{"id":67,"date":"2024-01-25T18:14:04","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T23:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=67"},"modified":"2026-01-26T13:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:07:08","slug":"verbs","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/chapter\/verbs\/","title":{"raw":"Finding Verbs","rendered":"Finding Verbs"},"content":{"raw":"So many grammar books and lessons focus on finding <strong>subjects<\/strong> first, then verbs. And that\u2019s totally fine. If you\u2019re crafting a sentence, you\u2019ll need both anyway.\r\n\r\nBut I like to focus on the verb first, for a few reasons. First, more people are familiar with the concept, so they find it easier to locate the verb(s) in a sentence. Second, verbs are \u2013 in my opinion \u2013 the most important part of a sentence. They are, in the words of one of my professors in grad school, the \u201clife\u2019s blood\u201d of a sentence. If the verb in a sentence is missing or weak, the sentence is doomed. So, let\u2019s get in the habit of being aware of verbs. It will make your writing better, I promise.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>Finding the Verb(s)<\/h3>\r\nSometimes finding the verb is easy. Just ask yourself what word expresses the action happening in the sentence. For example:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>The frog leaps into the air.<\/em><\/p>\r\nThe action happening in the sentence is expressed with the word <em>leaps<\/em>. So, <em>leaps<\/em> is the verb.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Leap<\/em> is an example of an <strong>action verb<\/strong>, and action verbs tend to be easier to spot. When I'm identifying the verb(s) in a sentence, I find it helpful to picture the sentence in my mind like a movie and then ask myself \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in this movie?\u201d The answer to that question will lead me to the verb.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">PRACTICE: Spot the Action Verb<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"11\"]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you found that practice set challenging, you'll need some more practice before moving on. Entering the phrase \"Finding action verbs practice\" into a search engine will provide many options for additional practice. I'll provide a few links to some additional practice below as well.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cuyamaca.edu\/student-support\/tutoring-center\/files\/student-resources\/action-verb-worksheet-and-key.pdf\">Extra Practice 1<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsd.org\/cms\/lib\/PA01916442\/Centricity\/Domain\/2210\/Action%20and%20Linking%20Verb%20Practice%20and%20Key.pdf\">Extra Practice 2<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com\/blogs.egusd.net\/dist\/c\/219\/files\/2016\/09\/Practice-Activity-2-A-1ggb93g.pdf\">Extra Practice 3<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOnce you're comfortable locating action verbs, congratulations! Now you're ready to engage with other types.\r\n\r\nFor our purposes in this text, there are three types of verb:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Action verbs (which we\u2019ve already seen)<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Linking verbs<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Helping verbs<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h5>Linking Verbs<\/h5>\r\nThese verbs don\u2019t express actions. Instead, their job is to connect, or link, the subject of the sentence to the words that are describing it, as in the sentence below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>The road is long and narrow.<\/em><\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis sentence is about a road (that\u2019s the <strong>[pb_glossary id=\"42\"]subject[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>), and a few words toward the end of the sentence describe the road \u2013 <em>long and narrow<\/em>. The linking verb (in this case, <em>is) <\/em>creates a link or bridge connecting the two parts together. The graphic below shows another linking verb in action.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_319\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"476\"]<img class=\"wp-image-319\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"476\" height=\"268\" \/> The linking verb \"is\" connects the subject (\"bag\") to the words describing the subject (\"still in the car\")[\/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe most common linking verb is some version of \u201cto be\u201d (<em>is<\/em>, <em>are<\/em>, <em>was<\/em>, <em>were<\/em>). Other common linking verbs appear in the table below:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Examples of Linking Verbs<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<table class=\"grid aligncenter\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 75%;height: 138px\" border=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 33px;text-align: center\"><strong>Forms of\r\n<em>to be<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 33px;text-align: center\"><strong>Forms of\r\n<em>to become<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 33px;text-align: center\"><strong>Sensory Verbs<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">is \/ are \/ am<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">become<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">feel<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">was \/ were<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">became<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">smell<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">can be<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">will become<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">sound<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">could \/ would be<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">has \/ have become<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">appear<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">will be<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">look<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">would be<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">taste<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">has\/have\/had been<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\r\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5>Helping Verbs<\/h5>\r\nThe fancy name for these is <strong>auxiliary verbs,<\/strong> but we\u2019ll call them helping verbs because that's their job. They commonly help writers indicate <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">when<\/span> an action happens. In other words, we can use these helping verbs to express an action in the past tense, or future tense, or any of the other <a href=\"https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/general_writing\/grammar\/verb_tenses\/index.html\">special tenses<\/a>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet's demonstrate how helping verbs work using a simple sentence:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes reads many history books.<\/em><\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIn this first sentence, the action is in the present tense. But what if we want to say that Hermes has done this in the past?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">has read<\/span> many history books.<\/em><\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI've added the helping verb <em>has<\/em> (and took the 's' off of the action verb), and now the action is in the past tense; Hermes has finished the task of reading books some time in the past.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe helping verbs determine when the action in the sentence happens:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">will read<\/span> many history books.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>(action will happen later, in the future)<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">is reading<\/span> many history books.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>(action is happening right now)<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox\" style=\"text-align: center\">The main helping verbs are forms of\u00a0<em>to be<\/em>, <em>to have<\/em>, and <em>to do<\/em>.<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5>Modal Verbs<\/h5>\r\nThere's another type of helping verb called a <strong>modal<\/strong>, which you will see a lot. Modals don't help us change the tense of a verb. Instead they help us express the likelihood of an action happening (<em>I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">might<\/span> play hockey tomorrow)<\/em>, or make a suggestion (You<em>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">should<\/span> play hockey tomorrow)<\/em>, or indicate the ability of someone to complete an action (<em>I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">can<\/span> play hockey tomorrow)<\/em>.\r\n\r\nWe're not going to spend too much time on this here; this discussion of verbs is complicated enough already.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Impostor Verbs: \"ING\" Verbs and Infinitives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nTake a moment to read the two sentences below and identify the verb(s) in each one. Write them down on a scrap of paper.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Cooking for my family makes me happy.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>To succeed in life is everyone's wish.<\/em><\/p>\r\nDid you write them down? If not, go back and do so. Make that extra effort to keep yourself engaged.\r\n\r\nNow, examine your list. In the first sentence, did you include the word <em>cooking?\u00a0<\/em>And in the second sentence, did you write down\u00a0<em>succeed<\/em>? If so, you've fallen for my sneaky trap. Because\u00a0<em>cooking<\/em> and <em>succeed<\/em> aren't verbs at all! They're impostors, and there are two types you need to look out for.\r\n<h5><strong>\"ING Verbs\"<\/strong><\/h5>\r\nThese look like verbs, but they actually work like nouns -- they are\u00a0<strong>subjects<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>objects\u00a0<\/strong>in a sentence. Let's examine some sentences to illustrate the concept.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Skating is very difficult without proper footwear.<\/em><\/p>\r\nIn the first sentence, if I was looking for verbs I might point to\u00a0<em>skating<\/em>, but examine the sentence carefully. Is anyone actually skating in the sentence? No! The sentence is instead giving us information about the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">idea<\/span> of skating; it's something that can be difficult. So\u00a0<em>skating<\/em> isn't acting as the verb in this sentence; it's actually the focus of the sentence -- it's the subject. And if I look elsewhere for a verb, I see that most common of all linking verbs: <em>is<\/em>.\r\n\r\nNow let's examine another sentence.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Tammy is skating with her family.<\/em><\/p>\r\nIn this sentence, I see a helping verb (<em>is<\/em>) in front of\u00a0<em>skating<\/em>. And if I think about the sentence, I realize that there is an action happening in this sentence. Tammy is skating. So when the \"ing\" verb has a helping verb in front of it, it functions as a verb. If it doesn't, it functions as a noun.\r\n<h5><strong>Infinitives<\/strong><\/h5>\r\nInfinitives take the form \"to + VERB\"\u00a0 (to love, to learn, to donate, to build, etc.). Infinitives don't function as verbs; instead, they express concepts, so they function as nouns (ie., as subjects and objects).\r\n\r\nLet's return to the sentence from the beginning of this discussion.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>To succeed in life is everyone's wish.<\/em><\/p>\r\nNo one is actually doing an action in this sentence; no one is succeeding. Instead, this sentence gives us information about the concept of succeeding, telling us that this concept is a goal everyone shares. So\u00a0<em>succeed<\/em> is not the verb, and if I look around for the verb, once again I'll find that common linking verb:\u00a0<em>is.<\/em>\r\n\r\nSo, when you're looking for verbs in a sentence, watch out for these two impostors!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h3>Finding the Complete Verb<\/h3>\r\nWhen looking for the verb in a sentence, make sure you identify the complete verb, which includes action verbs as well as any helping verbs. Let's revisit an earlier sentence in the chapter to illustrate this point:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes will read many history books.<\/em><\/p>\r\nIn this sentence, I see an action verb (<em>read<\/em>), and if I look to the left of the action verb, I also see a helping verb (<em>will<\/em>). So, in this sentence, the complete verb is\u00a0<em>will + read --&gt;<\/em>\u00a0<em>will read.<\/em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">PRACTICE: Find the Complete Verb<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"12\"]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;","rendered":"<p>So many grammar books and lessons focus on finding <strong>subjects<\/strong> first, then verbs. And that\u2019s totally fine. If you\u2019re crafting a sentence, you\u2019ll need both anyway.<\/p>\n<p>But I like to focus on the verb first, for a few reasons. First, more people are familiar with the concept, so they find it easier to locate the verb(s) in a sentence. Second, verbs are \u2013 in my opinion \u2013 the most important part of a sentence. They are, in the words of one of my professors in grad school, the \u201clife\u2019s blood\u201d of a sentence. If the verb in a sentence is missing or weak, the sentence is doomed. So, let\u2019s get in the habit of being aware of verbs. It will make your writing better, I promise.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Finding the Verb(s)<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes finding the verb is easy. Just ask yourself what word expresses the action happening in the sentence. For example:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>The frog leaps into the air.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The action happening in the sentence is expressed with the word <em>leaps<\/em>. So, <em>leaps<\/em> is the verb.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Leap<\/em> is an example of an <strong>action verb<\/strong>, and action verbs tend to be easier to spot. When I&#8217;m identifying the verb(s) in a sentence, I find it helpful to picture the sentence in my mind like a movie and then ask myself \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in this movie?\u201d The answer to that question will lead me to the verb.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">PRACTICE: Spot the Action Verb<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<div id=\"h5p-11\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-11\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"11\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"FindVerb1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If you found that practice set challenging, you&#8217;ll need some more practice before moving on. Entering the phrase &#8220;Finding action verbs practice&#8221; into a search engine will provide many options for additional practice. I&#8217;ll provide a few links to some additional practice below as well.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cuyamaca.edu\/student-support\/tutoring-center\/files\/student-resources\/action-verb-worksheet-and-key.pdf\">Extra Practice 1<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsd.org\/cms\/lib\/PA01916442\/Centricity\/Domain\/2210\/Action%20and%20Linking%20Verb%20Practice%20and%20Key.pdf\">Extra Practice 2<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com\/blogs.egusd.net\/dist\/c\/219\/files\/2016\/09\/Practice-Activity-2-A-1ggb93g.pdf\">Extra Practice 3<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Once you&#8217;re comfortable locating action verbs, congratulations! Now you&#8217;re ready to engage with other types.<\/p>\n<p>For our purposes in this text, there are three types of verb:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Action verbs (which we\u2019ve already seen)<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Linking verbs<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Helping verbs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h5>Linking Verbs<\/h5>\n<p>These verbs don\u2019t express actions. Instead, their job is to connect, or link, the subject of the sentence to the words that are describing it, as in the sentence below.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>The road is long and narrow.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This sentence is about a road (that\u2019s the <strong><a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_67_42\">subject<\/a><\/strong>), and a few words toward the end of the sentence describe the road \u2013 <em>long and narrow<\/em>. The linking verb (in this case, <em>is) <\/em>creates a link or bridge connecting the two parts together. The graphic below shows another linking verb in action.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_319\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-319\" style=\"width: 476px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-319\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"476\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb.png 1152w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb-65x37.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb-225x127.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2151\/2024\/02\/Linking-Verb-350x197.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-319\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The linking verb &#8220;is&#8221; connects the subject (&#8220;bag&#8221;) to the words describing the subject (&#8220;still in the car&#8221;)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The most common linking verb is some version of \u201cto be\u201d (<em>is<\/em>, <em>are<\/em>, <em>was<\/em>, <em>were<\/em>). Other common linking verbs appear in the table below:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Examples of Linking Verbs<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<table class=\"grid aligncenter\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse;width: 75%;height: 138px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 33px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 33px;text-align: center\"><strong>Forms of<br \/>\n<em>to be<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 33px;text-align: center\"><strong>Forms of<br \/>\n<em>to become<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 33px;text-align: center\"><strong>Sensory Verbs<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">is \/ are \/ am<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">become<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">feel<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">was \/ were<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">became<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">smell<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">can be<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">will become<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">sound<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">could \/ would be<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\">has \/ have become<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">appear<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">will be<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">look<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">would be<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\">taste<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"width: 15.9153%;height: 15px\">has\/have\/had been<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 23.172%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.6667%;height: 15px\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>Helping Verbs<\/h5>\n<p>The fancy name for these is <strong>auxiliary verbs,<\/strong> but we\u2019ll call them helping verbs because that&#8217;s their job. They commonly help writers indicate <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">when<\/span> an action happens. In other words, we can use these helping verbs to express an action in the past tense, or future tense, or any of the other <a href=\"https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/general_writing\/grammar\/verb_tenses\/index.html\">special tenses<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s demonstrate how helping verbs work using a simple sentence:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes reads many history books.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In this first sentence, the action is in the present tense. But what if we want to say that Hermes has done this in the past?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">has read<\/span> many history books.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve added the helping verb <em>has<\/em> (and took the &#8216;s&#8217; off of the action verb), and now the action is in the past tense; Hermes has finished the task of reading books some time in the past.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The helping verbs determine when the action in the sentence happens:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">will read<\/span> many history books.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>(action will happen later, in the future)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">is reading<\/span> many history books.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>(action is happening right now)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\" style=\"text-align: center\">The main helping verbs are forms of\u00a0<em>to be<\/em>, <em>to have<\/em>, and <em>to do<\/em>.<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>Modal Verbs<\/h5>\n<p>There&#8217;s another type of helping verb called a <strong>modal<\/strong>, which you will see a lot. Modals don&#8217;t help us change the tense of a verb. Instead they help us express the likelihood of an action happening (<em>I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">might<\/span> play hockey tomorrow)<\/em>, or make a suggestion (You<em>\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">should<\/span> play hockey tomorrow)<\/em>, or indicate the ability of someone to complete an action (<em>I <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">can<\/span> play hockey tomorrow)<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re not going to spend too much time on this here; this discussion of verbs is complicated enough already.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Impostor Verbs: &#8220;ING&#8221; Verbs and Infinitives<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Take a moment to read the two sentences below and identify the verb(s) in each one. Write them down on a scrap of paper.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Cooking for my family makes me happy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>To succeed in life is everyone&#8217;s wish.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Did you write them down? If not, go back and do so. Make that extra effort to keep yourself engaged.<\/p>\n<p>Now, examine your list. In the first sentence, did you include the word <em>cooking?\u00a0<\/em>And in the second sentence, did you write down\u00a0<em>succeed<\/em>? If so, you&#8217;ve fallen for my sneaky trap. Because\u00a0<em>cooking<\/em> and <em>succeed<\/em> aren&#8217;t verbs at all! They&#8217;re impostors, and there are two types you need to look out for.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>&#8220;ING Verbs&#8221;<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>These look like verbs, but they actually work like nouns &#8212; they are\u00a0<strong>subjects<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>objects\u00a0<\/strong>in a sentence. Let&#8217;s examine some sentences to illustrate the concept.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Skating is very difficult without proper footwear.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the first sentence, if I was looking for verbs I might point to\u00a0<em>skating<\/em>, but examine the sentence carefully. Is anyone actually skating in the sentence? No! The sentence is instead giving us information about the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">idea<\/span> of skating; it&#8217;s something that can be difficult. So\u00a0<em>skating<\/em> isn&#8217;t acting as the verb in this sentence; it&#8217;s actually the focus of the sentence &#8212; it&#8217;s the subject. And if I look elsewhere for a verb, I see that most common of all linking verbs: <em>is<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s examine another sentence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Tammy is skating with her family.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In this sentence, I see a helping verb (<em>is<\/em>) in front of\u00a0<em>skating<\/em>. And if I think about the sentence, I realize that there is an action happening in this sentence. Tammy is skating. So when the &#8220;ing&#8221; verb has a helping verb in front of it, it functions as a verb. If it doesn&#8217;t, it functions as a noun.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Infinitives<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Infinitives take the form &#8220;to + VERB&#8221;\u00a0 (to love, to learn, to donate, to build, etc.). Infinitives don&#8217;t function as verbs; instead, they express concepts, so they function as nouns (ie., as subjects and objects).<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s return to the sentence from the beginning of this discussion.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>To succeed in life is everyone&#8217;s wish.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>No one is actually doing an action in this sentence; no one is succeeding. Instead, this sentence gives us information about the concept of succeeding, telling us that this concept is a goal everyone shares. So\u00a0<em>succeed<\/em> is not the verb, and if I look around for the verb, once again I&#8217;ll find that common linking verb:\u00a0<em>is.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, when you&#8217;re looking for verbs in a sentence, watch out for these two impostors!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Finding the Complete Verb<\/h3>\n<p>When looking for the verb in a sentence, make sure you identify the complete verb, which includes action verbs as well as any helping verbs. Let&#8217;s revisit an earlier sentence in the chapter to illustrate this point:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><em>Hermes will read many history books.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In this sentence, I see an action verb (<em>read<\/em>), and if I look to the left of the action verb, I also see a helping verb (<em>will<\/em>). So, in this sentence, the complete verb is\u00a0<em>will + read &#8211;&gt;<\/em>\u00a0<em>will read.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">PRACTICE: Find the Complete Verb<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<div id=\"h5p-12\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-12\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"12\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"FindVerb2\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"glossary\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\" id=\"definition\">definition<\/span><template id=\"term_67_42\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_67_42\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>The subject can be thought of a few ways:<\/p>\n<p>1. In a sentence with an action verb, the subject is the person or thing that does the action (it's the \"doer\").<\/p>\n<p>2. In a sentence with a linking verb rather than an action verb, the subject is the focus of the sentence -- the thing being described.<\/p>\n<p>Every verb in a sentence needs a subject.<\/p>\n<p>Subjects are either nouns or pronouns.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1879,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-67","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":30,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/67","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1879"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/67\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":609,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/67\/revisions\/609"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/30"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/67\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=67"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=67"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/grammarbasics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=67"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}