Verbs are super important words in our language, just like nouns. They tell us what someone or something is doing. There are two main types of verbs: be verbs and action verbs.
Be verbs use different forms of the word “to be.” These forms are am, is, are, was, and were.
Am and is are used to talk about what is happening now or what will happen soon. For example, “I am leaving for school in an hour.” Here, “am” is the verb. In “The snake is in the grass,” “is” is the verb. Another example is, “Tomorrow we are going on a field trip,” where “are” is the verb.
Was and were are used to talk about things that happened in the past. For instance, “She was supposed to clean her room yesterday,” where “was” is the verb. In “They were going to go swimming this morning, but it rained,” “were” is the verb.
Action verbs show what someone or something is doing. They are all about movement and action! Running, swimming, eating, and sleeping are all action verbs. Think about things you like to do, and they are probably action verbs!
Let’s look at some examples:
With action verbs, you can see the action happening!
Action verbs can change to show when something happens: in the past, now, or in the future.
When something happened in the past, we usually add “ed” to the verb. For example, “walk” becomes “walked.” So, “We walked to school yesterday.” Another example is “brush,” which becomes “brushed,” as in “I brushed my teeth this morning.”
When something is happening now, we add “s” or “ing” to the verb. For example, “swing” becomes “swinging,” as in “He is swinging on the tire swing.” Or, “swing” becomes “swings,” as in “He swings on the tire.”
Let’s try another word: if we add “ing” to “look,” it becomes “looking,” as in “Tom is looking for his crayons.” If we add “s” to “look,” it becomes “looks,” as in “Tom looks for his crayons.”
When something will happen later, we add “will” before the verb. For example, “Tomorrow Sue will ride her bike.” Another example is, “Keith will bring your book back next week,” and “The band will walk in the parade in June.”
By adding “will” before the action verb, we show that the action will happen in the future.
Now you know all about verbs! They help us understand what is happening, when it’s happening, and who is doing it. Keep an eye out for verbs in the sentences you read and write!
Verb Hunt: Go on a verb hunt around your home or classroom! Look for people doing different actions and write down the action verbs you observe. For example, if you see someone eating, write down “eat.” Try to find at least five different action verbs. Share your list with a friend and see if they found any different verbs!
Verb Charades: Play a game of charades with your family or classmates using action verbs. Write down different action verbs on pieces of paper, like “jump,” “run,” “dance,” or “sing.” Take turns picking a verb and acting it out without speaking, while others guess what action verb you are performing. This will help you understand how action verbs describe what we do!
Time Travel with Verbs: Choose an action verb and write three sentences using that verb to describe something that happened in the past, is happening now, and will happen in the future. For example, if you choose the verb “play,” you could write: “Yesterday, I played soccer,” “I am playing soccer now,” and “Tomorrow, I will play soccer.” Share your sentences with a partner and discuss how the verb changes with time.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided transcript:
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Verbs, like nouns, are a very important part of our language. Anything a noun does is a verb. The verb represents the action and indicates what the noun is doing. There are two main types of verbs: be verbs and action verbs.
Be verbs are verbs that use different forms of “to be.” The forms are am, is, are, was, and were. “Am” and “is” describe someone or something in the present or future, indicating what they are doing now or will do later. For example, “I am leaving for school in an hour.” Here, “am” is the verb. In the sentence “The snake is in the grass,” “is” is the verb. Another example is, “Tomorrow we are going on a field trip,” where “are” is the verb.
“Was” and “were” describe someone or something in the past, indicating actions that have already occurred. For instance, “She was supposed to clean her room yesterday,” where “was” is the verb. In the sentence “They were going to go swimming this morning, but it rained,” “were” is the verb.
Action verbs are the verbs that show movement or action. For example, running, swimming, eating, and sleeping are all examples of action verbs. Think of things that you like to do, and they will likely be action verbs.
Consider these three people: What action verbs are they doing? What is the boy doing? That’s right, he’s jump-roping; “jump” is an action verb. What is the little girl doing? That’s right, she’s reading; “read” is an action verb. What is the other girl doing? That’s right, she’s driving; “drive” is also an action verb. Notice that with action verbs, you can see someone or something performing the action.
Action verbs have different tenses to show past, present, and future actions. When we talk about an action that happened in the past, we usually add “ed” to the end of the verb. For example, “walk” becomes “walked.” So, “We walked to school yesterday.” Another example is “brush,” which becomes “brushed,” as in “I brushed my teeth this morning.” Adding “ed” to the end of a verb indicates actions that occurred in the past.
When we talk about an action that is happening now or in the present, we add “s” or “ing” to the end of the verb. For example, “swing” becomes “swinging,” as in “He is swinging on the tire swing.” Another way to show present action is by adding “s” to the end of the word. For instance, “swing” becomes “swings,” as in “He swings on the tire.”
Let’s try another word: if we add “ing” to “look,” it becomes “looking,” as in “Tom is looking for his crayons.” If we add “s” to “look,” it becomes “looks,” as in “Tom looks for his crayons.” All of these examples illustrate action verbs that are happening now.
When we talk about an action that will happen later or in the future, we add “will” before the verb. For example, “Tomorrow Sue will ride her bike.” Another example is, “Keith will bring your book back next week,” and “The band will walk in the parade in June.” By adding “will” before the action verb, we indicate that the action will happen later in the future.
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