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The traditional definition of a verb is that it refers to an action or state of being, but this is not particularly helpful in English, which moves words easily from one category to another. English has a rich vocabulary, but it is still a very thrifty language. Many words can serve more than one function in a sentence, and English uses very similar endings with different kinds of words. In these examples, only the first use of the underlined word is as a verb:
In examples (1) and (2), the different uses of rocks and flies have rather different meanings, but consider the following. The verb use is again the first given:
(1)(a) Grammar rocks.(b) Rocks fly.(2)(a) Time flies.(b) Flies stink.
(3)(a) Georgie hit me.(b) The batter got a hit.(4)(b) I walk a mile each day.(b) I went for a walk.
Identifying a "Verb" by its Function. Our word categories are hard to pin down by meaning alone. In the long run, words are what they are used as. The most common use of verbs is as the head of the predicate, the part of a sentence which says something about the subject. If we are looking for fool-proof tests, though, it may be easier to define a word which can be a verb as one that that can occupy the blank spot in these sentences:
Sentence (7) has an (it) at the end--the parentheses are to show that its use is optional--and sentence (5) and (6) could as well, since some verbs are much more comfortable with some object following them. The blank slots (or frames) represent places where only verbs can typically appear. Sentence (5) you should recognize as an imperative form. The other two sentences include structures we'll discuss later--infinitive phrases (6) and following a modal auxiliary (7). For right now, all you need to know is that words that can meet these tests can be verbs.
(5) Please __________.(6) They want to _________.(7) They may _______ (it).
Identifying a "Verb" by Inflections. Another way to define the categories of words is by the kinds of "inflections" they can take, usually special endings that affect the grammatical purpose of the word.. For verbs, the form that appears in the sentences above is called the base form because it has no inflections. Any verb capable of being a main verb in a VP can be inflected to show the present tense (8) and past tense (9) with a singular subject like time. The base form of the verb in these sentences is fly:
Any verb that can be a main verb can form a present participle by adding -ing to the base form of the verb (like fly). For regular English verbs, the past participle looks just like the simple past tense, but there are a good number of verbs where it has a distinctive form, and fly-flown is one of them. Participles in themselves, however, cannot serve as a complete predicate. The following sentences are astericked as gramatically unacceptable:
(8) Time flies(9) Time flew.
(10) *Time flying(11) *Time flown
We'll discuss how participles get used later.
Derivational Affixes as Clues. Besides the inflections which a verb can take to show grammatical purposes, there are certain affixes which are often used to turn words from other categories into words--e.g. the nounspeech becomes the verb speechify when we add -ify. When we encounter new verbs as we read, these endings (along with word order) help us guess that a particular unfamiliar word is likely to be a verb. Not all words that end in "-ize" are verbs--for example, "size"--but this affix, variously spelled, is often used to make verbs out of nouns, and knowing that is one way we recognize verbs. A good knowledge of roots and affixes is a quick way to increase one's vocabulary.
Exercise 1: Recognizing VerbsWhich of the following words are or can be used as verbs? Use the ways described above to identify possible verbs and explain why they are so. Use the ones you think can be verbs in a sentence.
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Problems with Irregular Verbs. All verbs form the present participle in the same way, adding -ing to their base form, but there are various categories of irregular verbs which can create problems. A surprising number have the same base form, past tense, and past participle, while forming the third-person present tense singular with the usual -s:
Base Form Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle bid bids bid bid burst bursts burst burst cast casts cast cast cost costs cost cost cut cuts cut cut hit hits hit hit hurt hurts hurt hurt let lets let let put puts put put rid rids rid rid set sets set set shed sheds shed shed split splits split split spread spreads spread spread
A few verbs form both the past tense and past participle with a distinctive pattern of internal vowel change:
Base Form Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle begin begins began began drink drinks drank drunk sing sings sang sung sink sinks sank sunk swim swims swam swum
Children generally learn standard rule for forming the past tense first, producing errors like sentence (13). Adults are familiar enough with the pattern just shown that errors like sentence (14) are perfectly understandable.
(13) *I drinked it all up.(14) *Who would have thunk it?
Some verbs use vowel change for the past tense but use some form of -en ending for the past participle:
Base Form Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle arise arises arose arisen bite bites bit bitten blow blows blew blown break breaks broke broken eat eats ate eaten freeze freezes froze frozen give gives gave given grow grows grew grown know knows knew known, lie lies lay lain see sees saw seen ride rides rode ridden steal steals stole stolen take takes took token tear tears tore torn wear wears wore worn write writes wrote written
Other verbs have the same irregular form for past tense and past participle. Some of these represent vestiges of old patterns with internal vowel change; others are simply variations of the normal -ed ending:
Base Form Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle bend bends bent bent bleed bleeds bled bled bind binds bound bound buy buy bought bought catch catches caught caught dig digs dug dug feed feeds fed fed feel feels felt felt hold holds held held keep keeps kept kept lay lays laid laid meet meets met met sit sits sat sat slide slides slid slid sting stings stung stung teach teaches taught taught tell tells told told think thinks thought thought win wins won. won.
Fortunately for native speakers, as new words are added to the language, they almost always follow a regular pattern for inflections. In addition, many of the irregular verbs are so common that native speakers do not find them difficult, but confusions are certainly possible. One notable one would be the two senses of lie (lie-lied-lied, lie-lay-lain) and the sound-alike verb lay-laid-laid. When Bob Dylan sings, "Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed," he is using non-standard English, albeit in a great song.
Just for the Record. We've been talking about verbs that can be the main verbs in a sentence, imperative or not. There is a small set of verbs called the modal auxiliaries which are never or rarely used as main verbs, so that they always appear with at least one other verb following them. The modals do not qualify as verbs by the various tests just described. Many grammarians consider them not really verbs at all but a separate word category entirely. Even so, they are still called verbs in common usage and most school handbooks. We'll deal with them later, but you should be able to recognize the principle modals: can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, and must.
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How Much of This Will be on the Test? We have finally got to one of the important word classes, the verb. You should be able to recognize the main verbs in clauses by meaning, inflection (grammatical endings, characteristic affixes), and sentence functions served. You should be able to recognize the base form of a verb, its third-person singular form, its past tense, and its present and past participles, even though we have not yet discussed all of the uses of those forms, and even when the verb forms these in irregular ways. You should also be able to recognize the most common modals. Anything else that troubles you can be looked up in the Glossary. |