Verbs & Tenses I

Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will learn about:
• Verbs & Types of Verbs – Action, Linking, Helping

• Using verbs in a sentence

• The 3 Tenses- Past, Present and Future tense

• Correct usage of tenses in sentences

What is a Verb?
• Verbs are the action words in a sentence that describe what the
subject is doing.
Verb
A verb is a word used to express an action, a condition, or a state of
being.

The man washed his clothes.

His clothes are dirty.

He is very tidy.

Type of Verbs

Verbs

Action Linking Helping

Action Verbs

• A verb that shows action is called an action verb.

• It tells what its subject does.

• The action can either be physical or mental.

Physical Action: The farmer feeds the hens.

Mental Action: He likes the red rooster best.

Linking Verbs

• A linking verb links its subject to a word in the predicate.

• It provides more information about the subject of the sentence.
‘is’ connects the subject ‘She’
For example: with the description –
favourite teacher.

She is my favourite teacher.

My cats are hungry.
Your room smells fresh.
Linking Verbs

9 common linking verbs

am be is seem was

are being become were

 REMEMBER
A linking verb does not show action!
Helping Verbs

• A helping verb helps a main verb.

• The helping verb comes before the main verb.

I am eating my lunch.

Tanu has taken the test.

We were talking about films.

Recap
Action verbs
• Describe what someone or something does

Linking verbs
• Describe a condition or state of being

Helping verbs
• Help the main verb to describe the action
Verb Tense
Tense tells when the action or state of being takes
place.

In English grammar, there are three main tenses:

Past Present Future

Present Tense
It’s happening now!

• Jennifer cooks breakfast.

To make a verb
• The boys walk a mile everyday. ‘singular’, add an
• My father washes the dishes at night. ‘s’ / ‘es’
Present Tense
Spelling rules Examples
live – lives
With most verbs, add s sit – sits
stay- stays
Ending in consonant + y try – tries
Change y to i and then add es carry – carries
miss – misses
buzz – buzzes
Ending in s, z, ch, or x - add es catch – catches
fix – fixes
Exceptions go – goes
do - does
Present Tense
Use the simple present tense to express:

1. An action that takes place in the present.

e.g., Pratik takes piano lessons.

2. A constant, repeated or habitual action.

e.g., She reads bestsellers all the time.

3. A general truth.
e.g., Steel is an alloy.
Present Tense
Use the simple present tense to express:

4. A permanent action.
e.g., The Sahara desert lies in the African continent.

5. An action that will occur in the future. However, you should provide a
word or clause that indicate future time clearly in a sentence.
e.g., We leave for Delhi next weekend.
Past Tense
The action has already happened… It’s completely finished, over!!

• The police talked to the robbers.

To make a verb
• Kittu submitted his paragraph. ‘past tense’, add
• We attended the live lecture yesterday. an ‘ed’ (mostly)
Past Tense – Regular verbs
Spelling rules Examples
base form + ed walk – walked
play – played

verbs ending in –e + d like – liked

move - moved
verbs ending in a consonant + y
carry – carried
study - studied
change y  i + ed
Some verbs ending in a single
consonant + the second last letter is a plan – planned
vowel  stop - stopped
double the last letter + ed
Past Tense – Irregular verbs
Spelling rules Examples

put – put
No change in base form cut – cut

go – went
eat – ate
Different spelling from base form dig – dug
come – came
Past Tense
Use the simple past tense to express:

1. An action that started and finished in the past.

e.g., I went to the beach last Sunday.

2. Actions that happened one after the other in the past (like in a story).
e.g., He came in, took off his coat and sat down.

3. Unreal or imaginary things in the present or future.

e.g., I wish I had more time.
Future Tense
It will happen in the future- has not taken place yet!!

• The students will study for the final.

Helping verbs
• I shall fly in an airplane someday. are-
• I will call my instructor for help. ‘will’ and ‘shall’
Future Tense
Use the simple future tense to:

1. Predict a future event.

e.g., It will rain tomorrow.

2. Express willingness.
e.g., She will carry your bag for you.

3. In negative form, express unwillingness.

e.g., The baby would not eat his soup.
Future Tense
Use the simple future tense to:

4. With I in the interrogative form, use ‘shall’ to make an offer.

e.g., Shall I open the window?

5. With I in the interrogative form, use ‘shall’ to make a suggestion.

e.g., Shall we go to the cinema tonight?

6. With you in the interrogative form, to give an invitation.

e.g., Will you come to the park with me?
‘Will’ v/s ‘Going to’
Will Going to
1. Expresses future actions decided at the moment 1. Expresses future actions decided before the
of speaking, a promise moment of speaking.

Ok, I will be there. Tom is going to see a movie. He bought the

I’m thirsty, I’ll buy a bottle of water. tickets yesterday.

2. Used to predict future based on personal 2. Expresses a prediction based on present

opinions or experiences rather than specific evidence.
evidences.
There are black clouds in the sky. It is going to
Don’t worry about the exam. I’m sure you will rain.
pass it.
Recap

PRESENT I go to the movies with my friends.

PAST I went to the movies with my friends.

FUTURE I will go to the movies with my friends.
Common Irregular Verbs
Remember

When writing, stay in the same tense throughout the document.

Let’s Practice
Fill in the blanks with appropriate verbs:

1. She __________ her favorite book on the shelf. (keep)

2. The children __________ in the ground. (play)
3. He __________ a delicious sandwich for lunch. (enjoy/ have)
4. The cat __________ lazily in the sun. (nap)
5. They __________ to the exciting music. (dance)
6. I __________ my friends at the mall. (meet)
7. The dog __________ through the grass. (run)
8. We __________ the beautiful sunset. (watch/ admire)
9. The chef __________ a mouthwatering dessert. (prepare)
10. The car __________ down the winding road. (go/ drive)
11. The flowers in the garden ___ beautiful. (be)
12. The cake on the table ___ delicious. (look)
13. The movie last night ___ very entertaining. (be)
14. The dog's behavior in the park ___ strange. (seem)
15. The old building in town ___ historic. (be)
Answers:

1. She ___kept___ her favorite book on the shelf. (keep)

2. The children __played__ in the ground. (play)
3. He __enjoyed/ had__ a delicious sandwich for lunch. (enjoy/ have)
4. The cat __napped_ lazily in the sun. (nap)
5. They ___danced__ to the exciting music. (dance)
6. I ___met___ my friends at the mall. (meet)
7. The dog ___ran___ through the grass. (run)
8. We __watched/ admired___ the beautiful sunset. (watch/ admire)
9. The chef __prepared__ a mouthwatering dessert. (prepare)
10. The car __went/ drove___ down the winding road. (go/ drive)
11. The flowers in the garden _are_ beautiful. (be)
12. The cake on the table _looks_ delicious. (look)
13. The movie last night _was_ very entertaining. (be)
14. The boy's behavior in the park _seemed_ strange. (seem)
15. The old building in town _is_ historic. (be)
Identify the errors and correct the following sentences:
1. She can played the piano beautifully.
2. They has finished their work ahead of time.
3. I will went to the store for some groceries.
4. He must ate breakfast before school.
5. We did had a great time at the party.
6. She will going to the store later.
7. I am visited my grandparents last weekend.
8. They were playing soccer when it started raining.
9. He has been a teacher for ten years, but he still learning.
10. I will have my dinner when you will arrive.
11. We went to the beach tomorrow.
12. She had finished her homework before she is watching TV.
13. By the time I'll be 30, I will have traveled to many countries.
14. He is studying for his exam all day yesterday.
15. I'm seeing the movie next week.
Answers:
1. She can play the piano beautifully.
2. They have finished their work ahead of time.
3. I will go to the store for some groceries.
4. He must eat breakfast before school.
5. We did have a great time at the party.
6. She will be going to the store later.
7. I visited my grandparents last weekend.
8. They played soccer when it started raining.
9. He has been a teacher for ten years, but he is still learning.
10. I will have my dinner when you arrive.
11. We will go to the beach tomorrow.
12. She had finished her homework before she watched TV.
13. By the time I'm 30, I will have traveled to many countries.
14. He studied for his exam all day yesterday.
15. I'm going to see that movie next week.
THANK YOU