What Are The Be Verbs

• What Does The Verb Be Mean
• To Be Verbs Chart
• What Are The Be Verbs Meaning

Verbs have traditionally been defined as words that show action or state of being.

Verbs can also sometimes be recognized by their position in a sentence.

In the following two sentence frames, only a verb can be put into the empty slot.

To be can be used as an auxiliary 'helper' verb to help another verb (example: am helps reading in I am reading). To be itself needs a helper verb to express any tense other than past and present (examples: future tense needs will in I will be sincere; past perfect tense needs had in I had been sincere).

NOUN __________ THERE ________ NOUN

• The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the verb be [am, were, has been, are being, might have been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are always linking verbs. Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities: appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, and turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they are action verbs.
• A form of the verb “To be” is combined with a past participle to form the passive. Passive verb constructions are useful when the subject of an action is not as important as what the subject did (the action of the sentence) or when the subject is unknown.

(verb) (verb)

Often, prefixes and suffixes (affixes) will signify that a word is a verb.For example, the suffixes-ify, -ize, -ate, or -en usually signify that a word is a verb, as in typify, characterize, irrigate, and sweeten. Prefixes such as be-, de-, or en- may signify that a word is a verb, as in bestow,dethrone, and encourage.

These affixes, often inconsistent from verb to verb, are called derivational affixes. Added to a word, they either change the word's part of speech

Example:

or change the word's meaning

Example:

The base form of a verb is derived from the verb’s infinitive:to+verb

Four suffixes consistently added to a verb’s base create all forms of a verb used in all tenses:

1. -s creates 3rd person singular / present tense (He talks.)

2. -ing creates the present participle / used with be(He is talking.)

3. -edcreates the simple past (He talked.)

4. -en creates the past participle / used with have (He has talked.)

Unlike the derivational affixes, these inflectional suffixes are consistently used with all verbs, even though their form may look different from verb to verb.

Because many verbs in English are irregular; as result, their –ed and/or –en endings may not follow any obvious pattern.

The majority of verbs are regular and consistently use -ed and -en to form their simple past tense and past participles. (e.g. talked, has talked)

Many verbs are irregular, however, and follow no consistent pattern in creating their -ed and/or -enforms.A list of the major irregular verbs is shown below.

A verb phrase is defined as the main verb together with all its auxiliaries (helping verbs).

Auxiliary verbs always precede the main verb.

There are two types of auxiliary verbs:

1. Inflected auxiliary verbs:

2. Modal auxiliaries (considered more fully under (auxiliary verbs)

Examples of verb phrases:

Verbs may be divided into three types:

C.**Linking verbs - link a subject with its complement

(A subjective complement 'completes' /'equals' the subject.)

Linking verbs:appear, taste, smell, feel, look, sound, grow, seem, remain, become

NOTE:Most linking verbs can also be used as action verbs.

Action verbs may be either transitive or intransitive.

A. A transitive verb is one that is followed by a direct object.

Example:

B. An intransitive verb is one that is NOT followed by a direct object.

What Does The Verb Be Mean

Example:

Caution: An intransitive verb may be followed by adjectives, adverbs, and/or prepositional phrases. As long as the verb is not followed by a noun or pronoun functioning as the direct object, the verb is intransitive.

Example:

NOTE: Some action verbs may be either transitive or intransitive.

Example: (left)

To Be Verbs Chart

Another example (read):

Verbs have three moods:indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.

A. The indicative mood states a fact, asks a question, or exclaims.

B. The imperative mood gives a command.The subject is always 'you' understood.

C. The subjunctive mood occurs in two instances:

What Are The Be Verbs Meaning