Thang Long University

Department of English Language

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GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH

Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Do

Student’s name: Ngo Thi Van Anh

Student’s code: A24543 – Ne27a3

Ha Noi – 2018
VERB OF ENGLISH

Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Do

Student’s name: Ngo Thi Van Anh

Student’s code: A24543 – Ne27a3

 Outline

CHAPTER I: TYPES OF VERB............................................................................3

I. Lexical verbs .................................................................................................3
1. Regular lexical verbs .....................................................................................3
2. Irregular lexical verbs...................................................................................3
3. Transitive verbs and Intransitive verbs .......................................................4
II. Auxiliary verbs............................................................................................6
1. Be ...................................................................................................................6
2. Have ...............................................................................................................6
3. Do ...................................................................................................................7
4. Finite verbs and Non-finite verbs .................................................................7
5. Phrasal verbs .................................................................................................8
CHAPTER II: FORMS OF VERB ........................................................................9
1.The base form................................................................................................9
2.The present participle or –ing form ..........................................................10
3.The past tense form ....................................................................................10
4.The past participle form.............................................................................11
CHAPTER III: TENSES OF VERB ....................................................................12
1.Simple tenses ...............................................................................................12
2.Past tense .....................................................................................................13
3.Future tense .................................................................................................14
CHAPTER IV: THE FUNCTION OF VERB AND THE COMPARISION
BETWEEN ENGLISH VERB AND VIETNAMESE VERB ............................15
I.The function of verb ....................................................................................15
II.The comparison between English verbs phrase and Vietnamese verbs
phrase ..............................................................................................................16
Introduction

Every language in the world has verbs, but they are not always used in the same ways.
They also can have different properties in different languages. For example, in some
other languages (Chinese & Indonesian) verbs do not change for past and present
tense. This means the definition above only works well for English verbs.

Verb is a word that shows an action or state – state means a situation. Those are the
two types of verbs – we call them state verbs and action verbs. Sometimes they’re
called stative and dynamic verbs but the meaning is the same. The difference between
these two is that action verbs express physical activities or processes. For example
verbs like run, shout, kick, climb, sit, grow – all these show us physical activities or
processes. But a state verb is a verb that expresses a situation, for example, verbs like
be, have, think, like and own are all state verbs.

Verb phrase are created by adding auxiliary verbs to main verbs. For example, he
smokes, he smoked. They are simple verbs. They do not give much more information
about the action. As a result, we need verb phrases because actions of verbs take place
over long periods of time or they take place continuously or they take place
repeatedly. All in all, verb phrases and auxiliary verbs give more meaning to verbs.

A verb is a very important part of any sentence. Every subject must have a verb, if this
rule is not followed you will end up with a fragment – a big writing error. Verbs are
used to connect the subject to add more information. It also is very important part of
speech. In fact you cannot have a logical sentence that has no verb in it. They are the
building blocks that help you come up with sentences that make sense. A verb goes
further to explain the intensity of the feeling that was attached in the process of doing
the action. They are the words that help you explain feelings and movement of life.
There are two main functions that a verb can play: there are those verbs that puts a
subject into motion and other verbs offer more clarification on the same subject.

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 In the scope of the final essay with the purpose is to make clear of verb in English,
there are four main chapters which are mentioned:

Chapter I: Types of verb

Chapter II: Forms of verb

Chapter III: Tenses of verb

Chapter IV: The function of verb and the comparison between English verb and
Vietnamese verb

Creating a complete final essay about “English of verb” in the scope of the
subject “Grammar of English” is really a complicated work which requires a huge
effort from the preparator. I have spent lots of time as well as exertion to study and
complete this final essay as the teacher’s requirement. However, due to knowledge
and qualification limitation, there are still some mistakes. I look forward to
receiving the support as well as the understanding from the teacher.

Thank you very much!

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 CHAPTER I: TYPES OF VERB
There are various ways in which it will be necessary to classify verbs in this chapter.
We distinguish lexical verbs from the closed system of auxiliary verbs, and subdivides
the latter into primary and modal auxiliaries.

I. Lexical verbs
We consider lexical verbs under two heads: regular (such as call) and irregular (such
as drink). In all of them, the –s form and –ing participle are predictable from the base
form. They differ in that the –ed and –ed forms in irregular verbs cannot be predicted
from the base.

1. Regular lexical verbs

Many English verbs are regular, which means that they form their different tenses
according to an established pattern.

3rd person 3rd person

Present
Verb singular singular Past participle
participle
present tense past tense
laugh he/she laughs he/she laughed laughed laughing
love he/she loves he/she loved loved loving
work he/she works he/she worked work working

2. Irregular lexical verbs

There are many irregular verbs that don’t follow the normal rules. Here are the
forms of some of the most common irregular verbs:

Verb 3rd person 3rd person Past participle Present

singular singular participle
present tense past tense
begin begins began begun beginning
break breaks broke broken breaking
sing sings sang sung singing

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 3. Transitive verbs and Intransitive verbs
There are three different types of verbs: transitive verbs, intransitives verbs and
verbs of incomplete predication.

3.1. A transitive verb

A transitive verb is just a verb that takes an object. In grammar the object of a
verb is a noun that is a person, place, animal or thing that receives the action of the
verb and a transitive verb always takes an object.

For example: Duncan kicked the ball

(Explain: “The ball” is object of verb kick because “the ball” receives “the kick” and
the verb “kick” is a transitive verb – it always needs an object).

Some other common are transitive verbs like hit, give, carry, climb, make, kiss and
take. Sometimes a transitive verb takes two objects: a direct object and an indirect
object. The direct object relates to the verb and is affected by the action of the verb
and the indirect object indicates the person who benefits from the action or receives
something as a result.

Direct object  a non-living thing

Indirect object  a person, an animal or a non-living thing

For example: You showed Jill the sweater

Subject Verb Indirect object Direct object

3.2. An intransitive verb

An intransitive verb is not take object. It shows an action without an object or a

state of being. Verbs like live, die, cry, run, sleep, stand, etc.

For example: The old man laughed loudly

(Explain: “Loudly” is not a person or thing receiving the action – that’s just an adverb
that gives us information about “laughed”).

Note: Don’t leave out the object with a transitive verb.

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For example: The thief climbed and then escaped

(Explain: The mistake is that the verb “climb” is a transitive verb. This example
should repair “The thief climbed over the wall and then escaped”).

Note: Transitive verb and intransitive verbs which need the help of a word or group of
words to complete the sense of a sentence are known as verbs of incomplete
predication.

For example: Mayur slept  intransitive verb

He seems troubled

Verb of incomplete predication Complement of the verb “seem”

The word or group of words that completes the sense of a sentence is referred to as the
complement of the verb.

There are two kinds of complement: subjective and objective complement.

- The complement that completes the sense of a subject or describes a subject

is known as a subjective complement.
For example: The world is big

Subject Verb of incomplete predication Subject complement

- The complement that completes the sense of an object or describes an object
is known as an objective complement.
For example: They elected Jyoti leader

Verb of incomplete predication Object Objective complement

Note: - Some commonly used transitive verb that usually need a complement are
make, find, prove, name, think, call, choose, etc.
For example: They named him Arya

Transitive verb Object Objective complement

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 - Some commonly used intransitive verb that usually need a complement are
become, feel, look, taste, see as well as the verb “be” and all its forms such
as am, is, are, was, were, etc.
For example: This tasted sour.

Subject Intransitive verb Subjective complement

II. Auxiliary verbs

An auxiliary verb (also known as a helping verb) determines
the mood or tense of another verb in a phrase. There are three main auxiliary verbs
be, have and do. Other words like should, can, could, will, might, must, etc. are
auxiliary verbs, but they are modal auxiliary verbs (and not as versatile as the main
auxiliary verbs). Auxiliary verbs can change forms and they are conjugated that
means they change in accordance to the verb tense that they are describing and the
main verb keep the base form.

1. Be
- When “be” is a main verb, it is a linking verb, which links the subject to an
adjective or noun.
For example: She is disappointed he is late again.

The main verb (link of adjective)

- However, when “be” is an auxiliary verb, “be” is used in the: progressive verb
tenses (continuous verb tenses) and passive voice form of the verb.
For example: a. She is waiting for him at the bus stop.
(Explain: “is” is an auxiliary verb. It helps out waiting and this is the present
progressive verb tense so she is waiting. It shows the action of verb is
happening now and it is continuing).
b. He is being waited for the bus stop.
(Explain: This means that she is waiting for him someone is waiting for him at
the bus stop but we take off sheet and we put in the subject position).

2. Have
- When “have” is a main verb, “have” is a verb of condition (to possess).
For example: She has enough money for the bus.
(Explain: She has the money, it’s in her possession, it is a verb of condition).
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 - However, “have” used as an auxiliary verb in perfect verb tenses.
For example: She has waited for him before at the bus stop.
(Explain: It means that she has waited for him before it’s happened in the past
and her lifetime she’s waited for him before at the bus, she has been waiting for
him at the bus stop for 30 minutes. This is the present perfect progressive tense
and it means she’s doing it right now, she’s waiting but it started in the past).

3. Do
- When “do” is a main verb, “do” is an action verb.
For example: She did her homework.
(Explain: In this sentence, “do” is the main verb in the past tense - It is not an
auxiliary verb).
- However, when “do” is an auxiliary verb. It is for asking questions.
For example: Did she wait for you at the bus stop?
Where does he live?
When did Tom arrive?
- “Do” is used as an auxiliary verb to ask questions only in the simple present
tense and simple past tenses. Furthermore, “do” is used to make negative
statements (only in the simple present or past tenses). “Do” is used to
provide more emphasis.
For example: They didn’t go to school today.
I didn’t eat.
They didn’t visit her in the hospital.
Yes, I do!
Note: “Do” is not use as an auxiliary verb to ask questions in the perfect tenses. In
these situations, “have” is already being used.

4. Finite verbs and Non-finite verbs

4.1. Finite verbs
- Finite means bound. Finite verbs must agree with the number and person of its
subject.
For example: I love studying. (“I” first person singular)
- If the tense of the sentence changes, then the form of the verb also changes. Such
as verb is a finite verb. It bound by tense of a sentence.
For example: He works at the photo shop.

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 4.2. Non-finite verbs
- Non-finite verbs are not bound by tense, person or number of the subject
and not bound by subject verb agreement. It is an extension of a sentence
and sometimes can be left out. Depending on the situation or context, the
sentence will still make sense.
For example: Richie hates working

Finite verb Non-finite verb

We must go to shopping now. (with the non-finite verb)

We must go now. (without the non-finite verb)

5. Phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of a main verb together with

an adverb or a preposition, or both. Typically, their meaning is not obvious from
the meanings of the individual words themselves.

For example: She has always looked down on me.

(Explain: The phrasal verb ‘to look down on someone’ doesn’t mean that you are
looking down from a higher place at someone who is below you; it means that you
think that you are better than someone).

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 CHAPTER II: FORMS OF VERB
A verb may change its form according to the person number and tense.

For examples:

a. Tom plays football every day. (Present tense)

b. Tom played football yesterday. (Past tense)
c. Tom has playing football now. (Present continuous)
d. Tom has played football here. (Present perfect)
The verb, is and has are used as auxiliary verbs along with the main verb to form the
continuous and perfect tense.

1. The base form

1.1. Definition of base form
The base form or main form of a verb is the form to which we add an ending
or which we modify to make another form. The base form of a verb has no
added ending.
For examples: He washes his bicycle every day. (Base form – wash)
1.2. Use of the base form
The base form of the verb is used to denote actions in the present tense for
all pronouns and numbers except the third person singular.
For example: We play in the park.
1.3. The “-s” or “-es” form
- The “-s” or “-es” form of the verb is formed by adding the ending –s or –es
to the base form of a verb.

Base form -s or –es form

Look Looks
Go Goes
For example: Alice washes her bicycle every day.

- Use of the –s or es form: the –s or –es form of the verb is used to denote
actions for pronouns in the third person singular form.
For example: He plays with the ball.
Mark runs fast.

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2. The present participle or –ing form
2.1. Definition of the present participle or –ing form
- The present participle or –ing form of the verb is formed by adding the
ending –ing to the base form of a verb.
Base form Present Participle or –ing form
Drive Driving
Buy Buying
For examples: I am writing a novel.

We are running a race in the evening.

2.2. Use of the present participle or –ing form
- The –ing form of the verb is used along with the different forms of the
auxiliary verb – be to form the continuous tenses.
For examples: Tim was playing with his children.
Reema will be coming tomorrow.

- The –ing form of a verb is also used as an adjective to express something

more about noun, without using an auxiliary verb.
For examples: The setting sun looked beautiful. (“setting” is an adjective noun)

He caught the running train.

3. The past tense form

3.1. Definition of the past tense form
- The past tense form of some verbs is formed by adding the ending –d or –ed
to the base form of a verb.
Base form Past tense form
Smile Smiled
Write Wrote
For examples: The baby cried loudly.
The wind blew the balloons away.
3.2. Use of the past tense form
- Use of the past tense form is used to express an action in the past tense.
For example: Kysa and Rohan played in the garden.

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 4. The past participle form
4.1. Definition of the past participle form
- The past participle form of a verb is formed by adding different ending,
such as –d, -ed, -en, -t, -n to the verb.
Base form Past participle form
Wait Waited
Drive Drive
For examples: She has eaten the sandwich.

I have kept my books in the cupboard.

4.2. Use of the past participle form
- The past participle form of a verb can be used as an adjectives that describes
a nouns in the sentence. It can also be used to form other tenses with the aid
of a auxiliary verb.
For examples: The hidden jewels were found by the police. (“hidden” is an adjective)
I have washed my car today (“have” is an auxiliary verb)

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 CHAPTER III: TENSES OF VERB
A verb also tells us about the time of an action. The tense of a verb tells us the time
of an action. There are three main types of tenses: in the past, present, or future. In
order to explain and understand tense, it is useful to imagine time as a line on
which past tense, present tense and future tense are positioned.

For examples:

a. Fleck plays in the park every day. (Explain: The verb – “plays” is in the present
tense as it tells us that the action is taking place now).
b. Fleck played in the park last night. (Explain: The verb – “plays” is in the past
tense as it tells us that the action is taking place in the past).
c. Fleck will play in the park tomorrow. (Explain: The verb – “will play” is in the
future tense as it tells us that the action is taking place at same time in the
future).

1. Simple tenses
1.2. Simple present tense
- The present tense does have to do with current events, there are several
specific ways in which it's used, including: actions that happen on a regular
basis, such as habits or routines. They can have a specific or general time
frame. Discussing current facts, basic truths, or widely accepted beliefs,
Describing people or things.
For examples: We visit my grandparents twice a year.
Cats catch mice.
Many people love dogs, but many also love cats.
1.3. Present progressive
- The present progressive tense is typically used to talk about something that
is happening right now. It can also be used to talk about a future action or an
action that is occurring at the same time as another one.
For example: I am walking to school right now. (Current action)
1.4. Present perfect
- An action in the present perfect began in the past and continues in the
present or has ended by the present. It can also be used to talk about past
actions that happened multiple times.
For example: I have finished my homework already.

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 1.5. Present perfect progressive
- Perfect progressive tenses are a combination of perfect (completed before)
and progressive (ongoing) tenses, which show that something began,
continued, and ended before another action. The perfect progressive tenses
combine the perfect (have, has, had, will have), the progressive (been) and
the present participle of the main verb.
For example:
We have been working for 2 years.
1.6. Present perfect progressive
- This tense is used for recent past actions that happened repeatedly.
For example:
He has been finishing his homework by 7 p.m. every day this week.
- It is also used for continuous past actions that are affecting the present in
some way.
For example:
I have been walking to school a lot, so I'm in much better shape than
I was before.

2. Past tense
2.1. Simple past tense
- The past tense is more straightforward than the present tense—you only use
it to talk about actions, events, or feelings that happened at an earlier point
in time.
For example:
Olivia closed the door behind her.
2.2. Past progressive
- The past progressive is used to describe an action that was occurring at the
same time as another past action.
For example: Yesterday I was walking to school when you saw me.
2.3. Past perfect
- An action in the past perfect began and ended before another past event.
For example: Yesterday I rode the bus to school, but the day before I had
walked to school.
2.4. Past perfect progressive
- Use the past perfect tense to express actions that happened in the more
distant past that happened repeatedly. This tense is frequently used in
relation to another past action that occurred at a later time.
For example: I had been walking to school every day, but then the
weather turned cold.

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3. Future tense
- The future tense is one of the easiest tenses for two reasons: it has no
irregular forms and there's only one way to use it - to describe actions that
will happen in the future. It is formed by combining the auxiliary
verb will with the base form of the main verb.
For example: Tomorrow I will walk home from school.

3.1. Simple future

- The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or
certainty. In this case there is no 'attitude'.
For example: It will rain tomorrow.

3.2. Future progresstive

- The future progressive is usually used to describe an action that will occur
at the same time as another future action. To form the future progressive
tense, use this formula: will be + present participle.
For example: Tomorrow I will be walking to school when you see me.

3.3. Future perfect

- The future perfect is a verb tense used for actions that will be completed
before some other point in the future.
For example: The parade will have ended by the time Chester gets out of bed. At
eight o’clock I will have left.

3.4. Future perfect progressive

- This tense is used when you are anticipating a time in the future when a
continuous action will be finished.
For example: By tomorrow I will have been walking to school for six weeks
straight.

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 CHAPTER IV: THE FUNCTION OF VERB AND THE COMPARISION
BETWEEN ENGLISH VERB AND VIETNAMESE VERB

I. The function of verb

English verbs and verb phrases perform five primary grammatical functions
within sentences in the English language. Traditional grammars define verbs as
words that name actions and states. Verb phrases consist of a verb plus any
modifiers, complements, particles, and auxiliaries. The five primary functions of
English verbs and verbs phrases are:
1. Verb phrase head
- The first grammatical function that verbs perform is the verb phrase head. A
verb phrase consists of a verb plus any modifiers, complements, particles,
and auxiliaries including modal verbs, operators, have, and be.

For examples: eat the cookies

listen to the music

- Verbs always function as the heads of verb phrases.

2. Verb phrases as predicates
- The second grammatical function that verbs and verb phrases perform is
the predicate of a clause. A clause is defined as a grammatical structure that
consists of a subject and a predicate.

For examples: The vase was broken by the cat.

We have eaten all the pie.

3. Verb Phrases as Noun Phrase Modifiers

- The third grammatical function that verbs and verb phrases perform is
the noun phrase modifier. Noun phrase modifiers are defined as words and
phrases that describe a noun or noun phrase.

For examples: The food to eat is on the table.

The most recent news reported by the anchor made me sad.

4. Verb Phrases as Adjective Phrase Complements

- The fourth grammatical function that verbs and verb phrases in the form of
infinitives perform is the adjective phrase complement. Adjective phrase

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 complements are defined as phrases and clauses that complete the meaning
of an adjective phrase.

For examples: Your professor is curious to know why you dropped her class.

The students are eager to learn about current events.

5. Verb Phrases as Verb Phrase Complements

- The fifth grammatical function that verbs and verb phrases in the form of
infinitives perform is the verb phrase complement. Verb phrase
complements are defined as phrases that complete the meaning of a verb
phrase. Verb phrases in the form of infinitives and base forms can function
as verb phrase complements. The infinitive or base form following some
catenative verbs functions as a verb phrase complement.

For examples: My neighbors happen to own a hot air balloon. (Infinitive)

Grandpa can come start the fire for the barbecue. (Base form)

II. The comparison between English verbs phrase and Vietnamese verbs
phrase

English verbs phrase Vietnamese verbs phrase

Both English and Vietnamese verb phrases have three parts: the central
element, the pre-additive element, and the post-additive element. Among them,
the central element must be a verb and it is obligatory while the two parts of
additive elements can be optional to go with the head verb.
English has the notion of tense such as Vietnamese verb phrases always keep
present tense, past tense and future the same form in every situation;
tense but Vietnamese doesn’t. That is, instead Vietnamese uses subordinate
English verb phrases change their words such as đã, vừa, mới, đang, sẽ
form to mark different tenses. to denote the time.
E.g: I am sitting beside Mary. (The E.g: Tôi đang làm bài tập. (I’m doing
present continuous tense) my homework.)
I can sit beside Mary in my Tôi đã làm bài tập xong. (I have
evening class. (The simple present already done my homework.)
tense)

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Form of the English verb phrase Vietnamese also keeps the same form
changes in interrogative and negative and adds subordinate words
sentences. E.g: Can you speak French? - Bạn nói
E.g: I didn’t see them - Tôi không được tiếng pháp không?
nhìn thấy họ.
The meaning of English Vietnamese doesn’t have this term but
auxiliaries is much more diversified. uses subordinate words such as nên,
Although some auxiliaries such as phải, cần to express those meanings.
must, might, need, ought to, should Besides, according to Du (2005), some
have the same meaning of obligation verbs have different meanings like the
to do something, their usage depends verb “có” in Vietnamese have both
on the level of obligation, for example meanings of possession “have” and
the meaning of “must” shows the existence “(there) is/ are” in English.
strongest obligation among them

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 CONCLUSION

All in all, depending on the language, verbs may express grammatical tense, aspect,
or modality. Grammatical tense is the use of auxiliary verbs or inflections to convey
whether the action or state is before, simultaneous with, or after some reference point.
The reference point could be the time of utterance, in which case the verb
expresses absolute tense, or it could be a past, present, or future time of reference
previously established in the sentence, in which case the verb expresses relative tense.
One of the most important things about verbs is their relationship to time. Verbs tell
if something has already happened, if it will happen later, or if it is happening now.
Verbs are an important part of speech, because if a verb is missing, there can’t be a
sentence.

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 References
Book “A university Grammar of English” – Randolph Quirk University of London,
Sidney Greenbaum Unversity of Wisconsin

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/regular-and-irregular-verbs

https://medium.com/@Grammar/importance-of-verbs-1e2ddf0b6396

https://batah911.wordpress.com/verbs/function-of-verbs/

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/english-homework-help/34408-functions-of-
verbs-and-verb-phrases/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/BF03197593

http://wisevn.com/_ed/CA2009/AI_NHI_CA%205CQDP.pdf

https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/what-is-a-verb.html

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