GRAMMAR MADE EASY

Introduction
A verb is a word or a group of words that denotes action, or the state in which a
thing or a person is, or joins the subject with the rest of the sentence. There has to
be at least one verb in the sentence to make it a sentence. A verb often consists of
more than one word. For example:
• The baby laughs.
• The man is a doctor.
• The weather seems bad.
In the first sentence, the verb ‘laughs’ tells us about action. In the second, the verb
‘is’ tells us about what the man is. In the last, the verb is again stating about the
condition of the weather. Thus, a verb states something about the subject of the
sentence and expresses action, events or states of being. It forms a part of the
predicate of a sentence.
2.2 Forms of Verbs
Read the following sentences carefully:
1. Ram kills the snake.
2. The boy laughs loudly.
In sentence 1, the action denoted by the verb ‘kills’ passes over from the doer or
the subject ‘Ram’ to the object ‘snake’. The verb ‘kills’ is, therefore, called a
Transitive verb.
In sentence 2, the action denoted by the verb ‘laughs’ stops with the doer i.e., the
boy, it does not pass over to any object. It does not affect any noun other than the
doer. The verb ‘laughs’ is, therefore, called an Intransitive verb.
Most Transitive verbs take a single object, however, verbs such as give, ask,
offer, promise, tell, ... take on two objects after them – an object that denotes the
person to whom something is given or for whom something is done, and a direct
object which is usually the name of things.
2.3 Using Verb Tenses
A verb indicates the time of the action by changing its form. The tenses are
determined according to the time frame viz. present tenses, past tenses and future
tenses.
2.3.1 Present tense:
1. The simple present – (We go).
Form: First form of the verb
The verb describes things, situations or actions that are present now
and are habitually true.
The sun rises in the east. (always true)
He goes for a walk every morning. (habitually true)
2. The present continuous – (We are going).
Form: is/am/are + -ing form of the verb.
The verb describes a particular action that is taking place at the time of
speaking and is in progress.
The baby is sleeping.
He is writing a letter.
3. The present perfect – (We have gone).
Form: has/have + third form (past participle) of the verb.
The verb describes an action that started sometimes in the past and
continues up to the present.
They have gone to Bombay.
He has eaten his food.
4. The present perfect continuous – (We have been going).
Form: have/has + been + -ing form of the verb + since/for.
The verb describes an action that began in the past, continues in the
present and may continue into the future also.
It has been raining since morning.
He has been working for three hours.
2.3.2 Past tense:
1) The simple past – (We went).
Form: second form of the verb.
The verb describes actions or conditions of the past.
We went to a picnic yesterday.
I received this letter last week.
2) The past continuous – (We were going).
Form: was/were + -ing form of the verb.
The verb describes an action that took place in the past over a
period of time.
She was crying.
The children were playing.
3) The past perfect – (We had gone).
Form: had + third form (past participle) of the verb.
The verb describes an action or event, also completed in the past.
She had cried.
The children had played.
4) The past perfect continuous – (We had been going).
Form: had + been + -ing form of the verb + since/for.
The verb describes a continuing action in the past.
At that time, he had been writing a book for two months.
He had been living in Bombay since 1990.
2.3.3 Future tense:
1) The simple future – (We will go).
Form: will/shall + first form of the verb.
The verb describes actions or events of the future. It helps in making
predictions about the future, spontaneous reactions to events, making
promises and thinking about future possibilities.
It will rain tomorrow.
I think he will not attend the party.
2) The future continuous – (We will be going).
Form: will/shall + be + -ing form of the verb.
The verb is used to describe an activity that will be happening at a
precise point in time in the future.
I'll be playing golf at six in the evening.
When you arrive in Hisar, he'll be sleeping.
3) The future perfect – (We will have gone).
Form: will/shall + have + third form (past participle) of the verb.
The verb is used to show that something that will have been done up to
a precise point in time in the future.
She'll have read the book by the time you leave.
The last train will have left within an hour.
4) The future perfect continuous – (We will have been going).
Form: will/shall + have + been + -ing form of the verb + since/for.
The verb shows that something will continue up until a
particular event or time in future.
They will have been talking for over an hour by the time you
arrive.
Note: Sometimes, the simple present tense can express future time if there
is some other word in the sentence that clearly marks a future tense.