Definition of Verb:
Verbs are a class of words used to carry an action (walk, run, play, write), to show possession (have), or to show the state of being (be) of a subject.
- I am writing a book.
- He is reciting a poem.
- You play cricket.
Here, “writing”, “reciting”, and “playing” are carrying
action. On the other hand, “am” and “is” are helping verbs. The function
of a helping verb or auxiliary verb is to help the main verb to show tense,
mood, or voice. The key helping verbs are "to be” verbs (am, is, is being,
are, are being, was, was being, were, were being), "to have” verbs"
(has, has been, have been, had been, will have been, might have been, etc.),
and "to do" verbs (do, does, and did). They are also called auxiliary
verbs. The "be" verbs and "have" verbs can act as the main
verb. When auxiliary verbs are used as the main verb, they are called linking
verbs. When "be" verbs are used as linking verbs, they do not carry
any action but show the existence of the subject. When "have" verbs
are used as linking verbs, they do not carry any action but show possession of
the subject.
Showing the state of being: We use "be" verbs (am, is, are, was, were, be, etc.) to show the state of being. They are some linking verbs. They connect the subjects with the complement. Linking verbs do not have objects.
- He is a teacher.
- They are poor.
- You are a teacher.
Note: Some linking verbs and helping verbs look alike but they behave differently. While linking verbs connect the subject with something which describes it, the helping verb is used together with the main verb to help the main verb express tense, mood, or voice.
- They have wealth. (Linking verb)
- They are rich. (Linking verb)
- They have done it. (helping/auxiliary verb)
- We are working hard. (helping/auxiliary verb)
Showing possession:
We use the "have" verbs as
linking verbs to show possession.
- He has a white house.
- I have a piano.
- They had a beautiful bungalow.
Classification
Look at the diagram below:
From
the diagram, we can see that verbs primarily have been classified into two
groups. They are finite and non-finite verbs. The finite verb again has been
divided into principal and auxiliary verbs. The principal verb is of three
types: transitive, intransitive, and linking. The auxiliary verbs are of four
types--(1) be verbs, (2), do verbs, (3) have verbs & (4) modal auxiliary
verbs. On the other hand, the non-finite verb has been classified into three
parts: infinitive, participle & gerund. This lecture will discuss verbs and
their division and sub-division elaborately.
1. Finite Verb:
A finite verb makes an agreement
with the subject, and it also responds to tense. A finite verb can produce an
independent clause without taking help from a non-finite verb. An independent
clause can stand alone as a sentence.
- I write an e-mail.
- He writes an e-mail.
- He plays football.
- They are happy.
- He is happy
All the verbs shown in bold above are examples of finite
verbs. A finite verb can be a principal verb or auxiliary verb.
How can we recognize a finite verb? The finite verbs change
their form according to the person, tense, and number of the
subject.
Examples:
- I Play cricket.
- He plays cricket.
- He played cricket.
The finite verb is of two types: Principal and
auxiliary.
1. A. Principal verb:
A principal verb is called the main verb because it carries
action or shows the existence, possession, or state of the subject. A principal
verb can stand alone, or it can be used with helping or auxiliary verbs.
Example:
- I write a book.
- I am writing a book.
- He plays cricket.
- He is playing cricket.
Principal verbs have five forms:
|
to be |
Present/base form/v1 |
Past/v2 |
past participle/v3 |
-ing- form |
|
to drink |
drink |
drank |
drunk |
drinking |
|
to eat |
eat |
ate |
eaten |
eating |
1. B. Auxiliary Verb:
An auxiliary verb is also called a helping verb because they
help the principal verb to express tense, mood, or voice. They cannot carry any
action, and they cannot stand alone. When they stand alone, they behave like a
linking verb.
Examples:
- I am reading a book. (Auxiliary verb)
- I am happy. (Linking verb)
- I have broken glass. (Auxiliary verb)
- I have a glass. (Linking verb)
- I was reading a book. (Auxiliary verb)
- I was happy. (Linking verb)
- I had done the work. (Auxiliary verb)
- I had a cow. (The main verb to show possession)
An auxiliary verb helps the main verb express tense, mood,
or voice. The linking verb connects the subject with the complement. Complement
is not an object. Complement simply completes the meaning of the sentence.
Complement can be a noun or adjective. So, we have noun complement or adjective
complement.
Principal verb again is of three types: transitive, intransitive, and linking verb
1. A. a. Transitive Verb: A transitive verb is an action verb that has a direct object.
- I kick the ball. (Transitive verb)
- He reads a book. (Transitive verb)
- They play football in the afternoon. (Transitive verb)
- The sun rises in the east. (Intransitive verb)
- I rewarded them. (Transitive verb)
The question is how can we identify the existence of an
object in a sentence? We can identify if we put two questions on verb
by “what” and “who/whom”. So, what do I kick? The answer is “a ball”. Whom did
I reward? The answer is “them”. But the verb “rises” responds to the
"where" question, not “what” or “whom”. So, the verb
"rises" is an intransitive verb. In other words, a transitive verb
requires an object to exercise its action to complete the sentence. But an
intransitive verb does not require any object to complete its meaning. However,
an intransitive verb may be followed by a word or phrase, but this word or
phrase is not object, but adverbial. Yes, the word or phrase which sits after
an intransitive verb is called an adverbial.
1. A. b. Intransitive Verb: Intransitive verb is not an action verb. It means the intransitive verb does not carry any action. An intransitive verb does not respond to “who/whom” or “what”.
- I sleep. (intransitive)
- The Nile flows through eleven countries. (intransitive)
- He runs fast. (intransitive)
- He thinks wisely. (intransitive)
- The sun rises in the east. (intransitive)
Here, “through eleven countries”, “fast”, “wisely”, and “in the
east” are adverbials.
1. A. c. Linking Verb: Linking verb neither carries action nor helps the main verb but express time, mood, or voice. It only links the subject with the complement. Complement is not an object or adverbial; it only completes the meaning of the sentence. Like the object, we cannot exclude the complement from the sentence. The difference between object and complement lies in the fact that while an object receives the action from the verb, a complement describes or tells something about the subject. The linking verb represents the state of being of the subject.
- He looks happy.
- His name is Kohli.
- It sounds good.
The verbs “looks”, “is”, and “sounds” are telling about the subjects “he”, “his name”, and “sounds” respectively. They are neither receiving any action like an object nor giving extra information like an adverbial. They are simply describing the subjects; they are simply completing the meaning of the sentences. Without them, sentences remain incomplete.
1.
A.
B. Auxiliary Verbs:
We have already come to know that an auxiliary verb does not carry any action but only helps the main verb to express tense, mood, or voice. An auxiliary verb is of four types: be verbs (be, am, is, are, was, were, being, and been), do verbs (do, does, and did), and have verbs (have has, and had), modal auxiliary (can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall should need, dare, ought to, have to, used to, be to, be going to, would rather, had better).
1. B. a. “Do” Verbs:
"Do verbs" remain hidden in the present and past indefinite tense. When we go to make an interrogative, negative or imperative sentence, we use the "do verbs" (do, does, and did). We use do and does for present indefinite tense. We use "do" for all the persons, be it first person singular or plural, second person singular or plural, or third person plural). We use "does" for third-person singular numbers. But we do not use "does" in imperative sentences.
- Do you know where he is?
- Does he know where he is?
- Did he finish the lesson?
- Do be patient.
- Do finish your homework.
- She writes well. Yes, she does. (We can use "do/does" in an assertive sentence to avoid repetition.)
- He plays well. So do you.
We use "do" in the imperative sentence when we
want to give emphasis or to make it more persuasive. We never use 'does' in an
imperative sentence.
We use “did” to form a past simple sentence. But “did” remain hidden in the affirmative form. It comes into view when we go to transform an affirmative sentence into a negative or interrogative sentence.
- He played cricket. (Affirmative)
- He did not play cricket. (Negative)
- Did he play cricket. (Interrogative)
1. B. b. “Be” verbs:
“Am”, “is”, “are”, “was”, “were”, “being”, and “been” are known as “be verbs”. They are used to help the main verbs express tense, mood, or voice. They do not carry any action.
- I am playing football.
- He was watching a movie.
- They are writing.
- They were walking.
- Trees are being cut randomly.
- Rumor has been spread.
"Be" verbs also have present past and past participle forms.
|
Present |
Past |
Past Participle |
|
am/is/are |
was/were |
been |
When they stand alone in the sentence, they act like
linkers.
1. B. c. Have
verbs:
“Have” verbs are also a kind of auxiliary verb because they do not carry any action and they are used to help the main verb express tense, mood, or voice.
- I have broken the glass.
- He has finished his homework.
- They had visited Saint Martin.
"Have" and "has" are used for the present perfect tense. “Has” is specially used for third-person singular subjects (he/she/it/ any name). “Had” is used for past perfect tense. When they stand alone, they behave like a main verb and they show the possession of their subjects.
- I have a red car.
- He has a beautiful house.
- They had a big garden.
1. B. d. Modal Auxiliary
Verbs:
There are 18 modal auxiliary verbs. They are “can”, “could”, “may”, “might”, “must”, “will”, “would”, “shall”, “should”, “need”, “dare”, “ought to”, “have to”, “used to”, “be to”, “be going to”, “would rather”, and “had better”. Modal auxiliary verbs are different from other auxiliary verbs in the sense that modal auxiliaries are always followed by the base form of verbs. Moreover, we never add 's' or -'es' with the base form of the verb.
- She can sing well.
- They could help the poor.
- I will visit Saint Martin again.
- I would rather die than beg.
- You had better study seriously.
- We have to work seriously.
- I would rather die than beg.
We use modal auxiliary verbs to express ability, advice, obligation, permission, possibility.
|
Nature |
Modal auxiliaries |
Examples |
|
Ability |
Can, Could |
·
Rohit can
play football. ·
He could
write essays when he was only six. |
|
Advice |
Should |
·
You
should finish your homework regularly. ·
You should
take exercise regularly. ·
You should
not laugh at the poor. |
|
Obligation |
Have to, must |
·
You must
study regularly. ·
You have
to study regularly. |
|
Permission |
Can, Could, May |
·
Can I
recite the poem aloud? (Informal) ·
Could I
ask you some questions? (Polite) ·
May I come
in? (Formal) ·
Would you
mind opening the door? (Polite) |
|
Possibility |
May, might, can, could |
·
I may
leave Dhaka for my village home tomorrow. ·
Consumers
might be curious about our commodities. |
|
Probability |
Will/will not or won’t/must |
·
Tomorrow
you will have a great match (not only show the future tense but also the confidence
of the speaker.) ·
It will be
okay. (expresses speaker’s belief) ·
If we work
hard, we will not fail the exam. |
2. Non-finite verb:
Non-finite verbs cannot express thought independently. It means they cannot
produce independent clauses or sentences without the help of finite verbs.
Non-finite verbs also do not get changed according to tense or person.
There are three types of non-finite verbs: (a) infinitive, (b) participle, and
(c) gerund.
2. A.
Infinitive verbs
Infinitive verbs are always preceded
by Preposition "to". So, an infinitive verb will almost always begin
with "to" followed by the base form of the verb (V1). We cannot add
-s-, -es-, -ed- or -ing- to the end. An infinitive can be used as a noun,
adjective, and adverb.
- To study is a good habit. (As a subject)
- I refused to play. (As an object)
- I want to buy some books to read. (As an adjective)
- He seems to be sad. (As a complement of an intransitive verb)
- He told me to do the work. (As a complement of a transitive verb)
- He was about to die. (As an object of a preposition
- He is too sad to move. (As an adverb)
- I am sorry to have disturbed you. (As a perfect infinitive.
- They are to do the work. (As a command or an instruction)
- He was the man to tell me the truth. (Instead of a relative clause)
- To be honest, to speak the truth, to tell frankly, to be sure, he is an honest man. (At the beginning of some infinitive phrases)
2. B. Participle:
The participle is one of the three non-finite verbs. There are three kinds of participle verbs:
- Present participle
- Past participle
- Perfect participle
2. B. a. Present
participle:
Present participle verbs are formed when we add “ing” with the main verb. Present participle behaves only like an adjective.
- He is watching a movie. (to form continuous tense
- The picture is charming. (predicative adjective)
- I saw a floating flower. (attributive adjective)
- I saw her dancing in the room. I heard him crying. (after sense verbs + objects)
- We have patients waiting outside the room. (After the "to have" verb + object
- The people (who love) loving the poor are good-heartened. (Instead of relative pronoun)
2. B. b. Past
participle
Past participle verbs are used not only as adjectives but also as a plural common noun, degree of comparison, perfect tense, perfect infinitive, perfect participle, and instead of passive voice. They are also used instead of a relative pronoun.
- One cannot get one's lost time back. (As an adjective)
- We always look down upon the oppressed (As plural common noun)
- He is more oppressed than his friend. (As a degree of comparison)
- He was frustrated by his friend and left the room. = Frustrated by his friend he left his room. (Instead of subject + passive voice)
- I have broken the glass. (As a perfect tense)
- I am sorry to have disturbed you. (As a perfect infinitive)
- The glass was broken. (passive voice)
- This is the car (which was) made in Japan. (Instead of a relative pronoun.
2. B. c. Perfect
participle
Perfect participle follows the following structure: Having + past participle
- Having finished my homework, I went to college.
- Having reached Sundarban, I enjoyed the scenic beauty.
2. C. Gerund:
Gerund and the present participle look alike but they act differently. While the present participle behaves like an adjective; the gerund behaves like a noun. A gerund can be used as a subject, an object, an object of a preposition, a complement of a verb, a nominative absolute, or a part of a compound noun. A gerund can have an object.
- Walking is good for health. (As a subject)
- I love writing. (As an object)
- I am fond of gardening. (As an object of a preposition
- Drinking being injurious to health, we should avoid it. (As nominative absolute)
- I am fond of writing poems. (Gerund can have an object)
- This is her reading room. (Compound noun)
Exercise
a. He works hard. b. I play football
b. He is sad d. a and b
2. Which one is the transitive verb?
a. He works hard. b. I play football
c. He is sad d. a and b
3. Identify the linking verb.
a. He works hard. b. I play football
c. He is sad d. a and b
4. Which of the following sentence has a present participle?
a. I saw a floating flower. c. He came to my room dancing.
b. walking is good for health d. a and c
5. Which of the following sentence has a gerund?
a. I saw a floating flower. c. He came to my room dancing.
b. walking is good for health d. a and c
6. Which sentence has an auxiliary verb?
a. I am happy. c. He sings a song
b. They are playing football d. a and b
7. Participle behaves like___
a. a noun c. a conjunction
b. and adjective d. an adverb
8. Gerund behaves like___
a. a noun c. a conjunction
b. and adjective d. an adverb
9. Identify the past participle which is behaving like an adjective.
a. I saw a flying bird. c. It is a book written by Rabindranath
b. It is a broken chair. d. a and b
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