English Grammar Parts of Speech – Verb | Exercises | Notes
Contents
VERB
A verb is a word used to tell or assent something about some person or thing.
The verb may tell us (i) What a person or thing does.
e.g. Sarita swims.
The bulb lights.
(ii) What is done to a person or thing.
e.g. Rahul is scolded.
The window is broken.
(iii) What a person or thing is.
e.g. The cat is dead.
Glass is brittle.
Types of Verbs
Transitive verbs
There are some sentences in which the action passes over from the subject to the object. Verbs are used in these sentences are called transitive verbs, e.g. They boy kicks the football.
In the above sentence, the action denoted by the verb kicks passes over from the doer or subject boy to some object football. The verb kicks is therefore, called a transitive verb.
Most transitive verbs take a single object but such transitive verbs as give, ask, offer, promises, tell etc., take two objects after them
– an indirect object which denotes the person to whom something is given or for whom something is done and
– a direct object which is usually the name of some thing.
e.g. His father gave him (Indirect) a rupee (Direct). He told me (Indirect) a secret (Direct).
Intransitive verbs
These are those where the action does not pass over from the subject to the object. These verb denotes an action which does not pass over, or express a state or being. e.g. The boy laughs loudly.
In this sentence, the action denoted by the verb laughs stops with the doer or subject boy and does not pass over to an object. The verb laughs is, therefore, called an Intransitive verb.
(i) Most verbs can be used both as transitive and as intransitive verbs. It is therefore, better to say that a verb is used transitively or intransitively rather than that it is transitive or intransitive.
Used Transitively :
e.g. The ants fought the wasps. ,
Ring the bell, Rahul.
(ii) In sueh sentence as The man killed himself where the subject and the object both refer to the same person, the verb is said to be used reflexively.
e.g. The guests made merry.
Please keep quiet.
(iii) Certain verbs can be used reflexively and also as ordinary transitive verbs.
e.g. Do not forget his name.
I forget his name.
Intransitive verbs used as Transitives verbs
1. When an intransitive verb is used in a causative sense it becomes transitive verb.
Intransitive:
(i) The horse walks.
(ii) The girl ran down the street.
(iii) Birds fly.
Transitive:
i) He walks the horse.
(ii) The girl ran a needle into her finger. (iii)The boys fly their kites.
2. A few verbs in common use are distinguished as Transitive or Intransitive by their spelling, the transitive being causative forms of the corresponding intransitive verbs.
Intransitive:
(i) Many trees fall in the monsoon.
(ii) Lie still.
(iii) Rise early with the Lark.
Transitive:
(i) Woodmen fall trees.
(ii) Lay the basket there.
(iii) Raise your hands.
3. Some Intransitive verbs may become Transitive by having a preposition added to them.
e.g. He will soon run through his torture. Sometimes the preposition is prefixed to the verb.
e.g. He bravely withstand the attack.
4. Intransitive verbs sometimes take after them an object akin or similar in meaning to the verb. Such an object is called the Cognate object or Cognate accusative.
e.g. I have fought a good fight.
5. A noun used adverbially to modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb denoting time, place,distance, weight, value etc., is called Adverbial , object or Adverbial accusative, and is said to be in the objective case adverbially.
eg: He went home.
6. There are a few Transitive verbs which are sometimes used as Intransitive verbs.
Transitive:
(i) He broke the glass.
(ii) Stop him from going.
(iii) He burnt his fingers
Intransitive:
(i) The glass broke.
(ii) We shall stop here a few days.
(iii)He burnt with shame.
VERBS OF INCOMPLETE PREDICATION
Consider the following sentences :
(i) The baby sleeps.
(ii) The baby seems happy.
The verb in both these sentences are Intransitive. But the sentence The baby sleeps makes complete sense, on the other hand the baby seems does not make complete sense.
Intransitive verb seems requires a word (e.g. happy) to make the sense complete. Such a verb is called a verb of Incomplete predication.
The word happy, which is required to make the sense complete, is called complement of the verb or completion of the predication.
(i) Verbs of incomplete predication usually express the idea of being, becoming, seeming, appearing.
(ii) Certain transitive verbs require, besides an object, a complement to complete their predication.
e.g. The boys made Rahul captain.
Here in the complement describes the object, and is, therefore, called an objective complement.
FORMS OF VERBS
Verbs in English are used in three different forms:
(i) Present or first or original form
(ii) Past or second form
(iii) Past participle or third form
Note : The form of the verb used determines the tense of a sentence or conversely the tense of a sentence determines the form of the verb that is used.
The first form is the actual form in which the verb as a word exists in the language. Therefore, we have referred to it as the original form. The other two forms, in most cases are derived by making certain changes in the original form.
e.g. Eat (first form)
Ate (second form)
Eaten (third form).
Verbs can be divided into different types according to their method of changing from one form to another.
• Verbs with vowel change only.
1st form 2nd form 3rd form
Abide Abode Abode
Begin Began Begun
Come Came Come
• Verbs with suffix n, ne, or en in the third form.
1st form 2nd form 3rd form
Know Knew Known
Write Wrote Written
Bear Bore Born
• Verbs which derive their 2nd and 3rd forms by the addition of-d, -ed, or -t and without a change in the vowel.
1st form 2nd form 3rd form
Walk Walked Walked
Hear Heard Heard
Burn Burnt Burnt
Talk Talked Talked
Verbs that have a vowel change as well as the addition of a suffix.
1st form 2nd form 3rd form
Feel Felt Felt
Kneel Knelt Knelt
Sell Sold Sold
Can Could Could
In some cases the verbs retain their original in all the three forms.
1st form 2nd form 3rd form
Cast Cast Cast
Cut Cut Cut
Let Let Let
Hurt Hurt Hurt
The Verbs : Person and Number
(i) The verb like the personal pronouns, has three persons:
the first, the second and the third.
e.g. 1.I speak
2. You speak
3. He speak.
This is because of the difference in person of the subjects, as all the three are subjects of the singular number.
In sentence 1, the subject is of the first person, therefore the verb is also of the first person. In sentence 2, the subject is of the second person, therefore the verb is also of the second person. In sentence 3, the subject is of the third person, therefore the verb is also of the third person. We thus see that the verb takes the same person as its subject or that the verb agrees with its subject in person.
(ii) The verb, like the noun and the pronoun, has two numbers, the singular and the plural.
e.g. 1. He speaks.
2. They speak.
In sentence 1, the subject is singular, therefore the verb is singular.In sentence 2, the subject is plural, therefore the verb is plural.
Thus the verb takes the same number as its subject, or that the verb agrees with its subject in number.
Agreement of the verb with the subject
1. The verb agrees with the subject in Number and Person.
2.Two or more singular subjects connected by and usually take a verb in the plural.
e.g. Himanshu and Rahul are here.
(i) If two singular nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb must be singular. e.g. My friend and benefactor has come.
(ii) If two subjects together express one idea, the verb may be in the singular. e.g.Bread and milk is his only food.
(iii) If the singular subjects are preceded by each or every, the verb is usually singular.
e.g. Every boy and girl was ready,
Each day and each hour brings its duty.
3. Two or more singular subjects connected by or, nor, either … or, neither … nor take a verb in the singular:
e.g. Neither he nor I was there.
(i) When the subjects joined by or, nor. are of different numbers, the verb must be plural, and the plural subject must be placed next the verb.
e.g. Rahul or his brothers have done this. Neither Rahul nor his friends were hurt.
(ii) When the subjects joined by or, nor are of different persons, the verb agrees in person with the one nearest to it.
e.g. Either he or I am mistaken.
Neither you nor he is to blame.
4. When subjects differing in number, or person, or both, are connected by and, the verb must always be in the plural; and
of the first person, if one of the subjects is of that person;
of the second person, if one of the subjects is of that person, and none of the first. e.g. He and I are well.
You and he are binds of the same feather.
5. A collective noun takes a singular verb when the collection is thought of as a whole; a plural verb when the individuals of which it is composed are thought of.
e.g. The fleet has sat sail.
There is large number of boys in his class.
6. Some nouns which are plural in form, but singular in meaning, take a singular verb.
e.g. The news is true.
The wages of sin is death.
7. Some nouns which are singular in form but plural in meaning, take a plural verb.
e.g. According to the present market, twelve dozen cost one hundred rupees.
8. Words joined to a singular subject by with, together with, in addition to or as well as etc. are parenthetical, and therefore do not affect the number of the verb. e.g. Justice, as well as mercy, allows it.
9. When the subject of the verb is a relative pronoun, care should be taken to see that the verb agrees in number and person with the antecedent of the relative.
e.g. I, who am your friend, will guard your interests.
Leave a Reply