Oh, verbs… is anyone else overwhelmed by these action-packed
words this week? Who knew there were so many different forms and tenses? After
a few re-reads of this section, I think I finally understand. I’ll expand on
some tips that helped me through these assignments.
Transitive verbs are always followed by a direct object
while intransitive verbs do not give action to a direct object. Linking verbs
link the subject and a modifier and mostly show up in the form of a “be” verb
(is, are, was, were), but there are some exceptions. Present, past and future
tense verbs all can show up in sub-tenses. These sub-tenses are perfect and
progressive. Indicative, imperative and subjunctive verb types all relate to
the mood of the verb. Lastly, gerunds, participles and infinitives all have
tricky rules and show up in unique ways. In fact, gerunds, participles and
infinitives are not verbs at all. They are verbals. They sure look like verbs, but
trust me, they’re not.
Phew, maybe that isn’t so simple? I have faith that it will
make sense with practice.
This week the topical guide just reinforced the fact that verbals
are not verbs. “Verbals, however, are not verbs. They are nouns, adjectives or
adverbs. Can we be any more direct than that?” (pg. 218) I love the voice
throughout the topical guide. It sounds like a friend speaking very blunt to me
about my grammar mistakes.
I chose this picture for this week since we are on the topic of verbs and
because it made me giggle.
ME! I'm overwhelmed. I also chose to write about verbals. Sentences with gerunds and linking verbs are the hardest because we don't normally think of "is" as a verb, so when we see an -ing word, our brains think they see a verb.... wrong! In this situation, it is helpful to break the sentence down to its components. Great post! Thanks for sharing.
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