7th Grade Verbs

1. Most verbs are action verbs. Some action verbs refer to physical action that can be seen by other people. Others refer to mental action that cannot be seen.

Physical: The gardener feeds the ducks.

Mental: She likes the migrating birds best.

2. Still other verbs express a state of being. These verbs do not refer to action of any sort. They simply tell what the subject is.

Burt is the gardener's assistant.

He seems afraid of the swans.

One swan looks angry.

In fact, the swans are hungry.

Action and Being

Linking

1. A verb that expresses a state of being often functions as a linking verb. A linking verb links, or connects, the subject with a noun or adjective in the predicate that names or describes the subject.

Peanut is a toad. (Toad tells more about what Peanut is)

Peanut is tiny. (Tiny describes Peanut)

2. Some Verbs can function as either linking verbs or action verbs.

Linking: The lily pond smells stagnant.

The gardener felt tired.

Action: The squirrel smells its food.

She felt the tree's thick leaves.

3. To help you decide whether one of these verbs is a linking verb, try substituting are or is for the verb. If the sentence still makes sense, the verb is probably a linking verb.

The pigeons look comical. The pigeons are comical. The pigeons=comical

Rules

A group of words that acts as a single verb is called a verb phrase. A verb phrase consists of one or more helping verbs followed by a main verb. The main verb expresses the action or state of being.

Common Helping Verbs:

be, am, is, are can, could

was, were, been shall, should

has, have, had will, would

does, do, did might, may

1. Some verbs can be either main verbs or helping verbs.

Helping: It is snowing outside. I have bought new boots.

Main: The street is wet. They have woolly linings.

2. Sometimes other words come between the parts of a verb phrase. What words interrupt the verb phrases below?

The sun will soon have disappeared behind the clouds.

Can you see any blue sky?

I have not been outside lately.

Practice

Identify the verb phrase. Main verb? Helping?

1. I have checked the weather report.

2. Today should be clear and sunny.

3. We can go to the park for our picnic.

4. Large drops of rain have been falling for an hour.

5. Don't you trust the weather report?

6. The clouds and rain will not last long.

1. have checked

2. should be

3. can go

4. have been falling

5. do trust

6. will last

Answers

Rules

The tense of the verb identifies when something occurs. You can use

verbs in the present tense, the past tense, and the future tense.

Present: Franco cooks breakfast. (happening now)

Past: Yesterday, Franco cooked breakfast. (already happened)

Future: Tomorrow Franco will cook breakfast. (will happen later)

Present Tense:

1. To make most verbs singular, add -s.

2. To make a verb that ends in s,x,z,ch, or sh singular, add -es

3. To make a verb that ends in a consonant and y singular, change the y to i and add -es

4. When the subject is plural, do not change the form of the verb.

Past Tense:

1. For most verbs, add -ed.

2. When a short verb ends in a consonant, double the consonant and add -ed.

3. When a verb ends in e, drop the e and add -ed.

4. When a verb ends in a consonant and y, change the y to i and add -ed.

Future Tense:

Use the basic form of the verb with the helping verb will or shall

Practice

Name the verb phrase and the tense.

1. Theo will join me for lunch today.

2. I will serve my famous peanut butter sandwiches.

3. Last week I discovered a new variety.

4. I added slices of banana to the sandwiches.

5. They really taste delicious that way.

6. I prepared them with banana again this morning.

7. Of course, jam goes well with peanut butter.

8. Theo says that strawberries go well with peanut butter,

too.

9. Next time, however, I shall serve ham and cheese

sandwiches.

1. will join-future

2. will serve-future

3. discovered-past

4. added-past

5. taste-present

6. prepared-past

7. goes-present

8. says-present; go-present

9. shall serve-future

Answers

Be, have, and do are the most frequently used verbs in the English language. You have learned that you can use these verbs as main verbs or helping verbs. There are no simple rules for forming the tenses of be, have, and do. You must memorize their forms.

Subject Be Have Do

I am,was have, had do, did

You are, were have, had do, did

He, she,

it is, was has, had does, did

We are, were have, had do, did

You are, were have, had do, did

They are, were have, had do, did

Rules

Complete each sentence with the tense of the verb shown in parentheses.

1. I____green beans for dinner tonight. (have-past)

2. They certainly____taste good. (do-past)

3. We ____picking fresh beans from the community garden near our homes. (be-present)

4. The green bean ____a type of kidney bean. (be-present)

5. Other varieties____lima beans, shell beans, and mung beans. (be-present)

6. We eat the seeds of most beans, but green beans also ___good-tasting pods. (have-present)

7. Green beans___also called string beans. (be-present)

Practice

1. had

2. did

3. are

4. is

5. are

6. have

7. are

Answers

Every verb has four basic forms called principal parts. You use the principal parts to form all the tenses.

Verb: Present participle: Past: Past participle:

paint is painting painted has painted

touch is touching touched has touched

carry is carrying carried has carried

love is loving loved has loved

hum is humming hummed has hummed

explain is explaining explained has explained

guess is guessing guessed has guessed

enjoy is enjoying enjoyed has enjoyed

plan is planning planned has planned

Principal Parts

You know there are three simple tenses-past, present, and future. There are also three perfect tenses-past perfect, present perfect, and future perfect. The three perfect tenses are made up of a form of the verb have and the past participle.

Use the present perfect tense to express an action that took place at an indefinite time in the past. The action may still be going on.

Dr. Jiri has conducted his research.

Use the past perfect tense for an action in the past that was completed before another action took place.

Dr. Jiri had conducted his research before the year ended.

Use the future perfect tense for an action that will be completed before another action in the future.

Dr. Jiri will have conducted the research before the next year ends.

Forming Perfect Tenses

The principal parts of all the verbs in the last lesson follow a regular pattern. The past and past participle of these verbs end in -ed. Verbs that follow this pattern are called regular verbs. Some verbs do not follow this pattern. These are called irregular verbs.

Be, have, and do are the most common irregular verbs. Here are their principal parts.

Verb: Present Participle: Past: Past Participle:

be (is) being was (has) been

have (is) having had (has) had

do (is) doing did (has) done

Examples 1

Examples 2

Like the forms of be, have, and do, the principal parts of other irregular verbs must be memorized. Although there is no one rule for forming the principal parts of irregular verbs, some of them do follow certain patterns.

Verb: Present Participle: Past: Past Participle:

begin (is) beginning began (has) begun

ring (is) ringing rang (has) rung

shrink (is) shrinking shrank (has) shrunk

tear (is) tearing tore (has) torn

wear (is) wearing wore (has) worn

blow (is) blowing blew (has) blown

know (is) knowing knew (has) known

throw (is) throwing threw (has) thrown

draw (is) drawing drew (has) drawn

fall (is) falling fell (has) fallen

shake (is) shaking shook (has) shaken

choose (is) choosing chose (has) chosen

freeze (is) freezing froze (has) frozen

speak (is) speaking spoke (has) spoken

Complete each sentence with the past or past participle of the verb in parentheses.

1. Jeff had___his lines very well. (speak)

2. Carol___a little nervous before her audition. (be)

3. Her voice___a bit at the beginning. (shake)

4. She___for control and ended beautifully. (fight)

5. She___how to impress the director. (know)

6. She had___the perfect dress for the role. (wear)

7. She___well and got the part. (do)

Practice

1. spoken

2. was

3. shook

4. fought

5. knew

6. worn

7. did

Answers

Examples

Verb: Present Participle: Past: Past Participle:

bite is biting bit has bitten

break is breaking broke has broken

buy is buying bought has bought

catch is catching caught has caught

cost is costing cost has cost

drink is drinking drank has drunk

drive is driving drove has driven

eat is eating ate has eaten

feel is feeling felt has felt

find is finding found has found

fly is flying flew has flown

get is getting got has gotten

give is giving gave has given

go is going went has gone

grow is growing grew has grown

hide is hiding hid has hidden

Complete each sentence with the past or past participle of the verb/verbs in parentheses. Don't add helping verbs.

1. Gina's uncle has___a book about ships. (write)

2. He___Gina and me many interesting facts. (tell)

3. His book has___several awards. (get)

4. I___the book, and he autographed it for me. (buy)

5. Gina's uncle___that I should read more books by Samuel Eliot Morison. (feel)

6. Before his death in 1976, Samuel Eliot Morison had___books about the history of the sea. (sell)

7. I have___several of his books at the library over the past year. (find)

Practice

1. written

2. told

3. gotten

4. bought

5. felt

6. sold

7. found

Answers

Look at the verb phrases in the sentences below:

Poison ivy has been growing in the woods.

Richard was collecting firewood in that area.

Now his hands and arms are itching.

Because verb phrases like these express action in progress, they are called progressive forms. The progressive is not a separate tense. It is actually an additional form for each of the six tenses. The progressive forms tell about continuing action in the present, the past, or the future.

Rules

The progressive forms are made up of a form of be and the present participle. The helping verb shows the tense.

Present progressive: We are studying plants in school now.

Past progressive: We were studying plants when the bell rang.

Future progressive: We will be studying plants again tomorrow.

Present perfect progressive: We have been studying plants for several days.

Past perfect progressive: We had been studying plants for only a day when we had our field trip.

Future perfect progressive: We will have been studying plants for weeks by the time our project is done.

Examples

Tell the progressive form of each verb phrase.

1. Just last summer I was experimenting with sunflowers.

2. Joe had been talking about his sunflowers for years.

3. In school he and I were also learning about plants.

4. My flowers have been growing all through the summer.

5. By August, I will have been tending the plants for four months.

6. He has been helping me with my crop.

7. Soon we will be eating sunflower seeds.

8. By next fall I will have been producing sunflower seeds for three years.

Practice

1. was experimenting-past progressive

2. had been talking-past perfect progressive

3. were learning-past progressive

4. have been growing-present perfect progressive

5. will have been tending-future perfect progressive

6. has been helping-present perfect progressive

7. will be eating-future progressive

8. will have been producing-future perfect progressive

Answers