Grade 3, English Olympiad (CBSE) - Verb 

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Grade 3  |   English  |   Verb, Verbs and Adverbs, Olympiad, CBSE, ICSE, Maths Olympiad, Science Olympiad, English Olympiad

Verb

Dictionary Meaning:

A verb says what a person or thing does and can describe:

  • An action, eg. Run, hit.
  • An event, eg. Rain, happen.
  • A state, eg. Be, have, seem, appear.
  • A change, eg. Become, grow.”

 

In simple words:

The word verb has been derived from a Latin word ‘Verbum’ which means a word (part of speech) that in syntax conveys an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), a state of being (be, exist, stand) or a change (become a doctor, grow up old). Verbs always express an activity.

Note: Syntax means the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language, say in English.

Verbs occur in different forms usually in one or other of their tenses. Main Tenses are:

The Simple Present tense

The Continuous Present Tense

The Simple Past Tense

The Continuous Past Tense

The Perfect Tense

The Future Tense (*This topic will be covered under tenses)

 

Types of Verbs:

There are mainly two types of verbs as follows;

  1. Finite Verb: Each of the tenses are in the form a finite verb, which means that it is in a particular tense and that it changes according to the number and person of the subject, as in: I am We are You walk He walks.
  2. Non- finite Verb: means, that the verbs do not change their form according to the tense and subject of the person. There are three types of non-finite verbs as follows:
  • Infinitives: An infinitive is the basic form of verb that usually appears with the word ‘to’ (generally preceded by to). It expresses an action. Example: to wander, to look, to see, to ask. Infinitives are used after certain verbs. It can be used after an object too. Example: 1) He ran to help the little girl. 2) She wants me to train

It can follow certain adjectives. Example: I am so lucky to appear for the international debate competition representing my school and my nation.

  • Gerunds: Gerund is a verb form which functions like a noun in a sentence, ending in/ with ing eg. Asking. Gerunds can appear themselves, or they can be part of a larger gerund phrase. Example: Singing is one of my hobbies. A gerund is used as a thing or an idea. They can function as subjects, direct objects, objects of the preposition and predicate nouns.

 

Gerund in a subject position: it takes a singular verb.

Example: Reading is my favourite past time.

 

Gerund in an object position: Gerund may appear in object position as direct objects or as an object of a preposition.

Direct objects:

Example: I thoroughly enjoy jogging. (jogging is a gerund as a direct object of the verb enjoy)

Example: I thoroughly enjoy Jogging two miles daily. (is a gerund phrase)

 

Object of a preposition:

Example: Danis is in charge of organising the class debate (the gerund organising is the object to the preposition ‘of’).

Example: I am interested in learning new languages (the gerund learning is the object to the preposition ‘ in’).

 

  • Participles: a word formed from a verb (eg. going- gone, being- been) and used as an adjective or noun (as in burnt toast) or used to make compound verb forms (is going, has been). The participles are formed by adding -ing, -ed or -en to the base form of the verb. Participles are also used to show the time of action of the base verb in a sentence.

There are two kinds of participles:

  1. Present Participle: it consists of –ing added to the base form of a verb. We use the present participle with the form of to be verbs in the continuous tense. To be verbs in singular form are: am/ is/ are and in plural form are: was/ were.

Example: I am working on it.

Example: We were playing in the ground.

  1. Past Participle: which consists of –ed or –en added to the base form of a verb. We use the past participles with different forms of to have verb. To have verb may be has/ have/ had according to the perfect tense.

Example: I had done my homework.

Example: We have completed our project.

Example: It has broken a toy.

Three main uses of participles:

  • With to be or to have to form different tenses. Example: She is relaxing / She has relaxed.
  • To form verbal adjectives. Example: A relaxing drink / a leaving present.
  • To form verbal nouns. Example: I don’t want your belongings.

 

  • Auxiliary Verb: an auxiliary verb is used in front of another verb to alter its meaning. Mainly it expresses:à
  • When something happens, by forming a tense of the main verb, eg: I shall go / He was going.
  • Permission, necessity or possibility to do something, eg: They may go / You must go / I can’t go / I might go. Example: She would go if she could.

The principal auxiliary verbs are:

Be

Do

may

ought

will

is/ are

can

have

might

shall

would

needs

could

Let

must

should

was

has/ have

 

  1. Modal Verb: The above explained/ written auxiliaries except be, do and have are sometimes called Modal verbs.

The main Modal Verbs are:

can

Let

Might

must

should

was

is

could

may

ought

shall

will

would

Are

 

  1. Passive Verb: A verb in the passive takes the object or person affected by the action as its subject. Passive verbs are formed by placing form of the auxiliary verb be in front of the past participle, as under:

Examples:

  • Our housing loan proposal will probably be accepted.
  • Many people were invited for the Iftiar Party.
  • The dog was hit by a car.

The Passive verb is often used when the writer does not want to say who exactly is responsible for the action in question. Example: I am afraid your ideas have been rejected.

 

  1. Phrasal Verb: As we have explained earlier, a phrasal verb is a verb made up of an ordinary verb plus an adverb or preposition, or both. Example: give in, set off, take over, look down on and keep it up.

Note: The meaning of a phrasal verb can be quite different from the meanings of the words of which it is composed. Example: I give up on you. Give means to grant but give up means admit defeat or stop trying. Hence both the meanings are different from each other.

 

  • Transitive Verb: A transitive verb is one that has a direct object.

Example: Josheen was reading a novel. Where a novel is a direct object.

The following verbs are always transitive:

Bury, Foresee, Rediscover.

 

  • Intransitive Verb: An intransitive verb is one that does not have a direct object. Example: Josheen was reading. What was she reading is of no concern here.

The following words are always intransitive:

Dwell, Grovel, Meddle.

(Meddle means to interfere in something that is not one’s concern).

Many words like "read" are used both transitively and intransitively.





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