Grammar - The verb

The verb

Verb is a very important constituent in a sentence because we can’t write a sentence with a complete sense without a verb.

There are two classes of
Verbs

They are

Auxiliary verbs & Ordinary verbs

 

Auxiliary verbs

to be

to do

    to have

 

can, could

 may, might

must

ought

shall, should

will, would

 to need

 to dare

used

 

Ordinary verbs

They express an action

 

to work

to sing

    to study

to eat

to teach

to run

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s talk more about the auxiliary verbs first 

 

What are auxiliary verbs and what do they do in a sentence?

Let’s learn

 

Auxiliary verbs

to be

 

be

was

been

being

 

 

Auxiliary

to be

 

is used

 

To say something about somebody or something

or

To ask something about somebody or something

 

They just say people and things are

Something

 

When speaking about someone or something in the present

we use 

 

Auxiliary


to be


am

is

are

  

 

 

Look at the following examples

 


I am a farmer.



Sirisena is a farmer.




Sirisena and Gunapala are farmers.

 

All these sentences say something about the subject

 

 

If the

 

Subject                        -        I                          -        am

 

Subject singular      -          He

                    She           

It

The boy              -        is

The teacher

The table

The bird

 

  Subject plural         -        We

You

They

          The boys           -        are

          The teachers

The tables

The birds

 

When we use the verb  to be 

a compliment

comes after the verb

be

 

 Compliment can be either a noun/ noun phrase or an adjective or an adverbial

 

More Examples

When the compliment is a noun or a noun phrase 

I  am a teacher. 

I am Samanali

You are a good boy.

He is a doctor.

 She is my class teacher.

It is an interesting book.

It is my pet dog.

We are friends.

You are my students.

They are parents.

They are my pens.

They are beautiful birds


 Pavan is a doctor.

 Mrs. Perera is my class teacher.

Harry Potter is an interesting book.

Tommy is my pet dog.

Samanali and Vihangi are friends.

Those boys are my students.

Mr. and Mrs. Silva are parents of Samanali.

 Peacocks are beautiful birds.

 

When the compliment is a an adjective

am tired.

You are nice.

He is honest.

 She is clever.

We are happy.

You are smart.

They are happy.

 

Vihanga is tired.

  Vihangi is nice.

The wood man is  honest.

 My sister is clever.

My dog is playful.

Pahan and Pavan are happy.

 My friensds are smart.

The teachers are happy.

Those books are interesting.

 

When the compliment is a an adverbial

am in the class.

You are in the class B.

He is at the bus stop.

 She is under the tree.

We are in the library.

You are down stairs.

They are at office.

 

Ravi is in the office.

Raveena is in the science class.

The lottery seller is at the bus stop.

 Postman is at the gate.

The students are in the main hall.

The birds are in the tree.

The clerks are at the office.

 

 

 

 

When asking about someone or something in the present

 

Am I a farmer?

Yes, you are a farmer.

 

Is Sirisena a farmer?

Yes, Sirisena is a farmer?

 



Are they farmers?

Yes, they are farmers.

 



Is he a rich man?

No, he is not a rich man.

 

All these sentences ask something about the subject

 

 

Am I a teacher?

Are you a good boy?

Is he a doctor?

 Is she my class teacher?

Is it an interesting book?

Is it my pet dog?

Are we friends?

Are you my students?

Are they parents?

Are  they my pens?

Are  they beautiful birds?

 Is Pavan a doctor?

 Is Mrs. Perera my class teacher?

Is  Harry Potter an interesting book?

Is  Tommy  my pet dog?

Are Samanali and Vihangi friends?

Are  Those boys  my students?

Are Mr. and Mrs. Silva  parents of Samanali?

 Are Peacocks beautiful birds?

 

Am I nice?

Are you tired?

Is he honest?

 Is she clever?

Are we happy?

Are you smart?

Are they happy?

 When speaking about someone or something in the past

 

Auxiliary

to be

is

was

were

 

 

Look at the following example

 

I was a student then.

But now I am not a student.

 

Piyal was a farmer before.

But now he is a businessman.

 

Sirisena and Gunapala were very poor those days.

But now they have succeeded in their business and are rich.

 

Sirisena was very happy when he got the plot of land.

He got the plot of land last year.

 

Gunapala was in the field last evening.

But now he may not be there

 

 

All these sentences say something about the subject

 

 

 

If the

 

Subject                        -                                -        was

 

Subject singular      -        He

                   She           

It

The boy              -        was

The teacher

The table

The bird

 

  Subject plural         -        We

You

They

          The boys           -      were

          The teachers

The tables

The birds

 

When we use the verb to be a compliment

comes after the verb be

 

 Compliment can be either a noun or an adjective or an adverbial

 

More Examples

When the compliment is a noun

I was a teacher.

You were a good boy.

He was a doctor.

 She was my class teacher.

It was an interesting book.

It was my pet dog.

We were friends.

You were my students.

They were parents.

They were my pens.

They were beautiful birds.

 

Pavan was a doctor.

 Mrs. Perera was my class teacher.

The book Harry Potter was in the cupboard.

Tommy was my pet dog.

Samanali and Vihangi were friends.

Those boys  were my students.

Mr. and Mrs. Silva were teachers.

 

When the compliment is an adjective  

I was tired.

You were nice.

He was honest.

 She was clever.

We were happy.

You were smart.

They were worried.

Vihanga was exhausted.

  Vihangi was shy.

The wood man was honest.

 My sister was clever.

My dog was playful.

Pahan and Pavan were happy.

 My friensds were smart.

The teachers were happy.

Those books were interesting.

 

When the compliment is an adverbial  

I was in the class.

You were in the class B.

He was at the bus stop.

 She was under the tree.

We were in the library.

You were down stairs.

They were at office.

 

Ravi was in the office.

Raveena was in the science class.

The lottery seller was at the bus stop.

 Postman was at the gate.

The students were in the main hall.

The birds were in the tree.

The clerks were at the office.

 



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