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Roland Nord
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A brief review of verbs and sentences
A sentence = subject (S) + predicate (P). The subjects consists of a noun phrase (NP), and the
predicate of a verb phrase (VP).
Verbs phrases consist of one more verbs; they may be

finite (agree in number with the subject)
I am playing the guitar. She plays the guitar.

non-finite
Playing the guitar is fun. (Note that the finite verb in this sentence is is.)
Verb forms
Verbs typically have 5 forms:

V-base – present tense
I call you. You drink tea. We put the box in the study.

V-s – 3rd person, present tense (V-base + s)
She calls me.

V-ed1 – past (V-base + ed)
She called me. He drank the concoction. Yesterday, we put the box in the study.

V-ing – present participle used to form the progressive (be + V-base + ing)
She is calling me. He was drinking a second glass when he turned green.

V-ed2 (V-en) – past participle used to form the perfect (have + V-base + ed)
She has called me. They have called me.
She had confessed to the crime but later recanted.
Regular (or weak) verbs have the same (V-ed) form for the past and perfect forms:
She walked to campus today. He has walked to campus every day this week.
She watched reality TV shows all night. He had watched sporting events all day.
Irregular (or strong) verbs have different forms for the past and the perfect forms:
He gave her a present. She had given him a warning.
She drank a whole pot of coffee. He has drunk too many lattes.
Modal auxiliaries (can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must) are the first verb in the
verb phrase and are followed by the base (present) form of the verb:
They can afford a new car. They will study together, so they should learn the material.
Review of grammar
Roland Nord
2013-06-26
Page 2
Exercise : Identifying verb forms
Follow the examples in order to label the verbs in the verb phrase:
His parents named [past] him William. He had [past] been [perfect] named [passive]1 after
William Shakespeare, his father’s favorite playwright. His friends had called [past perfect]
him Willy or Billy, but his wife calls [present] him Bill. He will [modal] change [present]2 his
name to Biff. He will [modal] be [present] going [progressive] to the courthouse to change3
his name.
1. He runs [] 5 miles each day; indeed, he is [] training [] for marathons and triathlons.
2. He will [] be [] running [] in the Mankato Marathon.
3. She had [] trained [] with him until she caught [] him cheating. He had [] been [] putting []
pine pitch on the bottom of her shoes.
4. He came [] home one night and found [] that she had [] thrown [] all of the pine pitch out of
the house.
5. He must [] have [] learned [] his lesson because he never did [] it again.
Sentence patterns
Sentences follow one of seven sentence patterns:

SV

SVA

SVC

SVO

SVOO

SVOA

SVOC
Verbs that do not require an object or complement are intransitive verbs (S V):
Buffy laughed, and Biff cried. Swen dozed. Ole swam.
1
The passive if formed by using a form of be + the perfect (past participle). In the following pairs of sentences, the first is
sentence is in active voice and the second in passive voice: She confused him. --> He was confused (by her). Biff threw Buffy
the ball. --> Buffy was thrown the ball (by Biff).
2
What I have described as modal present is what most folks think of as future tense. The virtue of my system is that you
identify (the form of) each verb.
3
To change is an infinitive (to + V-base), which is a non-finite verb; consequently, it isn’t labeled.
Review of grammar
Roland Nord
2013-06-26
Page 3
Such verbs can frequently be modified with an adverb (of manner, time, or place).
Biff wept uncontrollably. Ole swam effortlessly.
On the other hand, transitive verbs require a direct object (S V O) and may allow an indirect object
(S V Oi Od).
The direct object answers the question S + V+ what?
Biff threw the ball. Question: Biff threw what? Answer: The ball is the direct object.
The indirect object answers the question S + V + Od + to whom or for whom?
Biff threw Buffy the ball. Question: Biff threw the ball to whom? Answer: Buffy is the
indirect object.
Notice that we can often change the indirect object to an adverb (a prepositional phrase) so that the
sentence follows the pattern S V O A:
Biff threw the ball to Buffy.
She gave him the present. [S V O O] --> She gave the present to him. [S V O A]
Intensive (linking) verbs take an adjective or noun complement (S V C) rather than an object. Only a
few verbs are linking verbs: be, seem, appear, become, look, taste, feel, smell, sound.
He is an instructor. She seems happy. Biff looks sad. This food tastes salty. The appear
sincere.
Note that the complement is closely linked to the subject, frequently renaming the subject. Certain
verbs permit an object complement (S V O C):
They elected him president. [S V O C]
They elected him. [S V O] + He is president. [S V C]
Buffy named her baby Sylvester. [S V O C]
Buffy named her baby. [S V O] + Her baby is Sylvester. [S V C]
Phrases and clauses
Phrases consist of one or more words.

noun phrases

verb phrases

prepositional phrases

infinitive phrases (non-finite verb phrases)

participial phrases (non-finite verb phrases)
Review of grammar
Roland Nord
2013-06-26
Page 4
Clauses consist of a subject and finite verb.
She laughed. (S V)
He swam under the diving board. (S V A)
The tall, dark stranger is my mother. (S V C)
I love to bowl. (S V O)
Biff gave Buffy a present. (S V O O)
I placed my webcam above my monitor. (S V O A)
Buffy called Biff a scoundrel. (S V O C)
Clauses are categorized as

independent (main) clauses
I ate breakfast. I walked to school.

dependent (subordinate) clauses – joined to independent clauses with a subordinating
conjunction or relative pronoun; the dependent clause doesn’t make sense without the
main clause
After I ate breakfast…
Because I ate breakfast…
The man who lives next door to me…
The book that is sitting on the table…
Clauses and phrases act as parts of speech.
What you see is what you get. (S V C)
He quit his job because it didn’t pay well. (S V O A)
Sentences may be categorized by the number and type of clauses that they contain:

Simple sentences – one independent clause
Biff is my son.

Compound sentences – two (or more) independent clauses (typically joined with a
coordinating conjunction)
Biff is my son, and Buffy is my daughter.

Complex sentences – one independent clause and one (or more) dependent clauses
Although Biff graduated with honors, he wasn’t able to find a job.

Compound-complex sentences – two (or more) independent clauses and one or more
dependent clauses
Although Buffy did not graduate with honors, she majored in technical communication, so
she found a job immediately.