Results for Verb

Subject-Verb Agreement

4:48 PM



Subject-Verb Agreement

Basic Rule. A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.
Example: The list of items is/are on the desk.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.

Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.

Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)


Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb.
Examples:
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.
Rule 3. The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it.
Examples:
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.
This rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if I is one of two (or more) subjects, it could lead to this odd sentence:
Awkward: Neither she, my friends, nor I am going to the festival.
If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but awkward sentences.
Better:
Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival.OR
She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.
Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.
Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.
But note these exceptions:
Exceptions:
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.
In those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are compound nouns.
Rule 5a. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.
Rule 5b. Parentheses are not part of the subject.
Example: Joe (and his trusty mutt) was always welcome.
If this seems awkward, try rewriting the sentence.
Rule 6. In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb.
Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.
Here are the keys.
NOTE:
The word there's, a contraction of there is, leads to bad habits in informal sentences like There's a lot of people here today, because it's easier to say "there's" than "there are." Take care never to use there's with a plural subject.
Rule 7. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.
Examples:
Three miles is too far to walk.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.BUT
Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.
Rule 8. With words that indicate portions—e.g., a lot, a majority, some, all—Rule 1 given earlier in this section is reversed, and we are guided by the noun after of. If the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.
Examples:
A lot of the pie has disappeared.
A lot of the pies have disappeared.
A third of the city is unemployed.
A third of the people are unemployed.
All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
NOTE
In recent years, the SAT testing service has considered none to be strictly singular. However, according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage: "Clearly none has been both singular and plural since Old English and still is. The notion that it is singular only is a myth of unknown origin that appears to have arisen in the 19th century. If in context it seems like a singular to you, use a singular verb; if it seems like a plural, use a plural verb. Both are acceptable beyond serious criticism." When none is clearly intended to mean "not one," it is followed by a singular verb.
Rule 9. With collective nouns such as group, jury, family, audience, population, the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent.
Examples:
All of my family has arrived OR have arrived.
Most of the jury is here OR are here.
A third of the population was not in favor OR were not in favor of the bill.
NOTE
Anyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must take care to be accurate—and also consistent. It must not be done carelessly. The following is the sort of flawed sentence one sees and hears a lot these days:
The staff is deciding how they want to vote.
Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular is and the plural they to staff in the same sentence.
Consistent: The staff are deciding how they want to vote.
Rewriting such sentences is recommended whenever possible. The preceding sentence would read even better as:
The staff members are deciding how they want to vote.
Rule 10. The word were replaces was in sentences that express a wish or are contrary to fact:
Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry.
Shouldn't Joe be followed by was, not were, given that Joe is singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were, not was. The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to express things that are hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory. The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs.
Examples:
I wish it were Friday.
She requested that he raise his hand.
In the first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being expressed; therefore, were, which we usually think of as a plural verb, is used with the singular it. (Technically, it is the singular subject of the object clause in the subjunctive mood: it were Friday.)

Normally, he raise would sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed, the subjunctive mood is correct.

Note: The subjunctive mood is losing ground in spoken English but should still be used in formal speech and writing.






Subject-Verb Agreement Subject-Verb Agreement Reviewed by rajyashikshasewa.blogspot.com on 4:48 PM Rating: 5

The word 'verb'

4:15 PM

Examples
  • I 'jump' you
  • That is John
  • I beat my friend
  • They are running
  • Go there on Monday
  • He said, "hello!"
  • Can she
play the piano?
  • The sleeping baby looks beautiful
  • She saw the girl who had been bitten by the dog

A verb is a kind of word (part of speech) that tells about an action or a state. It is the main part of a sentence: every sentence has a verb. In English, verbs are the only kind of word that changes to show past or present tense.[1]
Every language in the world has verbs, but they are not always used in the same ways. They also can have different properties in different languages. For example, in some other languages e.g., Chinese & Indonesian) verbs do not change for past and present tense. This means the definition above only works well for English verbs.
There are sixteen verbs used in Basic English. They are: be, do, have, come, go, see, seem, give, take, keep, make, put, send, say, let, get.

The word 'verb'

The word verb originally comes from *were-, a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "a word". It comes to English through the Latin verbum and the Old French verbe.

Verbal phrase

In simple sentences, the verb may be one word: The cat sat on the mat. However, the verb may be a phrase: The cat will sit on the mat.
Verbal phrases can be extremely difficult to analyse: I'm afraid I will need to be going soon. There seem to be three verbal phrases here, which mean something like Sorry, I must go soon.

Verb forms

In English and many other languages, verbs change their form. This is called inflection. Most English verbs have six inflected forms (see the table), but be has eight different forms.
Forms of English verbs
Primary formspast: walkedShe walked home
3rd singular present: walksShe walks home
plain present: walkThey walk home
Secondary formsplain form: walkShe should walk home
gerund: walkingShe is walking home
past participle: walkedShe has walked home
You should notice that some of the verb forms look the same. You can say they have the same shape. For example, the plain present and the plain form of walk have the same shape. The same is true for the past and the past participle. But these different forms can have different shapes in other verbs. For example, the plain present of be is usually are but the plain form is be. Also, the past of eat is ate, but the past participle is eaten. When you look for a verb in the dictionary, it is usually the plain form that you look for.
An English sentence must have at least one primary-form verb. Each main clause can only have one primary-form verb.

Kinds of Verbs

English has two main kinds of verbs: normal verbs (called lexical verbs) and auxiliary verbs. The difference between them is mainly in where they can go in a sentence. Some verbs are in both groups, but there are very few auxiliary verbs in English. There are also two kinds of auxiliary verbs: modal verbs and non-modal verbs. The table below shows most of the English auxiliaries and a small number of other verbs.
Kinds of English verbs
auxiliary verbslexical verbs
modal verbsCan you play the piano?I fell
I will not be thereI didn't fall
Shall we goI had breakfast.
Yes, you mayI'm playing soccer.
You must be jokingMust you make that noise?
non-modal verbsHave you seen him?Have you seen him?
I did see itI did see it
He is sleepingHe is sleeping
There are several auxiliary verbs:
  • To do (do, does, did)
  • To be (am, is, are, was, were): Creates a progressive tense
  • To have (have, has, had): Creates a perfect tense
The following verbs are modal auxiliaries.
  • Can
  • Could
  • May
  • Might
  • Must
  • Shall
  • Should
Auxiliary verbs also inflect for negation. Usually this is done by adding not or n't.[1]
  • You shouldn't be here.
  • He isn't at home.
  • We haven't started yet.

Use of the auxiliary do

Sometimes the verb do is used with other verbs. It does not really change the meaning, but it can be used to make a strong statement.
  • I do talk (Present)
  • I did go (Past)
It is also used in the negative when no other auxiliary verbs are used.
  • I don't talk (Present)
  • I didn't go (Past)
Sometimes it comes before the subject. This is called inversion, and it usually means the sentence is a question.
  • Do you talk? (Present)
  • Did you go? (Past)
Many other languages do not use the verb do as an auxiliary verb. They use the simple present for do, and the simple past or perfect for did.

Tense, aspect, and mood

Many people think that all different ways of using verbs are all different tenses. This is not true. There are three main systems related to the verb: tense, aspect, and mood.

Tense

Tense is mainly used to say when the verb happens: in the past, present, or future. In order to explain and understand tense, it is useful to imagine time as a line on which past tense, present tense and future tense are positioned.
Some languages have all three tenses, some have only two, and some have no tenses at all. English and Japanese for example have only two tenses: past and present. Chineseand Indonesian verbs do not show tense. Instead they use other words in the sentence to show when the verb happens.
English tenses
Past tensePresent tense
She walked homeShe walks home
He ran quicklyHe runs quickly
I could swim wellI can swim well
Did you live here?Do you live here?

Aspect

Aspect usually shows us things like whether the action is finished or not, or if something happens regularly. English has two aspects: progressive and perfect. In English, aspect is usually shown by using participle verb forms. Aspect can combine with present or past tense.

Progressive aspect

English uses the gerund-participle, usually together with the auxiliary be (and its forms am, is, are, was, and were) to show the progressive aspect.
  • I'm sleeping. (present progressive)
  • He was studying English last night. (past progressive)
  • He will be going to the store tomorrow (future progressive)
Many other languages, such as French, do not use progressive tenses.
  • I've seen him twice. (present perfect)
  • I had lived there for three years. (past perfect)
The past perfect can be used to express an unrealized hope, wish, etc.
  • He had intended to bake a cake but ran out of flour.
  • She had wanted to buy him a gift but he refused.
After If, wish and would rather, the past perfect can be used to talk about past events that never happened.
  • If only I had been born standing up!
  • I wish you had told me that before.
  • I would rather you had gone somewhere else.

Mood

Finally, English mood is now usually shown by using modal verbs. In the past, English had a full mood system but that has almost completely disappeared. The subjunctive mood now uses the plain form. There is also a form of be that is used in conditionals to show that something is not true (e.g., If I were a bird, I would fly to California.)

Sentence parts that go with verbs

Certain parts of a sentence naturally come before verbs or after them, but these are not always the same for all verbs. The main sentence parts are: subject, object, complement, and modifier.

Subjects

Almost all English sentences have subjects, but sentences that are orders (called imperatives) usually do not have any subjects. A subject usually comes before a verb, but it can also come after auxiliary verbs. In the following examples, the subject is underlined and the primary verb is in bold.
  • We need you.
  • The food was good.
  • The small boy with red hair is sleeping.
  • Can you see the car?
  • Come here. (no subject)

Objects

Many verbs can be followed by an object. These verbs are called transitive verbs. In fact, some verbs must have an object (e.g., take), but some verbs never take an object (e.g., sleep). Verbs that do not take an object are called intransitive verbs. Some verbs can even have two objects. They are called ditransitive verbs. In the following examples, the object is underlined and the primary verb is in bold.
  • I'm sleeping. (no object)
  • I took the book from him.
  • I gave him the book. (2 objects)
  • I am happy. (no object)
  • I became a teacher. (complement, no object)
  • I slept in my bed (1 object)

Complements

Some verbs can or must be followed by a complement. These verbs are called linking verbs or copula. In the following examples, the complement is underlined and the verb is in bold.
  • He is good.
  • He is a boy.
  • She became sick.
  • She became a manager.
  • It looks nice.

Modifiers

Verbs can be modified by various modifiers, mainly adverbs. Note that verbs generally do not need modifiers; it's usually a choice. In the following examples, the adverb is underlined and the verb is in bold.
  • The boy ran quickly.
  • The freely swinging rope hit him.
Verbs also commonly take a variety of other modifiers including prepositions.

Differences between verbs and other words

Sometimes a verb and another word can have the same shape. In these cases you can usually see the difference by looking at various properties of the words.

Verbs vs. adjectives

Sometimes a verb and an adjective can have the same shape. Usually this happens with participles. For example, the present participle interesting and the adjective interesting look the same. Verbs are different from adjectives, though, because they cannot be modified by very, more, or most.[1] For example, you can say "That is very interesting," so you know interesting is an adjective here. But you cannot say "My teacher is very interesting me in math" because in this sentence interesting is a verb. On the other hand, if you cannot change the 'be' verb to 'seem' or 'become', it is probably a verb.
  • He was isolated / He became isolated (isolated is an adjective)
  • The door was opening / *The door became opening (opening is a verb)

Verbs vs. nouns

The gerund-particle sometimes looks like a noun. This is especially true when it is used as a subject, as in the following example:
  • Running is good for you.
The main differences between these verbs and nouns are: modifiers, number, and object/complement

Modifiers

Verbs cannot generally be modified by adjectives and nouns cannot generally be modified by adverbs. So, in "Running regularly is good for you", running is a verb because it is modified by regularly, an adverb.

Number

Verbs cannot change for number, so if you can make the word plural, it is a noun, not a verb. For example, "this drawing is nice" can change to "these drawings are nice", so drawingis a noun. But "drawing trees is fun" cannot change to "drawings trees is fun", so it is a verb here.

Object/complement

Many verbs can take objects or complements, but nouns cannot.[1] So, in "parking the car is hard", parking is a verb because it takes the object the car. But, if you say, "there's no parking", parking may be a noun because it does not have an object.

Verbs vs. prepositions

Some verbs have become prepositions. Again, usually these share a shape with participles. Here are some examples:
  • Given the problems, I do not think we should go.
  • We have many helpers, including John.
  • According to the map, we are here.
  • He went to hospital following the fight.
The main difference between verbs and prepositions is that verbs have a subject. Even if the subject is not written, you can understand what it is. Prepositions do not have a subject.
The word 'verb' The word 'verb' Reviewed by rajyashikshasewa.blogspot.com on 4:15 PM Rating: 5

Verb (क्रिया)

4:09 PM

Verb (क्रिया)


What is a verb?

A verb is one of the main parts of a sentence or question in English.
In fact, you can’t have a sentence or a question without a verb! That’s how important these “action” parts of speech are.
The verb signals an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Whether mental, physical, or mechanical, verbs always express activity.

Physical Verbs – Definition and Examples

Physical verbs are action verbs. They describe specific physical actions. If you can create a motion with your body or use a tool to complete an action, the word you use to describe it is most likely a physical verb.

Physical Verb Examples

The physical verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • Let’s run to the corner and back.
  • I hear the train coming.
  • Call me when you’re finished with class.

Mental Verbs – Definition and Examples

Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as discovering, understanding, thinking, or planning. In general, a mental verb refers to a cognitive state.

Mental Verb Examples

The mental verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • I know the answer.
  • She recognized me from across the room.
  • Do you believe everything people tell you?

States of Being Verbs – Definition and Examples

Also known as linking verbs, state of being verbs describe conditions or situations that exist. State of being verbs are inactive since no action is being performed. These verbs are usually complemented by adjectives.

States of Being Verb Examples

The state of being verbs in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • I am a student.
  • We are circus performers.
  • Please is quiet.

Types of Verbs

How many types of verbs are there? In addition to the main categories of physical verbs, mental verbs, and state of being verbs, there are several other types of verbs. In fact, there are more than ten different types of verbs that are grouped by function.

List of all Verb Types

Action verbs express specific actions, and are used any time you want to show action or discuss someone doing something.
Transitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities. These verbs always have direct objects, meaning someone or something receives the action of the verb.
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities. No direct object follows an intransitive verb.
Auxiliary verbs are also known as helping verbs, and are used together with a main verb to show the verb’s tense or to form a question or negative.
Stative verbs can be recognized because they express a state rather than an action. They typically relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being, and measurements.
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are used to express abilities, possibilities, permissions, and obligations.
Phrasal verbs aren’t single words; instead, they are combinations of words that are used together to take on a different meaning to that of the original verb.
Irregular verbs are those that don’t take on the regular spelling patterns of past simple and past participle verbs.
Verb (क्रिया) Verb (क्रिया) Reviewed by rajyashikshasewa.blogspot.com on 4:09 PM Rating: 5
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