1. Painting with Parts of Speech Action Verbs
 L. Alicia Monroe 2009
Oklahoma Writing Project Teacher Consultant
Adapted from Harry Noden’s Image Grammar (1999), Don and Jenny Killgallon’s Grammar for Middle School (2006), and Constance Weaver’s The Grammar Plan Book (2007)

2. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Compare and contrast the sentences below.
The flowers were stepped on.
Rover stepped on the flowers.
Rover trampled the flowers.

3. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
To “paint” with an action verb, eliminate passive voice and reduce being verbs (am, is, are, was, were, been) to energize action images.
Action verbs: change passive verbs to active verbs and use surprising or vivid verb choices
Examples:
The Jeep climbed up the side of the mountain.

4. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Passive voice communicates no action. The image is like a still photograph with the subject of the action frozen with prepositions such as by or with.

5. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Sentence in passive voice with a being verb, in which the word by signals the action:
The grocery store was robbed by two armed men.
Sentence in active voice, in which the subject performs the action:
Two armed men robbed the grocery store.

6. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Sentence in passive voice with a being verb, in which the word with signals the action:
The highway along the California coast was dotted with palm trees.
Sentence in active voice, in which the subject performs the action:
Palm trees dotted the highway along the California coast.

7. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Even when not used with passive voice, being verbs slow the action. Improve the power of sentences by replacing as many being verbs as possible.
Sentence in active voice with a being verb:
The driver went through the red light.
Sentence in active voice with an action verb:
The driver charged through the red light.

8. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Action verbs replace still photos with motion pictures. With a little imagination, you can even bring an inanimate object to life by adding an action verb:
Sentence in active voice with a being verb:
The gravel road was on the left side of the barn.
Sentence in active voice with an action verb:
The gravel road curled around the left side of the barn.

9. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs from literature:
Bertholt took it and scrawled his signature across the line.
—Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

10. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs from literature:
They found the stone steps without difficulty, and Gimli sprang swiftly up them, followed by Gandalf and Frodo.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

11. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs from literature:
An explosion of droplets haloed them as she leapt into the air, wings snapping open.
—Christopher Paolini, Eragon

12. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs from literature:
A band of orange and yellow ignited the sky, glorious and unexpected, as spectacular as fireworks, but changing at a stately, barely perceptible pace.
—Scott Westerfeld, Uglies

13. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs from literature:
When the cold comes to New England, it arrives in sheets of sleet and ice. In December, the wind wraps itself around bare trees and twists in between husbands and wives asleep in their beds. It shakes the shingles from the roofs and sifts rough cracks in the plaster.
—Alice Hoffman, Here on Earth

14. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs by students:
The thunder shakes the whole town.
—Stephanie M.

15. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs by students:
The white clouds washed over the beautiful blue Oklahoma sky.
—Emily W.

16. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs by students:
A mountain of filthy laundry pleaded for a trip to the washer.
—Faith D.

17. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs by students:
The curling branches snapped in the wind’s grasp.
—Ashlea J.

18. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs by students:
The scorching fire devoured the helpless grass.
—Hong H.

19. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Examples of action verbs by students:
The light snuck through the leaves in the jungle.
—Qiana H.

20. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Identify action verbs from literature:
He craned his neck, scanning the mob.
—Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl

21. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Identify action verbs from literature:
We bumped along with the sprayer behind us, all the way to Lake Windsor Downs.
—Edward Bloor, Tangerine

22. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Identify action verbs from literature:
Boromir flung himself against the door and heaved it to; then he wedged it with broken sword-blades and splinters of wood.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

23. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Identify action verbs from literature:
The sky arched over them, higher than they could have imagined, a pale, clear blue.
—Jeanne DuPrau, City of Ember

24. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Identify action verbs from literature:
The Capitol twinkles like a vast field of fireflies.
—Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

25. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Identify action verbs from literature:
Questions exploded inside Harry’s head like fireworks and he couldn’t decide which to ask first.
—J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

26. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Arrange action verbs from literature:
Create a sentence with the sentence strips. Write the sentence, punctuating correctly, and underline and label the action verbs.
The thunder rumbled on, but we stayed dry, as Alice had predicted.
—Stephenie Meyer, Twilight

27. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Arrange action verbs from literature:
Create a sentence with the sentence strips. Write the sentence, punctuating correctly, and underline and label the action verbs.
The nest bursts open like an egg, and a furious swarm of tracker jackers takes to the air.
—Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

28. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Arrange action verbs from literature:
Create a sentence with the sentence strips. Write the sentence, punctuating correctly, and underline and label the action verbs.
The orcs yelled and poured over the stone gangways.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

29. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Arrange action verbs from literature:
Create a sentence with the sentence strips. Write the sentence, punctuating correctly, and underline and label the action verbs.
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty.
—J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

30. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Imitate action verbs from literature:
Write a sentence about a different subject, imitating the structure of the model sentence. Underline and label the action verb(s).
Canoes glided across a small lake.
—Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

31. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Imitate action verbs from literature:
Write a sentence about a different subject, imitating the structure of the model sentence. Underline and label the action verb(s).
Mist snaked across the scorched area and swirled unsubstantial tendrils over the stone.
—Christopher Paolini, Eragon

32. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Imitate action verbs from literature:
Write a sentence about a different subject, imitating the structure of the model sentence. Underline and label the action verb(s).
A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road.
—Stephenie Meyer, Twilight

33. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Change passive verbs to action verbs:
The goal was scored by Hunter.
The flower bed was filled with weeds.
When their math lesson was finished, the students were read to by Miss Goodenough.
Through the open window, my bedroom was cooled by the gentle breeze.

34. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Change passive verbs to action verbs AND bring inanimate objects to life:
The pins were knocked down by the bowling ball.
The tree was blown by the wind.
The Camaro was driven down 12th Street.
The haunted house was filled with screams.
The floor was covered with dirty clothes.

35. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Expand with action verbs:
Write the sentence below, adding an action verb in place of each caret (^). Underline and label each action verb.
Tally ^ toward the elevator, skidding to a halt inside.
—Scott Westerfeld, Uglies
Tally dashed toward the elevator, skidding to a halt inside.

36. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Expand with action verbs:
Write the sentence below, adding an action verb in place of each caret (^). Underline and label each action verb.
I ^ off my shirt, socks, shoes, and pants and ^ them all into the washing machine.
—Edward Bloor, Tangerine
I peeled off my shirt, socks, shoes, and pants and dumped them all into the washing machine.

37. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Expand with action verbs:
Write the sentence below, adding an action verb in place of each caret (^). Underline and label each action verb.
The color ^ out of the sky and ^ over the land.
—Jeanne DuPrau, City of Ember
The color seeped out of the sky and washed over the land.

38. Painting with Parts of Speech: Action Verbs
Compose with action verbs:
In response to the following picture prompts, write your own sentences with action verbs, bringing inanimate objects to life. Underline and label each action verb.