Very important verbs Verbs are words used to

Very important verbs! Verbs are words used to describe an action. Individually, think of as many other interesting verbs as you can for the following verbs and write them down • Run • Walk • Talk • Look

Recognise a verb Every sentence needs a verb to tell you what is happening. What have you been doing today? Can you think of the verbs? 1

Anyone or anything can do a verb Actions are not always done by people. Other things can do them as well. Challenge Think of some verbs to describe what these things are doing. Look for something in the room that is not a person. What is it doing? 2

Write a paragraph based on this scene. Think of interesting verbs to describe the actions and expressions going on in this scene.

Peer assess Swap books and peer assess based on the following: - Use of interesting verbs - Effectiveness of these verbs in describing the scene - General accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar 5

1. In pairs, identify five verbs in the following passage. 2. Write down the connotations of these verbs (the links you make with them). We thought of Persephone for a while in silence. I imagined her struggling her way towards us. She squeezed through black tunnels. She took wrong turnings and banged her head against the rocks. Sometimes she gave up in despair and she just lay weeping in the pitch darkness. But she struggled on. She waded through icy underground streams. She fought through bedrock and clay and iron ore and coal. She burrowed past the tangled roots of great trees. She was torn and bleeding but she kept telling herself to move onward and upward. Extension: Which verb do you think is most effective and why?

Verbs Part Two 7

The verb tense tells you when it happens Actions happen at different times – now (present tense) before (past tense) and in the future (future tense). Challenge Reveal Are these things happening in the present or past? I jump high. PRESENT Sam laughed. PAST We play here. PRESENT She walked. She He frowns. They shouted. PAST PRESENT PAST Tell your talk partner what you did yesterday. Use the right tense! 3

Forming the present tense The present tense tells us what is happening now. The ending changes depending on who is doing the action. Look at the verb yawn, spotting the forms with s on the end. Now try saying all the forms of the verb jump in the same way. Challenge I yawn he yawns we yawn you yawn she yawns they yawn Try doing the same with these verbs: kick, march, hit, rush. Listen carefully, and see if you can tell which have es on the end instead of just s? Verbs that end in s, sh, ch, x and z (plus some that end in o) need es. 4

Forming the past tense The past tense tells us what has already happened. For most verbs just add ed. Challenge Reveal Say these verbs with ed on the end: climbed laughed walked Try writing the past tense of these verbs: cry, hop, smile. How does the spelling change as you add ed? You may need to remove a final e, double a last letter or change y to i 5

Introducing irregular verbs Beware! Not all verbs use ed to make the past tense. They can look quite different. Challenge Reveal Say or write the past tense of these verbs. take see write took saw wrote swim get find swam got found Spot the incorrect past tenses in this list: He feeled, I laughed, He catched, She walked, We rided, I eated. Now fix the ones you think are incorrect. There are no rules for irregular verbs. We just have to learn them. 6

To be is a special verb that has lots of jobs. It is also tricky to spot as its past and present forms are unusual. Challenge Try pairing the pronouns with the forms of to be. Which are past and which are present? Pronouns Forms of to be I, you, he, she, it, you, we, they am is are was were Try talking about something or someone in the past tense, using the verb to be. It helps to start with words like Yesterday or Last week e. g. Yesterday it was raining. 7

Forming progressive tenses with to be Often sentences say what is or was happening by joining to be with a verb that ends with ing. Can you see a form of to be in each of these. What tense is it in? Challenge I am standing. They were laughing. It is barking. He washing. We are waiting. I was marching. Some verbs change before ing is added. Try these ones: run, walk, ride, drive. Now use one of them to say what you were doing on the way to school. You may need to double the last letter or remove a final e 8

Using to be to show what something is or was To be is sometimes used on its own, without another verb. It shows how someone or something is or was. Challenge Spot the forms of to be. Are they in the past or present tense? He was busy. I am happy. Today is Friday. Yesterday was wet. Use the verb to be to say what day it is today. What day was it yesterday? 9

Tense consistency Choose one tense for an idea – and stick to it! Something is wrong with these sentences. Can you correct them? Challenge The horse neighed and the duck quacks. When he kicked the ball, the crowd cheers. My friend jogged while I walk. Make a sentence using these two verbs: laugh and play. Use them in the same tense. 10

Making the opposite of a verb by adding un By adding un to some verbs, you can make the opposite action. Challenge Reveal Which of these verbs use un to make their opposite? zip unzip break mend wrap unwrap push pull Try adding un to these words: cover, close, stop, curl. Not all of them can use un. What could their opposites be? 11

Extension Words that look like verbs Some words look like verbs. . . but they aren’t! Challenge Reveal Find the verbs in these sentences. What are the other words? swingon onmy myswing. I swing leaking. That leaking tap is leaking. Try using the words swimming and play in different ways. Explain what type of words they can be. 12