Unit 2: Verbs

VERBS

A verb shows what the subject of a sentence does. You can group verbs into three general categories:

1. Action Verbs
2. Linking or State of Being Verbs
3. Helping or Auxiliary Verbs

Action verbs, which make up the majority of verbs, show/demonstrate an action.

• The phone rang loudly.
• They dance well together.
• The little girl laughed joyfully.
• The team plays aggressively.

Linking or state of being verbs do not show an action. These verbs explain the condition someone or something is in.

• The teacher is ill.
• I am tall and beautiful.
• The sister became class president.
• The cat seems agitated by the attention.

Helping or auxiliary verbs help describe the main verb. There are nine helping verbs that are always helping verbs; they are never the main verb. These helping verbs are:

1. May
2. Might
3. Must
4. Could
5. Would
6. Should
7. Can
8. Will
9. Shall

Study the following sentences. The helping verb is in bold and the main verb is highlighted. Helping verbs add degrees of difference to the main verb, allowing you to make subtle distinctions.

• The bowl should hold all the ingredients.
• The bowl might hold all the ingredients.
• The bowl must hold all the ingredients.
• The bowl will hold all the ingredients.
• The bowl can hold all the ingredients.

Together, the helping verb and the main verb are called the complete verb.

There are three verbs, be, do, and have, that can be either main verbs or helping verbs depending upon their usage. The forms of these three verbs that can be either main or helping verbs are:

Be	Do	Have
Is  Are  Was  Were  Being  Been	Does  Did	Has  Had

Again, study the sentences below. In the first three, a form of be, do, and have is used as a main verb. In the second three sentences, the same form of be, do, and have is used as a helping verb.

Main verb

• She was a fearsome giant.
• He does the dishes immediately after dinner.
• They have a llama for a pet.

Helping verb

• The child was fed by his sister.
• She does call whenever necessary.
• They have danced for fourteen hours straight.