1.

Verbs are a class of words which are used to show the performance of
an action - break, do and throw, thoughts think, guess, feelings
like, love, possession have, or state of being be.

Examples:

1. The naughty boy broke the windowpane.

(Performance of an action as expressed by the verb broke.)

2. Everybody guessed that the fire was caused by a cigarette butt.

(Thoughts as expressed by the verb guessed.)

3. Most Bruneians like durian.

(Feelings as expressed by the verb like.)

4. Aminah has a sweet voice.

(Possession as expressed by the verb has.)

5. Rina is a friendly girl.

(State of being as expressed by the verb to be is.)

Verbs change their forms. The different forms of verbs show different
meanings which are related to tense (present, past and future),
person (first person, second person and third person), number
(singular and plural) and voice (active and passive).

There are two types of verbs:

1. Regular verbs
The past tense form of a regular verb ends either in -d or -ed.

Examples:
Dance Danced
Look Looked
Walk Walked

2. Irregular verbs
The past tense form of an irregular verb does not end in -d or -
ed.

Examples:
Fly Flew
Hear Heard
See Saw

Exercises

1
Choose and fill in the correct verbs.

examines writes treats cooks takes

specialises repairs looks

1. A photographer __________ photographs.

2. A cobbler __________ shoes and boots.
3. A journalist __________ stories for newspapers.
4. An optician __________ after peoples eyes.
5. A chiropodist __________ diseases of the feet.
6. A chef __________.
7. An ornithologist __________ in the study of birds.
8. A palaeontologist __________ fossils to know more about animals and
plants.

Fill in the blanks with the verbs from the box below.

have hate wish think know mean

suppose want

Hisham: I (1)__________ I do not want to further my studies.

Kassim: What do you (2)__________?

Hisham: I (3)__________ to work first. When I (4)__________ enough

money, I will continue my studies.

Kassim: I (5)__________ the idea of studying at 30 or more.

Hisham: I (6)__________ it is better than having my parents borrow

money to let me study.

Kassim: I (7)__________ we could go to college together. But I

(8)__________ we can still have our weekly badminton sessions.

2. Tenses

Verbs are closely related to time. The tenses show the time of the action
or being of a verb. The verb changes or conjugates to show
what time it is referring to.

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The Simple Tenses

[The Simple Present Tense] We use the simple present tense to show:

- a situation which does not change or exists now

Examples:
Water boils at 100 degrees celcius. (Unchanging situation)
He lives a simple life. (Situation that exists now)

- a habitual or repeated action

Examples:
She seldom drinks coffee. (Habitual action)
The committee holds a meeting once a month. (Repeated
action)

- a planned action
Examples:
The bus departs from the station at 3.00 p.m. (Planned
action)
Each of the concerts lasts two hours. (Planned action)

- feelings or thoughts of the moment

Examples:
I like the cakes very much. (Feelings)
She thinks the judges are fair. (Thoughts)

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the simple present tense of the verbs in brackets.

1. Munirah __________ a healthy lifestyle. (practise)

2. My father __________ a good example. He neither __________ nor
__________ alcohol. (set, smoke, drink)
3. They __________ together with my mother every day. (exercise)
4. My parents __________ to have their breakfast at the tea bistro. (like)
5. They __________ for a 30-minute brisk walk round the park every
morning.(go)
6. We __________ plenty of fruits and vegetables. Even my sister who is
five years old __________ vegetables every day. (take, eat)
7. I __________ my daily walk to school is good exercise. I also
__________ sure that I __________ before eleven oclock every night.
(think, make, sleep)

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 8. My mother occasionally __________ us to play computer games
during weekdays. Usually, we __________ during weekends when we
have finished all our homework. (allow, play)
9. The film __________ at 1.30 p.m. and __________ at 3.30 p.m. (start,
end)
10. Only a few people __________ that the economy will improve in
a year. (assume)
11. The Bandar Seri Begawan-plane __________ off in ten minutes.
(take)
12. No one __________ him as a potential candidate for the post.
(consider)
13. The fruit trees in the orchard __________ twice a year.
(blossom)
14. The factory __________ over one hundred thousand pairs of
shoes a month. (manufacture)
15. Most of the fishermen __________ satisfied with their daily
earnings. (be)

[The Simple Past Tense] We use the simple past tense to show:

- a completed action in the past

Examples:
Adibah cooked a special meal for her friends.
We know the exact time the event happened.

- a completed action or event which happened over a period of time

Examples:
She studied in the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2007.
Hajah Siti taught English at my former school for over 20
years.

- a past habitual action

Examples:
Amal always listened to her favourite music before she went
to bed.
He usually kept his books and magazines in the old cupboard.

- for regular verbs, the simple past tense is formed by adding d or

ed.
Examples:
I cooked spaghetti for my lunch. (cook to cooked)

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 Musa helped Puan Juraidah to repair the leaky pipe just now.
(help to helped)

- for irregular verbs, the simple past is not formed by adding d or

ed.
Examples:
The elderly woman told me about her childhood days. (tell
to told)
No one saw a rare gem like that before. (see to saw)

Exercise

Talk about yourself. Answer the questions below.

1. When did you last write a letter?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. When did you last see a movie?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

3. When did you last buy some flowers for your mother?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

4. When did you last read a storybook?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

5. When did you last visit a friend?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

Write the simple past tense of the verbs in brackets.

1. Khairul __________ (move) to Seria last year.

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 2. The Titanic __________ (sink) in 1912.
3. Last night lightning __________ (strike) a tree near my school.
4. My brother __________ (work) in Hong Kong from 2002 to 2005.
5. I sometimes __________ (stay) alone in the attic of my house.
6. The army __________ (deliver) food and other essential items to
the flood victims.
7. She __________ (wear) a face mask to school yesterday as she
had a cough.
8. Liza __________ (marry) Rahman a year ago.
9. Thousands of people __________ (dance) at the National Day
celebrations.
10. Hanisah __________ (graduate) from the University of
California with a degree in medicine.
Participles

A participle is also called a verbal adjective as it is partly verb and partly

adjective. It has two forms present and past participles.

Present Participle
A present participle end in ing. It is used:

- to form the continuous tense

Example
The machine is operating smoothly.

- to replace an infinitive after such words as see, hear, notice, smell

Example
Did you see a stranger running out of the house?

- as an adjective
Example
Halim is such a boring person.

- to form a compound noun

Examples
dining room eating habit deafening
noise

- to qualify a sentence
Example
Taking the cost into consideration, the project is too
expensive for the company.

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 - to replace an adjective or relative clause
Example
The man standing next to Gina is a professor.

Past participles
A past participle end in ed, -d, -en, -n, or t. It is used:

- to form perfect tense

Example
Rashidah has completed her assignment.

- as an adjective
Example
No one is allowed to use the broken bridge.
- to replace an adjective clause
Example
The warehouse, built a couple of years ago, will be sold to a
businessman.