GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

UNIT5
VERBS

Verbs are the words in a sentence that describe the action of a sentence or that
introduce the condition or state of someone or something in the sentence.

Action: Anna throws the ball.

Introduction of a condition: Trent is very sick.

There are many action verbs. Those that can have a direct object are often called
transitive verbs. Here is a list of some commonly used transitive verbs. Note that they
can be used with a direct object.

Transitive Verbs Used in a Sentence

buy He buys a newspaper
carry I am carrying the child.
find Can you find the book?
help She helps us.
like I don’t like cabbage.
lose Don’t lose your money
read She is reading a book.
pull The dentist pulled the tooth.
push The boy pushes the cart.
sell I am selling my car.
speak Father speaks Spanish.
write We are writing some postcards.
understand Do you understand me?

Intransitive verbs are not followed by a direct object. They often show a movement to
a place and are sometimes followed by a prepositional phrase. Following is a list of
some commonly used intransitive verbs:

Intransitive Verbs Used in a Sentence

come Can you come to the party?
crawl The baby crawls on the floor.
drive We are driving fast.
fly I flew here from Paris.
go Are you going home?
hurry We hurry to the window
jump Peter jumps from the roof
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

Ride I am riding in his car.

Run The girls run past the school.
Sail We are sailing to Europe.
Travel Do you want to travel with us?
Walk I walk out of the theatre.

Still other verbs introduce the condition or state of someone or something. They do
not take a direct object and are most often followed by an adjective. These verbs are
usually called linking verbs. Here are some commonly used linking verbs:

Linking Verbs Used in a Sentence

Appear The boy appears quite well.
Be I am hungry
Become The weather becomes bad.
Feel It feels hot.
Grow The dog is growing weak.
Look She looks unhappy
Seem The coat seems too small for you.
Smell The pizza smells good.
Sound The music sounds awful.
Taste The popcorn tastes salty

Careful! Some of the linking verbs have a second usage. They can be used as
transitive verbs. Look at these examples:

Linking Verb: His skin feels hot. (hot adjective)

Transitive Verb: He feels a sharp pain. (a sharp pain direct object)

Linking Verb: The sky grows cloudy. (adjective)

Transitive Verb: We grow vegetables. (Direct object)

Linking Verb: That smells beautiful. (adjective)

Transitive Verb: She smells theflowers. (Direct object)

Linking Verb: My coffee tastes bitter. (adjective)

Transitive Verb: Risa tasted the ice cream. (Direct object)
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

You can identify linking verbs by substituting am, is, or are for the verb. If the
sentence makes sense with the substitution, it is a linking verb. If it does not make
sense, it is a transitive verb. Some examples:

It feels cold. (It is cold.) This makes sense. Linking Verb

He feels her pulse. (He is her pulse.) This makes no sense. Transitive Verb

Exercise 5-1

Look at the verb in each sentence. Decide what kind of verb it is. Then write
transitive, intransitive, or linking in the space provided.

1. Transitive Verbs. Kirsten asks a good question.

2. Intransitive verbs. We went to Mexico.

3. Transitive Verbs. Do you understand German?
4. Linking Verbs. It grows very dark.
5. Linking Verbs. Emily appears healthy again.
6. Transitive verbs. Mother bought a new car.
7.Intransitive verbs. The cat jumps from the sofa to the chair.
8. Transitive verbs. Do they want tickets for the movie?
9. Linking verbs. The milk is too hot.
10. Linking Verbs. Grandfather grows corn and potatoes in his garden.

The Present Tense

In some languages, present tense conjugations are very complicated. Each pronoun
requires a different ending on the verb. English is much simpler. Only the third-
person singular (he, she, it) requires an ending. That ending is an -s (or -es). And
with some verbs there is no ending change at all. Look at these examples of the
present tense:

to go to see to want can Must

I Go See Want can Must
you Go See Want can Must
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

he, she, it Go See Want can Must

we Go See Want can Must
they Go See Want can Must
When the verb ends in the vowel -o, add -es for the third-person singular pronouns:

do ➞ does

Canand must are special auxiliary verbs. They never have an ending change in the
present tense. There are other auxiliaries that do the same thing. They will be taken
up later.

There are two special verbs that have more complicated ending changes in the
present tense: to have and to be.

to have to be
I Have Am
You Have Are
he, she, it Has Is
We Have Are
They Have Are

Exercise 5-2

Circle the boldface word that best completes each sentence.

1. They have no time today.

2. My aunt lives in New York.

3. She speaks English and Spanish.

4. We are Americans.

5. It is in the city.

6. I am not a citizen.

7. Are you at home now?

8. He has a new job.

9. She likes her neighbours.

GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

10. She goes to the store.

Asking Questions

A sentence that has the verb to be in it is easily formed as a question. Just invert the
position of the verb and the subject. Look at these examples:

Statement Question
I am late Am I late?
She is his sister. Is she, his sister?
They are from Puerto Rico. Are they from Puerto Rico?

All other verbs, including to have, form a question by using the verb to do (do, does).
The verb to do is conjugated for the subject of the sentence. The original verb in the
sentence becomes an infinitive. English infinitives begin with the word to: to run, to
jump, to sing, and so on. Sometimes the word to is omitted: run, jump, sing, and so
on. The word to is omitted in questions.

Statement Question
Jacques has a new job. Does Jacques have a new job?
You see the ocean. Do you see the ocean?
She likes my brother. Does she like my brother?
Tanya usually finds the books. Does Tanya usually find the books?

Exercise 5-3

Change each sentence to a question.

1. Rocco’s uncle lives in Washington.

Does Rocco’s uncle live in Washington?

2. She is his cousin.

Is she, his cousin?

3. We take this road to Chicago.

Do we take this road to Chicago?

4. They are in the garden.
Are they are in garden?
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

5. I have your new address

Do I have your new address?

Exercise 5-4

Change each question to a statement.

1. Are the boys at home?
The boys are at home.
2. Do you want this book?
You want this book
3. Does she have the money?
She has the money.
4. Am I your friend now?
I am your friend now.
5. Does he go there every day?
He go there every day.

Negation
Add not after the verb to be to make it negative:

I am ➞ I am not

you are ➞ you are not

she is ➞ she is not

we are ➞ we are not

they are ➞ they are not
With all other verbs, use do/does and not to make a verb negative. Do is conjugated
for the subject of the sentence, and the original verb becomes an infinitive. The
structure is do + not + infinitive. Look at these examples:

Original Sentence Negative Sentence

I like hot milk. I do not like hot milk
She has my books. She does not have my books.
Danielle goes to the window. Danielle does not go to the window.
We find the money. We do not find the money.
It grows cold. It does not grow cold.
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

When a negative sentence becomes a question, the question begins with do/does
as describe earlier:

you do not know ➞ do you not know?

Mary does not have ➞ does Mary not have?

Even when negated, the verb to be does not form a question with do/does:
I am not ➞ am I not?
she is not ➞ is she not?

they are not ➞ are they not?

Some example sentences:

Negative Sentence Negative Question

She does not like him. Does she not like him?
We do not want it. Do we not want it?
You are not at home. Are you not at home?
He is not our friend. Is he not our friend?

Three Forms of the Present Tense

English has three ways of expressing the present tense. You already know one way:
Conjugate the verb by adding appropriate endings: I sing, we go, he has, she is, they
want, Toni finds. This formation of the present tense has a special meaning. It says
that someone does something as a habit or frequently.

The second present tense is formed from the verb to be combined with a verb ending
in -Ing: I am running, you are speaking, she is learning, we are singing, and so on.
This present tense formation means that an action is in progress and that the action
of the verb is incomplete.

The third present tense is the emphatic and opposite response to someone’s
statement. If the statement is negative, you respond in the positive. If it is positive,
you respond in the negative. It requires using do/does with the infinitive of the original
verb. Kendra says, “You do not have the book.” You respond, “I do have the book.”
Scott says, “He does not go by bus.” You respond, “He does go by bus.” Sophie
says, “My sister likes the movie.” You respond, “Your sister does not like the movie.”
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

Let’s compare the three forms:

Habitual Statement (something done frequently)

I speak English.
We go to school.
They play soccer.
In Progress (incomplete)
I am speaking English.
We are going to school.
They are playing soccer.
Emphatic Response
“You do not speak English.” ➞ “I do speak English.”
“We go to school.” ➞ “We do not go to school.”

“They do not play soccer.” ➞ “They do play soccer.”

When you use an adverb that shows that an action is done frequently (often,
sometimes, always, usually, every day, etc.), you should use the habitual form of the
present tense: I often listen to jazz. We sometimes talk on the phone. Travis usually
works until five.

Exercise 5-5

Rewrite each sentence using the adverb in parentheses. Change the verb action
from being incomplete to habitual.

1. We are driving to New York. (always)

We always drive to New York.

2. She is speaking quickly. (sometimes)

Sometimes she speak quickly.

3. I am working in the garden. (often)

I often work in the garden.

4. The boys are playing tennis. (frequently)
 GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

The boys frequently play tennis.

5. The women are traveling abroad. (Every year)

Every year, the women are travel abroad.

The Past Tense

The past tense is used to show something that has happened in the past. Just as
there are three present tense formations, there are also three past tense formations:
(1) a habitual or frequent action, (2) an action in progress or incomplete, and (3) an
emphatic response in the past tense.

The past tense conjugation of a habitual or frequent action is quite simple. Just add
-ed to the end of a regular verb. If the verb ends in a consonant followed by a -y, drop
the -y and add -ied. If a one-syllable verb ends in a single consonant, double that
consonant and add -ed. Look at these examples:

Just Add -ed Consonant -y Single Consonant

borrow, borrowed bury, buried bed, bedded
call, called carry, carried pin, pinned
help, helped hurry, hurried rot, rotted
work, worked rally, rallied sin, sinned

The verbs listed above are regular verbs. They form their past tense by the addition
of -ed. There are also irregular verbs. They form their past tense by making a
change within the stem of the verb. It is usually a vowel change, but there can also
be a consonant change as well. Following are the irregular past tense forms of some
commonly used verbs:

Infinitive Past Tense Infinitive Past Tense

to be Was/were to make made
to break Broke to put put
 GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

to bring Brought to read read

to build Built to ride rode
to buy Bought to run ran
to catch Caught to see saw
to cut Cut to sell sold
to do Did to sit sat
to find Found to speak spoke

You will find a complete list of irregular tense formations in the appendix.

Use the past tense of to be (was/were) plus an -ing ending on the verb to form the
past tense of an action in progress or incomplete. There is no difference for regular
or irregular verbs:

to sing ➞ was singing

to go ➞ was going

to carry ➞ was carrying,

and so, on
Use the past tense of to do (did) to form the past tense of an emphatic response.

Let’s compare the three past tense formations:

Habitual Statement (something done frequently)

I spoke English.
We went to school.
They played soccer.
In Progress (incomplete)
I was speaking English.
We were going to school.
They were playing soccer.
Emphatic Response
“You did not speak English.” ➞ “I did speak English.”

“We went to school.” ➞ “We did not go to school.”

“They did not play soccer.” ➞ “They did play soccer.”

Questions and negations with not are formed with the past tense of to do (did) in the
same way they are formed in the present tense:
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

Present Tense Past Tense

Does he like the article? Did he like the article?
You do not understand. You did not understand.

Exercise 5-6

Rewrite each sentence in the past tense.

1. Susan helps her friends.

Susan helped her friends.
2. We go to the movies.

We were go to the movies.

3. She is washing the car.
She was washing the car.
4. My father is in the kitchen.
My father was in the kitchen.
5. She does not understand you.

She didn’t understand you.

The Present Perfect Tense

To express something that began in the past and continues until the present use the
present perfect tense. This tense has two formations: (1) the habitual or frequent
action and (2) the action in progress or incomplete. The habitual present perfect
tense is formed by conjugating to have (have/has) in the present tense and
combining it with a past participle:

to work ➞ has worked

to carry ➞ has carried

to speak ➞ has spoken

 GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

The participle of a regular verb looks just like the past tense. It ends in -ed. But the
participle of an irregular verb often makes a change. Look at this list of irregular
participles of commonly used verbs:

Infinitive Participle Infinitive Participle

to be Been to make made
to break Broken to put put
to bring Brought to read read
to build Built to ride ridden
to buy Bought to run run
to catch Caught to see seen
to cut Cut to sell sold
to do Done to sit sat
to find Found to speak spoken

The present perfect of an action in progress or incomplete is formed by conjugating

to have (have/has) with the participle of to be (been) and the verb with an -ing
ending. The structure is to have + been + verb-ing:

to work ➞ has been working

to carry ➞ has been carrying

to speak ➞ has been speaking

In this formation there is no need to worry about irregular participles.

Notice how the present perfect tense forms from the present tense:

He learns English. He has learned English

He is learning English. He has been learning English.
We see strangers. We have seen strangers.
We are seeing strangers. We have been seeing strangers.
I ride a long time. I have ridden a long time.
I am riding a long time. I have been riding a long time.

Exercise 5-7

Rewrite the present tense sentences in the present perfect tense.

1. Ms. Nellum takes the boy home.

Ms. Nellum has been taken the boy home.

2. We ride on a bus.
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

We have been on a bus.

3. They are riding their bikes.

They have been ridden their bikes.

4. Do you often make cookies?

Do you have been made cookies?

5. She does not understand.

Does she hasn’t understand

The Past Perfect Tense

To express an action that began in the past and ended in the past use the past
perfect tense. It has two formations similar to the present perfect tense. But in the
past perfect tense, the verb to have is conjugated in the past tense (had):

to work ➞ had worked/had been working

to carry ➞ had carried/had been carrying

to speak ➞ had spoken/had been speaking.

You can form a question in the present perfect or past perfect tenses by inverting the
verb and the subject:

You have spoken. ➞ Have you spoken

He had learned. ➞ Had he learned?

You can form the negative by placing not after have or had:
You have spoken. ➞ You have not spoken.

He had learned. ➞ He had not learned

Exercise 5-8

Rewrite the present tense sentences in the past perfect tense.

GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

1. The woman takes the girl home.

The woman had taken the girl home.
2. We ride on a train.

We had ridden on a train.

3. I always speak Spanish.

I had always spoken Spanish.

4. Do you often make roast beef?

Have you often made roast beef?

5. Rebecca does not remember.

Rebbecca had not remember.

The Future Tense

The future tense can be expressed in a few ways. One of the most common is to use
the present tense but to imply a future tense meaning. This is done by using the
present tense verb formation for an action in progress or incomplete. Look at the
following examples:

Ray is going to school today. (present tense)

Ray is going to school tomorrow. (future tense)

They are traveling to Mexico today. (present tense)

They are traveling to Mexico tomorrow. (future tense)

Another way to form the future tense is to combine the verb shall or will with an
infinitive. If the action is one in progress or incomplete, use the structure shall/will +
be+ verb-ing:

to go ➞ I shall go/I shall be going

to speak ➞ he will speak/he will be speaking

Let’s look at the complete conjugation:
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

Pronoun Habitual Action Incomplete Action

I shall speak shall be speaking
You will try will be trying
he, she, it will make will be making
We shall read shall be reading
They will work will be working
Traditionally, shall has been used for the first-person singular and plural (I and we).
However, many modern speakers of English use only will.

Form a question in the future by inverting the verb and the subject:
You will sing. ➞ Will you sing?

Form the negative by placing not after will:

You will sing. ➞ You will not sing.

Exercise 5-9

Rewrite the following present tense sentences in the future tense by using will.

1. The girls play soccer.

The girls will play soccer
2. I am learning to drive.

I will be learn to drive

3. We are not home on time.

We will not home on time.

4. Do you recognize him?

Do you will recognize him?

5. Trent is driving to Texas.

Trent will driving to Texas.

The Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense describes an action that begins and ends in the future tense.
Just like other perfect tenses, it has two formations: one for a habitual or frequent
action and one for an action in progress or incomplete. The structure for a habitual
action is will + have +past participle:
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

to work ➞ will have worked

to see ➞ will have seen
The structure for an action in progress or incomplete is will + have + been + verb-
ing:

to work ➞ will have been working

to see ➞ will have been seeing
Let’s look at the complete conjugation:
Pronoun Habitual Action Incomplete Action
I will have spoken will have been speaking
You will have tried will have been trying
he, she, it will have made will have been making
We will have read will have been reading
They will have worked will have been working

Exercise 5-10

Rewrite the present tense sentences in the future perfect tense.

1. My father takes the girl to school.

My father will have taken the girl to the school.

2. We ride on the subway.

We will have ridden on the subway.

3. They are riding their bikes.

The will have riding their bikes.

4. Do you make candy?

Do you will made a candy?

5. She does not understand.

She didn’t understand.

Comparison of Regular and Irregular Verbs

GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

The regular verbs are the easiest to work with. Since there are no unusual changes
to make in the conjugations, they follow very neat patterns. With irregular verbs, you
must remember that the past tense and the participle are formed with vowel changes.
Let’s look at three verbs and how they appear in all the tenses:

Tense to play to go to sing

Present he plays he goes he sings
he is playing he is going he is singing
he does play he does go he does sing
Past he played he went he sang
he was playing he was going he was singing
he did play he did go he did sing
Present Perfect he has played he has gone he has sung
he has been playing he has been going he has been singing
Past Perfect he had played he had gone he had sung
he had been playing he had been going he had been singing
Future he will play he will go he will sing
he will be playing he will be going he will be singing
Future Perfect he will have played he will have gone he will have sung
he will have been he will have been he will have been
playing going singing

Exercise 5-11

Rewrite the following present tense sentences in the other five tenses.

1. Sig buys a car.

past sig bought a car.
present perfect sig has been bought a car.
past perfect sig had been bought a car
future sig will buys a car.
future perfect sig will have buys a car.

Going to and used to are two important phrases that cause a tense change. Use
going to as a substitute for shall or will in the future tense. Use used to as a
substitute for the simple past tense. Combine going to or used to with an infinitive:
GRAMMAR 1 (TATA BAHASA 1)

He will learn English. ➞ He is going to learn English.

He spoke English. ➞ He used to speak English.
When you use to be going to to express the future tense, you imply that the action is
something you intend to do. When you use used to to express the past tense, you
imply that the action is something that had been a habit.

You can also use going to in the past tense (was/were going to) to express
something that you had intended doing:

I was going to buy a new car but changed my mind.

Were you going to visit your aunt?