Verbs and modal verbs
I can spot verbs, match them to their subject and find modal verbs.
For grown-ups: this lesson in words
Years 3 to 6 · English
Verbs and modal verbs: I can spot verbs, match them to their subject and find modal verbs.
A verb is a doing word. It tells us what someone or something does.
Mei kicks the ball. Kicks is the verb: it is what Mei does.
The dog barks. Barks is a verb too: it is what the dog does.
To find the verb, ask: what do they do?
Picture: The sentence "Mei kicks the ball and the dog barks.", with "kicks" labelled verb and "barks" labelled verb.
Your turn: Tap the verb in this sentence.
Picture: The sentence "Tom paints a picture."
Tap the right word.
Answer
The answer: paints
Paints is the verb. It tells us what Tom does. Tom and picture are nouns.
Picture: The sentence "Tom paints a picture.", with "paints" labelled verb.
Not every verb is a doing word. Listen to these sentences.
Is, are, was and were are all forms of the verb be. They tell us how things are.
Has and have are forms of the verb have. They tell us what someone owns.
Be and have are verbs, even with no action. Every sentence needs a verb.
Picture: A short text called "Be and have" with a picture of a cat: "Sam is here. We are friends. Kofi was late. They were early. Ana has a cat and we have a dog." "is", "are", "was", "were", "has" and "have" are underlined.
Words to know
- verb:
- A word that tells us what someone does, or how things are: kicks, is, has.
- subject:
- Who or what the sentence is about.
- agree:
- The verb matches its subject: one dog barks, two dogs bark.
- modal verb:
- A helper verb like might or must that shows how likely something is.
- adverb of possibility:
- A word like definitely or perhaps that shows how likely something is.
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