Verbs

Verb
a central element of every sentence
nucleus of every sentence
DNA of a sentence which controls the structure and
purpose of every cell and carries the genetic
information
part of a speech of which we make an assertion or
ask a question
denotes actions, events, processes and states
all the features of verbs cannot be put in a
sentence or two

Two basic division of verbs

1. finite, non-finite and auxiliary verbs

2. transitive, intransitive and copulative
verbs

1st division
a verb that stands on its own
+ carries tense => finite verb
a verb that cannot stand alone
+ does not carry tense => non-finite
a verb that must be accompanied by
another verb (finite verb) =>auxiliary verb

Features of a finite verb

has full verbal meaning
may stand alone, takes complements and
modifiers
in agreement with the subject

What are the finite forms?

base,
third person singular, and past tense
can be contrasted for tense (present and past)
marked for person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) and
marked for number (singular and plural)
Examples:
I drive a car. (1st person, Sg, present tense)
He drives a car. (3rd person, Sg, present tense)
I/he drove a car. (1st and 3rd person, Sg, past tense)

How to recognize finite forms?

1. they take an -s at the end of the word (indicate present) third-person
singular:
Examples: cough, he coughs; celebrate, she celebrates.
The exceptions are auxiliary verbs like can and must.
2. take an -ed or a -d at the end of the word to indicate time in the past:
Examples: cough, coughed; celebrate, celebrated.
3. often include auxiliary verbs as : can, must, have
Examples: can be suffering, must eat, will have gone.
4. usually follow their subjects
Examples: He coughs.
The documents compromised him on the last trial.

Non-finite verbs:

do not carry tense

do not link to a subject in a clear way
do not establish the tense of the verbs
they can be part of finite verb phrase
(proceded by auxiliary)
Example: Dianne was looking for you.
She has stabbed him this morning.

What are the non-finite verb forms:

Infinitive
Examples:

To type is a real skill.

They want you to speak.
Present participle
Examples: His typing speed was less than ideal.
The speaking engagement was today.
Past participle
Examples: Typed letters dont always look good.
Most sports shows have a spoken commentary.
Gerund
Examples: Typing is something I dont do as well as I should.
I find speaking stressful.

Infinitive
easy to locate because of the to+verb form.
function in a sentence can sometimes be confusing; may
function
as a subject
To wait seemed foolish when decisive action was
required.
as a direct object
Everyone wanted to go.
as a subject complement
His ambition is to fly.
as an adverb
We must study to learn.

Present participle can be used

1) as an adjective
This is an interesting book.
A charming house on the corner.
There is nothing very surprising in this.
I love the noise of falling rain.
2) can be combined with adverbs in compound structure
quick-growing trees
slow-mowing produce
3) with an object can be used as an adjective
She is a rabbit-hunting woman.
Is that oven self-cleaning?

Past participle
1)can be used as an adjective (derived from
passive)
The window is still broken.
The house looked abandoned.
She says shes got a broken heart.
2)after nouns
I got the only ticket left.
Most of the people invited to the reception were
old friends.
Most of those questioned refused to answer.

Gerund
is a verbal form that ends in ing and functions as a
noun.
occupies noun positions in a sentence.
Gerund as subject:
Travelling might satisfy my desire for new experiences.
Gerund as direct object:
They do not appreciate my singing.
Gerund as subject complement
My cats favorite activity is sleeping.
Gerund as object of preposition:
The police arrested him for speeding.

2nd division of verbs

transitive,
intransitive and
copulative

Transitive verb (Vtr)

an action that passes over from the
subject to someone or something else
occur with an object
object may be:
a noun She called Ann.
a pronoun - She detests you.
a numeral - Someone called 911.

Monotransitive verbs
Followed by one - a direct object.
Examples:
Yesterday, I bought a cat.
The cat bit me!
He broke the toothpick.
The chef ate his own watermelon soup.

Ditransitive verbs:
Ditransitive verbs have two objects: a direct
object and an indirect object.
I
told him
the answer.
I
gave her a mischievous wink.
She told Rachel the truth.

(indirect object) (direct object)

Common ditransitive verbs:

allow, ask, bring, charge, envy, find, fine,

forgive, give, grant, hand, leave, lend,
make, offer, order, owe, pay, promise,
read, refuse, reserve, save, send, serve,
show, spare, teach, tell, throw, wish etc.

Complex-transitive verbs:

followed by direct object and object complement: An object

complement renames or defines a quality of the direct object;
object complements can be adjective phrases.
incomplete and require further specification to complete their
meaning.
Examples:
They consider the Rolling Stones old fashioned.
They declared
the festival
a great success.
All that made
you
a slightly different person.
I had
him
mend the fence for me.
I must keep
her dinner
warm.

(indirect object) (object complement)

Common complex-transitive verbs

appoint, baptize, call, consider, christen, crown,
declare, deem, drive, elect, entitle, feel, find,
get, have, hear, help, hold, keep, leave, let, like,
make, name, notice, overhear, prefer,
proclaim, pronounce, rate, see, send,
think, turn, vote, want, watch

Intransitive verbs (Vintr)

complete in themselves
do not require any further element to make their
meaning complete
denote a state or simple action without any
reference to an object
they may take an object - a cognate object
Examples:

He died a sad death.

The girl laughed a merry laugh.
She dreamed a happy dream.
He sighed a sigh.

Some verbs, such as

arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, and die
are always intransitive cannot be
followed by a direct object.
Other action verbs can be
transitive or intransitive
depending on what follows in the sentence

Pseudo-intransitive verbs
verbs that are used in clauses where the
subject is in the reality the recipient of the
action or it is not mentioned
Examples:
This shirt hasnt washed very well.
Nick Hornsbys books sell by the million.
The book reads very well indeed.

Most common pseudo-intransitive verbs

clean, close, cook, drink, drive,

fold, iron, keep, open,
pack, photograph, print, read,
sell, store, wash

Reciprocal verbs
involve two subjects equally.
The subjects can be referred to as a plural noun,
or as two separate nouns, and can be in any
order without any change of meaning, as the
action represented by the verb is done by both
parties equally to, or with, each other.
Examples:

Brad first met Angelina in 2004.

Angelina first met Brad in 2004.
Brad and Angelina first met in 2004.
Lily married Tom after a brief courtship.
Tom married Lily after a brief courtship.
Lily and Tom married after a brief courtship.

Reflexive verbs
a small class
used transitively (with a reflexive pronoun
as object) or intransitively
Examples: brace, dress, undress, wash
Dolly had dressed and done her hair with care.

Copulative verbs

describe the state of people and things

do not express the idea clearly
have no concrete meaning
link the subject to the obligatory complement
function as a predicative within a predicate of a clause
Examples:

Night became day.

She looks absolutely stunning.
This fruit tasted faintly of garlic.
The truth turned out to be stranger than we expected.

Most common copulative verbs:

appear, become, come, fall, fell,

get, go, grow, happen, keep,
leave off, lie, look, loom,
prove, rank, remain, rest run,
seem, sit smell, sound, stand,
stay, taste, turn, turn out, .

Verbs
defined by the words that immediately follows
them
determined by the context in which they are
used
the context determines them as transitive,
intransitive or copulative.
sometimes the meaning remaing the same
sometimes there is a change of relationship
between the verb and subject

A) No change
verbs are used with or without an object
(transitive/intransitive)
no change in meaning
verbs: approach, enter, play, drink, help,
leave, write, eat, pass, ....
Examples:
People make extra money by driving taxis. (Vtr)
You drive along here about two miles. (Vintr)

B) Change of subject-verb relationship

Used with or without an object, but the subjectverb relationship is different in each case.
- when used with an object the subject is the
agent (doer)
- when used withoun an object the action
happens to the subject
We closed the door and they knocked later.
The door closed.

Verbs: begin, drop, turn, change, increase,

walk, close, open, work, decrease, slam