Verbs

Agreeable Verb

1. A correct verb in a sentence for plural subject is using +s; none when otherwise. Example:
   1. The dog barks.
   2. The dogs bark.
2. It complies to time aspect, also called as tenses.
   1. Present - happening now
      1. walk / walks
      2. I eat donuts.
      3. Louis doesn't want a catapult.
   2. Past - already happened
      1. walked
      2. I walked to the moon.
   3. Future - yet to happen
      1. will walk
      2. I will eat the cake.
      3. Wilson will eat the cake.
      4. I am going to eat the cake.
      5. Wilson is going to eat the cake.

Types of Verbs - Linking

These verbs change the sentence from expressing an action into describing the state of action / state of being verbs. In another words, they're linking the subject to an idea: it shows what it likes/feels; instead of what it does.

Sample of words

• is
• be
• been
• were
• am
• are
• being
• was

Example (verb | linking verb)

• The bear eats a fish. | The bear is hungry.
• The bear looked at me. | The bear looked lonely.
• The bear smells a person. | The bear smells like Cinnamon.

Types of Verbs - Helping Verbs

These verbs exist to provide helping / auxiliary effect to the main verb. They inflect the main action, like "to have" or "to be".

Example

• Brian is eating a pizza. (eating now)
• Brian has eaten a pizza. (just ate)
• Brian was eating a pizza. (was eating when something happens)
• Brian had been eaten a pizza. (was doing it and at some point it time, he stopped)

Types of Verbs - Irregularity

These verbs exist irregularly. Note: English has many of them.

Regular Type

1. Be
   • 1st Person Present - I am
   • 3rd Person Present - She is
   • Plural Present - We are
   • 1st Person Past - I was
   • Plural Past - We were
2. Have
   • 1st Person Present - I have
   • 3rd Person Present - She has
   • Plural Present - We have
   • 1st Person Past - I had
   • Plural Past - We had
3. Do
   • 1st Person Present - I do
   • 3rd Person Present - She does
   • Plural Present - We do
   • 1st Person Past - I did
   • Plural Past - We did
4. Say
   • 1st Person Present - I say
   • 3rd Person Present - She says
   • Plural Present - We say
   • 1st Person Past - I said
   • Plural Past - We said

Funky -ed

These verbs are formed by changing through either appending -ed or change the ending into -t with/without reduced vowel.

• Walk ➔ walked
• Sleep ➔ slept
• Keep ➔ kept
• build ➔ built
• spend ➔ spent
• leave ➔ left
• leap ➔ leapt
• lose ➔ lost

Vowel Shift

These verbs are formed by changing the vowel (a e i o u (and y) )

• Sing (present) ➔ Sang (past) ➔ Sung (past perfect)
• drink ➔ drank ➔ drunk
• win ➔ won ➔ won
• find ➔ found ➔ found
• sit ➔ sat ➔ sat
• sneak ➔ snuck / sneaked ➔ snuck / sneaked
• run ➔ ran ➔ ran

-en Taken for a Ride

These verbs are formed by adding -en at the end. They are commonly used in past perfect sentences.

• tear (present) ➔ tore (past) ➔ torn (past perfect)
• show ➔ showed ➔ shown
• prove ➔ proved ➔ proven
• bite ➔ bit ➔ bitten
• ride ➔ rode ➔ ridden
• eat ➔ ate ➔ eaten
• speak ➔ spoke ➔ spoken
• be ➔ was/were ➔ been
• go ➔ went ➔ gone

Truly Irregular

These verbs are truly irregular at the origin.

1. Adding -ught
   • teach ➔ taught
   • catch ➔ caught
   • bring ➔ brought
2. Adding -d with vowel shift
   • flee ➔ fled
   • say ➔ said
3. No changes
   1. bet ➔ bet
   2. set ➔ set
   3. hurt ➔ hurt
   4. read ➔ read
4. Models in origin
   1. can ➔ could
   2. may ➔ might
   3. shall ➔ should
   4. will ➔ would

Verb Aspect and Time

Aspects are an expression of action status, such as progressiveness and/or completeness. Both aspect and time must get synchronized to one another in order to express the correct, agreeable sentences. There are 4 types of verb aspects with respect to time (tenses).

Basic Aspect

Express no status of progressiveness or completeness. They are just bare tense.

• I walked
• I walk
• I will walk

Progressive Aspect (On-Going)

Expressing the action is ongoing. This usually refers to the "inside of a moment". They are always in a form of conjugated sentences (main verb + -ing).

• I was walking (past progressive)
• I am walking (present progressive)
• I will be walking (future progressive)

Prefect Aspect (Completed)

Expressing the action is completed.

• I had walked (past perfect)
• I have walked (present perfect)
• I will have walked (future perfect)

Perfect Progressive Aspect / Past Participle (On-Going & Completed)

Expressing the action in both progressing and completed manner.

• I have been eating cookie (past perfect progressive)
• I have been eating cookie (present perfect progressive)
• I will have been eating cookie (future perfect progressive)

Modal Verb

Verbs expressing conditions and idea, such as likelihood, certainty, ability, permission, and obligations. These words are:

• may | might
• must
• can | could
• will | would
• shall | should

They don't have infinitive form (e.g. to do).

Example:

• He must have gone this way. (express of certainty)
• You must have this height to play coaster. (express of obligation)
• You should not do that. (express of advice)

Checklist for Checking Verbs in The Sentences

1. What is the time and aspect in the requirement?
   1. Determine what had happened | happening | will happen?
   2. Find out what needs to happen (this should be in the past) before happening (this is future)
2. Should you express the main action in a/an on-going progressiveness / completed / both / none?
   1. What is the main verb?
      1. Any corresponding helping / modal verbs?
   2. What are the current tense for all the verbs?
3. Review the sentence, ensure its expression is expressing accordingly to #1.