Hit
recognizing English verb forms
every clause in the English language
must have a controlling verb
So how do we know if a verb is
acting as a CONTROLLING VERB?
There are six verb parts in the English language.
stem form
simple present
present participle
simple past
past participle
modal
These are infinitives, think of a verb that would follow the word "to"
to be, to buy, to have, to kick
a clause cannot be built around a stem form verb
John to be a cad.
sound right to you?
These are verbs that express conditions of being and ongoing action
is, are, am, buy, have, has, kick
the simple present (simpres) part is one of the three verb parts that can be a controlling verb
These are verbs that express actions and ideas  that are occuring right now. They're formed by adding  -ing to the stem form
being, having, kicking
a clause cannot be buit upon a present participle verb
John being a cad.
John is a cad.
verbs do more than just expressing actions
These are verbs that express actions and ideas that occured and were completed in the past
In the regular form, simpas verbs are formed by adding -ed to the stem form
was, were, bought, had, kicked
a clause can be built around a simpas verb
John was a cad.
These are verbs used to express completed actions or ideas. They are used to put distance between an actor and an action.
Past participle verbs appear after simpas verbs like has or had. Past participles are often formed the same way simpas verbs are formed...
but a clause cannot be built around a past participle verb
(has) been, (has) had, (has) bought, (has) kicked
John been a cad.
These are a special class of verbs that cannot be changed from their original form
Modal verbs are a closed set of verbs - there will never be more or fewer modal verbs.
can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, ought
a clause can be built upon a modal verb
John can be a cad.
whether expressing an action or
linking a subject to its description,
the English verb's most important role
is serving as the
FOUNDATION of a CLAUSE
This foundational verb in a clause is called a CONTROLLING VERB
the CONTROLLING VERB is the verb that must be there in order for the clause to make make sense and sound right
let's look at the parts and forms that verbs can take
and finding the controlling verb
so let's review
there are six English verb forms
by contrast, Italian has seventeen verb forms
stem
simple
simple
present
participle
past
participle
modal
present
past
only three of which can be CONTROLLING VERBS
stem
simple
present
John be a cad.
John is a cad.
doesn't work.
(to) be
is
sounds good!
simple
past
John was a cad.
was
present
participle
John being a cad.
being
past
participle
John been a cad.
been
modal
John can be a cad.
can
nope.
I'm a queen! WHAT!?!