Download What is a Verb?

Grammar Workshop
9th Grade English
What is a Noun?
Nouns name:
 Persons (Ms. Douglas, Brittany Spears, Pres.
Obama)
 Places (city, Houston, Red Sea)
 Things (chair, book, mountain)
 Ideas (reality, peace, success)
 Qualities (pain, mystery, simplicity)
Forms of Nouns



Singular nouns (one)
– City, earthquake, town
Plural nouns (more than one)
– Add –s , or –es
– Ex. Cities, earthquakes, towns
– Irregular plurals: woman/women, child/children, etc.
Possessive Nouns
–
–
–
Indicate Ownership or source.
Singular Nouns add an apostrophe plus –s (ex. Jane’s pen)
Plural Nouns add an apostrophe (ex. Students’ rights)
What is a Verb?

Verbs express:
–
–
–
An action (bring, change, grow)
An occurrence ( become, happen)
A state of being ( be, seem)
Forms of Verbs

Two changes in form
–
From Past to Present



–
–
–
Add –d or –ed
Ex. The boys play today/ The boys played yesterday.
Irregular past tense : eat/ate, begin/began, etc.
Adding Present tense verbs to singular
nouns/pronouns
Add –s or –es. (ex. The bear escapes; it runs; the woman
sings).
Exception: be and have.
Helping Verbs

A.k.a. Auxilliary Verbs

Do, does, did, can, could, may, will would, shall,
should, and must

Ex. Could run; may escape; must help.

Combine with special forms of verbs to make
verb phrases

Ex. Will be running, might have escaped, could have
been helped.
Pronouns


Most pronouns substitute for nouns.
Personal pronouns
–

Ex. I, you, he, she, it, we, they…
Relative pronouns
–
–
–
Ex. Who, whoever, which, that…
Most change form to indicate their function in a
sentence.
Ex. He called me. I called him back.
Adjectives




Describe or modify nouns or pronouns
a.k.a. modifiers
Ex. gentle, small, pretty, smart, kind, etc.
Ex. The small, obedient child followed her mother
home.
Adverbs

Describe or modify verbs, adjectives or other
verbs, or whole groups of words

Ex. Gently, helpfully, almost, kindly.
Recently, the earth trembled
The earthquake nearly destroyed the city.


Prepositions

Relate nouns, or pronouns to other words in
a sentence.
Ex. About, at, down, for, of, with, because.
Ex. The boy went down the street to get his ball.

Ex. I had to get a pass to class because I was late.


What is a Sentence?



Most make statements
First, they name something
Then, they make a statement about/ or
describe an an action involving that
something.
Sentences have Two Parts

Subject
–

Predicate
–
–

Answers the question: who or what does the
action
Everything from the verb onward.
Includes a verb and a complete thought.
Ex. The bees are swarming.

Subject
The bees

Predicate
are swarming
The earth
trembled
The earthquake
destroyed the city
Identifying Subjects and Predicates

Identify the subject and predicate of each sentence
below. Then use each sentence as a model to create
a sentence of your own.

Example: An important scientist spoke at a conference.
The hungry family ate at the dinner.

In Class Practice: Identify Subject and
the Predicate.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The leaves fell.
October ends soon.
The orchard owners made apple cider.
They examined each apple carefully before
using it.
Over a hundred people will buy cider at the
roadside stand.
Direct and Indirect Objects

Direct Object: identifies who or what receives the
action of the verb.
–

Ex. The earthquake destroyed the city.
Indirect Direct object: identifies to or for whom the
action of the verb is performed.
–
Ex. The government sent the city aid.
Intransitive and Transitive Verbs

Intransitive Verbs are verbs that do not need
following words to complete their meaning.
–


Ex. The earthquake trembled.
Transitive verbs are verbs that require direct
objects to complete their meaning.
The verb transfers the action from subject to object.
–
Ex. The earthquake destroyed the city.
Subject/Object Complements

The word that describes the subject is the subject
complement.
–
Ex. The result was chaotic.

The verbs that link the subject and its description is
called a linking verb.

Ex. The result was chaos.

The word or noun that complements or completes
the object is the object complement.
–
Ex. The citizens considered the earthquake a disaster.
Identifying Sentence Patterns






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In the following sentences, identify each verb as intransitive,
transitive, or linking. Then identify each direct object (DO), indirect
object (IO), subject complement (SC), and object complement
(OC).
Example: Children give their parents both headaches and pleasures.
– Give is a transitive verb.
Many people find New Orleans exciting.
Tourists flock there each year.
Usually they visit the French Quarter first.
The Quarter’s old buildings are magnificent.
In the Quarter, artists sell tourists their paintings.
Subject-Verb Agreement


For every sentence, the subject and verb of the
subject must be in agreement.
If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular.


The cat is on the mat.
If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Ex. The dogs are howling.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules

1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of
two or more nouns or pronouns connected by
and, use a plural verb.


She and her friends are at the fair.
2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns
are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.

The book or the pen is in the drawer.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules

3. When a compound subject contains both a
singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by
or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the
subject that is nearer the verb.


The boy or his friends run every day.
His friends or the boy runs every day.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules



4. Doesn't is a contraction of does not and should
be used only with a singular subject.
Don't is a contraction of do not and should be used
only with a plural subject.
The exception to this rule appears in the case of the
first person and second person pronouns I and you.
With these pronouns, the contraction don't should
be used.


He doesn't like it.
They don't like it.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules

5. Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between
the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the
subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.





One of the boxes is open
The people who listen to that music are few.
The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.
The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is
boring.
The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules

6. The words each, each one, either, neither,
everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody,
somebody, someone, and no one are singular and
require a singular verb.

Each of these hot dogs is juicy.
Everybody knows Mr. Jones.

Either is correct.

Subject Verb Agreement Rules

7. Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars,
measles, and news require singular verbs.




The news is on at six.
Note: the word dollars is a special case.
When talking about an amount of money, it
requires a singular verb.
When referring to the dollars themselves, a plural
verb is required.


Five dollars is a lot of money.
Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules


8. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers,
and shears require plural verbs. (There are two
parts to these things.)
 These scissors are dull.
 Those trousers are made of wool.
9. In sentences beginning with there is or there
are, the subject follows the verb. Since there is not
the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.
 There are many questions.
 There is a question.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules

10. Collective nouns are words that imply more than one
person but that are considered singular and take a singular
verb, such as: group, team, committee, class, and family.





In some cases in American English, a sentence may call for the use
of a plural verb when using a collective noun.


The team runs during practice.
The committee decides how to proceed.
The family has a long history.
My family has never been able to agree.
The crew are preparing to dock the ship.
This sentence is referring to the individual efforts of each crew
member
Subject Verb Agreement Rules

11. Expressions such as with, together with,
including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as
well do not change the number of the subject. If
the subject is singular, the verb is too.


The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to
India.
All of the books, including yours, are in that box.