1. Grammar – Language Arts 6th Grade
VERBS
Grammar – Language Arts 6th Grade

2. Helping Verbs Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:
I can.
People must.
The Earth will.
Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not! That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.

3. Main Verbs
Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:
I teach.
People eat.
The Earth rotates.
Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes! Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main verbs.
In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs. Notice that all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping verb.
**Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided, as we shall see on the following pages.**

4. Present Tense
Present Tense Rock - Click Here

5. Past Tense Past Simple Tense Past Continuous Tense Past Perfect Tense
I did do, I did
Past Continuous Tense
I was doing
Past Perfect Tense
I had done
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been doing

6. Regular Verbs: Basic Tense
The basic structure is:
positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
Regular Verbs List.pdf

7. Regular Verbs: Basic Tense Continued
past
present
future
SIMPLE do + base verb (except future: will + base verb) +
I did work I worked
I do work I work
I will work -
I did not work
I do not work
I will not work ?
Did I work?
Do I work?
Will I work?
SIMPLE PERFECT have + past participle
I had worked
I have worked
I will have worked
I had not worked
I have not worked
I will not have worked
Had I worked?
Have I worked?
Will I have worked?
CONTINUOUS be + ing
I was working
I am working
I will be working
I was not working
I am not working
I will not be working
Was I working?
Am I working?
Will I be working?
CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + ing
I had been working
I have been working
I will have been working
I had not been working
I have not been working
I will not have been working
Had I been working?
Have I been working?
Will I have been working?

8. Irregular Verbs: Basic Tense
Irregular Verbs List.pdf - Click Here

9. Subject - Verb Agreement
agreement (noun)
In language, "agreement" means the form of one word being decided by the form of another word.
Also known as "concord".
Subject-Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns
Subject-Verb Agreement with There is, There are

10. Subject-Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns
We often use singular nouns that refer to groups of people (for example: team, government, committee) as if they were plural. This is particularly true in English and less true in American English. This is because we often think of the group as people, doing things that people do (eating, wanting, feeling etc).
In such cases, we use:
plural verb
they (not it)
who (not which)
Here are some examples:
The committee want sandwiches for lunch. They have to leave early.
My family, who don't see me often, have asked me home for Christmas.
The team hope to win next time.
Here are some examples of words and expressions that can be considered singular or plural:
choir, class, club, committee, company, family, government, jury, school, staff, team, union, the BBC, board of directors, the Conservative Party, Manchester United, the Ministry of Health
But when we consider the group as an impersonal unit, we use singular verbs and pronouns:
The new company is the result of a merger.
An average family consists of four people.
The committee, which was formed in 2012, is made up of four men and four women.
Notice that this is often a question of style and logic. The important thing is to be consistent.

11. Subject-Verb Agreement with There is and There are
There's a bird in the sky.
There are two birds in the sky.
The structure of this expression is very simple. We use "There is" with singular subjects and we use "There are" with plural subjects:
[There is] + [singular subject]
[There are] + [plural subject]

12. Subject-Verb Agreement with There is and There are Continued…
Look at these examples, with positive, negative and question:
singular subject* +
There is
someone
at the door
There's
still a
problem no
milk
in the fridge -
There isn't
any
money
in this account ?
Is there a
problem?
plural subject
There are
two
boys
in the garden**
always two
sides
to an argument
many
questions
to answer
There aren't
cars
in the street
Are there
problems?
*Note that singular includes uncountable nouns (uncountable nouns are always singular)

13. Subject-Verb Agreement with There is and There are Continued…
There is with singular subject series
We use "there is" before a series of singular subjects. Look at these examples:
There is/are with singular/plural subject series &
There is/are + a lot of/lots of
Sometimes we have a series of subjects that are mixed - singular and plural. In informal speech, the verb then agrees with the nearest subject. Look at these examples:
There's a girl and two boys outside
There are two boys and a girl outside**
There's some wine and two apples on the table
There are two apples and some wine on the table
Note that this is common usage in informal speech only. It is grammatically incorrect and you should not use it in formal writing or formal speech.
Do we use "there is" or "there are" with a lot of/lots of? It depends on the noun: if it is singular we use "there is"; if it is plural we use "there are". Look at these examples:

14. Action Verbs Words that show some kind of action.
They express something that a person, animal, or object can do.
That’s why we call them action verbs.**
Walk! Run! Cough! Drink!

15. Verbs that describe or rename the subject are called linking verbs.
Examples of linking verbs
Michael is a football fan.
Is isn’t something that Michael can actually do. Instead, it connects the subject, Michael to more information about him, that he really enjoys playing or watching the ball. So in this sentence is is a linking verb.
The dogs are barking angrily at the cat.
Are isn’t something dogs can do. Are connects the subject, dogs, to information about them, that they are mad at the cat.

16. Transitive Verbs
They are action verbs that have an object to receive that action. In the first sentence below, the direct object ball received the action of the verb hit.
The batter hit the ball.
Here are some more examples of transitive verbs:
I baked some cookies.
I rode the bicycle.
I moved the chair.
I stitched a quilt.
All of the verbs in the above sentences are transitive because an object is receiving the action of the verb.

17. Gerunds
When a verb ends in -ing, it may be a gerund or a present participle. It is important to understand that they are not the same.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun, it is usually a gerund:
Fishing is fun.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or an adjective, it is usually a present participle:
Anthony is fishing.
I have a boring teacher.

18. Participle Examples Past participle Present participle
I have worked here for five years.
He needs a folder made of plastic.
It is done like this.
I have never been so happy.
Present participle
I am working.
Singing well is not easy.
Having finished, he went home.
You are being silly!

19. Infinitive Examples I want to work He has to sing.
This exercise is easy to do.
Let him have one.
To be, or not to be, that is the question: