Using Verbs
The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. A verb or compound verb asserts something about the subject of the sentence and expresses actions, events, or states of being.
- Compound Verbs
- You construct a compound verb out of an auxiliary verb and another verb.
- Auxiliary Verbs
- The most common auxiliary verbs are "be," "do," and "have", and you may also use these verbs on their own. You use "Will" and "shall" to express future time.
- Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
- Depending on the type of object they take, verbs may be transitive, intransitive, or linking.
- Linking Verbs
- A linking verb connects a subject to a subject complement which identifies or describes the subject, as in the following sentences:
- Verbals
- A verbal is a noun or adjective formed from a verb. Writers sometimes make mistakes by using a verbal in place of a verb, and in very formal writing, by confusing different types of verbals. This section covers three different verbals: the participle (which acts as an adjective), the gerund (which acts as a noun), and the infinitive (which also acts as a noun).
- Forming and Using Verb Tenses
- English speakers form many verb tenses by combining one of principal parts of the verb with one or more auxiliary verbs.
- Frequently-Confused Verbs
- Writers often confuse the verb pairs "lie" and "lay" and "sit" and "set".
- Using Verb Moods
- A verb may be in one of three moods: the indicative mood, the imperative mood, and the subjunctive mood.
- Using Verb Tenses
- A verb indicates the time of an action, event or condition by changing its form. Through the use of a sequence of tenses in a sentence or in a paragraph, it is possible to indicate the complex temporal relationship of actions, events, and conditions.
- Using Verb Tenses in Sequence
- Using verbs in correct sequence is often difficult, especially for those people whose cradle tongue is not English or whose cradle tongue does not uses a similar tense system. The situation is further complicated by the fact that context, idiom, and style play as large a role in determining tense sequence as grammatical rules.
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