Verbs
Introduction
The third part of speech known "verb" is one of the main parts of every sentence. The verb is king in English sentence. The importance of the verb in a sentence is the same as the vowel sound in the pronunciation system of English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other type of word except with the verb. The verb can be said to be the most important element of a sentence because the structure of a sentence depends largely on the verb. The difference between the sentences:
· He laughed
· He built a house.
The difference is mainly that the first sentence has the verb laugh, which needs nothing to complete its meaning, but the second sentence has built, which requires an object to complete its meaning: what did he build?- A house. The difference between laugh and built is lexical which means that the two verbs represent different meanings or activities
1. Definition of a Verb
A verb is a word or a phrase with which we can make an assertion. What is asserted is an action, condition or state. Every sentence must have a verb. A verb is the central unit of any sentence of clause, and all the other words in a sentence take grammatical form based on how they relate to it. Verbs change form to indicate person, number, tense, voice, and mood. The main verb of a sentence is often preceded by one or more auxiliary or helping verbs, which together form a complete verb. There is no sentence is generally complete without the use of verb. Without a verb, we cannot have a complete sentence. So the study of verbs is important because the verb is the most important part of a sentence “speech”. It is obligatory even in the shortest of sentences to include a verb. Here are some hints that may help you locate verbs:
§ A sentence "clause" is not a sentence "clause" without at least one verb. Some compound and complex sentences may include more than one verb.
§ Sentences can have more than one verb. A clause is a sub-unit of a sentence that has one verb.
§ A verb is the central unit of any sentence of clause, and all the other words in a sentence take grammatical form based on how they relate to the verb.
§ Verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is: verbs usually tell about an action. Verbs may tell also about states.
§ Sentences can have more than one verb. A clause is a sub-unit of a sentence that has one verb.
§ Verbs are often found in the middle of sentences. Imperative sentences start with a verb.
§ A verb can sometimes be made up of more than one word, called a verb phrase. Oppositely, some verbs may consist of one word.
§ Verb phrases may have up to five words.
§ Some verb phrases have more than one word and are sometimes interrupted or separated from the auxiliary verb or verbs by small words that are not part of the verb like not, never, always, seldom, already, sometimes, usually, rarely ……… such as they have just tasted the food. Here the word just is neither a non-verb word nor an auxiliary. Tasted is the main verb while have is the auxiliary.
§ Verbs change their form to tell about actions taking place at different times. For example, we moved to a new house last week can be changed to show the action happening in the future. We will move to a new house next week. The word moved became will move; therefore, they are still verbs the first one is a one verb word while the second is a verb phrase. Here are some sentences that show verbs at work. Notice that some verbs have more than one word and are sometimes interrupted by small words that are not part of the verb.
· I hit the ball. (It refers to an action.)
· Shut up. Order (There is only one word in this sentence which is a verb.)
· She is asleep. (It refers to a state.)
· I watch my favorite TV show every day. Action
· She is in a good health. State
· Have you sent that letter?
· They are travelling to America. Verb phrase
· Change has come to Algeria. Verb phrase
· Stop! (Short sentence of one word which is the verb stop.)
· They left. Intransitive verb
· My father thinks that he can rebuild his old house.
· They might have been being chased before her car smashed into the bridge. Five words verb
· Most excellent students are usually sitting on the steps when the teacher arrives. Words of the verb are interrupted by usually.
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Important Reminder: Verbs are among the essential building blocks of communication in any language. They are one of the two elements of a sentence or clause. The other is the subject. So a verb exists in relation to a subject. It is the key and essential element of the predicate in a sentence. The verb expresses an action, state or a process undertake by or undergone by the subject, or a situation defining the subject. |
1. 2. Particle “Verb Phrase”
A particle is a word that resembles a preposition or an adverb, and is used in combination with a verb. When a verb and a particle behave as a single syntactic and/or semantic unit, we call the combination a phrasal verb.
A phrasal verb is the combination of a standard verb such as make or put with one or two particles. In some cases the particle is an adverb such as ‘up’, ‘together’; in others it is a preposition such as ‘through’, ‘in’. A phrasal verb often has a meaning which is different from the original verb. Thus turn down means something like ‘reject’, rule out means ‘eliminate’, find out is ‘discover’, and go on is ‘continue’; these are not meanings that could have been predicted from the meanings of the verb and the particle independently. Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:
· So she went on for some weeks cutting and hewing timber trees.
· Moral reform is the effort to throw off sleep. . .
Alternative terms for phrasal verb are ‘compound verb’, ‘verb – adverb combination’, ‘verb – particle construction’.
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Reminder Phrasal verbs consist of a verbal stem and an adverbial particle, which is sometimes referred to as postposition. Postposition often changes the meaning of the verb with which it is associated. Thus there are phrasal verbs whose meaning is different from the meaning of their components such as to give up, to put up with, to do up ……………:
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2. Kinds of Verbs
We understand from the previous definition and examples that there are two kinds of verbs; action verbs and state verbs.
2. 1. Action Verbs
They are also called “Dynamic Verbs” or “Doing Verbs”. Most verbs are action verbs. They show that something is being done or that something is happening. They refer to actions that can be observed with the five senses. Most action verbs refer to physical actions and describe events which happen in limited period of time, and have a definite beginning and end. Action verbs have both simple and progressive forms. Examples;
· My pupils participate in the lesson. Action
· The children ran after the cat.
· The boss directs the meeting.
· My father is visiting the place of my work.
· My parents are preparing for their pilgrims.
2. 2. Stative Verbs
They are also called “Non-conclusive Verbs”. A very small number of verbs express a state of being. These non-action verbs are sometimes called linking verbs or copula verbs. They refer to states that cannot be observed with the five senses. They show that something or somebody exists. Most state verbs describe states which continue over a period of time and need not to have well defined beginning and end. State verbs cannot usually have a progressive form and they express meanings such as being through a form of be (am, are, is, was, were, been) or cases of having, opinions, thinking, perception, wants, preference, and feelings through the five senses verbs such as (smell, taste, look, sound, feel, seem, appear, become, grow, remain, prove). Examples;
· I am happy.
· I listen to hat music. (It refers to the use of senses.)
· They envy to have that small animal in their house. (It expresses a want and preference.)
· I guess it is a difficult question. (opinion)
· They perceive well the case. (perception)
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Comparison between Action Verbs versus Stative Verbs |
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Action Verbs |
State Verbs |
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§ Dynamic § Physical § Period of time with clear limits § Describe progressive and simple cases |
§ Non-conclusive and static § Mental § Period of time with unclear limits § Describe only simple cases |
2. 3. Notes about Action Verbs versus State Verbs
§ A few verbs can be used as either action verbs or linking verbs. Here are the most common ones; look, smell, grow, taste, sound, feel, look …Notice that some verbs such as looked can be either action or non-action, depending on how they are used in a sentence. Examples:
1. Ann looked nice.
2. Ann looked out the door. You must ask yourself in the first sentence whether Ann is actively using her eyes or not. She is not; therefore, looked in the first sentence is a linking verb. In the second sentence, Ann is actually using her eyes to look out the door. Thus, this time looked is an action verb.
§ If these verbs are used to describe a physical action, something that can really happen or that is observable, they are considered to be action verbs. Examples;
· Ann tasted the food.
· John smelled the smoke from the near forest fire.
· She felt the water cold before she swam.
· Stephan grew 5 centimeters last year.
· The investigator looked carefully at the evidence.
§ If some of these verbs are used to express a state of being, or the fact that something has certain qualities, they are consider to be linking verbs. See the title below for more details.
2. 4. Linking Verbs
Some verbs are called non-action, state of being, or linking verbs. They are the verbs that do not show action – those verbs that are either a form of be (am, are, is, was, were, been) or that are associated with the five senses (smell, taste, look, sound, feel, seem, appear, become, grow, remain, prove). So when some verbs are used to express a state of being, or the fact that something has certain qualities, they are consider to be linking verbs. Linking Verbs used to describe role or description of the subject. They are called like this because they link the subject to an adjective (the subject and the subject complement). A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different state or place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs). Examine the sentences below where these verbs are used as linking verbs. (Notice that you can replace each of these linking verbs with the verb seem or is or become.) Examples;
· The dog is black.
· Ann is a teacher. (Ann = teacher)
· The food tastes delicious. Here food does not have taste buds or a mouth and, therefore, cannot perform the physical action of tasting. The smoke smelled stronger now.
· The weather becomes cold. The weather >cold)
· The sculpture felt smooth. Or the sculpture became/seemed smooth.
· The presentation music sounds interesting in the class. Or the presentation music seemed interesting in the class. (music = interesting)
· The justification looks interesting to this question.
· The sky grew dark before the storm.
3. Transitive Verbs versus Intransitive Verbs
A transitive verb takes “requires” a direct object to complete its meaning: A terrorist kills the President (the President is the direct object of the verb kills). So a transitive verb always has a noun that receives the action of the verb, called the direct object. Examples:
· Ann raises her hand. The verb is raises. Her hand is the object receiving the verb’s action. Therefore, “raises” is a transitive verb.
· I saw a car.
· He brushes his teeth three times a day.
· They are playing electronic games.
· He speaks English.
Transitive verbs sometimes have indirect objects, which name the object to whom or for whom the action was done. Example:
· John gave Stephan the book. The verb is gave. The direct object is the book. (What did he give? The book.) The indirect object is Stephan. (To whom did he give it? To Stephan.)
An intransitive verb has its complete meaning by itself and does not have a direct object or indirect object to complete its meaning: She died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Although an intransitive verb may be followed by an adverb or adverbial phrase, there is no object to receive its action. Look at these examples of intransitive verbs:
· Ann rises slowly from her seat. The verb is rises. The phrase, slowly from her seat, modifies the verb, but no object receives the action.
· She has arrived.
· Ann laughs.
· They speak fast.
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Important Note: Transitive or Intransitive Verb? To determine whether a verb is transitive or intransitive, follow these two steps: § Step 1: Find the verb in the sentence. · Example 1: Dustin will lay down his book. ➔ What is the action? ➔ The action is will lay · Example 2: His book will lie there all day. ➔ What is the action? ➔ The action is will lie § Step 1: Ask yourself, “What is receiving the action of the verb?” If there is a noun receiving the action of the verb, then the verb is transitive. If there is no direct object to receive the action, and if the verb does not make sense with a direct object, then it is intransitive. · Example 1: Dustin will lay down his book. ➔ Dustin will lay down what? ➔ his book. Since the verb can take a direct object, it is transitive. · Example 2: His book will lie there all day. ➔ His book will lie what? ➔ nothing. It does not make sense to “lie something.” Since the verb has no direct object, it is intransitive. |
Indirect objects can occur with direct objects in two different constructions. One puts the direct object before the indirect object, and marks the indirect object with the preposition to; the other puts the direct object after the indirect object, and just uses the two noun phrases:
· I tossed the ball to Ann. ~ I tossed Ann the ball.
· I told the news to Ann. ~ I told Ann the news.
3. Classes of Verbs
Verbs are classified into two categories; Main verbs and Auxiliary Verbs. Main verbs occur independently in a sentence and convey the complete meaning of the action. But there are some verbs which occur along with the main verbs and indicate tense, aspect voice, mood / intention of the speaker. They are called auxiliary verbs. The following discussion presents the classes as well as the sub-classes of verbs.
3. 1. Lexical/Ordinary/Main Verbs
Main (lexical) verbs occur independently in a sentence and convey the complete meaning of the action. Sometimes they are helped by auxiliary verbs. All verbs other than auxiliaries are called main verbs such as read, write, eat, drink, etc. A Main Verb is any verb in a sentence that expresses action or the state of being of the subject in that sentence and it always carries a real meaning. The lexical verb is the head element and comes at last in complex verb phrase; the elements preceding the head are auxiliaries. So when a verb phrase contains more than one verb, the last verb in the phrase is the main verb. All other verbs are auxiliaries. Examples;
· Stephan finds the right solution. “main verb”
· John might deliver the mail. “modal verb + main verb”
· Students must learn English well. “modal verb + main verb”
· She is doing her best to get the level. “auxiliary verb + main verb”
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Now compare the following situation. Someone tells you: · I eat · She sleeps · The students learn Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes! Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their own. They tell us something.
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The distinction between lexical and auxiliary verbs is drawn on the basis of the grammatical process:
§ Interrogation: In interrogative sentence the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject. The main verb or lexical verb cannot be placed before the subject. In this case the form “DO” is used as auxiliary such as:
· She read this story. Does she read this story?
§ Negation: In negative sentences, “not” is placed after the auxiliary verbs. It is not possible to place “not” after the lexical verb and turn the sentence into a negative. In this case the form “DO” is used to carry “not” such as:
· She read this book. She does not read this book.
§ Proform: The word “Proform” means a word which stands for another word or words. It is not possible to use the lexical verb as Proform such as:
· She likesorange and so doesher brother. In this sentence “does” stands for “likes” it function as Proform and is therefore an auxiliary.
Consequently, the auxiliary verbs perform certain grammatical function while the lexical verbs carry the meaning.