VERBS: The Verb is the most important word in a sentence and tells you what a person or thing does.

It can tell you about: 1. An action e.g. run, hit, jumpetc 2. Existence or being and state e.g. be, have, seem, appearetc To help you understand the verbs that express existence or being and state they can be classified as under: a) Verbs of being: be, am, is, was, are and were. b) Verbs of state: Senses: see, smell, hear, feel and taste. Feelings: adore, dislike, despise, enjoy, feel, hate, like, love, mind, prefer, want.etc Thoughts: agree, assume, believe, disagree, forget, hope, know, remember, think, understand.etc. Events: rains, snows, darkens, happens.etc Changes:, change, become, grow.etc Description: describe, appear, contain, look, look like, mean, resemble, sound, weigh.etc Possession: possess, own, belong, have, has, had, got.etc Verbs of action tell us what people or things do. M.F. Hussein paints beautiful pictures. The verb paints tells us what M.F. Hussein does. Yoga helps you relax. The verb helps tells us about the effect of yoga. Verbs of being tell us what someone or something is like. M.F. Hussein is a famous artist. The verb is tells us about M.F. Hussein or what he is and not what he does. This book is good. The verb is tells us about the book or what the book is like. Verbs called verbs of being or to be verbs are formed using the verb be and its various forms am, is, are in the present tense, was and were in the past tense, and will be in the future tense. The other verbs are do, does, did; has, have, had; may, must, might; can, could; will, would; shall, should. The action verbs (dynamic verbs) can be used in the Continuous Tense, while the state verbs cannot be used in the Continuous Tense.

Some state verbs can be used in the Continuous Tense depending on their meaning. They are explained below. Verbs which are not used in progressive/continuous forms (state verbs) Not every verb can be used in progressive form. We do not use verbs that express situations (state) there. But we often use verbs that express actions (dynamic verbs) in progressive forms. The following verbs (state) are not normally used in the progressive forms: agree, be, like, hate, hear, imagine, know, need, prefer, promise, realize, remember, see Sometimes these state verbs can be used in progressive forms when they convey certain meanings. It is not possible to use them in progressive/continuous forms in their regular meaning. Read the following examples: Verb Simple Forms Progressive Forms feel (to have an I feel I should go on --opinion) holiday. How do you feel when How are you feeling feel (to feel something) you are on holiday? today? I have a new have (to possess) --computer. I always have a cola for I am having dinner right have (to eat) lunch. now. see (to understand) Oh, I see. --I often see Mandy at I am seeing Peter see (to meet someone) the disco. tonight. I think you should see think (to believe) --a doctor. I am thinking about my think (to think about) I have to think about it. girlfriend now. Here are more examples of verbs that can be both state and action verbs depending on its meaning. * I think you made a mistake. (think = believe) I am thinking about my mum now. (think = mental process) * I have two cars. (have = possess, own) I am having my lunch now. (have = eat)

* I see what you mean. (see = understand) I am seeing my friend tomorrow evening. (see = meeting with)

Exercise Decide if these verbs are action verbs, state verbs, or can be both action and state verbs. Mark A, S or B in the space beside the word. enjoy read weigh feel mind prefe r smell hear play burn matter measur e contai n agree look worry

Choose the correct form of the verb depending on whether in this meaning it is an action or a state verb. If both the Present Continuous and the Present Simple tenses are possible, use the Present Continuous tense. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. a) Why are you smelling the soup? b) Why do you smell the soup? a) She was feeling his arm on her shoulder. b) She felt his arm on her shoulder. a) Are you having an English dictionary? b) Do you have an English dictionary? a) What are you thinking about? b) What do you think about? a) I am feeling much better today. b) I feel much better today. a) What are you looking at? b) What do you look at? a) I am not hearing you. b) I can't hear you. a) What are you thinking of me? b) What do you think of me? a) I am feeling we should go home now. b) I feel we should go home now. a) This bread is tasting funny.

b) This bread tastes funny.