Transcript Verb Types - Everglades High School

Some action and linking verbs look the same.
Learn how to tell the difference, and get
some help with helping verbs along the way.
 Most
action verbs represent a visible action,
one that can be seen with our eyes. For
example, waltz, surf, gallop, chop, row,
swing, and punch are action verbs.
 Identifying such doing words in a sentence is
generally easy.
 Some action verbs are difficult to identify
because the action is far less obvious:
depend, yearn, foresee, understand,
consider, require, mean, remember, and
suppose.

Note – mental verbs are also action verbs!
 Linking
verbs express a state of being or a
condition. Specifically, it lings, or connects,
a noun with an adjective (a description) or
another noun (an identifier) in a sentence.

Example – Nathan and Sara are hardworking
students
 The
noun students identifies or renames the
compound subjects, Nathan and Sara;
hardworking is an adjective describing the
noun students; and the verb are links the two
component together.
 Collin

was tired after his golf game.
The adjective tired describes the subject, Collin,
and the verb was links the two component
together.
 Some
linking verbs can be tricky to identify
because they appear to be action verbs.
Their job in the sentence is to clarify the
condition or state of the noun to which they
are connected. The verbs in the following list
can act not only as action verbs, but also as
linking verbs.
Appear
Become
Feel
Grow
Look
Prove
Remain
Seem
Smell
Sound
Stay
Taste
Come
Lie
Prove
Act
Turn
Fall
Get
 How
can you tell which role these tricky
verbs are playing? Let’s look at the word
turned, used in two different ways.

The Ferris wheel turned slowly as it began its
initial rotation.
 Here
the Ferris wheel performed an action:
It turned.
 Can you visualize the huge wheel slowly
rotating, with the riders in the cars, as it
warms up/ The word turned here is an
action-oriented verb.

One frightened rider turned green as the ride
began to speed up quickly.
 The
word turned connects the describing
word, or adjective – green – to the subject –
rider.
 In this example, turned is acting as a linking
verb, not an action verb.
Linking Verbs
Am
Is
Are
Was
Were
Be
Being Been
 One
easy way to tell whether a verb is an
action verb or a linking verb is to replace the
verb in question with a verb form of be (from
the preceding table), or a linking verb like
seemed or became. If the new sentence still
makes since, then you have a linking verb. If
the sentence loses its meaning, then you
have an action verb.
 The
farmer grew several prize-winning
tomatoes this season.

Replace grew with is:


The farmer is several prize-winning tomatoes this
season.
Or replace is with the word seemed:

The farmer seemed several prize-winning tomatoes
this season.
 Neither
choice works, which means that grew
is an action verb, not a linking verb, in this
sentence!
 The
beef stew we had for dinner tasted
delicious.

Replace tasted with was


The beef stew we had for dinner was delicious.
Or use the word looked

The beef stew we had for dinner looked delicious.
 Both
choices make sense, because in this
sentence tasted is a linking verb, not an
action verb.
 Helping
verbs enhance the main verb’s
meaning by providing more information
about its tense.
 A main verb may have as many as three
helping verbs in front of it in a sentence.



Martin walked quickly to the bus stop to avoid
being late.
Martin had walked quickly to the bus stop to
avoid being late.
Martin must have walked quickly to the bus stop
to avoid being late.
A
main verb with helping verbs is called a
verb phrase. It is important to remember
that a helping verb need not be right next to
the main verb in the sentence. For instance,
we could rewrite the last sentence so that
the adverb quickly separates the helping
verbs must and have from the main verb
walked.

Martin must have quickly walked to the bus stop
to avoid being late.
 The
range of a verb phrase is defined as both
“the main verb plus its auxiliaries,” as
previously explained, and “the main verb
plus its auxiliaries, its complements, and
other modifiers.”
Common Helping Verbs
Am
Is
Are
Was
Were
Be
Do
Does
Did
Have
Had
Has
May
Might
Must
Shall
Will
Can
Could
Ought
Should Would