Verb

A verb is a doing or being word for example swimming, running - they show actions or things that we do. Verbs have to agree and make sense with the noun they are paired with as the verb describes what the noun is doing.

A full sentence must contain a verb.

Doing Verbs

Example doing verbs

• run
• eat
• wak
• jump
• sing
• play

Tense

When we write in English we write either in the past or present tense. We know which tense we are in by the verb being used. Present tense means something which is happening now. On the other hand something which has already happened is written in the past tense. Verbs in the past tense often (not always) end in -ed.

Past Tense	Present Tense
We walked to the shops.	We walk to the shops.
I played in the sunny park.	I play in the sunny park.
The hungry lion prowled the land.	The hungry lion prowls the land.

Being Verbs

A full sentence must contain a verb but when a being verb is used it can often be difficult to spot, the best way to find it can be with a process of elimination.

Take the sentence - Jesse is happy.

Jesse is the noun so can't be the verb.

Happy is the adjective as it is describing the noun Jesse.

This only leaves the word 'is' which by process of elimination has to be the verb as every sentence needs a verb.

Being verbs also have a habit of hiding in the middle of a noun and adjective. In our example sentence, the being verb 'is' is in the middle of the noun and adjective!

Common being verbs are:

• is (used for singular nouns)
• are (used for plural nouns)
• was (used for singular nouns)
• were (used for plural nouns)

Tense

A bit like doing verbs, being verbs can also be in the present tense or the past tense. We often use 'is' and 'are' when the tense is in the present and 'was' and 'were' when the tense is in the past:

Past Tense	Present Tense
Max was happy.	Max is happy.
The dog was wet.	The dog is wet.
The children were friendly.	The children are friendly.