English grammar lesson

VERB TERMINOLOGY

In general, verbs are not responsible for many common errors made by native English speakers. However, there is a lot of grammatical terminology associated with verbs. Below are explanations of those used most frequently by grammarians. (There is a far more comprehensive list in the "Glossary of Terms".)

INFINITIVE FORM

When a verb is preceded by the word "to", it is said to be in its infinitive (most basic) form.

I have to smoke that!
("to smoke" - infinitive form of the verb)

Placing another word between "to" and its verb is called a "split infinitive" and is considered by some to be a mistake.

You have to really try.
(The infinitive verb "to try" is split by the word "really".)

..to boldy go where no man has gone before.
(The infinitive verb "to go" is split by the word "boldly".)

This is covered more in the lesson "Too and To".

PAST TENSE

Verbs which express actions in the past are said to be in the "past tense".

I ran to the lake.
("ran" - past tense of the verb "to run")

They were all there.
("were" - past tense of the verb "to be")

PRESENT TENSE

Verbs which express present actions are said to be in the "present tense".

John jumps out the window.
("jumps" - present tense of the verb "to jump")

Who is ill?
("is" - present tense of the verb "to be")

FUTURE TENSE

Verbs which express actions in the future are said to be in the "future tense". These are usually formed by preceding the verb with the word "will".

I will take the blame.
("will take" - future tense of the verb "to take")

They will surrender.
("will surrender" - future tense of the verb "to surrender")

SUBJECT OF A VERB

The person or thing performing the action of the verb is said to be the "subject of the verb" or the "subject of the sentence."

Tony stole the boat.
("Tony" - subject of the verb "to steal")

Tony is guilty.
("Tony" - subject of the verb "to be")

Who was that?
("Who" - subject of the verb "to be" (in the past tense))

"Who" is always the subject of a verb; whereas "whom" is never the subject of a verb. That is the difference between the two. (Covered more in the lesson "Who and Whom".)

DIRECT OBJECT OF A VERB

Many verbs perform an action on something. This is called the direct object of the verb.

Terry kissed her hand.
("her hand" - direct object of the verb "to kiss")

Beverly will eat a whole chicken.
("a whole chicken" - direct object of the verb "to eat")

INTRANSITIVE VERBS

Some verbs cannot have a direct object. These verbs are said to be "intransitive verbs".

The rain fell heavily.
(The rain fell, but it did not perform an action on anything.
In this example, the verb "to fall" is an intransitive verb.)

Jack protested in the street.
(Jack protested, but he did not perform an action on anything.
In this example, the verb "to protest" is an intransitive verb.)

Verbs that can have a direct object (most of them) are called "transitive verbs".

Barnaby copied the answer.
("the answer" - direct object of the transitive verb "to copy")

INDIRECT OBJECT OF A VERB

Some verbs have two objects, a direct object (see above) and an indirect object. The indirect object is the person or thing for whom the action was performed.

Jamie read the children a story.
("a story" - direct object; "the children" - indirect object)

I will bake him a cake.
("a cake" - direct object; "him" - indirect object)

The postman gives Anne a letter everyday.
("a letter" - direct object; "Anne" - indirect object)

PASSIVE SENTENCE

The subject of a sentence does not always do the action of the verb. Sometimes, the action is done to the subject. Such sentences are called "passive sentences", because the subjects are being passive, i.e. not doing anything.

Carl was arrested.
("Carl" is not doing anything, but he is the subject of the sentence.)
(Note: "Carl" is the subject of the verb "to be"; i.e. "was".)

Passive verbs always comprise two parts: "was arrested" in this example. The person doing the action of the verb in a passive sentence is usually shown with the word "by".

Carl was arrested by PC Adams.

Passive verbs are said to be in the "passive voice". Passive sentences are quite useful:

The carpet was damaged. (< passive sentence - no blame)

We damaged the carpet. (< active sentence)

ACTIVE SENTENCE

Active sentences are the opposite to passive sentences (see above). In an active sentence, the subject of the verb does perform the action.

We damaged the carpet.
(This is an active sentence. "We" is the subject.
"We" "damaged" the carpet.)

Jamie read a story.
(This is an active sentence. "Jamie" is the subject.
"Jamie" "read" a story.)

Many businesses encourage their staff to use active sentences in their writing. This is because they consider the structure of passive sentences to be less flowing and the tone more flowery. For this reason, the Microsoft Word grammar checker often suggests an active version of a passive sentence. For example:

The hook-shaped shoreline was eroded by time.
(passive sentence)

Time eroded the hook-shaped shoreline.
       (active sentence / This version would be suggested by Word's
       grammar checker. However, if you prefer the passive version -
       stick with it.)

CONJUGATION OF VERBS

A verb will change its form a little depending on the subject. For example:

I write / He writes (< write and writes)

The camel laughs / The jackals laugh (< laughs and laugh)

When verbs change in this way, it is known as "conjugation".
A verb conjugates according to the subject. The subject of a verb can be in one of six forms:

1.    I
2.    You
3.    He / She / It
4.    We
5.    You
6.    They

The first three are the singular forms (known as first person singular, second person singular and third person singular); whereas, the second three are the plural forms (known as first person plural, second person plural and third person plural).

All subjects fit in one of these categories. "Camel" is like "he" (i.e. third person singular) and "jackels" is like "they" (i.e. third person plural).

This topic rarely causes problems for native English speakers, who conjugate verbs correctly without much thought.

Interestingly, this is the origin of the insurance term "third party" (insurance for them).

PARTICIPLES

Participles are formed from verbs. There are two types: present participles and past participles. Present participles end in "ing"; whereas, past participles have various endings. Below is a table showing some participles:

Verb	Present Participle	Past Participle
to sing	singing	sung
to drive	driving	driven
to go	going	gone
to rise	rising	risen
to watch	watching	watched
to be	being	been

Participles can be used as adjectives. For example:
Soaring prices affect the quality of the wool.
       ("soaring" - present participle - used as an adjective)
I am not the first to comment that prices are falling.
       ("falling" - present participle - used as an adjective to describe
       "prices")
       (Note: When an adjective is placed after the word it is describing,
       it is called a "predicate adjective".)
He is a forgotten hero.
      ("forgotten" - past participle - used as an adjective)
They were neglected.
       ("neglected" - past participle - used as an adjective)
       (Note: This is a passive sentence (see above). In this role,
       "neglected" is known as a "past passive participle".)

GERUNDS

Gerunds are nouns formed from verbs. There are two types of gerund: present gerunds, which look like present participles (e.g. "soaring" and "falling") and past gerunds, which are formed by preceding a past participle with the word "having" (e.g. "having forgotten" and "having neglected").

There is a common mistake associated with gerunds and Section 2 (below) is dedicated to this topic.

Verbs

What are verbs?

Using gerunds