INTRODUCTION TO VERBS ~ Advanced English Learning

Defining a Verb:-

A verb denotes an action, being or possession. It tells what a person, thing or animal does; what a person, animal or thing is; or what a person, animal or thing has.

Examples - He drew a beautiful picture (action)

Shoma is smart. (being)

A dog has four legs. (possession)

Transitive verb & Intransitive verb:-

Transitive Verb: A verb that requires an object to complete its meaning is known as 'Transitive Verb'

Example-

The child needs milk. (milk is the object of the verb 'needs' and this object is necessary to complete the meaning of The child needs.....).

Note. Only 'doing verbs' and 'verbs showing possession' can be transitive verbs.

Intransitive Verb: A verb that does not require an object to complete its meaning is called an 'Intransitive Verb'.

Example-

The baby smiled. (Here the verb 'smiled' does not need any object to complete its meaning).

Verbs of incomplete prediction & complements:-

A verb which does not express any action or show possession and needs the help or presence of some word/words to make sense is called a verb of incomplete prediction.

Verbs like be (is,are, am, was, were, will be, shall be etc.), appear, seem & look are incomplete verbs. They need complements to complete their meaning.

Example-

The student is intelligent. (here, the word intelligent is needed to complete the meaning of the given example).

Note: A verb is an important part of a sentence. No sentence can be formed without a verb

Chief parts of a verb.

The chief parts of a verb are:

1. The present tense( first form)

2. The past tense(second form)

3.The past participle(third form)

For example:

Go(first form)

Went( second form)

Gone(third form)

They are called the chief parts because we can form all the other parts of a verb with their help

Practice Exercises:

a.) Underline the verb & write whether they are Transitive or Intransitive:

1. Lata sings songs. ____

2. The sun sets in the evening.____

3. She cried when she could not find her parents.____

4. That man sells fruits.____

5.Father is driving the car. ____

6.Rajat plays badminton.

b.) Circle the verb of incomplete prediction & underline their complements:

1. His face grew pale.

2. Mita seems happy.

3. Tina was tired.

4. The landlord appeared angry.

5. The lion is ferocious.

6.Nandan was surprised to see her.

c) Underline the verbs and circle the objects in the following sentences

1.I purchased a new dress.

2.Mita got a toy.

3.The doctor prescribed me some medicines.

4.They hit the target.

5/She eats soaked almonds everyday

6.My uncle has a pet dog..

Strong and Weak Verbs:-

1 .Strong verbs form their past tense by adding -ed, -d, or -t to the present:

Present Tense Past Tense

laugh laughed

learn learnt ( etc.)

2.Strong verbs form their past tense by changing the inside vowel(s) of their present tense:

Present Tense Past Tense

come came

know knew (etc.)

3. Observe how the past tense of the following verbs is formed:

Present Tense Past Tense

buy bought

tell told

We notice that in these verbs, the inside vowel has been changed to form the past tense. But besides a changed vowel, they also require final -d or-t. Such verbs are called a 'weak verbs'

4. There is a very simple way of telling whether a particular verb is weak or strong.

If in the past tense of verb, there is present a final-d or-t that is not found in the present tense, it is a weak verb.

Some Strong Verbs

Some Weak Verbs:

* meet ( instead of meat)

F) The following verbs have the three forms ( present, past and future) alike:

bet bid cast cost

cut hit hurt let

put read set shut

split spread thrust upset

>>Click the following link to know more about 'Verbs' :

https://englishclassesbyrb.blogspot.com/2021/06/introduction-to-verbs.html

Some troublesome Verbs:-

1.Born, borne
   Bear has the following forms:
  Present     Past      Past Participle
   (to give birth) bear bore born
    (to carry) bear bore borne

EXample-

She was born in 2002.

The box was so heavy that it could be borne with great difficulty.

2. Hung, hanged
   Hang has the following forms:
     ( to suspend) hang hung hung
    (to put to death

by tying a rope
round the neck) hang hanged hanged

Example-

They hung the picture on the wall.
The criminal was hanged.

3. Lie.
    Lie has the following forms:
    (to rest or remain) lie     lay     lain
   (to speak falsely) lie      lied       lied

Example-

I was tired. So I lay down for little while. (= rest)
Let me lie here(= to remain)
I know he lied to you. (= to speak falsely)

To lay means to put or place something down. Its forms are:
lay laid laid

Example-

Kindly lay the child in the bed.(=place)
I forgot where I had laid the purse. (=place or put down)

Note:- When lay is in the present form, its meaning is to place. But it is also the past tense of lie.

4. Fell

Fell is the past tense form of fall.

Example-

She fell off her bicycle.
But fell is also used in the present tense. Then its meaning is to cause something to fall and its forms are:

fell felled felled

Example-

They felled the trees quite thoughtlessly.
The wrestler felled him down quite easily.

5. Saw

Saw is the past tense form of see.

Example-

     She saw a large crowd.
But saw is also used in the present tense. Then its meaning is to cut( wood) and its           forms are
                     saw      sawed sawn (rarely, sawed)

Example-

The carpenter sawed the log of the wood.

6. Rise, raise.

To rise means to get up.

To raise means to lift.

Example-

All of us will rise to welcome the Chief Guest. ( = get up)
The sun rises in the east. (= to come up)
We raised our hands in prayer.( = to lift)

Advanced English Learning

Sunday, June 6, 2021