This page was first published on the 6th of April, 2014 and last updated on the 28th November, 2016 by Patrick Carpen.
Photo Thanks To:
http://www.freeimages.com/photo/runners-1438373
At Primary School, you may have learned that verbs are “action words”, such as run, jump and swim. This is true but not all verbs are action words. Some verbs are “linking verbs”.
For example:
The boy is fat.
In the sentence above, the word “is” is a linking verb.
While not all verbs are action verbs, verbs may be considered as the “legs” of a sentence. They make the sentence “go”. Imagine what the sentence above would read like without the linking verb “is”. We would have no idea of knowing if the boy is fat now, was fat one year ago, or will be fat next year.
A transitive verb is a verb that transfers the action to an object. An intransitive verb is a verb where the action performed by the subject is not transferred to an object.
The present tense of a verb depicts an action that is taking place now. The past tense of a verb depicts an action that has already taken place. The future tense of a verb depicts an action that will take place in the future.
