Verby Verbs!

A verb is often defined as a word which shows action or state of being. The verb is the heart of a sentence - every sentence must have a verb. Recognizing the verb is often the most important step in understanding the meaning of a sentence. One of the most important things about verbs is their relationship to time.  Verbs tell if something has already happened, if it will happen later, or if it is happening now.  For things happening now, we use the present tense of a verb; for something that has already happened, we use the past tense; and for something that will happen later, we use the future tense.  Some examples of verbs in each tense are in the chart below:

Present	Past	Future
look	looked	will look
move	loved	will move
talk	talked	will talk

Verbs like those in the chart above that form the past tense by adding -d or -ed are called regular verbs.  Some of the most common verbs are not regular and the different forms of the verb must be learned.  Some examples of such irregular verbs are in the chart below:
 

Present	Past	Future
see	saw	will see
hear	heard	will hear
speak	spoke	will speak

The charts above show the simple tenses of the verbs.  There are also progressive or continuous forms which show that the action takes place over a period of time, and perfect forms which show completion of the action.  These forms will be discussed more in other lessons, but a few examples are given in the chart below:

Present Continuous	Present Prefect
Is looking	has looked
is speaking	has spoken
is talking	has talked

Okay..Lets have a pop quiz :)

1)  Which is not a past form of a verb?

Top of Form

was had looked spoke hear

Bottom of Form

2)  Which is not a present form of a verb?

Top of Form

are saw has talk speak 

Bottom of Form

3)  Which is not a plural form of a verb?

Top of Form

are were am have do

Bottom of Form

4)  Which is not a 3rd person singular form of a verb?

Top of Form

goes has was are does

Bottom of Form

5)  Which is not a modal?

Top of Form

must is should can may

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6)  Which is a regular verb?

Top of Form

looked saw was spoke heard

Bottom of Form

7) Which is not a simple tense of a verb?

Top of Form

will move heard has spoken will talk see

Bottom of Form

8) Which is not used as an auxiliary of a verb?

Top of Form

was have did will sees

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9)  Which verb can be both singular and plural?

Top of Form

sees has do am is

Bottom of Form

10)  Which verb can be both singular and plural?

Top of Form

was does have comes hears

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