Verbs - An Overview Verbs are a class of words used to show the performance of an action (do, throw, run), existence

(be), possession (have), or state (know, love) of a subject. To put it simply a verb shows what something or someone does. ost statements in speech and writing have a main verb. These verbs are expressed in tenses which place everything in a point in time. Verbs are conjugated (inflected) to reflect how they are used. There are two general areas in which conjugation occurs! for person and for tense . "onjugation for tense is carried out on all verbs. #ll conjugations start with the infinitive form of the verb. The infinitive is simply the to form of the verb $or example, to begin. The present participle form (the %ing form), is formed by adding ing to the bare infinitive. $or example, the present participle of the verb to begin is beginning. There are two other forms that the verb can take, depending on the tense type and time, the simple past form (began) and the past participle (begun). &ee here for a list of irregular verbs. "onjugation for person occurs when the verb changes form, depending on whether it is governed by a first, second, or third person subject. This gives three conjugations for any verb depending on who is acting as the subject of the verb. $or example, we have ' begin, you begin , and he begins. (ote that only the third conjunction really shows a difference. )hile most *nglish verbs simply do not show extensive conjugation forms for person, an exception is the verb to be. Auxiliary Verbs #uxiliary verbs are used together with a main verb to give grammatical information and therefore add extra meaning to a sentence, which is not given by the main verb. +e, ,o and -ave are auxiliary verbs, they are irregular verbs and can be used as main verbs. odal verbs are also auxiliary verbs, but will be treated separately, these are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would.. To be +e is the most common verb in the *nglish language. 't can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. 't is used a lot in its other forms. Present tense form.am/is/are. Past tense form.was/were.

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Examples

0(ote The auxiliary verb 1be1 can be followed either by the %ed form or by the %ing form. To do The verb do is one of the most common verbs in *nglish. 't can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb. 't is often used in 2uestions. Uses ,o / ,oes

Examples

0(ote The auxiliary verb 1do1 is always followed by the base form (infinitive). To have -ave is one of the most common verbs in the *nglish language. &ee Tenses. -ave is used in a variety of ways. Uses

-ave is often used to indicate possession (' have) or (' have got). Examples

-ave is also used to indicate necessity (' have to) or (' have got to).

-ave is used to show an action.

0(ote )hen showing an action the auxiliary verb 1have1 is always followed by the past participle form. Action Verbs #ction verbs are verbs that show the performance of an action. There are regular and irregular action verbs. For Example: To walk is a regular action verb % see example. To run is an irregular action verb % see example. Irregular Verbs 'rregular verbs have no rules for conjugation. These can only be learnt in context % sorry0 They all have a base form. e.g. to run # gerund (ing) form where ing is added to the end of the verb. e.g. running #n %s form where s is added to the end of the verb. e.g. runs # past tense form which must be learnt. e.g. ran # past participle form which must be learnt. e.g. run &ee my list of irregular verbs for the past and past participle forms.

 looks the same, but sounds different

Regular Verbs
3egular verbs are conjugated to easy to learn rules. They all have a base form. e.g. to look # gerund (ing) form where ing is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looking #n %s form where s is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looks

# past tense form where ed is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looked ("lick here for the spelling rules) # past participle form where ed is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looked ("lick here for the spelling rules)