Verbs

1. Verbs

2. 2 Verb tenses • Present Tense • Use an –s or –es ending on the verb only when the subject is he, she, or it. • Past Tense • For most verbs add –d or –ed • If a verb ends, in e, just add d. • If it ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add -ed. • Try = tried

3. Practice Chapter 10, Exercises 1-8 (pages 113-119)

4. 4 Main Forms of a Verb 1. Present Tense • Use the present form • TALK 2. Past Tense • Use the past form • TALKED

5. 4 Main Forms of a Verb • Present Participle • Use present participle or –ing form w/ helping verbs • TALKING (Were Talking, Should Be Talking) • Past Participle • Use the past participle w/ helping verbs have, has, or had • TALKED(Have Talked, Has Talked, Had Talked)

6. Practice Chapter 10 Exercise 9 (page 120)

7. Subject-Verb Agreement • Basically, a singular subject must have a singular verb; and a plural subject must have a plural verb. • Examples • Sue Ellen works in a grocery store during the summer months. • My brothers go fishing every Saturday. • Problems occur when you have special situations such as those that follow.

8. Subject and Verb Separated by a Word Group • Sometimes one or more words may come between the subject and verb. When this situation occurs, find your “true” subject and ignore the words between it and your verb. • Examples • The box of books is missing from the work room. • Mr. Garrett, along with his sons, runs the dairy.

9. Two Singular Verbs • Two singular subjects joined by and need a plural verb. • Examples • My cat and my dog are going to the vet this afternoon. • Sandra and Francis shop at Publix.

10. Subjects with each and every • When each or every precedes a subject, the subject is singular and requires a singular verb. • Examples • Every plate and glass in the cupboard is broken. • Each of the plants needs water to survive.

11. Indefinite Pronouns • Examples: anyone, everyone, nobody, anybody, something, everything (see page 162 for complete list) • Memorize these words! Some seem plural, so common sense won’t cut it! • Tip: they’re the -one, -thing, and -body words + each, either, neither • Always take a singular verb

12. Subjects with or, either-or, neither-nor • Singular subjects joined by or, either-or, or neither-nor take singular verbs. • Examples • Neither Betty nor Wilma understands the problem. • An orange or a grapefruit is a healthy snack.

13. One singular subject and one plural subject • When or, either-or, or neither-nor is used, then the verb must agree with the subject closer to it. • Examples • Either Mike or the Greens go to the church on the corner. • Either the Greens or Mike goes to the church on the corner.

14. One singular subject and one plural subject, cont. • HINT: The sentence has a much smoother flow if the plural subject is the one closer to the verb.

15. Collective nouns as subjects • A collective noun is singular in form but stands for groups or collections of people or things. • My English class is taking a test. • Our family is going on vacation.

16. Collective nouns, cont. • Sometimes a collective noun is referring to the individual members within a group. In this case, then a plural noun may be used. • The jury are undecided about the verdict. • Since this format is often awkward, you may want to change the sentence for better flow. • The jury members are undecided about the verdict.

17. Verbs preceding subjects • Usually, sentences that fall into this category will begin with here, there, how, what, and where. With such sentences, the verb must agree with the subject that follows it. • Here is the house I told you about. • Where are the children going in such a hurry?

18. Practice Chapter 13 All Exercises