Verbs Flashcards
What do verbs indicate?
The action performed by a noun or pronoun, existence, and tense of the sentence
Examples include actions like ‘reared’, states like ‘was terrified’, and tenses like ‘will injure’.
What is a finite verb?
A verb that has a subject, a tense, and a number in agreement with the subject
Examples include ‘left’ (past tense, plural subject) and ‘locks’ (present tense, singular subject).
What are the three requirements for a finite verb?
- A subject (a ‘doer’)
- A tense (past, present, future)
- A number (singular or plural)
A finite verb forms a complete sentence.
True or False: A sentence can be complete without a finite verb.
False
A sentence is incomplete unless it has a finite verb.
What is an auxiliary verb?
A ‘helping’ verb that adds number and tense to the action verb
Examples include: am, is, are, was, were, can, could, etc.
What is the role of the verb ‘to be’?
It can act as a linking verb
It links a noun with another noun or an adjective.
What is a non-finite verb?
A verb that does not have a subject and its tense is uncertain
Non-finite verbs include infinitives and participles.
What are the two forms of non-finite verbs?
- Infinitives
- Participles (past and present)
Infinitives are recognized by ‘to’, while participles often end in ‘-ing’ or ‘-ed’.
Fill in the blank: Infinitives include the word _______.
[to]
Examples include ‘to sleep’ and ‘to dream’.
What is a split infinitive?
An infinitive that is separated by an adverb
For example, ‘to suddenly appear’ should be ‘suddenly to appear’ or ‘to appear suddenly’.
What functions can participles serve?
- Part of a verb-group with auxiliary verbs
- Verbal nouns (gerunds)
- Verbal adjectives (gerundives)
Examples include ‘running’ in ‘will be running’ and as a noun in ‘Running is fun’.
True or False: Past participles can only function as verbs.
False
Past participles can also function as adjectives, e.g., ‘The village was deserted.’
How can you recognize a present participle?
It usually has the suffix ‘-ing’
An example is ‘running’.
What is an example of a participle that ends in ‘-en’?
‘Written’
‘Written’ can function as a participle in a sentence.
What is the function of a gerund?
It acts as a verbal noun
For example, ‘Running is healthy.’
What is a gerundive?
A verbal adjective
For example, ‘running shoes’ describes the type of shoes.
