Post date: Feb 28, 2012 11:29:39 PM
Today, we reviewed what the verbs either show the action being performed by a NOUN or tell about the state of being of a NOUN. We also discussed how to recognize whether a verb is an ACTION verb or a LINKING verb.
1) We defined ACTION verbs as words that a person, animal, thing, or force of nature can DO. We read the following sentence together:
Clyde sneezes with the force of a tornado.
We decided that "sneezing" is something that Clyde can DO. Thus, to double-check which words in a sentence are ACTION verbs, we learned to ask ourselves, "Is this something that a person or thing could DO?"
2) We defined LINKING verbs as words that express state of being or connect the subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. We read the following sentence together:
During bad storms, used cart lots are often magnets for tornadoes.
We decided that "are-ing" isn't something that used car lots can DO. Are is simply connecting the subject, used car lots, to something said about them, that they tend to attract tornadoes. In other words, "are" is describing the state of being of the used car lots.
We also talked about the most common LINKING verbs. See the list on Grammar Bytes, linked below.
3) We talked about how some verbs are tricky and do not always fall easily into either main category of verb (ACTION or LINKING). These verbs are different depending on what function they are performing in the sentence; we cannot call them ACTION or LINKING without knowing first what they DO. With these trickster-verbs, we tried substituting am, is, or are for the verb. If the sentence still makes sense, then we knew we had found a LINKING verb. If it didn't make sense, then we had an ACTION verb. We read the following sentences together:
Chris tasted the crunchy, honey-roasted grasshopper.
We tried substituting "is" for "tasted." Chris IS the grasshopper? That didn't make sense. So we found out "tasted" in this sentence is an ACTION verb.
The crunchy, honey-roasted grasshopper tasted good.
We tried substituting "is" for "tasted." The grasshopper is good? Now that makes sense! In this sentence, "tasted" is a LINKING verb.
Things to Do/Actions to Take:
Find a paragraph from an online news source about something that interests you. In the Comments section, copy and paste the paragraph (make sure it's at least 3-5 sentences). Using the guidelines we discussed in class, find all the ACTION verbs in the paragraph and write them in CAPS. Next, find all the LINKING verbs and add --dashes-- around them. Finally, write 3-5 sentences explaining what part of this assignment was easy and what part was difficult. Were there any verbs in particular that you had a hard time classifying?
Based on:
Grammar Bytes: "The Verb" - http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/verb.htm