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Main Verbs - Four Kinds

We can first divide all main verbs into two broad categories: action verbs and no-action verbs. Thousands reside in the action-verb group, only a handful in the no-action group. Each of these groups further subdivides into two additional groups:Actio...

Action Verbs

When Amber and Igor were grunting all those nouns that named people, animals, and things, they also noticed that people did things: Animals moved around, made noises, and ate stuff; and tangible things could move and affect other things. They noticed...

Transitive Verbs

Verbs with ObjectsAs Amber and Igor became grammatically aware, Amber noticed that action verbs came in two models. One described someone (the subject) doing something (the verb) to someone or something (the direct object). Thus: The spear (subject) ...

Transitive and Intransitive

The trick question we used above to determine whether a verb is transitive will always nail a verb as transitive or intransitive: Can I [verb] somebody or something? If yes, the verb is transitive. If no, the verb is intransitive.Naturally enough, so...

No-Action Verbs

Recall that we’ve divided all verbs into two groups—action verbs and no-action verbs. The action verbs consist of two kinds: transitive and intransitive. Transitive verbs have direct objects. Intransitive verbs don’t.The no-action category also...

Verb "To Be"

To Be or Not To BeThe eBook Developing a Powerful Writing Style thoroughly discusses the problem of overusing the verb to be. We urge you to read it. When you do, notice that the chapter on the verb to be does not contain the verb to be at all in mor...

Linking Verbs

In point of fact, the verb to be is also a linking verb. But I prefer to put be in a category all by itself and then treat linking verbs separately. We learned above that the verb to be can connect a grammatical subject to a noun (predicate noun) (Ma...

Auxiliary Verbs - Called “Helping Verbs”

Some people refer to auxiliary verbs as helping verbs.The main verbs we use in the English language break down into the four major verb types:1. action transitive verbs 2. action intransitive verbs 3. the verb to be 4. linking verbsWhen we conjugate ...

Five Kinds of Verbs - An Overview

F. Scott Fitzgerald is quoted as saying, “All fine prose is based on the verbs carrying the sentence.”Let’s look back and make certain we all understand the five kinds of verbs. Broadly, we have two groups of main verbs, action and no-action, w...

Four Principal Parts or Forms of Verbs

Drink, Drank, Drunk, DrinkingMain verbs appear in four different forms:1. infinitive 2. finite 3. present participle 4. past participleIn Miss Hamrick’s class, we learned the principal parts of verbs, which are similar to my four forms: (1) infini...

Infinitive - The "to" Verb

Academic tomes might go on for pages defining the meaning of the infinitive form of a verb. I, on the other hand, have developed a definition requiring only a single sentence:The infinitive form of a verb is the one you would ordinarily look up in th...

Finite Verb - Tense, Person, Number, Mood

A finite verb is just that: finite. It’s finite in time, as in present, past, future, and other time dimensions.Tense, What Is It?When we talk about time in relation to verbs, in grammarian parlance we are talking about tense. We have six major ten...

Present Participle - The -ing Verb

Every verb in the English language has a present participle, and you form it the same way for every verb: Just add ‑ing. Sometimes you’ll have to drop an ending silent ‑e, as in write and writing. Sometimes you’ll have to double up an ending ...

Past Participle - The -ed Verb

Every verb also has a past-participial form, which, for most verbs, you create by adding ‑ed, ‑d, or ‑t. As with present participles, you’ll sometimes have to double up an ending consonant: The past participle of occur is occurred. Check the...

Past Tense vs. Past Participle

Past Tense vs. Past ParticipleSome people confuse the past tense with the past participle. Usually, they will use the past participle instead of the correct past tense. You will hear some people say I seen it, when they should say I saw it. Or they w...

Irregular Verbs

In the English language, we have fewer than 200 irregular verbs. (A fairly complete list appears in Garner Oxford, pp. 195-97.) Below are some causing the most trouble. Remember, use the past tense for statements showing that something happened in t...

Developing Your Love Affair

Falling in Love with the VerbPowerful words, these verbs. Maybe that’s why Hugo once said, “The word is the verb, and the verb is God.”Verb PowerPretty neat, these verbs. They aren’t content to serve just the verb function in the language, th...

Verb Conjugation

Verb Conjugation in EnglishEvery verb in the English language has two states or dimensions—two realms, if you will. In the infinitive state, the verb reveals only the activity described: to hit or to run. From neither of these do we know who is hit...

Present Tense of Verbs

Some authors write novels in the present tense, and it drives me bats. Whenever I browse in a bookstore, seeking the latest in top beach literature, I always sneak a few peeks to make certain the author does not use the present tense in the narrative...

Past Tense - How to Form

Here’s the tense the novelist should use, for the past tense describes what took place yesterday and not right now on the beach. Thus, from our novel of purple beach prose above: Juan looked longingly at Teresa, who looked back with total disintere...

Future Tense - How to Form

When the activity you describe isn’t happening right now (present tense) and didn’t happen yesterday (past tense), perhaps it’ll take place tomorrow (future tense).Other Ways of Expressing FuturityIn English, we have several ways of expressing ...

Perfect Tenses - How to Form

In addition to the three main tenses of present, past, and future, the English language allows us to make three statements about accomplished facts. We use one of the three perfect tenses to show an action that has taken place as of the present time ...

Conditional Structures of Verbs

The Conditionals: If p, then qIn the English language, we often express conditions. Naturally, Miss Hamrick, Amber, and Igor dreamed up some rules to govern how we form these structures. We have four types of conditional statements. Now one would thi...

Six Major Tenses of Verbs

Now you’re ready to conjugate to skip in the six tenses of verbs.To conjugate a verb, you must include all tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. You must account for all persons: first, second, and third....

Conjugating Regular Verbs

Conjugating Regular Verbs - ChartsHere are completed charts showing the conjugation of the regular verb to skip:Present Tense, Regular VerbHere’s the present tense of the verb to skip: Person Singular Plural First Person I skip We skip Secon...