Verbs are the action words in a sentence. They are extensively covered in banking and PO exams due to their importance. Let us learn about the types of verbs and the correct use of verbs.
Suggested Videos
Verbs
The Verbs in a sentence tell you what the subject of a sentence is doing, or how it is being. They are associated with people, tense, voice of speech or mood. Verbs are the heart of a sentence, they help the sentence convey the core message. Even just the verb can express a thought, like for example”Run!” or “sit.”
Here we will be covering some important type of verbs that are generally confusing. Once you learn how to use the correct form of verbs, it will be smooth sailing.
Browse more Topics under English Grammar
- Noun
- Kinds Of Noun
- Pronouns
- Adjectives and Adverbs
- Paragraph Jumbles
- Subjective Verb Agreement
- Conjuctions & Prepositions
- Phrasal Verbs
- Articles
- Tense
- Active and Passive Voice
- Direct/Indirect Speech
- English Grammar Practice Questions
Action and Non-Action Verbs
(Source: oxforddictionaries.com)
Action Verbs
Action Verbs indicate an action or the occurrence of an event. They are used when something is happening in a sentence. Even if the word is something that happens figuratively (like a symbol) it will be an action verb. Let us take a look at some examples.
- He ran across the street, (Ran is an action verb).
- That is her sitting on the bench (Sitting is an action verb as it implies an action).
- It was time to break the tradition and start a new trend (the break is used symbolically here, but is still an action verb).
Non-action
Non-action verbs do not indicate an occurrence of an event, they indicate the mood, emotion, feeling, opinion etc. Some examples of non-action verbs are
- I have the best seat in the house.
- He felt cold all of a sudden.
- I am a great player.
- She is on her way.
Phrasal Verb
Now there are many other kinds of verbs such as transitive, intransitive, auxiliary, modal etc. The one we will be focusing on here is a special verb known as Phrasal Verb.
Here the verb is not one word, but a string of words, or a phrase. The meaning of the original word will differ from that of the resulting phrase. We form the phrase by using a verb followed by an adverb or a preposition. Let us look at some examples of phrasal verbs. These are just some examples, there are hundreds upon hundreds of phrasal verbs.
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
| Account for | Explain or justify something | No one can account for his whereabouts on Monday. |
| jot down | Write/ take down something | Let me jot down my address, you can mail the letter to it. |
| cope with | a deal or adjust to something or someone | How do you cope with the daily requirements of your job. |
| Get on | move or progress from something | He has missed a few days, but he must get on with his studies. |
| Get over | Forget and move on | He needs to get over the loss, and start the business from scratch. |
Verbs and Tense
It is a verb that will indicate to us the tense of a sentence. So a verb will take on a different form, in different tenses. To ensure logic in our writing the correct form we use the verb to match the tense. Let us take a look at an example
- I get down at the station. (simple present)
- I got down at the station. (simple past)
- I will get down at the station. (simple future)
- I am getting down at the station (simple continuous)
Solved Questions
Q: There was (1) a great number (2) of people in the street walking (3) towards the entrance. Which part of the sentence is incorrect?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Sentence is correct
Ans: Option “A” is the answer. People here are in the plural sense, so ‘was’ is wrong, since it refers to singular. The correct sentence will be “There were a great number of people in the street walking towards the entrance.”
Q: Despite their devotion and dedication (1) the business failed (2) to take in (3). Which part of the sentence is incorrect?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Sentence is correct
Ans: Option “C” is the answer. ‘Take in’ means to take care of someone, here the phrasal verb should be ‘take off”, which means to be successful. Therefore correct sentence here is ” Despite their devotion and dedication the business failed to take off.”
Q: The chairman (1) and the director is (2) being investigated by the CBI (3) for fraudulent activities. Which part of the sentence is incorrect?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Sentence is correct
Ans: Option “B” is the correct answer. The two nouns Chairman and Director are separated by an ‘and’, but both are preceded by ‘the’. So both are being talked about separately and so plural verb must be used, i.e. ‘are’. So the correct sentence will read as “The chairman and the director are being investigated by the CBI for fraudulent activities.”
Practice Questions
Q: All the gold is (1) accounted for (2), I checked (3) twice. Which part of the sentence is incorrect?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Sentence is correct
Ans: Option B. It will be ‘accounted for’.
Q: The hotel has a revolving (1) restaurant, it is (2) what made (3) it famous. Which part of the sentence is incorrect?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Sentence is correct
Ans; Option C. “makes’ not ‘made’.
Q: The mother as well as (1) her children are (2) out on a picnic by the river (3). Which part of the sentence is incorrect?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Sentence is correct
Ans: Option C. Will be ‘is’ not ‘are’.
Leave a Reply