What are the Verb Patterns? Definition and Verb Pattern Example Sentences

What are the Verb Patterns? Definition and Verb Pattern Example Sentences

VERB PATTERNS

 What are the verb patterns?

A verb is the action or state of being in a sentence. Verbs can be expressed in different tenses, depending on when the action is being performed. A word that characteristically is the grammatical center of a predicate and expresses an act, occurrence, or mode of being, that in various languages is inflected for agreement with the subject, for tense, for voice, for mood, or for aspect, and that typically has rather full descriptive meaning and characterizing quality but is sometimes nearly devoid of these especially when used as an auxiliary or linking verb. Here are some examples:

Example: Kate walked to the store. In this sentence, walked is the verb that shows an action.

Almost all verbs have two other important forms called participles. Participles are forms that are used to create several verb tenses (forms that are used to show when an action happened); they can also be used as adjectives. The present participle always ends in -ing: calling, loving, breaking, going. (There is also a kind of noun, called a gerund, that is identical in form to the present participle form of a verb.) The past participle usually ends in -ed, but many past participles have irregular endings: called, loved, broken, gone.

 

The verb’s past tense usually has the same -ed form as the past participle. For many verbs, however, the past tense is irregular. An irregular past tense is not always identical to an irregular past participle: called, loved, broke, went.

The two main kinds of verbs, transitive verbs and intransitive verbs, are discussed at the entries for transitive and intransitive.

A verb is the most important word in a sentence. A verb shows action or being (existence).

• Action: take, write, run, select, show, call
• Existence: be (am, is, are, was, were)

Every sentence must have a verb. Forgetting the verb is a serious problem.

A sentence that does not have a subject or a verb is called a sentence fragment.

• Fragment: The president of the U.S. in the White House.
• Correct: The president of the U.S. lives in the White House.
• Fragment: Is very hot in Turkey in July.
• Correct: It is very hot in Turkey in July.

The verb in a sentence can be more than one word.

• 1 word: I cook eggs for breakfast every morning.
• 2 words: I am cooking scrambled eggs now.
• 2 words: I can cook eggs with cheese and tomatoes.
• 2 words: I do not cook eggs with meat.
• 2 words: I did not cook eggs with meat yesterday.

A sentence can have more than one verb.

• 1 Verb: The assistant answered the phone.
• 2 Verbs: The assistant answered the phone and wrote a message.
• 3 Verb: The assistant answered the phone, wrote a message, and gave it to Justin.

 

Verb Examples

• The wind is blowing from the opposite side today.
• I love reading books.
• I’ve always seen him reading a book since the day I met him.
• I didn’t know you loved books so much.
• I read more poetry when I am alone.
• It’s time to write a poetry book.
• I run to work every day.

 

• If you ride a bicycle, you will take a new step towards healthy living.
• There are such wars that I hate the world.
• I don’t want children to die anymore.
• Education should be provided as the right of every individual.
• I always get excited when I see him.
• Love can make me a poet, but I’m so cold from love.
• I also pretend to be deaf to certain events.

 

• When the bullet of my gun ran out, I took shelter somewhere.
• I had a new brother last night.
• I am counting the days to return from the military.
• I hate people every day.
• We must be very lucky not to get lost in this oasis.
• Ten years ago, I was sentenced to ten years in prison.