Tense
- A verb which is in present tense indicates what the subject of the sentence is doing right now.
Example:
- The teacher sees the students. - The verb sees tells that the teacher is seeing the students now. To show the present tense, an -s or -es is added to most verbs if the subject is singular.
- If the subject is plural, or I or You, the -s, or -es is not added.
Example:
- The bird hatches in the nest.
- The stream flows down the hill.
- The boys rush for their breakfast.
- We talk a lot.
Rules for forming the Present Tense with Singular Subjects
- Most verbs: add –s
get – gets
play – plays
eat – eats - Verbs ending in s, ch, sh, x, and z: add-es
pass – passes
mix – mixes
punch-punches
buzz – buzzes
push – pushes - Verbs ending with a consonant and y: change the y to i and add -es
try - tries
empty – empties
Exercise 3
Write the correct present form of each verb in the brackets in the following sentences.
- She carefully ________________ the map (study)
- A fish _______________ in the water near me. (splash)
- She _______________ her hands. (wash)
- He ______________ to the classroom. (hurry)
- Bryan and I ____________ the assignment. (discuss)
The Past Tense
- A verb which is in past tense shows what has already happened.
Example:
- Tito liked his grandmother’s story. - The verb liked tells that the action in the sentence happened before now.
Rules for forming the Past Tense
- Most verbs: Add -ed
play – played
talk – talked
climb – climbed - Verbs ending with e: Add -d
praise – praised
hope – hoped
wipe – wiped - Verbs ending with a consonant and -y: change the y to i and add -ed
bury – buried
carry – carried
study – studied - Verbs ending with a single vowel and stop – stopped a consonant: Double the final consonant man – manned and add-ed trip – tripped
Exercise 4
Write the past tense forms of each of the verbs in brackets in the following sentences.
- John _____________ his house burn into ashes. (watch)
- The baby _____________ loudly. (cry)
- The teacher ______________ at the naughty student. (yell)
- The chef ______________ a delicious cake. (bake)
- We ______________ for a present for our grandmother. (shop)
The Future Tense
- A verb which is in future tense tells what is going to happen.
Examples:
- Evans will take his car to the garage.
- She will probably come with us. - The verbs will take and will come tell us what is going to happen. Hence, they are in future tense.
- To form the future tense of a verb, use the helping verb will or shall with the main verb.
Exercise 5
Write the future tense forms of the verbs in the following sentences.
- We write in exercise books.
- The train stopped at the station.
- He decides what he wants to do.
- They practise in the football field.
- Rats multiply very fast.
More Tenses
The above three forms of tenses can further be divided into:
- The simple tenses
- Present simple tense
- Past simple tense
- Future simple tense - The perfect tenses
- Present perfect tense
- Present perfect progressive
- Past perfect tense
- Future perfect
- Future perfect progressive - The progressive tenses
- Present progressive tense
- Past progressive tense
- Progressive tense
- Future perfect progressive tense.
The simple Tenses
- The most common tenses of the verb are the simple tenses. You use them most often in your speaking and writing.
Present simple tense.
- Look at the following sentences.
- I know Kisumu
- He goes to school everyday.
- The sun rises from the east.
- All the above sentences contain a verb in the present simple tense. This tense is used for different purposes.
- To state a personal fact
Example: I know Kisumu. - To point out a regular habit.
Example: He goes to school everyday. - To state known a scientific fact
Example: The sun rises from the east.
- To state a personal fact
Exercise 6
Complete the following sentences putting the verbs in brackets in the present simple tense.
- They _________ their new principal. (like)
- Every morning, she ______________ her teeth. (brush)
- The earth ______________ on its own axis. (rotate)
- Twice a year, he _______________ his family. (visit)
- Air ____________ when heated. (rise)
Past Simple Tense
- The past simple tense is used when an action has been completed .
Examples:
- We cleaned our classrooms yesterday.
- He drove the car this morning.
- She planned the whole incident.
Exercise 7
Write down the past simple tense of the following words and then use each of them in sentences of your own.
- start
- breathe
- add
- roam
- trap
- obey
- annoy
- worry
- pity
- fit
Future Simple Tense
- The future simple tense places the action or condition in the future. It is formed by using the word shall or will before the present form of the main verb.
Examples:
- We shall need help with her load.
- She will eat the bananas alone
- The dancers will entertain them.
Exercise 8
Use the following words in future simple tense in sentences of your own.
- see
- develop
- go
- begin
- exist
- consume
- introduce
- hunt
- bring
- become
The Perfect Tenses
- The perfect tenses are used to show that an action was completed or that a condition existed before a given time.
- The perfect tenses are formed using has, have, or had before the past participles i.e. verb forms ending in -ed.
Examples:- Present Perfect Tense:
- Ceasar has just finished his homework.
- Kamau and Njoroge have now agreed to meet. - Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- Kibet has been working in his shamba for two hours.
- We have been swimming in this pool for ten minutes. - Past Perfect Tense
- We had completed the work by the time the supervisor came.
- Nobody knew that she had already remarried. - Past Perfect Continuous Tense
- I had been trying to contact him for two hours before he finally appeared.
- Mrs. Masumbuko had been feeling unwell the whole week before she decided to visit a doctor. - Future Perfect Tense
- Agege will have sold his goats by two p.m.
- By next term, twenty students will have dropped from this school. - Future Perfect Continuous
- The players will have been playing for twenty minutes by the time the President arrives.
- By the end of this term, she will have been living with her aunt for five years.
- Present Perfect Tense:
Exercise 9
Rewrite the following sentence changing the verb into present perfect, present perfect progressive, past perfect, past perfect progressive, future perfect and future perfect progressive tenses. Make any necessary changes to make the sentence meaningful. John comes here every year.
The Progressive Verb Forms
- The progressive form of the verb shows continuing action.
Examples:
I am singing
She was dancing. - The progressive form is formed using various forms of the verb be plus the present participle i.e. a verb form that ends in -ing.
Examples:- Present Progressive Tense
- I am reading a book about Red Indians.
- Her mother is preparing dinner. - Present Perfect Progressive
- He has been cleaning his car since morning.
- They have been exercising for a week now. - Past Progressive Tense
- She was cooking supper when I arrived.
- They were fighting fiercely when the police arrived. - Past Perfect Progressive Tense
- Sonko had been wearing an earing for years before he removed it.
- Onyancha had been killing children before he was finally discovered. - Future Progressive
- He will be tilling the land next week.
- Joyce and Joan will be washing clothes all morning. - Future Perfect Progressive
- The children will have been sleeping for two hours by the time their parents arrive.
- John will have grown a beard by the time he is twelve.
- Present Progressive Tense
Exercise 10
Rewrite the following sentence changing the verb into present progressive, present perfect progressive, past progressive, past perfect progressive, future progressive and future
perfect progressive tenses. Make any necessary changes to make the sentences meaningful.
Jane plays the guitar well.
Subject – Verb agreement
Present tense
- A verb and its subject must agree in number. To agree means that if the subject is singular, the verb must be in singular form. If the subject is plural, the verb form must be plural.
Examples:
- The baby cries every morning - SINGULAR
- The babies cry every morning - PLURAL
Rules for Subject-verb Agreement
- Singular subject: Add -s or -es to the verb
- The man drives a bus.
- She teaches in a primary school.
- He studies his map. - Plural subject: Do not add -s or -es to the verb
- The men drive buses.
- They teach in primary schools
- We study our maps. - For I or You Do not add -s or -es to the verb
- I hate books.
- You like dogs.
- I admire actors. - When a sentence has a compound subject i.e. two subjects joined by and, the plural form of the verb is used.
Examples:
- John and James work at Naivas Supermarket.
- The teachers and the students respect one another a lot.
Subject-verb Agreement with be and have
- The verbs be and have change their forms in special ways in order to agree with their subjects.
- Various ways in which be and have change in order to agree with their subjects.
Subject | Be | Have | |
1 |
Singular subjects: |
am, was are, were is, was is, was |
have, had have, had has, had has, had |
2 | Plural subjects: We You They Plural Noun |
are, were are, were are, were are, were |
have, had have, had have, had have, had |
Exercise 11
Put appropriate Present tense verbs in the blank spaces in the following sentences. Ensure that the subject agrees with the verb and that the sentence makes sense.
- The dogs _______________ their owners.
- She ______________ at the door.
- They ______________ the road at the Zebra-crossing.
- Many blind people ___________________ dogs as guides.
- We ________________ dogs every day.
- Mark always _______________ his house.
- I often _______________ with June.
- . Mwangi __________________ his aunt in Mombasa.
- He and Jane ________________ next month.
- The directors ______________ the company.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
Regular Verbs
- We have learned before how to form the past tense and how to use helping verbs to show that something has already happened. We saw that for most verbs, we form the past tense and participles by adding -d or -ed to the verb. Verbs that follow this rule are called Regular Verbs.
Examples:- The framer planted his crops last month. – past tense
- The crops have been planted recently. – past participle.
- For all regular verbs, the past and the past participles are spelled alike. They are made up by adding -d or -ed to the present form of the verb.
Examples:
Present Past Past Participles help helped had helped rescue rescued had rescued rush rushed had rushed support supported had supported play played had played talk talked had talked live lied had lied - The spelling of many regular verbs changes when -d or -ed is added i.e. the last consonant is doubled before adding -d or -ed. For those ending -y, it is dropped and replaced with –i:
Examples:
Present Past Past Participles hop hopped (had) hopped drug drugged (had drugged) permit permitted (had) permitted knit knitted (had knitted) cry cried (had) cried carry carried (had) carried
Exercise 12
Write the present, past and past participles of the following verbs. Remember to change the spelling appropriately where necessary.
- prevent
- aid
- donate
- relieve
- hurry
- share
- worry
- enrol
- train
- save
Irregular Verbs
- Some verbs do not form the past by adding -d or -ed. These verbs are called irregular verbs. There are only about sixty frequently used irregular verbs. For many of these, the past and the past participles are spelled the same but some are different.
Examples:
- He saw great misery all around him – past
- He has seen great misery all round him – past participle
Common irregular Verbs
Verb Past Tense Past participles begin began (had) beugn choose chose (had) chosen go went (had) gone speak spoke (had) spoken ride rode (had) ridden fight fought (had) fought throw threw (had) thrown come came (had) came sing sang (had) sung steal stole (had) stolen swim swam (had) swum make made (had) made run ran (had) run grow grew (had) grown write wrote (had written) ring rang (had) rung drink drank (had) drunk lie lay (had) lain do did (had) done eat ate (had) eateb know knew (had) known - For a few irregular verbs, like hit and cut, the three principal parts are spelled the same. These ones offer no problems to learners. Most problems come from irregular verbs with three different forms. For example, the irregular verbs throw and ring.
- Throw threw had thrown
- Ring rang had rung - If you are not sure about a verb form, look it up in the dictionary.
Exercise 13
Write the past tense and past participles of the following irregular verbs and then use each of them in sentences of your own.
- arise
- fall
- tear
- blow
- wear
- freeze
- lay
- fly
- see
- write
Active and Passive Verb Forms
Active Voice
- A verb is in active voice when the subject of the sentence performs the action.
Examples:
Our teacher punished us for making noise in class.
Subject action
Players arrived for their first match early in the morning.
Subject action - In the above sentences, the subject is who performed the action. Hence, the verbs of these sentences are in active voice.
Passive Voice
- The word passive means “acted upon”. When the subject of the sentence receives the action or expresses the result of the action, the verb is in passive voice.
Examples:
We were punished by the teacher for making noise.
Subject action
He was helped by a passer-by.
Subject action - In the above sentences the subjects we and he receive the action.
- When we do not know who or what did the action, or when we do not want to say who or what did it, we use the passive voice.
- The passive form of a verb consists of some form of be plus the past participle.
Examples:
Active Passive
Baabu explored the sea. The sea was explored by Baabu.
Be + past participle
The captain helped him. He was helped by the captain.
Be+past participle
Exercise 14
Write the verbs from the following sentences and then label each one Active or Passive.
- The guest of honour presented prizes to the best students.
- The cattle were taken home by the herders.
- The health officer ordered the slaughter house closed.
- Peace and order has been restored in the area by the youth wingers.
- The workers cleared the farm.
- The crop was harvested by the hired workers.
- The government stressed the importance of unity among tribes.
- The farmers were urged to redouble their efforts in food production.
- The KIE is developing support materials for the 8-4-4 system of education.
- A fishing pond was started by the Wildlife Club in the school.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
- Some sentences express a complete thought with only a subject and an action verb.
Example:
The sun shines.
Subject Active verb - In other sentences, a direct object must follow the action verb for the sentence to be complete. A direct object is a noun or a pronoun that receives the action of the verb.
Example:
The goalkeeper caught the ball.
Subject action verb direct object
Transitive Verbs
- A Transitive verb is an action verb that must take a direct object for the sentence to express a complete thought. A direct object answers the question what? or whom?
Examples:
The captain steered the ship. (Steered what? the ship)
The teacher praised the students. (Praised whom? The students) - Transitive verbs cannot be used alone without direct objects in sentences; they would not have complete meanings.
Exercise 15
What are the action verbs and the direct objects in the following sentences?
- He carried his bag with him.
- The two friends discussed the examination paper.
- We took a trip to Nakuru last month.
- The water splashed me.
- He gave interesting facts about whales.
- We searched the house for rats.
- They cheered the team noisily.
- My brother bought a camera.
- Njoroge admires Papa Shirandula.
- We viewed the shouting star at midnight.
Intransitive Verbs
- An Intransitive verb is an action verb that does not require a direct object for the sentence to have complete meaning.
Examples:
The ship sailed.
Subject action verb
The child smiled.
Subject action verb - They do not answer the questions what? or whom? Sometimes they answer the questions how? or how often?
Examples:
The ship sailed smoothly. (How did it sail? Smoothly)
The child smiled repeatedly. (How often did the child smile? Repeatedly)
Both Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
- Some verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively.
Examples:
We cheered our team noisily. (Transitive)
We cheered noisily. (Intransitive)
He broke the window pane. (Transitive)
The glass broke. (Intransitive) - NB: Only transitive verbs can be changed from active to passive voice.
Examples:
Active Passive
He kicked the ball The ball was kicked by him
She bought a new dress A new dress was bought by her.
She wailed loudly ??
They danced well ??
Exercise 16
Indicate at the end of each of the following sentences whether the underlined verb is Transitive or Intransitive.
- Some whales sing songs.
- We gave our books to the gatekeeper.
- She cried bitterly.
- He made a sketch of the giraffe.
- John danced to the music.
- The bird flew in the air.
- They located the lost ship.
- She pleaded with him mercifully.
- The children heard the sound from the cave.
- It rained heavily.
Troublesome Pairs of Verbs
- Some pairs of verbs confuse learners of English because their meanings are related but not the same. Others confuse them because they sound similar, but their meanings are different. Others are similar in appearance but different in meanings.
The Pairs Meaning Present tense Past tense Past Participle Examples of its usage 1 Sit To be in a seated position sit sat sat Sit on that chair Set To put or place set set set Set the cage down 2 Lie To rest in a flat position lie lay lain The cat lies on the table Lay To put or place lay laid laid Lay the cloth on the table 3 Rise To move upward rise rose risen The children rise up early in the morning Raise To move something upward or to lift raise raised raised The scout raised the flag 4 Let To allow or permit let let let Let the bird go free Leave To depart or to allow to remain where it is leave left left Leave this house now!
Leave the door closed5 Learn To gain knowledge or skill learn learned learnt I learnt alo in school Teach To help someone learn or to show how or explain teach taught taught That teacher taught me in Biology 6 Can To be able I can ride my bike well May To be allowed You may go out
EXERCISE 17
Pick the correct verb from the ones given in brackets in the following sentences.
- Studying spiders closely can (learn, teach) us how they get their food.
- An insect that (lays, lies) motionless on a leaf can become prey to some other animal.
- The lion will (lay, lie) there waiting for its prey.
- The monster spider (sits, sets) patiently near its web.
- Experience has (taught, learned) me not to take things for granted.
- A bird (raises, rises) its body using its wings.
- This (raises, rises) another question,
- Nature has (learned, taught) spiders new tricks.
- The watchman instantly (raises, rises) the alarm when there is danger.
- The trappers have (lain, laid) fresh traps for the porcupines.
Answers
Exercise 1
- seems - Linking verb
- watched – Action verb
- cheered – Action verb
- seems – Linking verb
- is – Linking verb
- aimed – Action verb
- blew – Action verb
- was – Linking verb
- is – Linking verb
- seems – Linking verb
Exercise 2
Helping verb Main verb
- is singing
- has begun
- can travel
- had waited
- will be visiting
- have come
- must buy
- has chosen
- is hitting
- will go
Exercise 3
- studies
- splashes
- washes
- hurries
- discuss
Exercise 4
- watched
- cried
- yelled
- baked
- shopped
Exercise 5
- will write
- will stop
- will decide
- shall practice
- will multiply
Exercise 6
- like
- brushes
- rotates
- visits
- rises
Exercise 7
- started
- breathed
- added
- roamed
- trapped
- obeyed
- annoyed
- worried
- pitied
- fitted
Exercise 8
- will/shall see
- will/shall develop
- will/shall go
- will/shall begin
- will/shall exist
- will/shall/consume
- will/shall introduce
- will/shall hunt
- will/shall bring
- will/shall become
Exercise 9
- John has come here every year. - present perfect
- John has been coming here every year. - present perfect progressive
- John had come here every year. – past perfect
- John had been coming here every year. – past perfect progressive
- John will have come here every year. – future perfect
- John will have been coming here every year. – future perfect progressive.
Exercise 10
- Jane is playing the guitar. – present progressive
- Jane has been playing the guitar. – present perfect progressive
- Jane was playing the guitar. – past progressive
- Jane had been playing the guitar. – past perfect progressive
- Jane will play the guitar. – future progressive
- Jane will have been playing the guitar. – future perfect progressive
Exercise 11
- guard
- cleans
- stands
- study
- cross
- visits
- use
- wed
- feed
- run
Exercise 12
Present Past Past participle
- prevent prevented prevented
- donate donated donated
- hurry hurried hurried
- worry worried worried
- train trained trained
- aid aided aided
- relieve relieved relieved
- share shared shared
- enrol enrolled enrolled
- save saved saved
Exercise 13
Present Past Past participle
- arise arose arisen
- tear tore torn
- wear wore worn
- lay laid lain
- see saw seen
- fall fell fallen
- blow blew blown
- freeze froze frozen
- fly flew flown
- write wrote written
Exercise 14
- presented – active
- were taken – passive
- ordered – active
- restored – passive
- cleared – active
- was harvested – passive
- stressed – active
- were urged – passive
- is developing – active
- was started - passive
Exercise 15
Action verbs direct object
- carried his bag
- discussed the examination paper
- took a trip
- splashed me
- gave interesting facts
- searched the house
- cheered the team
- bought a camera
- admires Papa Shirandula
- viewed the shooting star
Exercise 16
- Transitive
- Transitive
- Intransitive
- Transitive
- Intransitive
- Intransitive
- Transitive
- Intransitive
- Transitive
- Intransitive
Exercise 17
- teach
- lies
- lie
- sits
- taught
- raises
- raises
- taught
- raises
- laid
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