Verb Study Guide

Verb Study Guide

Action Verbs tell what the subject is doing and action is involved.
Linking Verbs link the subject to a noun or adjective in the

predicate part of the sentence. A linking verb says

that the subject is something. The subject is not

doing action.

Some common linking verbs are:
Is, are, am, was, were, being, been, smell, look, taste,
feel, appear, remain, sound, seem, become, grow, stand
Helping Verbs come before the main verb and give the verb a

more specific meaning and help establish the

tense of the verb.
Some common helping verbs are:
Has, have, had, shall, will, should, could, would, must, can, may, do, did, does
The forms of the verb be may also be helping verbs:

Is, are, was, were, am, being, been.

Verb Tenses: The tense of a verb tells when the action takes

Place.
The simple tenses are Present, Past and Future tense.

Simple Present Tense: I like football. We practice every day.
Simple Past Tense: Bob kicked the football. Sean was the

quarterback until he was injured.

Simple Future Tense: I will like football forever. I will go to

practice every day.

Perfect Tense Verbs: Perfect tense is expressed with

certain helping verbs.

Present Perfect Tense: The present perfect tense states an
an action that is still going on. Add has or have before the past
tense or past participle of the main verb.
Bob has swum for two hours so far.
Past Perfect Tense: The past perfect tense states an action
that began and ended in the past. Add had before the past
tense.
Bob had swum for three hours before he finally quit.
Future Perfect Tense: The future perfect tense states an

Action that will begin in the future and end at a specific time.

Add will have before the past participle form of the main verb.
Bob will have swum for five hours by noon tomorrow.

Irregular Verbs:
The past participle is used with the helping verb had, has or have.
Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

am, is, are was, were been

begin began begun

bite bit bitten

blow blew blown

break broke broken

bring brought brought

catch caught caught

come came come

dive dived, dove dived

do did done

draw drew drawn

drink drank drunk

drive drove driven

eat ate eaten

fall fell fallen

fight fought fought

fly flew flown

freeze froze frozen

get got gotten

give gave given

go went gone

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

grow grew grown

hang hung hung

hide hid hidden, hid

hold held held

keep kept kept

know knew known

lay (place) laid laid

lLeave left left

lie (recline) lay lain

make made made

ride rode ridden

ring rang rung

rise rose risen

run ran run

see saw seen

shake shook shaken

shine shone shone

shrink shrank shrunk

sing sang, sung sung

sink sank, sunk sunk

sit sat sat

sleep slept slept

speak spoke spoken

spring sprang, sprung sprung

stand stood stood

steal stole stolen

swear swore sworn

swim swam swum

swing swung swung

take took taken

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

teach taught taught

tear tore torn

throw threw thrown

wake woke woken

wear wore worn

weave wove woven

write wrote written

Spelling Rules Review:
When making verbs past tense, you need to remember your spelling rules.

For example, to make carry past tense you need to remember the following rule:

When a regular verb ends in a consonant followed by a “y” change the “y” to “i” and add “ed”

CARRIED
When making stop past tense, you need to remember the following rule:
When a regular verb ends in a single vowel followed by a single consonant, double the final consonant and add “ed”