Unit 1: Verbs

We are going to start off learning the verbs first because verbs are the most important part of English grammar. A sentence is not grammatically correct without them. Every sentence must have a verb. A sentence cannot be without one. A sentence can contain many verbs like:

Josie kicked, screamed, flailed, but to no avail, her mother forced the pink dress on her. A sentence can consist of one verb like: 

Run!

Verbs can be grouped into three categories: 

1. Action verbs
2. Being verbs
3. Hard to see verbs (you might be wondering what these verbs are, you will find out shortly)

Alright let's start with action verbs. Here is a sentence to illustrate action verbs: 

Marcia sang and danced to the beat of the music.

For being verbs:

I am here.

For hard to see verbs:

Jenny is imagining herself in the position of her favorite singer Celine Dion. (You can't see someone imagining.)

Now that wasn't alot of work was it?

Let's continue. If you are tired, though, take a break, and resume at a later time.

Now let me introduce two concepts: Main verbs and helping verbs

What is a main verb?

A main verb is like the protagonist of a novel or a movie. A main verb is like Leonardo di Caprio in Titanic. He is the star of the movie. You can think of main verbs as stars of the sentence. A main verb expresses the main action or state of being. Here is an example:

Juliana Baker is sad.

The main action here is a state of being.

What is a helping verb?

Helping verb adds a different dimension to main verbs. These little tools help indicate the time of the action. A helping verb is like Billy Zane in Titanic. He helps add a different dimension to Leonardo Di Caprio. By placing a bad character in the movie, it makes Leonardo Di Caprio even more likeable because placed side by side, Leonardo Di Caprio (Jack) seems even more "good".

An example of helping verbs is:

Lizzie was screaming so hard that her voice became hoarse.

In this sentence was is the helping verb, and it indicated that Lizzie's scream took place in the past.

There 23 helping verbs. I know what you are thinking. That's alot! But We'll make it easier.

3 begins with B:

1. Be
2. Been
3. Being

3 begins with D:

1. Do
2. Did
3. Does

3 begins with M

1. May
2. Must 
3. Might

Alright that is enough for the first lesson. I hope you had fun learning English grammar with me. We will continue again next week and we'll give you the other 14 helping verbs. For those of you who advanced beyond the basics, it is always helpful to go back and review. Right now I am teaching at a basic level but I will continue until we reach college level grammar. Sit tight, it will be easy as pie.