Definitions and Examples of Grammar in English - English Grammar for Teachers - General English Question and Answer - English Interview Quiz - General English for TNPSC Exams
A verb is an action or express word. It indicates the action or express in the present, past and future tenses.
The Principal Parts Of Verbs
Verbs have four principal parts of verbs or fundamental forms that are used to create a tense
e.g.
Present
Past
Past Participle
Present Participle
abandon
abandoned
abandoned
abandoning
accept
accepted
accepted
accepting
go
went
gone
going
take
took
taken
taking
become
became
became
becoming
cut
cut
cut
cutting
read
read
read
reading
complete
completed
completed
completing
delete
deleted
deleted
deleting
Agreement Of The Verb With The Subject
Definition:
A verb must agree with its Subject in Number and Person. When we use a verb, we have to say who or what is doing the action. This ‘who or what’ is the subject of the verb. The subject and the verb agree when they match each other.
Singular Verb
Use a singular verb if the subject is a singular noun.
e.g.
John goes to office
She eats a mango
The poet composes poetry
They build a temple
This form of the verb is called the third person singular. You use it when the subject of the verb is not you or the person you are speaking to, but some
other person - a third person - or a thing. The third person singular verbs that end in ‘s’
e.g.
Runs
Waits
Goes
Rings
e.g.
My uncle and guardian has come
Mom and Dad love us
Plural Verb
Use a plural verb if the subject is a plural noun. Do not add s, es or ies to plural verbs. Plural verbs are also used with the pronouns I, we, you and they.
e.g.
My brothers listen to music a lot
Some people drink coffee
The stars shine brightly on a clear night
Some children learn very fast
I listen to music a lot
We drink tea on every day
You eat well
They build a temple
The Verb gives us what people, animals or things are doing. It has six basic verb forms :
The Six Basic Verb Forms
e.g.
Base Form
walk
go
Present
walk / walks
go / goes
Past
walked
went
Infinitive
to walk
to go
Present Participle
walking
going
Past Participle
Walked
gone
Base Form
The base form is the source for the present, infinitive, and past participle of the verb.
Present :
This refers to something that is existing or happening now or happens routinely.
e.g.
I do my homework daily
He goes to temple
The main difference between the present and base forms is that the third-person singular present form adds -s or -es to the base form of the verb;
Past :
This form of a verb is used to indicate that something has already been completed.
e.g.
I did my homework
He went to temple
Infinitive :
The infinitive of a verb consists of to 1 its base form.
e.g.
to buy
to get
to go
Past Participle:
This is formed by regular verbs or irregular verbs. It is used with the helping verb such as has, have or had.
e.g.
I have completed my homework
She has come home
Present Participle:
This is formed by adding -ing to the end of present verbs. It is used with forms of the verb to be, such as am, is, are, was, or were. This expresses an ongoing action
e.g.
I am going to school
He is playing cricket
The verbs of a simple sentence
Verb is a core of every sentence. Without verb, a group of words is only a fragment of a sentence instead of a complete sentence. Even if a sentence contains only one word, that word must be a verb:
e.g.
Run!
Wait!
Go!
Ring!
Every verb must have a subject, expressed or understood. The subject of a verb is to assert something about its subject that is, to tell what the subject does (did, will do) or that the subject is (was, will be) something.
Subject + verb
e.g.
Subject
Verb
Horse
eats
This sentence consists of one clause. The clause has two parts, a Subject and a Verb. But this is not a complete sentence.
Subject + verb + object
e.g.
Subject
Verb
Object
Horse
eats
grass
The object of a clause is normally comes after the verb. This sentence is a complete sentence. The grass is clearly affected by the action of eating