Verbs

Verbs

Middle School

Introduction to Verbs

• Verbs are action words that show what someone or something is doing.
• Think of physical actions you can do, like run, jump, or swim.
• Verbs can also show mental actions, like think, wonder, or believe.
• Some verbs show a state of being, like is, am, are, was, and were.
• Every complete sentence must always include at least one verb.

Learning Objectives

• Identify action verbs and state of being verbs in sentences.
• Understand how verbs act as the 'engine' of our language.
• Explain the specific job a verb is doing in a sentence.
• Use strong and interesting verbs to improve your own writing.

Introduction to Verbs

• Verbs are powerful words that give sentences energy and movement.
• A verb's main job is to show an action or a state of being.
• Action verbs show what someone is doing, like run, think, or sing.
• State of being verbs describe a condition, like am, was, or seem.

Let's Learn with an Example

Let's look at this short paragraph:

The astronaut floats weightlessly inside the spaceship. She is an expert in science and navigation. She remembers her family back on Earth and smiles.

• In the first sentence, 'floats' is an action verb showing a physical action.
• In the next sentence, 'is' is a state of being verb, linking the subject to a description.
• The verb 'remembers' is a mental action, which is also an action verb.
• 'smiles' is another action verb because it shows a physical action.

Lets Practice Together

Multiple Choice

Which word is the verb in the following sentence: 'The blue bird sings a beautiful song.'?

• sings

• bird

• beautiful

• song

Lets give it
a Try

Multiple Choice

Which sentence contains a 'state of being' verb?

• He seems very tired today.

• The dog barked loudly at the mailman.

• She quickly wrote a thank-you note.

• They play soccer at the park every weekend.

Fill in the Blank

The students _______ quietly on their assignment. Fill in the blank with the best action verb.

Summary

• A verb shows action or a state of being in a sentence.
• A sentence is incomplete without a verb.
• Action verbs show physical or mental actions.
• State-of-being verbs connect a subject to a description.
• Ask “What is happening?” to find the verb in a sentence.