Verbs Part B

 Conjugating Verbs

We change verbs to indicate who is talking and to whom (the person) and to show when
the verb happened (the tense). This change is conjugation, which we do by adding
inflections. What form the conjugation takes depends upon the person and tense of the verb.

There are three main regular ways to conjugate verbs: now, in the past, and as continuous action.

 NOW

In this conjugation, primarily used for the present and future tenses, the ending is the same for the first person, second-person, and third-person plural, but in the third-person singular, an -s is added. 

The infinitive form in English is this conjugation with to before it: to eat, to swim, to live, and so on. 

This conjugation can also indicate the historical simple tense, which you may encounter in academic writing. 

In the present tense, a thing is happening while the words are being said, whereas in the historical simple tense, important past events are described as if they are happening right now, although it is usually clear from the context that there’s no way they could be.

Present

I eat vegetables. 

You grow vegetables. 

She prefers vegetables.

Historical Simple

Columbus sails to the New World and hunts for gold.

Einstein takes a job as an assistant professor in Zurich.

IN THE PAST

In this conjugation, we indicate that something happened in the past by adding -ed to most verbs.This creates the past participle, which is used in the past and perfect tenses.

 He wondered who would win. 
The ball stayed in bounds. 
She helped the coach.

Words formed with this inflection often behave like adjectives and can modify other words.

The finished sculpture is beautiful.

A newly cleaned house looks nice.

CONTINUOUS ACTION

In this conjugation, we indicate that something is happening, or has happened, over a period of time. It is used in the present progressive tense and similar forms and is called the present participle.

 We are selling the house. 

 He is trying to find a seat. 

She is standing in the hall.

Words formed with this inflection sometime behave like an adjective.

 Falling water makes a pleasant sound.

You have to feed growing children at least three times a day.

A bleating calf finds its mother.

 This conjugation also creates the gerund (Noun Phrases), a form of the verb that
 behaves like a noun.

 Knowing her has been a pleasure.

Your smoking is bothering the other customers.

Their laughing has nothing to do with you.

Note that if the gerund is preceded by a pronoun, the possessive form is the best choice.

 Bad: Him quitting left us without a center fielder.

Good: His quitting left us without a center fielder.

Action Verbs

Action verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence is doing. In good writing, action verbs can make the reader feel emotions, see scenes more vividly, and accurately know what is happening. Action verbs can be transitive or intransitive. 

Transitive verbs have a direct object, which is the thing or person being acted upon by the verb.

Paint the car.—Car is the direct object.

She folded the newspaper.—Newspaper is the direct object.

Did you get a good grade?—Good grade is the direct object.

We greeted him at the airport.—Him is the direct object.

Intransitive verbs do not act upon anything.

They may be followed by an adjective, adverb, preposition, or another part of speech.

She smiled, then left the party.

Great crowds of people milled about the town square.

I awaken every day in the same way.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs add details about the subject of a sentence. In their simplest form, they connect the subject and the sentence complement—that is, the adjective, noun, or pronoun that follows the linking verb.

They ink them together instead of showing action. The linguistic term for this connection is copula.Often, what is on each side of a linking verb is equivalent; the complement redefines or restates the subject.

My car is a Renault.

Our favourite food is kale.

Some verbs in the following list often act as linking verbs but can also be action verbs. To figure out if they are acting as linking verbs, try replacing them with forms of to be. If the changed sentence makes sense, you have replaced a linking verb. Here are some common linking verbs: 

act

appear

be

become

feel grow

look

prove

remain

seem

smell

sound

stay

taste

turn

She appears ready for the election. She is ready for the election.

The food seemed spoiled. The food was spoiled.

He acted surprised about the gift. He was surprised about the gift.

You look exhausted. You are exhausted.

 Auxiliary Verbs

Also called helping verbs, auxiliary verbs extend the main verb by helping to show time, tense, and possibility. 

The auxiliary verbs are be, have, and do. They are used in the continuous (progressive) and perfect tenses.

In the progressive tenses, the auxiliary verb be and its conjugated forms are part of the construction that shows that the action is or was happening continuously.

We are getting ready to go.

We were swimming for an hour when it started to rain.

I am feeling kind of ill.

She was flipping the pancakes high into the air.

In the perfect tenses, the auxiliary verb have and its conjugated forms are used to indicate a
continuous action that is finished and to indicate actions that are continuously happening but have not finished yet.

She had rebuilt the engine before race day.

I had been thinking about doing that before you suggested it.

Have you been dating him long?

Do is an especially common auxiliary verb that is used to ask questions, to express negation, to provide emphasis, and more.Do is used for questions in the simple present and simple past.

Do you have homework to finish?

Did you finish your homework?

Doesn’t she have a cute baby?

Didn’t you see her cute baby?

Do is used for negations in the simple present and simple past tenses.

We don’t have football practice on Sundays.

She didn’t finish her broccoli.

Do is used in the negative imperative, which is when you tell someone not to do something.

Don’t get mud on the carpet.

Don’t leave the door open.

Do is used for emphasis, usually in a situation where there has been some doubt about the truth. If you were reading these sentences aloud, you would put a lot of emphasis on the form of do.

She does run the company! She’s the CEO.

We did go to rehearsal, but the building was locked