This first post on grammar deals with verbs, an aspect of English grammar that challenges many new students. Recently, in tutoring sessions, we discussed “progressive” tenses, but before we even got this, we discussed the types of verbs:
- Action verbs
- Linking Verbs
- Auxilliary or “helping” verbs
Before verbs can be fully understood, writers must know that verbs must “agree” with the subject and also show “tense” or time. A verb is a necessary component of a “clause.”
1. An action verb is what many writers think of first when they think “verb”: to run, to jump, to laugh, to write, to conjugate, to abdicate, to obfuscate. The list continues.
Example: Action verbs capture and demand the reader’s attention.
2. A linking verb “links” a subject of the sentence with description. Common linking verbs are “to be” verbs, to seem, to appear. This list is a sample of the most common.
Example: Linking verbs are useful. Though they seem humble, they are necessary in the English language.
2. Auxiliary or helping verbs are parts of verbal phrases (they work with other verbs) to form a clustered verb. Common helping verbs are could, would, shall, should, and have.
Example: We could not express our ideas well without helping verbs.
