The Verb

Verb is the very very important part of speech. We say it is the 'soul' of a sentence because without the verb, a sentence cannot give a complete sense / meaning. The verbs have various kinds. Now we are going to see them in this lesson.

What is a verb?

A verb is a word that says something about the subject in a sentence.

Example:

1. The children played in the garden.
2. They are good teachers.
3. Noel became a social worker.

The Verb has two major kinds as follows:

1. Main Verbs
2. Anomalous / irregular verbs

1. Main Verbs

Transitive Verb	Intransitive Verb	Both transitive and intransitive
The action passes over from the doer/subject to the object [ can be converted into passive voice.]	The action does not pass over from the doer/subject to the object. It expresses action, state, being.	Verbs that can be used as both transitive and intransitive.
Examples:
He reads a novel. - A novel is read by him. They wrote a test. - A test was written by them. Jane sings a song. - A song is sung by Jane.	action: He played for a long time state: The boy lay down. being: She is a teacher.	Transitive: Leo rang the bell. - The bell was rung by Leo. Transitive: The woodcutter felled many trees. - Many trees were  felled by the woodcutter. Intransitive: The bell rang loudly. Intransitive: Many trees fell down due to the storm.

Example:

1. The boy fell down while playing. - Intransitive
2. The child ate an apple. - Transitive
3. They played well. - Intransitive
4. The boss instructed the servants. - transitive
5. We went home yesterday. - intransitive
6. We were reading in the morning. - intransitive
7. She danced very gracefully. - intransitive
8. Alfred bought a new car. - transitive
9. Thomas drew a picture. - transitive
10. The dog was barking continuously. - intransitive.

Identify the verbs and mention its kind

1. we will play now.
2. William sold his old house.
3. Ruth danced very gracefully.
4. The children  went home happily.
5. I wrote a novel last month.
6. They are the kind little children in the class.
7. We practiced regularly.
8. They painted the house last month.
9. He won the Oscar Award last year.
10. They were waiting here for a long time.

Answers:

1. we will play now. (Intransitives)
2. William sold his old house. (transitive)
3. Ruth danced very gracefully. (intransitive)
4. The children went home happily. (intransitive)
5. I wrote a novel last month. ( transitive)
6. They are the kind little children in the class (Intransitive)
7. We practiced regularly. (Intransitive)
8. They painted the house last month. (transitive)
9. He won the Oscar Award last year. (Intransitive)
10. They were waiting here for a long time. (Intransitive)

2. Anomalous / Irregular Verbs

Auxiliary Verbs / helping Verbs	Modals	Semi modals
am, is, was, were, do, does, did, has, have, had. These verbs help to form questions, negatives, tenses, passive forms.	can, could, may, might, will, would, must. They are used for permission, possibility, necessity.	ought to, used to, need, dare.

modals and semi modals do not have 's' forms and 'ing' or 'ed' forms.