Verb Mood

by Maeve Maddox

English verbs have four moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and infinitive.
Mood is the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed.
1. Indicative Mood: expresses an assertion, denial, or question:
Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas.
Ostriches cannot fly.
Have you finished your homework?
2. Imperative Mood: expresses command, prohibition, entreaty, or advice:
Don’t smoke in this building.
Be careful!
Don’t drown that puppy!
3. Subjunctive Mood: expresses doubt or something contrary to fact.
Modern English speakers use indicative mood most of the time, resorting to a kind of “mixed subjunctive” that makes use of helping verbs:
If I should see him, I will tell him.
Americans are more likely to say:
If I see him, I will tell him.
The verb may can be used to express a wish:
May you have many more birthdays.
May you live long and prosper.
The verb were can also indicate the use of the subjunctive:
If I were you, I wouldn’t keep driving on those tires.
If he were governor, we’d be in better fiscal shape.
4. Infinitive Mood: expresses an action or state without reference to any subject. It can be the source of sentence fragments when the writer mistakenly thinks the infinitive form is a fully-functioning verb.
When we speak of the English infinitive, we usually mean the basic form of the verb with “to” in front of it: to go, to sing, to walk, to speak.
Verbs said to be in the infinitive mood can include participle forms ending in -ed and -ing. Verbs in the infinitive mood are not being used as verbs, but as other parts of speech:
To err is human; to forgive, divine. Here, to err and to forgive are used as nouns.
He is a man to be admired. Here, to be admired is an adjective, the equivalent of admirable. It describes the noun man.
He came to see you. Here, to see you is used as an adverb to tell why he came.

Source:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com

Lie or Lay

 

• LIE & LAY (c) King Features Syndicate Question: Is “lay” used correctly in this cartoon? Answer below. You'll lay an egg if you don't lie down      In general, irregular verbs are troublesome to learn. Regular verbs create their past and past participle forms by adding “d” or “ed” to the stem of their infinitives (love, loved, loved), but irregular verbs create past and past participle forms by altering their stems in unpredictable ways.       A number of common irregular verbs give people trouble, particularly: dive, drown, fly, hang, lead, prove, sit, set and shrink.      But lie and lay seem to give people more difficulty than do all the other irregular verbs combined. Here's why: The past tense form of lie is lay, so it's indistinguishable from lay in the present tense except in usage. (Sit and set, probably the irregular verbs that give people the most trouble next to lie and lay, for example, have no parts in common. It's sit, sat and sat but set, set, set.)      The principal parts (most-common verb forms) of lie are: lie (present,) lay (past) and lain (past participle).      The principal parts of lay are: lay (present), laid (past) and laid (past participle).      As an aid in choosing the correct verb forms, remember that lie means to recline, whereas lay means to place something, to put something on something.      • Lie means that the actor (subject) is doing something to himself or herself. It's what grammarians call a complete verb. When accompanied by subjects, complete verbs tell the whole story.      • Lay, on the other hand, means that the subject is acting on something or someone else; therefore, it requires a complement to make sense. Thus lay always takes a direct object. Lie never does.      More on “lie”: In its simplest (command) form, when the you is implied, lie is a sentence all by itself. If you tell your dog, “Lie,” as in “(You) lie (down),” that's a complete sentence. (The same is true, by the way, of sit.) In written material, we generally use down with lie when we mean to recline not because down is needed grammatically but because we wish to distinguish from the regular verb lie, meaning to tell an untruth (as in lie, lied, lied).      Tip: Always remember that lay is a transitive verb and requires a direct object. (A transitive verb acts as a conveyor belt, transmitting action or influence from the subject to the object.) The common saying, “Let's lay out in the sun,” is not only incorrect grammatically, it suggests a public promiscuity that's frowned on even in this age of sexual permissiveness because you're implying the existence of a direct object of lay: “Let's lay (her/him?) out in the sun.” Not that there's anything wrong with THAT! It's just ungrammatical unless you're talking about sex. Correct Usage: Lie Present tense: I lie down on my bed to rest my weary bones. Past tense: Yesterday, I lay there thinking about what I had to do during the day. Past participle: But I remembered that I had lain there all morning one day last week. Lay Present tense: As I walk past, I lay the tools on the workbench. Past tense: As I walked past, I laid the tools on the workbench. And: I laid an egg in class when I tried to tell that joke. Past participle: . . . I had laid the tools on the workbench.     AN IMPORTANT TIP:      Here's an easy way to get it right — every time — without remembering all that gobbleygook above.      When you bump into a lie-lay conundrum — when you aren't absolutely, 110 percent sure — do this quick little exercise.*      Write these six words — “lie, lay, lain” (to recline); then beside or below them — “lay, laid, laid” (to place or put down).      When students do that (I see it on the sides of their quizzes), they never — underline “never”— get it wrong.       Simple, but it works. I call it the Michiko Sato rule. The Michiko Sato Rule      I call this “The Michiko Sato Rule” because she invented that quick little way to make sure she always got it right in quizzes and exercises (and life).     When Michiko, who is now married and a mother living in Tokyo, was a student here, she would always write six words — three atop the other three — on her quizzes and exercises (we did 'em on paper then). Lie Lay Lain Lay Laid Laid      And she never got 'em wrong. Never!      I, therefore, being the smart guy that I am, developed the theory that if it worked for a student whose first language was Japanese, it would work for everyone. Give it a try.      Answer to “Zits” question: Oh, it should be “lie” as in “recline”; otherwise, he'd be putting “low” somewhere or %@#&-ing it.     Source: http://web.ku.edu

Verbs

Verbs are the most important component of any sentence.  These words talk about the action or the state of any noun or subject. This means  that verbs show what the subject is doing or what is the state or situation of the subject.
For example:
He ran to the store. - Here the verb ran describes the action of the subject ‘he’
She is a creative person. - Here there is no action being done. Instead the auxiliary verb ‘is’ shows the state of the subject ‘she’ as being ‘creative’.
There are different types and classifications of Verbs; some of the most important ones are listed below:

Action Verbs   
These verbs talk about what the subject is doing in the sentence. Action Verbs are one of the most easily identifiable types of verbs. To recognize them, you simply have to look for the word in the sentence that answers the question ‘What is the subject doing?’  e.g. -
Rose is painting the kitchen walls.
The subject here is Rose, and what is Rose doing? Rose is painting. Hence painting is our action verb.
My dog is sleeping on the sofa.
The subject here is dog, and what is the dog doing? The dog is sleeping. So sleeping is our action verb.

There are two types of Action Verbs which describe the Verb and the Subject doing the action and the Object on which the action is done, they are -
Transitive Verbs -
These Action Verbs have a definite object on which, or for which the action is being performed. That means that the action has a definite recipient or object.  To identify them you can ask the question what is the/did the subject -verb-?
Rose is painting the kitchen walls.
Here the verb is painting and the subject is Rose.
If we form the question - what is Rose painting?
The answer is- The kitchen walls.
Thus, we see that there was a specific object on which the action of painting was being done.
Hannah gave him a big hug.
Here we see that the action ‘gave’ is being performed by the subject Hannah.  So the question is what did Hannah give? And the answer is - A big hug.
Here, we also have a indirect object as ‘him’.  This indirect object would be the answer to the question-
Who did the subject (Hannah) -verb- (give) the object (hug) to?   
Intransitive Verbs -
These verbs also show an action but here there is no specific object on which the action is being done. To recognize these verbs, we ask the question what is the/did the subject -verb- ?  If there is no answer present, then the verb in the sentence is an Intransitive Verb.
Rose is painting right now.
Here, if we ask the question what is Rose painting?  There is no answer which means that in this sentence painting is an Intransitive Verb.
It is telling us about the action of the subject but there is no specific object for the action. 
Hannah sneezed repeatedly.
Here, the verb is sneezed. If we ask the question what did Hannah sneeze? There is no answer present for it making sneezed a intransitive verb.

Dynamic and Stative Verbs  
This category of verbs deals with the verb words themselves; and whether they indicate an action or a state of the subject. This category is not concerned with the object in particular.
Dynamic Verbs 
These verbs denote an actual action or expression or process done by the subject. They mean an action which can be seen or physically felt or the result of which is seen or physically felt by the object or an indirect object.
She buys new clothes every week.
Here the verb is buys which is an action done by the subject ‘she’, hence it is a dynamic verb.
He is swimming at the beach.
Here again we have the definite action swimming done by the subject ‘he’, making ‘swimming’ a dynamic verb in this sentence.
Stative Verbs
These verbs refer to the state of the subject or the situation of the subject. Stative Verbs tell us about the state of mind of the subject, or the relation between the subject and the object.
She prefers strawberry jam.
Here the Stative Verb is ‘prefers’ which shows the thinking of the subject ‘She’ towards the object, which is ‘jam’.
The cupboard requires a new coat of paint.
Here the subject is ‘cupboard’ and the stative verb is ‘requires’ which is telling about the relation between the subject ‘cupboard’ and the object ‘paint’.

Linking Verbs
These verbs are unlike other verbs as they do not tell anything about a subject themselves, instead Linking Verbs connect the subject to a noun or adjective that helps in describing or providing additional information about the subject.  Those nouns or adjectives are called the subject complements.
Lisa is fussy about food.
Here we see the subject is Lisa and the linking verb is ‘is’ which is connecting Lisa to the subject complement ‘fussy about food’ which is giving additional information about Lisa’s preferences.
They are stubborn children.
Here the linking verb is ‘are’ which is combining the subject They to the subject complement of ‘stubborn’ which is an adjective.
The best to recognize linking words in a sentence is to see whether the verb can be replaced by ‘is, am or are’. If the sentence still sounds logical you know you have a linking verb.
The students felt relieved.  - The students are relieved.
Hence ‘felt’ was a linking verb and not an action verb.  As ‘felt’ here is simply connecting the subject to the adjective.
Every student felt the relief. - Every student is/am/are the relief.
Hence in this sentence ‘felt’ is action verb as it is the action of ‘feeling an emotion.’

Using Verbs in Sentences -
To use verbs correctly in sentences you need to learn more about the construction and use of the various verbs. And how they change form according to tenses and use in a sentence.  For correct application verbs in written text you will need to know about -
Regular and Irregular Verbs - These are the two different ways in which verbs change to form different tenses. Whether to simply add ‘-ed’ at the end of a verb or does it take a different form altogether.
Finite and Non-Finite Verbs - These are verbs which can be either the main verb of a sentence or just one that  is used as an adjective or noun as well.
Modal Verbs - These verbs tell us whether something is probable or about the skills of a noun etc. There are 10 modal verbs in total and each have an important part in sentence formation.

List of Verbs, Verb Examples

Accept	Catch	Expand	Lie	Select
Achieve	Challenge	Explain	Like	Sell
Add	Change	Fear	Listen	Send
Admire	Cheat	Feel	Lose	Sing
Admit	Chew	Fight	Love	Snore
Adopt	Choose	Find	Make	Stand
Advise	Clap	Fly	Marry	Stare
Agree	Clean	Forget	Measure	Start
Allow	Collect	Forgive	Meet	Stink
Announce	Compare	Fry	Move	Study
Appreciate	Complain	Gather	Murder	Sweep
Approve	Confess	Get	Obey	Swim
Argue	Confuse	Give	Offend	Take
Arrive	Construct	Glow	Offer	Talk
Ask	Control	Greet	Open	Teach
Assist	Copy	Grow	Paint	Tear
Attack	Count	Guess	Pay	Tell
Bake	Create	Harass	Pick	Thank
Bathe	Cry	Hate	Play	Travel
Be	Damage	Hear	Pray	Type
Beat	Dance	Help	Print	Understand
Become	Deliver	Hit	Pull	Use
Beg	Destroy	Hope	Punch	Visit
Behave	Disagree	Identify	Punish	Wait
Bet	Drag	Interrupt	Purchase	Walk
Boast	Drive	Introduce	Push	Want
Boil	Drop	Irritate	Quit	Warn
Borrow	Earn	Jump	Race	Wed
Breathe	Eat	Keep	Read	Weep
Bring	Employ	Kick	Relax	Wink
Build	Encourage	Kiss	Remember	Worry
Burn	Enjoy	Laugh	Reply	Write
Bury	Establish	Learn	Retire	Yell
Buy	Estimate	Leave	Rub
Call	Exercise	Lend	See

ENGLISH EXERCISE ON VERBS

CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER FROM THE FOUR OPTIONS:

1.   I have been ________ since the morning. Play Played Plays Playing     2.   Ravi has been ________ in Mumbai since he was five years old Stayed Staying Stays Stay     3.   Raghav ___________ his work. Have completed Completing Has completed Have complete     4.   I have ___________ his name. Forgot Forget Forgotten Forgets     5.   My parents will be ________ for Canada tomorrow. Leave Leaving Leaves Left     6.   I will be _______ in the park tomorrow. Sing Sang Sung Singing     7.   We ________ not coming over. Is Are Am     8.   Is ___ your teacher? Are He Him     9.   That house _______ ours yet. Am not Is not Are not     10.   ____ this your new car? Is Are Am

 

Participles, Gerunds and Infinitives are called verbals. Verbals are words which are formed from a verb but which function as a different part of speech.

PARTICIPLE

A participle is usually formed by adding –ing or –ed to a verb. It functions as an adjective.

Examples:
The singing bird was the main attraction at the event.
The injured man was waiting for the doctor.

GERUND

A gerund is formed by adding –ing to a verb. It functions as a noun.

Examples:
Swimming is very good for the body.
Smoking is prohibited in the hospital.

INFINITIVE

An infinitive is formed by using the word ‘to’ before the verb in its stem word. It functions as a noun, adjective or adverb.

Examples:
He was made to clean his room.
Shalini loves to talk.

BE
The verb ‘be’ can be used as an auxiliary and a full verb, we can distinguish between the two uses as the auxiliary ‘be’ will always have another main verb coming after it in a sentence. ‘Be’ is an irregular verb with many different forms according to the different tenses. Please refer to the Irregular Verbs list to avoid confusion.
Progressive Tense Use of Be:
In progressive tense sentences made with ‘be’, we always use the ‘-ing’ suffixed version of the main verb.

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Be’
Present Progressive	The action which is ongoing	She is baking a cake today.
Past Progressive	An action that was ongoing in the past.	She was baking a cake yesterday.
Present Perfect Progressive	Action that began in the past and is still going on.	She has been baking a cake today.
Past Perfect Progressive	Action that started in past and finished at another time in the past.	She had been baking a cake last night.

Passive Voice Use of Be:
Using passive voice means when we want to put the emphasis on the object, to which the action is being done instead of on the subject or not include the subject at all e.g.  -
The dishes are washed.  - Here the dishes are the object that received the action of washing but no subject is mentioned to show ‘who’ was washing the dishes.

Passive	Use of ‘Be’
Simple Present	The cake is made.
Simple Past	The cake was made.
Present Perfect	The cake has been made.
Past Perfect	The cake had been made.
Future	The cake will be made.

HAVE
The verb ‘have’ can also be used as full verb or a helping verb. The way to differentiate between them is that if ‘have’ is used as an auxiliary verb, then it has to be followed by a main verb as well. The verb ‘have’ is used to make compound tenses in active and passive voices, and also used in the making of negative sentences and questions.  It is an irregular verb that changes form according to tense.
Using ‘Have’ in Compound Tenses:
 When we use ‘have’ in simple tense with an active voice, we use the ‘-ed’ suffixed form of the main verb unless it is an irregular verb. While for progressive tenses we use the ‘-ing’ suffixed form of the main verb.  Have is used for only two compound tenses in the passive voice.

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Have’
Present Perfect	Action that happened at unspecified time before now	She has baked a cake.
Past Perfect	Action that happened before another action in the past	She had baked a cake.
Present Perfect Progressive	Action that began in the past and is still going on.	She has been baking a cake.
Past perfect Progressive	Action that started in past and finished at another time in the past.	She had been baking a cake.
Present Perfect (Passive Voice)	Action that happened at unspecified time before now	The cake has been made.
Past Perfect (Passive Voice)	Action that happened before another action in the past	The cake had been made.

Negative Sentences and Questions:
While making negative sentences and questions with ‘have’ as an auxiliary verb, we need to be careful to put ‘have’ before the other verb otherwise ‘have’ becomes the main verb of the sentence.

She does not have a cake.

- In this sentence ‘have’ is the main verb while ‘does not’ becomes the auxiliary verb.

She has not got a cake.

- In this sentence ‘have’ is the helping verb for the main verb which is ‘got’.

 

Has she got cake?

- Here the main verb is ‘got’ and the helping verb is ‘have’ as it comes before the main verb.

Does she have cake?

 - In this sentence the main verb is ‘have’ as it comes after the helping verb ‘does’.

WILL
The verb ‘will’ is the only auxiliary verb that can never be a main verb. It is always used as an auxiliary to make future tenses and negative sentences.  Also, it remains the same throughout every tense and person.
Future Tense Use of ‘Will’:

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Will’
Future I	An action promised/assumed in the future.	She will not bake a cake.
Future I I	An action that will be finished in the future.	She will have baked a cake.

Negative Sentences:
In negative sentences, the verb ‘will’ does not change its form when used with ‘not’. But it does form the contraction ‘won’t’ that is equally correct to use depending upon the language and flow of the sentence.
She will not have cake. = She won’t have cake.

- As ‘will’ can only be an auxiliary verb, both the sentences are grammatically correct.

DO
The helping verb ‘do’ can also act as a full verb only in positive sentences. When do is used in a negative sentence, it is an auxiliary verb. The helping verb ‘do’ is also used to make questions for most verbs except other auxiliary verbs and the modal verbs.  Do is an irregular verb that changes its form according to the tense.
Negative Sentences:

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Do’
Simple Present	Action taking place now - once or several times or never.	She does not bake cakes.
Simple Past	Action that happened in the past - once/ many times/ never.	She did not bake cakes.

Questions:
When ‘do’ is used to make a sentence, we can only ask the question in the simple tense. For other tenses, we have to use other verbs whether main or auxiliary.

Tense	Meaning	Use of ‘Do’
Simple Present	Action taking place now - once or several times or never.	Does she bake cakes?
Simple Past	Action that happened in the past - once/ many times/ never.	Did she bake a cake?

Places Where ‘Do’ is Not Used:
There are certain instances where the auxiliary verb ‘do’ is not used for negative sentences or questions. The following table tells the different reasons and instances where and why ‘do’ is not used.

Reason	Negative Sentence	Question
The main verb is ‘Be’	There was no cake.	Is there any cake?
There is another Helping Verb	There won’t be any cake.	Will you have some cake?
There is a Modal Verb	She can’t make a cake	Can she make a cake?

 

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state rather than an action. When describing states, they never take the continuous (‘-ing’) form. Here are some examples of stative verbs and instances of their correct and incorrect usage.

STATIVE VERB	CORRECT USAGE	INCORRECT USAGE
Like	I like you.	I am liking you.
Love	I love you.	I am loving you.
Hate	I hate you.	I am hating you
Appear	It appears to be cloudy.	It is appearing to be cloudy.
Believe	I believe in God.	I am  believing in God.
Fit	This shoe fits me.	This shoe is fitting me.
Sound	This song sounds good.	This song is sounding good.
Remember	I remember everything.	I am remembering everything.

 

Modal Verbs

There are 10 modal verbs in the English language:

• Can
• Could
• May
• Might
• Will
• Would
• Must
• Shall
• Should
• Ought to

Uses of Modal Verbs:

1. To indicate that something is probable or possible, or not so. For example:

• It is sunny today; it must be warm outside. = It is sunny today; it is probably warm outside.
• His mobile is not reachable; he may/might/could be travelling by metro. = His mobile is not reachable; it is possible that he is travelling by metro.
• This can’t be our bill. = It is not possible that this is our bill.

2. ‘Can’ and ‘could’ are used to refer to skills and abilities. For example:

• He can cover a hundred metres in under ten seconds.
• My father could see perfectly before the age of fifty.
• I can’t ride a horse.

3. ‘Must’ is used to indicate that something is necessary or of extreme importance, and ‘should’ is used to suggest that something is advisable. For example:

• You must do your homework.
• You mustn’t skip school.
• You should say sorry.
• You shouldn’t smoke.

4. ‘Can’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ are used to ask for, give and withhold permission. For example:

• Can I try my hand at it?
• Could we disperse early today?
• You may not enter the premises.

5. ‘Will’ and ‘would’ are used to refer to habits and inclinations.

• When I was a child, I would often climb trees.
• I will never refuse you anything.
• He would never do such a thing.

These verbs differ from ordinary verbs in 3 respects.

1. When used with the third person singular (he, she), they don’t require the addition of an ‘s’.
2. They can be used to form questions by inverting the structure of the sentence.
3. They can be followed directly by the verb, without the use of ‘to’.

______________________________________________________________________
Source:
http://www.englishleap.com

Basic English Grammar Rules

What Are Basic English Grammar Rules?

There are hundreds of grammar rules but the basic ones refer to sentence structure and parts of speech, which are noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition and conjunction.  Let’s look at the way sentences are put together and the words that form them.

Basic English Grammar Rules

Some of the most basic and important English grammar rules relate directly to sentence structure. Some of these rules specify that:

• A singular subject needs a singular predicate.
• A sentence needs to express a complete thought.

Another term for a sentence is an independent clause.

• Clauses, like any sentence, have a subject and predicate too. If a group of words does not have a subject and predicate, it is a phrase.
• If they can stand alone and make a complete thought, then they are independent and called sentences.
• If they do not express a complete thought, they are called "dependent clauses." An example of a dependent clause, which is not a sentence, is “when i finish my work”. 

So, what are the other basic rules for sentence structure?

Subjects and Predicates

Basic to any language is the sentence, which expresses a complete thought and consists of a subject and a predicate.

• The subject is the star of the sentence; the person, animal, or thing that is the focus of it. 
• The predicate will tell the action that the subject is taking or tell something about the subject.

Basic Parts of Speech

Once you have a general idea of the basic grammar rules for sentence structures, it is also helpful to learn about the parts of speech:

• A noun names a person, animal, place, thing, quality, idea, activity, or feeling.  A noun can be singular, plural, or show possession.
• A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, like: “I”, “you”, or “they.” 

• A verb shows action and can be a main verb or a helping verb, like: “were” or “has.”  Verbs also indicate tense and sometimes change their form to show past, present, or future tense. Linking verbs link the subject to the rest of the sentence and examples are: “appear” and “seem.”  

• An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. It adds meaning by telling how much, which one, what kind, or describing it in other ways.
• An adverb will modify a verb and tell more about it, like how much, when, where, why, or how.
• A preposition shows a relationship between nouns or pronouns. It is often used with a noun to show location, like: “beside”, “in”, or “on”. It can also show time, direction, motion, manner, reason, or possession. 
• Conjunctions connect two words, phrases, or clauses, and common ones are: “and”, “but”, and “or.”

Mention needs to be made about other types of words that are considered by some, but not all, to be parts of speech.

• One of them is the interjection. It shows emotion and examples are: “yea”, “hurray”, “uh-oh”, and “alas.”
• Articles are very useful little words that are also sometimes considered to be parts of speech. The articles are: “a”, “an”, and “the”.  Indefinite articles are “a” and “an” and “the” is a definite article.   

Punctuation

To fully understand basic grammar rules, you also need to look at punctuation rules.

• All sentences must start with a capital, or upper case, letter. 
• Titles of people, books, magazines, movies, specific places, etc. are capitalized. 
• Organizations and compass points are capitalized. 
• Every sentence needs a punctuation mark at the end of it. These would include a period, exclamation mark, or question mark.
• Colons are used to separate a sentence from a list of items, between two sentences when the second one explains the first, and to introduce a long direct quote.
• Semicolons are used to take the place of a conjunction and are placed before introductory words like “therefore” or “however.” They are also used to separate a list of things if there are commas within each unit.   
• There are a lot of rules for commas. The basic ones are commas separate things in a series and go wherever there is a pause in the sentence. They surround the name of a person being addressed, separate the day of the month from the year in a date, and separate a town from the state. 
• Parentheses enclose things that clarify and enclose numbers and letters that are part of a list. Apostrophes are used in contractions to take the place of one or more letters and to show possession. An apostrophe and “s” is added if the noun is singular and an apostrophe alone is added if the noun is plural.

So, now you know some basic grammar rules and you'll be well on your way to becoming a grammar expert.

Source:
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com

Linking Verbs

Since linking verbs, also referred to as copulas or copular verbs, don't function in the same way as typical verbs in showing action, it can sometimes be tricky to recognize them. These types of verbs:

• Show a relationship between the subject and the sentence complement, the part of the sentence following the verb
• Connect or link the subject with more information – words that further identify or describe the subject

• Identify a relationship or existing condition

These types of verbs are sometimes described as performing the function of an equal sign because they provide the connection between a subject and a certain state.

Words That Are True Linking Verbs

Some words are always linking verbs. These are considered "true." They do not describe the action, but always connect the subject to additional information. The most common true linking verbs are forms of "to be," "to become" and "to seem."

Forms of "to be"

• Am
• Is
• Is being
• Are
• Are being
• Was
• Was being
• Were
• Has
• Has been
• Have been
• Will have been
• Had been
• Are being
• Might have been

Forms of "to become"

• Become
• Becomes
• Became
• Has become
• Have become
• Had become
• Will become
• Will have become

Forms of "to seem"

• Seemed
• Seeming
• Seems
• Has seemed
• Have seemed
• Had seemed
• Will seem

Any time you see these words in a sentence, you know they are performing a linking or connective function in showing a relationship or describing a state.
For example:

• "I am glad it is Friday." Here the linking verb "am" connects the subject (I) to the state of being glad.
• "Laura is excited about her new bike." Here "is" describes Laura's emotional state of excitement.
• "My birds are hungry." The word "are" identifies that the birds currently exist in a physical state of hunger.

Determining Other Linking Verbs

In addition to true linking verbs, there are also many verbs that can exist either as action verbs or linking verbs. These are also called resultative verbs. Verbs related to the five senses often function in this way.
Common verbs that can exist as either action verbs or linking verbs include:

• Grow
• Look
• Prove
• Remain
• Smell
• Sound
• Taste
• Turn
• Stay
• Get
• Appear
• Feel

Testing for Linking Verbs

Since these verbs can function as either action verbs or copular verbs, how do you make the distinction? A common test is to replace the verb you suspect in the sentence with an appropriate form of a true linking verb.

• If it makes sense, it is linking.
• If it isn't logical with the substitution, it's an action verb.

For example, take these two sentences:

• "The flowers looked wilted."
• "She looked for wildflowers"

Substitute the copular verb "are" for the word "looked" in both sentences. In the first sentence, it makes sense: "The flowers are wilted." In the second sentence, however, it doesn't make sense: "She are for wildflowers."

• "The spaghetti sauce tasted delicious."
• "She tasted the delicious spaghetti sauce."

The sentence: "The spaghetti sauce is delicious" works, but "She is the delicious spaghetti sauce" is illogical. The verb in the first sentence is copular, and in the second sentence it is not.

Additional Online Resources

Teachers in upper elementary and middle school may need to include lessons on linking verbs in their curriculum. ESL students may also be learning about distinguishing this verb type.
Along with repetition, identification worksheets and quizzes work well for many teachers. There are many online grammar exercises and resources available for teaching, learning, and understanding copular verbs, including:

• Grammar Bytes gives quick tips and examples on identifying verb forms. Interactive exercises are also available.
• Quia offers an interactive online quiz to identify linking and action verbs.
• Lesson Tutor has simple hints for verbs and assignment to test your knowledge.
• Using English, a site designed for ESL students, has a short section on linking verbs. You can also use their forum to ask questions.
• The Verb Song, submitted by Sara Jordan on Songs for Teaching, is a fun way for younger students to learn this concept.

Source:
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com

Learning English correctly

Common Errors in the Use of Verb

Incorrect: He has stole my pen.
Correct: He has stolen my pen.
Incorrect: John has often beat me at tennis.
Correct: John has often beaten me at tennis.
Reason
After the auxiliaries has, have and had, we use the past participle form of the verb.
Incorrect: They didn’t invited us.
Correct: They didn’t invite us.
Incorrect: He did came.
Correct: He did come.
Reason
After did, we use the present tense form (bare infinitive) of the verb.
Incorrect: Neither he came nor he wrote.
Correct: Neither did he come nor did he write.
Incorrect: Seldom I go to the hills.
Correct: Seldom do I go to the hills.
The adverbs neither and seldom have negative meanings. When sentences begin with a negative word we use the inverted word order with do/did.
Incorrect: Never I have seen such a mess.
Correct: Never have I seen such a mess.
Reason
When sentences begin with a negative word, we use the inverted word order. When there is an auxiliary verb in the sentence, we put that auxiliary verb before the noun (subject). When there is no auxiliary verb, we put do/did before the subject.
Incorrect: He said that he saw him last year.
Correct: He said that he had seen him last year.
Reason
Here the error lies in the failure to use the past perfect tense when the time of one past tense verb is more past than that of another.
Incorrect: If I shall do this, I shall be wrong.
Correct: If I do this, I shall be wrong.
Incorrect: If I did this, I shall be wrong.
Correct: If I do this, I shall be wrong.
Reason
When the main clause is in the future tense, the subordinate clause should be in the present tense.
Incorrect: He had to leave his rights.
Correct: He had to abandon (or relinquish) his rights.
Reason
We ‘leave a place’ or ‘leave something at some place’ or ‘leave someone to do something’. We do not ‘leave our rights’ or something like that.
Incorrect: I take my food.
Correct: I have my food.
Reason
‘Take my food’ is not wrong, but English people do not normally use this expression.
Incorrect: I take your leave.
Correct: I must leave now. OR I must say goodbye.
Reason
I take your leave is not wrong, but is extremely formal.
Incorrect: They cut Charles I’s head.
Correct: They cut off Charles I’s head.
Reason
When the cutting divides what is cut into pieces, use cut off, cut up or cut into.

 

Source:
http://www.englishpractice.com

Cold Drinks

কোমল পানীয় আগ্রাসী ও সহিংস করে
কোমল পানীয় সবার কাছে ভীষণ জনপ্রিয় তবে অতিরিক্ত পানে বিপদ আছে। মাত্রাতিরিক্ত পানের ফলে যে কেউ আগ্রাসী বা সহিংস হয়ে উঠতে পারে। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের গবেষকরা জানিয়েছেন, সপ্তাহে পাঁচ ক্যান কোমল পানীয় পান করলে সহিংস হয়ে ওঠার পাশাপাশি সঙ্গে অস্ত্র নিয়ে ঘোরার মতো কাজে জড়িয়ে পড়তে পারে তরুণরা।
যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ইউনিভার্সিটি অব ভারমন্টের গবেষক ড. সারা সোলনিক বলেন, সপ্তাহে মাত্র দুটি জমিয়ে রাখা ক্যানের পানীয় পান করলেই তরুণরা বন্ধুদের প্রতি আগ্রাসী মানসিকতা দেখায়। এমনকি পাঁচ ক্যানের বেশি খেলে অ্যালকোহল বা ধূমপানের প্রতি আসক্তি বেড়ে যায়। ‘ইনজুরি প্রিভেনশন’ সাময়িকীতে প্রকাশিত নিবন্ধে গবেষক সোলনিক আরও জানিয়েছেন, যত বেশি কোমল পানীয় পান করা হয়, মনোভাব ততই আগ্রাসী হয়ে উঠতে পারে। দেখা গেছে, যারা যত বেশি কোমল পানীয়তে আসক্ত, তারা তত বেশি আগ্রাসী এবং সঙ্গে অস্ত্র নিয়ে ঘোরার কাজটিও তারাই বেশি করে।
গবেষকরা বলছেন, কোমল পানীয়ের সঙ্গে আগ্রাসী আর সহিংস মনোভাব বেড়ে যাওয়ার ঘটনাটি কেন হয়, এ বিষয়ে কোনো তথ্য এখনও তারা জানতে পারেননি। কোমল পানীয়তে চিনি থাকলেও চিনিই এর একমাত্র কারণ নাও হতে পারে বলে গবেষকদের মত।

সূত্র: টেলিগ্রাফ।