Explanations and Research
What Are verbs?
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Verbs are sometimes described as action words. Many verbs give the idea of action, or of "doing" something. |
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You can create a sentence with a single verb; however, you cannot create a sentence without a verb. |
| There are many types of verbs. At upper elementary levels, students learn about action verbs, helping verbs, and state-of-being verbs. |
| There are voices of verbs as well, such as active and passive. |
Action verbs are used to show when somebody does something. They can also depict actions that you can't see, such as the verbs thought and wanted. Action verbs are also time-telling verbs. They tell when something takes place. For example:
My sister drives slower than yours.
Yesterday, she drove to the store.
Not every sentence has a helping verb. You should be on the lookout for a helping verb when you see an "ing" verb. For example:
The dog was chasing the postman.
The postman must have been feeling scared!
Other Helping Verbs:
may, might, must
be, being, been, am , are, is, was, were
do, does, did
should, could, would
have, had, has
will, can, shall
A state-of-being verb can be the main verb of the sentence, or it can be used as a helping verb. State-of-being verbs can also show time. For example:
Mrs. Johnson is my favorite teacher.
My dad is going on a business trip.
The voice of the verb tells whether the subject of the sentence receives or performs the action.