The ESL HELP! Desk

I have two brothers, (who is) younger and one (who is) older. After my older brother graduated from high school, he came to New York.  He didn't like it, however, and he returned to Honduras.  Now it was my turn to go to New York and this was something that I wanted to do.

What Is a Verb?

 

A verb is a word that expresses action (an action verb) or a state of being (a be verb).

Every sentence in English has a verb. If you have not included the verb, you must edit and correct your sentence to include a verb.

Verbs indicate a time reference (past, present, future).

Warm-up 1A

I remember that there was a time when my brother went out to play and didn't come back.

There are four verbs in the above sentence.  (Three are action verbs and one is a "be" verb.)  For the sentence above, in the box below write the time reference - past, present or future - of each verb.

VERB	TIME REFERENCE
remember	present
was	past
went	past
didn't come	past

MORE!

Warm-up 1B

Continue to practice with identifying time reference in verbs. For each sentence below, write the time reference - past, present or future - of each verb. And be careful because a verb may contain more than one time reference.

1. Many people think that writing is no longer important, but I disagree.



2. Computers have helped us in many ways.

Are you ready for the ANSWERS?

After you check your answers, please continue with " What Is a Verb, Part 2"?

 

So from the ESL Help Desk, thanks for dropping by for this lesson and remember to email us your questions about English grammar by way of our blog. 

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