Verbs

Select the answer choice that identifies the verb in the sentence.

1. The interior temperatures of even the coolest stars are measured in millions of degrees.

1. Coolest

2. Of even

3. Are measured

4. In millions

2. Thomas Edison tried many filaments for his incandescent lamp.

1. Many

2. For his

3. Filaments

4. Tried

3. Jill sets the plates on the table.

1. The

2. Plates

3. Table

4. Sets

4. The child’s balloon was slowly rising into the sky.

1. Rising

2. Slowly

3. Into

4. Balloon

5. The shoes were still lying where Ethan had left them.

1. Still

2. Were

3. Them

4. Shoes

6. Several changes in classroom procedures were affected by the new principal.

1. Changes

2. In

3. By

4. Affected

7. The soaked papers were laid in the sunlight.

1. Soaked

2. Papers

3. Laid

4. In the

8. The letter from the teacher implied that the child was not turning in his work.

1. From

2. Not

3. His

4. Turning

9. Luke didn’t mean to hurt you during the baseball game.

1. Baseball

2. During

3. Joe

4. Mean

10. Amber used to recite the alphabet in Chinese.

1. The

2. Alphabet

3. In

4. Recite

Answers & Explanations

1. C

“Are” is the auxiliary verb for passive voice and “measured” is the past participle of the verb “to measure.” “Coolest” (A) is the superlative form of the adjective “cool,” modifying “temperatures.” “Of even” (B) and “in millions” (D) are prepositional phrases.

2. D

“Tried” is past tense of verb “to try.” “Many” (A) is an adjective modifying the noun “filaments” (C). “For his” (B) is a prepositional phrase.

3. D

“Sets” is present tense of the transitive verb “to set.” “The” (A) is an article modifying the noun “plates” (B). “Table” (C) is a noun.

4. A

“Rising” is the progressive/continuous participle of the verb “to rise.” “Slowly” (B) is an adverb modifying “rising.” “Into” (C) is a preposition. “Balloon” (D) is a noun.

5. B

“Were” is a plural past-tense form of “to be,” an auxiliary verb here helping the verb “lying” (not a choice). “Still” (A) is an adverb modifying “were lying.” “Them” (C) is a plural impersonal pronoun. “Shoes” (D) is a plural noun.

6. D

“Affected” in this sentence is the past participle of the verb “to affect,” helped by the auxiliary verb “were.” “Changes” (A) is a plural noun. “In” (B) and “by” (C) are prepositions.

7. C

“Laid” in this sentence is the past participle of the transitive verb “to lay” [+ object], helped by auxiliary verb “were.” “Soaked” (A) is an adjective modifying the noun “papers” (B). “In the” (D) is a prepositional phrase.

8. D

“Turning” is the progressive/continuous participle of the verb “to turn.” “From” (A) is a preposition. “Not” (B) is an adverb of negation. “His” (C) is the possessive third-person singular masculine personal pronoun.

9. D

“Mean” is the verb. “Baseball” (A) in this sentence is an adjective modifying the noun “game.” “During” (B) is a preposition. The name “Joe” (C) is a proper noun.

10. D

“Recite” is the verb. “The” (A) is an article modifying the noun “alphabet” (B). “In” (C) is a preposition.