Verbs

What are verbs? Verbs are words that express action in a sentence.

               John runs in the park.

Verbs are classified in three categories:

               1. Action verbs
               2. Linking verbs
               3. Helping verbs

The Action Verb tells what action is performing, has performed or will perform the subject of the sentence.

               For example:

               The little girl talks with her friends in the school. The action in this sentence is talking.

The Linking Verb connects the subject of the sentence with a noun or an adjective in the predicate. The work of this type of verb is to be a bridge between the subject and the predicate.

Also the predicate modifies the subject and it act as a modifier or adjective. This kind of predicate is called Nominative Predicate.

The most common linking verbs are:

Is, are, was, were, been, being, am, appear, become, feel, grow, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn.


                 For example:

                 My mother is beautiful.

                 The car of my father seems very old.


                  This kind of flower smells good during spring.

The Helping Verb assists the main verb in a sentence. It is also know as the auxiliary verb, the one who help to reflect the time of the action.

                 For example:

                The police man has been watching the area. Main verb: watch

                I am going to be in the cafeteria. Main verb: to be

                We shall not do our homework in school. Main verb: do

The common helping verbs are: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, has, had, have, do, does, did, may, might, must, can, could, shall, should, will, would.


 Curious Note: Do you know these verbs in Spanish?

The linking verbs in Spanish are know as: “Verbos Copulativos”. The most common of these verbs are: “Ser, estar, parecer”. We had learned that the predicate that goes after the linking verbs is know as the Nominative Predicate, and in Spanish it is called “Atributo”, because it modifies the subject.

Examples:

El conductor es mi amigo.


Mi abuela está vieja.


Miguel parece confundido.