This is the study guide for the unit on Verbs:
Ø What Are Verbs?
Ø A word that tells what people or things do is a verb. Verbs are words that show action.
Ø Verbs in the Present.
Ø A verb that tells about an action that is happening now is in the present time.
Ø Add –s to the verb when the noun in the subject is singular. Jill laughs.
Ø Do not add –s to the verb when the noun in the subject is plural. The boys shovel.
Ø More Verbs in the Present
Ø Add -es to verbs that end with s, sh, ch, or x when they are used with a singular noun in the subject.
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
S | tosses | toss |
Sh | Fishes | fish |
Ch | Matches | match |
X | Mixes | mix |
Ø Some verbs end with a consonant and y. Change the y to I and add –es when you use this kind of verb with a singular noun. carry + es = carries
Ø Verbs in the Past
o A verb that telss about an action that has already happened is in the past time.
o Add –ed to most verbs to show past time.
Present | Kick | Float | Push | mix |
Past | Kicked | Floated | Pushed | mixed |
Ø More Verbs in the Past
o The spelling of some verbs change in other ways when you add –ed.
o Some verbs end with e. Drop the e and add –ed. race + ed = raced
o Some verbs end with a consonant and y. Change the y to I when you add -ed. cry + ed = cried
o Some verbs end with one vowel followed by one consonant. Double the consonant and add –ed. stop + p + ed = stopped
Ø Verbs in the Future
o A verb that tells about an action that is going to happen is in the future time.
o Use the helping verb will to show future time.
Present | Past | Future |
Cover | Covered | Will cover |
Fills | Filled | Will fill |
Ø The Special Verb be
o The verb am, is, was, and were are forms of the verb be.
o They do not show actions.
o They tell what someone or something is or was.
o Am, is, and are show present time.
o Was and were show past time.
Subject | Present | Past |
I | Am | was |
You | Are | were |
He, she, it | Is | was |
Singular noun (John) | Is | was |
We, they | Are | were |
Plural noun (dogs) | Are | were |
Ø Helping Verbs
o Has and have are called helping verbs
o Use the helping verb has with a singular noun in the subject and with he, she, or it. She has enjoyed it.
o Use the helping verb have with a plural noun in the subject and with I, you, we, or they. I have watched.
Ø Irregular Verbs
o Some verbs have a special spelling to show past time.
o They have another spelling when used with has, have, or had.
Present | Past | With has, have or had |
Go | Went | Has, have, or had gone |
See | Saw | Has, have, or had seen |
Do | Did | Has, have or had done |
Run | Ran | Has, have, or had run |
Come | Came | Has, have, or had come |
Ø More Irregular Verbs
o The verbs give, write, eat, take and grow also have a special spelling to show past time.
o They have another spelling when used with has, have or had.
Present | Past | With has, have, or had |
Give | Gave | Has, have, or had given |
Write | Wrote | Has, have, or had written |
Eat | Ate | Has, have, or had eaten |
Take | Took | Has, have, or had taken |
Grow | Grew | Has, have, or had grown |
Ø Contractions with not
o Sometimes two words are put together and shortened to make a contraction.
o An apostrophe (‘) takes the place of any letter or letters that are left out.
o The contraction won’t is special. It is formed from the words will not.
Common Contractions with not |
Is not | Isn’t | | Do not | Don’t |
Are not | Aren’t | | Does not | Doesn’t |
Was not | Wasn’t | | Did not | Didn’t |
Were not | Weren’t | | Could not | Couldn’t |
Has not | Hasn’t | | Should not | Shouldn’t |
Have not | Haven’t | | Would not | Wouldn’t |
Had not | Hadn’t | | Cannot | Can’t |