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L Grammar & Punctuation/Parts of speech/4.8 Verbs 1

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Verbs: 1

VERBS ARE WORDS THAT TELL US ABOUT ACTIONS.

For example:
My brother bought fish.
The hot chips burnt his mouth.

VERBS answer the question: What does someone or something do?

What did my brother do? He bought fish.
What did the chips do? They burnt his mouth.

All complete sentences must contain at least one verb. To show

how vital the verbs are, here is a story that has had all its
verbs removed. Can you still make sense of it?
I fish. My brother anything else. When our old cooker we at home,
so he out our supper. Just as I he fish and chips.

The complete story, with the verbs replaced, is as follows:

I hate fish. My brother doesn’t like anything else. When our old
cooker was being serviced, we couldn’t eat at home, so he went out
to buy our supper. Just as I expected, he bought fish and chips.

PTO/…
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EA E
L

the learning centre

Grammar & Punctuation/Parts of speech/4.8 Verbs 1
S
S

E
E

R VIC

Exercise 1
Each of the sentences below has just one verb – in each
case, a single word. Find the verb in each sentence and
underline it.

1. The prisoner thanked his wife for the apple pie.

2. He ate the pie in the evening.

3. In the middle of the pie he found a hacksaw blade.

4. He climbed up on the bunk near the window.

5. For several hours he sawed at the iron bars.

6. He worked as quietly as possible.

7. At last he removed two thick bars.

8. He knotted his bed sheets together like a rope.

9. The sheets stretched almost to the ground.

10. The prisoner tied one end to the corner post of his bunk.

PTO/…

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Grammar & Punctuation/Parts of speech/4.8 Verbs 1
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Exercise 2
Write out the sentences, putting an appropriate verb in
the gaps.

1. The telephone …………………………………… at six o’clock in the morning.

2. The plumber …………………………………….. the leaking pipe.

3. During the storm several trees …………………………….. across the road.

4. In my coat pocket I ……………………………….. the missing key.

5. As the stranger approached, the guard dog …………………………furiously.

6. The train ……………………………………….. its destination half an hour late.

7. She ………………………………… across the Channel to Calais in record time.

8. The shop ……………………………… open until 8pm on Thursdays.

9. The burning plane ………………………… into the wood just after take-off.

10. The Dome and the new Tate Gallery hope to …………………… many visitors
this year.