Chapter 4: Verbs 8 th Grade English. Lesson 1: What is a Verb? O A verb is a word used to express an action, a condition, or a state of being. O Two main

Chapter 4: Verbs8th Grade English

Lesson 1: What is a Verb?

O A verb is a word used to express an action, a condition, or a state of being.O Two main types of verbs are action

verbs and linking verbs,O Both kinds can be accompanied by

helping verbs.


O Action VerbsO An action verb tells what its subject

does.O The action it expresses may be either

physical or mental.O The roller coaster climbs up a hill.O Then the coaster plunges straight

down.O Some people hate amusement parks.O Others enjoy them.


O Linking VerbsO A linking verb links its subject to a

word in the predicate.O The most common linking verbs are

forms of the verb be.O Linking Verbs

Forms of Be Verbs that Express Condition

Be, is, am, are, was, were, been, being

Appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, smell, sound, taste


O Linking Verbs, Continued:O The Cyclone is a roller coaster.O Its name sounds dangerous.


O Some verbs can serve as either action or linking verbs.O A passenger looks at the roller

coaster.O She looks eager.O She feels ready.O She feels the steel bar across her lap.


O Helping Verbs and Verb PhrasesO Helping verbs help main verbs

express precise shades of meaningO The combination of one or more

helping verbs with a main verb is called a verb phrase.O Many people will ride the Cyclone this

weekend.O They must want some thrills in their

lives.


O Some verbs can serve both as main verbs and as helping verbs.

O For example, has stands alone in the first sentence below but is a helping verb in the second sentence.O Rich Rodriguez has no fear of roller

coasters.O He has set a world roller coaster

record.


O Common Helping Verbs

Forms of Be Be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being

Forms of Do Do, does, did

Forms of Have Has, have, had

Others Could, should, would, may, might, must, can, shall, will

Lesson 2: Action Verbs and Objects

O Action verbs are often accompanied by words that complete their meaning.

O These complements are direct objects and indirect objects.


O A direct object is a noun or pronoun that names the receiver of a verb’s action.

O The direct object answers the question what or whom.O Evel Knievel gained much fame.O He performed dangerous stunts on a

motorcycle.


O An indirect object tells to what or whom or for what or whom an action is being done.

O Verbs that often take indirect objects include bring, give, hand, lend, make, send, show, teach, tell, and write.O Knievel gave a thrill. (Gave a thrill to

whom?)O Knievel gave his fans a thrill.O Knievel taught his son some stunts.


O If the word to or for appears in the sentence, the word that follows is NOT an indirect object. It is the object of a preposition.O Show the stunt to us.O Show us the stunt.


O Transitive and Intransitive VerbsO An action verb that has a direct object

is called a transitive verb.O An action verb that does not have a

direct object is called an intransitive verb.O Knievel cleared nineteen cars in one

stunt.O His motorcycle sailed through the air.


O Sometimes an intransitive verb is followed by a word that looks like a direct object, but is really an adverb.

O An adverb tells where, when, how, or to what extent, but a D.O. answers the question what or whom.

Lesson 3: Linking Verbs and Predicate Words

O The word that a linking verb connects its subject to is called a subject complement.

O The subject complement identifies or describes the subject.

O Some common linking verbs are is, feel, seem, and look.O Paul Revere’s mount was a saddle

horse.O The mare seemed very fast.


O A predicate noun is a noun that follows a linking verb and identifies, renames, or defines the subject.O Brown Beauty was the mare’s name.O Mr. Larkin was the horse’s owner.


O A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and modifies the subject.O Saddle horses are powerful.O They look distinctive.

Lesson 4: Principal Parts of Verbs

O Every verb has four basic forms called its principal parts: O PresentO Present participleO PastO Past participle

O These principal parts are used to make all of the forms and tenses of the verb.


O Balloonists sail on wind currents.O Present

O They often are riding jet streams.O Present participle

O Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones circled the earth in a balloon in 1999.O Past

O Many balloonists have tried the feat.O Past participle


O The four principal parts of a verb:O Notice that helping verbs are used

with the present participle and past participle.

Present Present Participle

Past Past Participle

Sail (is,are) sailing

Sailed (has, have) sailed

lift (is, are) lifting

Lifted (has, have) lifted


O Regular VerbsO There are two kinds of verbs, regular

and irregular.O A regular verb is a verb whose past

and past participle are formed by adding –ed or –d to the present form.

O It forms the present participle by adding –ing to the present form.

Present Present Participle

Past Past Participle

Succeed (is, are) succeeding

Succeeded (has, have) succeeded

Lesson 5: Irregular Verbs

O Irregular Verbs are verbs whose past and past participles are not made by adding –ed or –d to the present.


O Common Irregular VerbsO For more examples, see pg. 102-103

in your hardcover bookO Group 1: Present, past, and past

participle are all the same.O Present: BurstO Past: burstO Past Participle:(has, have) burst


O Group 2: the forms of the past and past participle are the same.O Present: BringO Past: broughtO Past Participle: (has, have) brought


O Group 3: The past participle is formed by adding –n or –en to the past form.O Present: BiteO Past: bitO Past Participle:(has, have) bitten


O Group 4: The past participle is formed from the present form, often by adding –n or –en.O Present: doO Past: didO Past Participle: (has, have) done


O Group 5: The last vowel changes from i in the present, to a in the past, to u in the past participle.O Present: BeginO Past: BeganO Past Participle: (has, have) begun


O The irregular verb Be:O The past and past participle do not

follow any pattern.O Present: am, are, isO Past: was, wereO Past Participle: (has, have) been

Lesson 6: Simple Tenses

O A tense is a verb form that shows the time of an action or condition.

O Verbs have three simple tenses: the present, the past, and the future.


O Understanding Simple TensesO The present tense shows that an action or

condition occurs now.O The hatch of the lunar module opens.

O The past tense shows that an action or condition was completed in the past.O The module reached Tranquility Base thirty

minutes ago.O The future tense shows that an action or

condition will occur in the future.O Soon the occupants will walk on the moon.


O A progressive form of a verb expresses an action or condition in progress.

O The progressive forms of the three simple tenses are used to show that actions or conditions were, are, or will be in progress.


O Progressive TensesO Present Progressive:

O You are operating a virtual-reality model of the Apollo 11 mission.

O Past Progressive:O You were blasting off before.

O Future Progressive:O You will be sharing the game with a

friend.


O Forming Simple Tenses

Singular Plural

Present (present principal part)

I moonwalk.You moonwalk.He moonwalks.

We moonwalk.You moonwalk.They moonwalk.

Past (past principal part)

I moonwalked.You moonwalked.She moonwalked.

We moonwalked.You moonwalked.They moonwalked.

Future (will + present part)

I will moonwalk.You will moonwalk.It will moonwalk.

We will moonwalk.You will moonwalk.They will moonwalk.


O Forming Progressive TensesO To make the progressive form of one

of these tenses, add the present, past, or future form of be to the present participle (-ing verb).O Present Progressive: I am moonwalking.O Past Progressive: I was moonwalking.O Future Progressive: I will be

moonwalking.

Lesson 7: Perfect Tenses

O The present perfect tense places an action or condition in a stretch of time leading up to the present.O Many people have rafted through the

Grand Canyon.O People rafted through the canyon at

unspecified times before the present.


O The past perfect tense places a past action or condition before another past action or condition.O After the guide had straightened the

raft, we entered the rapids.O The straightening occurred before the

entering.


O The future perfect tense places a future action or condition before another future action or condition.O We will have cleared many rapids

before the trip ends.O The clearing will occur before the

ending.


O Forming Perfect TensesO To form the present perfect, past

perfect, or future perfect tenses, add the present, past, or future form of have to the past participle.


O Forming Perfect TensesSingular Plural

Present Perfect(has or have + past participle)

I have rafted.You have rafted.She has rafted.

We have rafted.You have rafted.They have rafted.

Past Perfect(had + past participle)

I had rafted.You had rafted.He had rafted.

We had rafted.You had rafted.They had rafted.

Future Perfect(will have + past participle)

I will have rafted.You will have rafted.She will have rafted.

We will have rafted.You will have rafted.They will have rafted.

Lesson 8: Using Verb Tenses

O A good writer uses different verb tenses to indicate that events occur at different times.

O If you do not need to indicate a change of time, do not switch from one tense to another.


O Writing about the PresentO The present tenses convey actions and

conditions that occur in the present.O When you write about the present, you can use

the present tense, present perfect tense, and present progressive form.

O Present: People ride many animals besides horses.

O Present Perfect: Indians have trained elephants for thousands of yeares.

O Present Progressive: Elephant handlers are continuing an old tradition.


O Writing about the PastO The past tenses convey actions and

conditions that came to an end in the past.

O When you write about the past, you can use past verb forms to indicate the order in which events occurred.

O Using these forms correctly will make it easier for readers to follow the events.


O Writing about the Past, cont.O Past: In 218 B.C., Hannibal’s army

crossed the Alps with elephants.O Past Perfect: Other generals had used

elephants in war before Hannibal did.O Past Progressive: Hannibal’s

elephants were scaring the Roman army’s horses, as well as its soldiers.


O Writing about the FutureO The future tenses convey actions and

conditions that are yet to come.O By using different future verb forms,

you can show how future events are related in time.


O Writing about the Future, cont.O Future: Maybe you will ride an

elephant one day.O Future Perfect: By the time you are an

adult, perhaps elephants will have survived threats to their existence.

O Future Progressive: Elephant herds will be prospering with protection.

Lesson 9: Troublesome Verb Pairs

O Some verbs seem similar but are actually different words with different meanings.

O Troublesome verb pairs include lie and lay, sit and set, rise and raise, and let and leave.


O Lie and LayO Lie means “to rest in a flat position.”

It does not take an object.O The worker lies near the tree.

O Lay means “to put or place.” It does take an object.O He lays a bucket near the tree.

Present Past Past Participle

Lie/lies: Al lies down.

Lay: Al lay down

Lain: Al has lain down.

Lay/lays: Al lays the sponge down.

Laid: Al laid the sponge down.

Laid: Al has laid the sponge down.


O Sit and SetO Sit means “to be seated.” It does not

take an object.O The worker sits by the window.

O Set means “to put or place.” It does take an object.O He sets the squeegee near the sill.


Sit/sits: He sits on the ledge.

Sat: He sat on the ledge.

Sat: He has sat on the ledge.

Set/sets: Amy sets down the screen.

Set: Amy set down the screen.

Set: Amy has set down the screen.


O Rise and RaiseO Rise means “to move upward” or “to

get out of bed.” It does not take an object.O Lee rises before dawn every morning.

O Raise means “to lift” or “to care for or bring up.” It does take an object.O Lee raises the window.


Rise/rises: The hot air rises.

Rose: The hot air rose.

Risen: The hot air has risen.

Raise/raises: Irene raises the screen.

Raised: Irene raised the screen.

Raised: Irene has raised the screen.


O Let and Leave O Let means “to allow” or “to permit.”

O Frank let his son operate the rig.O Leave means “to depart” or to allow

something to remain where it is.”O Marta leaves the windows closed.

O Both let and leave may take an object.


Let/lets: Anna lets me help.

Let: Anna let me help.

Let: Anna has let me help.

Leave/leaves: Tom leaves for work at noon.

Left: Tom left for work at noon yesterday.

Left: Tom has left for work.

Documents

Chapter 4: Verbs 8 th Grade English. Lesson 1: What is a Verb? O A verb is a word used to express an action, a condition, or a state of being. O Two main