Post date: Feb 27, 2012 6:52:40 PM
Today in class, we discussed how a VERB shows the action being performed by a NOUN or tells about the state of being of a NOUN.
We looked at the following sentence:
1) A horse is running around the track.
You said that is running is the verb in the sentence, the action.
We then looked at another sentence:
2) Our new running track is rubberized.
We decided that in this sentence running is not an action. Rather, it describes the noun "track," acting as an ADJECTIVE.
In sentence 2, "is" is the verb, because it tells us about the state of being of the track. That is, it tells us about the track, how it "is."
Based on our discussion of these sentences, we decided that words are not tied to parts of speech. Rather, what matters is how words act in a sentence.
Things to do/Actions to take (How to be a verb!!):
What other words could replace "running" in sentences 1 and 2? Write your answers in the comments. Make sure to indicate which words would go in which sentence!!
Pick a word from the list of words below, and write a sentence in your mind in which that word acts like a verb. Call my cell phone and leave a message in which you tell me your sentence. Don't forget to tell me who you are! You can use any form of the verb that you would like, just make sure it is acting like a verb.
In the comments below, write:
a six-word sentence in which one of the words from the list above appears as a verb.
an eight-word sentence in which one of the words from the list below appears as a verb in the fifth-word position.
WORDS: run, fly, be, care, sit, argue, hate, love, shimmy, prance, write
Based on:
Fearn, Leif and Nancy Farnan, "When Is a Verb? Using Functional Grammar to Teach Writing," Journal of Basic Writing, v 26, n1, Spring 2007.