1. Verb. The verb is a word that expresses some action, feeling or existence. It tells us something about the subject ; as
Lions roar. (action)
Boys fly kites. (action)
I feel sorry. (feeling)
Ashoka was a great king. (existence)
2. All the verbs (shown above in black) ‘roar’, ‘fly’, ‘feel’, and ‘was’, are limited by the number and person of their subjects. Therefore, ‘roar’, ‘fly’, ‘feel’, and ‘was’, are Main Verbs—main verbs are also called Finite Verbs.
3. Verbs are divided in two parts:
A. Main Verbs (also called lexical verbs)
B. Helping Verbs (Auxiliaries—Primary and Morals)
All verbs in English except the 24 helping verbs are main verbs. Look at the chart below :
I. Main Verbs
Main Verbs are also of two kinds :
(a) Finite verbs
(b) Non-finite verbs
Finite verbs change their forms according to the person and number of the subject and the tense also, e.g.
He reads | I read |
They read | She goes |
I go |
|
They go |
|
Non-finite verbs do not change their forms according to the number, person or tense of the subject. The infinitives, gerunds and participles are called non-Jinites.
4. Read the following sentences :
Lata sang a song.
I wrote a letter.
Children like sweets.
In each of these sentences the verb takes an object. ‘Song’, ‘letter’ and ‘sweets’ are objects. A verb that takes an object is called a Transitive Verb. The object usually answers the question what ? Or whom ?
Now look at the following sentences :
Birds fly.
The sun shines.
These verbs do not require objects. They express the actions by themselves and make the sense complete. They are called Intransitive Verbs. Some Verbs can be used both Transitively and Intransitively.
Verbs Used Intransitively | Verbs Used Transitively |
1. Birds fly | Boys jly kites |
2. The horse runs fast | I ran a race |
Exercise
Pick out the Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in the following sentences. Name the Object of each Transitive Verb :
1. I killed a snake.
2. The ship sank.
3. She jumped into the well.
4. She spoke slowly.
5. The sun rose in the East.
6. 1 broke the plates.
7. The play lasted an hour.
8. This pen costs five rupees
II. The Conjugation Of Verbs
To Conjugate a Verb means to give its four Principal forms :
Present | Past |
Past Participle | Present Participle |
If the Past or Past Participle is formed from the Present Tense by changing the Vowel of a Verb ; as—
Take, took, taken and do, did, done the Verb is said to be a Strong Verb.
If the Verb requires the addition of ‘ed\ ‘d’ or ‘f to form their Past and Past Participles, they are called Weak Verbs ; as—
Finish, finished, finished ; die, died, died and build, built, built.
Group I
(Where no ‘n’ is added to the Past Participle)
Present | Past | Past Participle | Present Participle |
Abide | abode | abode | abiding |
Awake | awoke | awoke | awaking |
Become | became | become | becoming |
Begin | began | begun | beginning |
Dig | dug | dug | digging |
Drink | drank | drunk | drinking |
Fight | fought | fought | fighting |
Find | found | found | finding |
Hold | held | held | holding |
Lie | lied | lied | lying |
Ring | rang | rung | ringing |
Run | ran | run | running |
Shine | shone | shone | shining |
Sing | sang | sung | singing |
Sit | sat | sat | sitting |
Stand | stood | stood | standing |
Swim | swam | swum | swimming |
Win | won | won | winning |
Wind | wound | wound | winding |
Group II
(Where ‘n’ is added to the Past Participle)
Present | Past | Past Participle | Present Participle |
Arise | arose | arisen | arising |
Bear | bore | born | bearing |
Bear | bore | borne | bearing |
Bid | bade | bidden | bidding |
Blow | blew | blown | blowing |
Break | broke | broken | breaking |
Choose | chose | chosen | choosing |
Draw | drew | drawn | drawing |
Drive | drove | driven | driving |
Fall | fell | fallen | falling |
Fly | flew | flown | flying |
Forget | forgot | forgotten | forgetting |
Freeze | froze | frozen | freezing |
Grow | grew | grown | growing |
Hide | hid | hidden | hiding |
Know | knew | known | knowing |
Lie | lay | lain | lying |
Ride | rode | ridden | riding |
Shake | shook | shaken | shaking |
Sink | sank | sunk, sunken | sinking |
Speak | spoke | spoken | speaking |
Steal | stole | stolen | stealing |
Strike | struck | struck, stricken | striking |
Tear | tore | tom | tearing |
Throw | threw | thrown | throwing |
Wake | waked, woke | waked, woken | waking |
Wear | wore | worn | wearing |
Write | wrote | written | writing |
Note: Since the Present Participle is only the—ing form of the Present, we are giving below only the first three forms.
Group III—Mixed Verbs
(Partly Strong and Partly Weak)
Present | Past | Past Participle |
Beat | beat | beaten |
Do | did | done |
Hang | hung, hanged | hung, hanged |
Melt | melted | melted, molten |
Sew | sewed | sewn |
Shave | shaved | shaved, shaven |
Show | showed | shown |
Group IV
(Conjugation of Weak Verbs)
Present | Past | Past Participle |
Bend | bent | bent |
Bring | brought | brought |
Build | built | built |
Bum | burned, burnt | burned, burnt |
Catch | caught | caught |
Deal | dealt | dealt |
Dream | dreamed | dreamed |
dreamt | 1 dreamt | |
Feed | fed | fed |
Feel | felt | felt |
Have | had | had |
Hear | heard | heard |
Kneel | knelt | knelt |
Lay | laid | laid |
Lead | led | led |
Leave | left | left |
Lend | lent | lent |
Light | lighted, lit | lighted, lit |
Lose | lost | lost |
Make | made | made |
Mean | meant | meant |
Say | said | said |
Seek | sought | sought |
Send | sent | sent |
Sleep | slept | slept |
Smell | smelt | smelt |
Spell | spelled, spelt | spelled, spelt |
Spend | spent | spent |
Stay | stayed | stayed |
Teach | taught | taught |
Wed | wedded, wed | wedded, wed |
Weep | wept | wept |
Exceptions
Present | Past | Past Participle |
Cleave | cleft | cleft |
Have | had | had |
Hear | heard | heard |
Lay | f laid | J laid |
Leave | 1 left | lleft |
Lose | lost | lost |
Make | made | made |
Measure | measured | measured |
Pay | paid | paid |
The Present, Past and Past Participle forms of the following weak Verbs are alike:
Cast | Cut | Hit |
Hurt | Let | Put |
Set | Shed | Shut |
Spread |
|
|
The Present, Past and Past Participle forms of the following weak Verbs are alike :
come | came | come |
run | ran | run |
Mark the difference between the following Pairs of Verbs :
| Present | Past | Past Participle |
1. | Fall | fell | fallen |
Fell | felled | felled | |
2. | Find | found | found |
Found | founded | founded | |
3. | Lie | lay | lain |
Lie | lied | lied | |
Lay | laid | laid |
Exercise
Give the Past and Past Participle forms of the following Verbs :
(a) Speak lie catch do have fall hang go
draw grow write take sit sing know.
(b) Meet wring weave spring beat hear seek teach
lose smell tell weep shoot put win.
Multiple Choice Questions
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences using one of the options from the brackets :
1. Birds are ………. (fly/flied/flying/flew) in the sky.
2. The play …………. (last/lasted/lost/lasting) an hour.
3. The man was …………. (hang/hung/hanged/hanging) for his crime.
4. As long as he lived, he always ………….. (abide/abiding/abided/obey) by the law.
Answers:
1. flying
2. lasted
3. hanged
4. abided
Exercise 2
The underlined words in the following sentences have been wrongly used. Supply the correct word/words from the options given below each sentence :
Question 1.
After he got a job, he start to live well.
(a) begin
(b) began
(c) begun
(d) beginning song so well.
Question 2.
Do you hear ? The child is
(a) sing
(b) sang
(c) sung
(d) singing great politician.
Question 3.
Mrs. Gandhi is know as a
(a) knowing
(b) knew
(c) known
(d) call
Question 4.
He had his car steal.
(a) stole
(b) stolen
(c) stealing
(d) thief
Answers
1. (b) begin
2 .(d) singing
3. (c) known
4. (b) stolen
Either way the teacher or student will get the solution to the problem within 24 hours.