Parts of Speech · Today with Vinny

Lights! Camera!! Action Verb!!!

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Lights! Camera!! Action Verb!!! I'm Vinny, and I express action. Every sentence needs a verb, and I'm the one taking action in mine. Watch.

Meet the Verbs! (overview)

An action verb shows what someone or something does. The action can be physical, like run or jump, or mental, like think or decide.

Watch for the doing word in each sentence. That doing word is the verb.

The dog runs in the yard.

I jump over the rope.

We sing a happy song.

A fish swims in the pond.

Action Verbs Express Action

An action verb shows what someone or something does. Some action is physical, where the body moves, like run or jump; some is mental, where the mind moves, like think or decide.

Physical Action : Action verbs that name something a body does.
Mental Action : Action verbs that name something a mind does.

In a sentence

Some action you can watch happen. Some action happens inside the mind.

I kick the ball. (You can see it.)

I run to the door. (You can see it.)

I think about lunch. (You cannot see it.)

I hope for snow. (You cannot see it.)

Now you try

An action word names something you do. You could try runs, or races, or dashes. Pick one action.

Action Verb or Linking Verb?

Some verbs can be an action verb or a linking verb. Swap the verb for an equals sign: if the sentence still works, it is linking (Lucy's); if not, the action is mine.

In a sentence

Action verbs show doing. Linking verbs work like an equals sign.

The dog runs fast. (Action. That is mine.)

The dog is happy. (Links the dog to happy. That is Lucy's.)

Now you try

An action verb shows doing (run, jump, dash). A linking verb works like equals (is, are). You could try ran, or raced, or dashed.

Verb Tenses (Past, Present, Future)

Verb tenses show when an action happens. Present tense shows action now (I walk, she walks). Past tense shows action that already happened (I walked, she walked). Progressive tenses show ongoing action (I am walking, she is walking).

Regular Past Tense Verbs : Past tense verbs formed by adding -ed (or -d) to the base verb.

In a sentence

Watch the verb change with the day. Yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Today Vinny jumps over the tree stump.

Yesterday Vinny jumped over the tree stump.

Tomorrow Vinny will jump over the tree stump.

Now you try

Now it is jump. Already happened, it is jumped. Most past verbs add -ed. You could try jumped, or walked, or played.

Irregular Past Tense Verbs

Most verbs form the past tense by adding -ed. However, irregular verbs do not follow this pattern and must be memorized (go/went, eat/ate, see/saw, run/ran, swim/swam, write/wrote, break/broke).

Regular Past Tense Verbs : Past tense verbs formed by adding -ed (or -d) to the base verb.
Irregular Past Tense Verbs : Past tense verbs that do not follow the -ed pattern. The irregular form must be memorized.

In a sentence

These verbs do not add -ed. Watch them change shape.

Today I run. Yesterday I ran.

Today I go. Yesterday I went.

Today I sing. Yesterday I sang.

Now you try

Most verbs add -ed, but not these. Run turns into ran. Go turns into went. You could try ran, or went, or hid.