Title: Verb Content: 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.Huddleston R. & Pullum G.K 2005. A Student's Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 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. In some other languages (Chinese & Indonesian, for example) 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.  === 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. 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 drawing is 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. 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.