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Basic Grammar: Parts of Speech: Verbs
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Verbs
A verb may be singular (indicate the action of a singular noun) or plural
(indicate the action of a plural noun). In the present tense, a singular verb
ends in s for 3rd person singular.
Principal Parts to the Verb
Regular Verbs
Examples: Base Form Past
consider
considered
indicate
indicated
occur
occurred
walk
walked
Past Participle
considered
indicated
occurred
walked
Present Participle
considering
indicating
occurring
walking
Notice that past and past participle forms for regular verbs end with -ed. For
other verbs, please see Irregular Verbs. All verbs, however, are regular in the
present participle form. The only changes that occur are a result of spelling.
All verbs add -ing to the base form.
Spelling rules:
1. If the base form ends in e, omit the e and add ing
e.g., bite  biting
2. If the base form of a one-syllable verb ends in a single vowel followed
by a consonant, double the final consonant and add ing
e.g., run  running
(Follow the same rule for two-syllable verbs IF the stress is on the
second syllable.)
3. If the base form ends in ie, change the ie to y and add ing
e.g., die  dying
Types of Verbs
Transitive
 require an object; without an object the sentence or thought is
incomplete
Incorrect:
Correct:
Incorrect:
Correct:
I like. (Like what? This is not a complete thought, so clearly
an object is required.)
I like coffee. (Coffee is the object. The sentence is now
complete.)
Hundreds of protesters hurled. (Hurled what? This is not a
complete thought.)
Hundreds of protesters hurled stones and vegetables at police
guarding the courthouse. (Stones and vegetables is the object of
hurled.)
Intransitive
 do not require an object to make the sentence or thought complete
Birds fly.
She awoke much later than she’d intended.
He hurried along the sidewalk, side-stepping as many puddles
as he could.
Stative or Linking
 indicate a state of being or condition because they link the subject of a
sentence with a noun, pronoun or adjective, anything that identifies the
subject
The most common linking verb is to be. Other frequently used linking
verbs are as follows:
Examples: appear feel
look
seem sound
become grow remain smell taste
Michael is my eldest brother. (My eldest brother is the noun phrase that
identifies Michael. Without the noun phrase, the sentence would be
incomplete.)
The soup still tasted bland. (Bland is an adjective that describes soup.
The adjective is necessary to complete the sentence.)
Auxiliary (sometimes called helping) verbs
Examples: am be
did does have shall would
are
been do
had
is
will
(Note: Be, Do, and Have can also be main verbs.)

are used to indicate tense. The following tenses require auxiliary verbs:
present, past, and future progressive (continuous or continued action);
simple future; present, past, and future perfect. Auxiliary verbs are
always used with a main verb, the word that expresses the action or
state to indicate when and for how long an action occurs. Two tenses,
the simple present and the simple past, however, do not use auxiliary
verbs.
He works. (present tense)
He worked. (past tense)
He will work. (future tense: will is the auxiliary verb indicating that the
action work will occur in the future)
He is working. (present progressive: is is the auxiliary verb indicating
that the action work began before, is occurring, and will continue to
occur after the time of speaking.)

are used to form interrogatives (questions) and negatives. When
referring to present and definite past situations, the auxiliaries do, does,
did are required.
Have you been here long?
I have not seen Pete for ages.
Have you been to Europe?
You will not have much success using that type of mower on your
grass.
Would you tell him I called?
Do you like coffee? (present)
I don’t like tea. (present)
He did not go to the meeting. (definite past)
What did he do there? (definite past)

are used to form tag questions that are placed after a statement.
You went to a movie, didn’t you?
You didn’t go to a movie, did you?
She’s the girl you told me about, isn’t she?
She’s not the girl you told me about, is she?
They will be there by noon, won’t they?
They won’t be there by noon, will they?
We have enough money, don’t we?
We don’t have enough money, do we?

are used to answer yes/no questions. A yes/no question that starts with
a negative construction asks for confirmation of a known or suspected
situation.
Did you go to a movie? Yes, I did./No, I didn’t.
Didn’t you go to a movie? Yes, I did./ No, I didn’t.
Is she the girl you told me about? Yes, she is./No, she isn’t.
Isn’t she the girl you told me about? Yes, she is./No, she isn’t.
Will they be here by noon? Yes, they will./No, they won’t.
Won’t they be here by noon? Yes, they will./No, they won’t. Do we
have enough money? Yes, we do./No, we don’t.
Don’t we have enough money? Yes, we do./No, we don’t.

are used to provide emphasis in the simple present tense by using do.
She does work hard.
I do enjoy listening to classical music.
We do intend to pay you back.
Modal
A modal provides additional information about a main verb; it adds a sense of
obligation, possibility, ability or permission.
Examples: can, could, be able to have to must
would
can’t
may
shall
have got to

might
should
When referring to obligations, ability, possibility, or permission in
present or future situations, modal verbs are followed by the infinitive
(base form of the verb).
He should study more. (obligation)
They may go to Jasper this weekend, but then they may decide to stay
at home. (possibility)
Mary can’t swim, but she can ski. (ability)
The principal has signed a permission slip, so you may have the
afternoon off to go to the doctor. (permission)

When referring to obligations, ability, possibility, or permission in the
past or when speculating about events in the past, modal verbs are
followed by have + past participle.
He should have studied more. (obligation in the past)
I could have become a great dancer. (possibility in the past)
He must have been mad to think he could get away with telling such
lies. (speculating about a past event)
He may have lost your address, which would explain his not writing to
you. (speculating about a past event)
For more information, please refer to Modals.
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/engl/155/support/modals_and_related_expr
essions.htm