verb word

[1364]

Hi everybody,

I need some information about " verb word",would you please help me

Thanks & regards

[Robbie_Durham]

Verbs are actions or states. They tell you whether something has already happened (past), whether something is happening at this moment (present) or whether something will happen (future). As well as telling you the tense (which is either past, present or future), they also tell you what is happening. I'll give some examples, putting the verbs in bold.

Peter played his harmonium.

You can see that at some point in the past, Peter had played his harmonium. If it was happening in the present it would be "Peter is playing his harmonium". Both "is" and "playing" are verbs. "Is" is a verb because it tells you that something is happening in the present. "Playing" is a verb because it tells you what is happening.
If Peter is going to play his harmonium at some point in the future the sentence would be "Peter will play his harmonium". "Will" is a verb because it tells you when an event occurs. "Play" is a verb because it tells you what will occur.


Past Tense: The cat slept in front of the fire.
Present Tense: The cat is sleeping in front of the fire.
Future Tense: The cat will sleep in front of the fire.

Past Tense: Peter lit a firework.
Present Tense: Peter is lighting a firework.
Future Tense: Peter will light a firework.

I hope that's been helpful to you.

[explorelang]

Really nice explaination.

[Casiopea]

Yes, indeed, it was.

[1364]

Originally Posted by Casiopea

Yes, indeed, it was.

Hi there,
Yes what a nice explanation .thanks,but I think you describe "verb" for me,the thing I want is definition of "a verb word" ,for instance:
Used to requires "a verb word".or some adjective such as important need "a verb word" .Does it mean base form of the verb?

Thanks

[rewboss]

One of the problems of grammar is that sometimes, different people use different words to describe the same thing. The most common example is the "present progressive" which is sometimes called the "present continuous".

I'd never heard of a "verb word" before, and I've never seen it used in a grammar text book. But a quick Google search for the phrase turned up a website that uses it to mean the base form of the verb -- and yes, "used to" does require the base form of the verb.

This base form has many different names: "basic form" and "infinitive without 'to'" are more common. I personally prefer "basic form" because it's a simple and accurate description.

(I also prefer "present continuous" because it's easier to pronounce than "present progressive".)

[Casiopea]

Additionally, "a verb word" means, a word that's a verb in form. For example,

[1] I used to go . . . .
[2] You are supposed to be. . . .
[3] It is important to remember. . . .

"used to", "supposed to", and "important to" are set phrases. That is, "used to" + a verb word, not "used" + to go. The word "go" is a verb in form and it functions as the object of "used to". Verbs such as "used to", "supposed to", "want to", etc., take a verb word as their object. The same holds true for adjectival sets like, "important to".