Download Tips Verbs

VerbHints
Herearesomekeyverbformsandtypes.Understandingthesecanhelptomanagetense
structuresandcandemystifysomeseeminglyidiomaticdetails.
Infinitive:theentireverb(e.g.,towrite)
• Usedafteranindirectobject(e.g.,Theyaskedmetocallyou.Shewantedyouto
editthearticle—eventhoughthatisn’twritingcenterpolicy.Theytoldusto
updateallaccounts.)
• Usedaftercertainverbssuchashelp,care,hope,seem,cease,andseveral
others1(e.g.,Theypromisedtogiveeveryonearaise.Wedecidedtoleaveat
midnight.Wecaredenoughtomakemultiplecopies.)
• Usedsometimesasasentence'ssubject(e.g.,Tohealisideal.Toerris
completelynormal.Towriteisenlightening.)
Base:theinfinitiveverbwithout"to"(e.g.,write)
• Usedafteramodalsuchascan,could,may,might,must,shall,should,will,
would(e.g.,…cango…or…willbewaiting…or…mustfeelwell…or…should
havebeen)
• Usedofteninthesubjunctive,whichcanthrowpeopleintermsofsubject-verb
agreement(e.g.,Itisessentialthattheybemadeawareoftheissue.Ipropose
thathetestthesoftware.Theysuggestedthateachwriterreportwhatfeedback
helpedthemost.).Fortunately,thesubjunctivemoodisrarelyessentialandcan
oftenhighlighttheneedtosimplifysentencestructureandmakephrasingmore
direct.
Helping(orauxiliary):helptoconveytense,emphasis,andpossibility;inshort,used
withmainverbsinverbphrases
• Amemorizablelistof23,whichoverlapswithmodals.Thislistincludesformsof
be,do,andhavealongwiththemodals.Note:considerhowthesewordswork
withinthemanydifferenttenses.
1
Youcanfindamorecompletelistwithinagrammarhandbookorviaanon-linesearch.
•
Linking:usedtolinksubjectsandcomplements,whichareadjectivesornounsthat
describeorrename(e.g.,SanFranciscoishilly.Heappearshealthy.Shebecamethe
CEO.)
• Aninterestingfact:somelanguagesdonotuselinkingverbsinthisway,andsoa
writermightwrite“SanFranciscohilly.”)
• Linkingverbsmakeupanotherfairlymemorizablelist
o Is,am,are,was,were,be,been,being
o Seems,becomes,grows,feels,appears,tastes,looks,remains,looks,
sounds,stays,takes
• Totestwhetheraverbisactingasatruelinkingverb,replacetheverbin
questionwithaformofbe,become,orseem.Ifthephrasemakessense,you’re
dealingwithalinkingverbconstruction.
Gerunds:verbsthatendin–ingandworkasnouns(e.g.,Paintingisalifelongpassionof
his.)
• Canbesubjectsandwilltakeasingularconjugation(e.g.,Writingmakesmany
people…)
• Usedoftenafterprepositions(e.g.,Weareworkingoncreatinganewwebsite.
Studentslearnbywriting.Weneedalicensefordriving.);somewriterswill
confusethe"to"inaninfinitivewithaprepositionandsocreateawordform
error.
• Usedaftercertainverbssuchaspractice,enjoy,tolerate,andothers2(e.g.,We
willpracticeplayingoursport.Sheenjoysreadingshortstories.Hepostponed
writinghispaper.)
2
Canbecontractedincasualconversationandwriting(e.g.,We'llstudyon
Monday.She'sgoingtothestore.They’vebeenstudyingfor24hours.Aimto
avoidthesecontractionsinformalprose.
Youcanfindamorecompletelistoftheseviaanon-linesearchorwithinagrammarbook.