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Verbs
Includes questions related to the comprehension, usage and identification of the parts of speech that express an action or existence.
19,822 Questions
When is a verb said to be in the passive voice?
The passive voice must have the verb 'to be' in the correct tense plus the past participle of the main verb. Here are some examples:
I do (active)/it is done (passive)
I did (active)/it was done (passive)
I am doing (active)/it is being done (passive)
I was doing (active)/it was being done (passive)
and so on
A verb is put into the passive voice when we don't know who did the action, we're not interested, or we don't care
Is there a verb tense for liason?
The verb tense for "liaison" would typically depend on the context in which it is used. "Liaison" itself is usually a noun that refers to a connection or communication between different groups or individuals. If you are looking for a verb form, you might use "liaise" in present tense or "liaised" in past tense to describe the act of establishing or maintaining a liaison.
How do you change cohesive into a verb?
You don't! There is not a verb form of the word. Rewrite your sentence using the noun form "cohesion," as in "In order to add cohesion to the materials...."
Can you start a sentence with a prepositional phrase?
Sure, you can start a sentence with a prepositional phrase, such as:
On the table I saw a large book.
You can, but not if you are trying to use proper English. Any English-class teacher worthy of the name would give you a lower mark for doing it.
I think that's not true: here are some prepositional phrases at beginning of sentences.
From here the road is very rough
On Friday the president will make a press statement
Look at that picture
I don't know any grammar rules that govern position of prepositional phrases
Yes, "searching" is a verb. It is the present participle form of the verb "search."
In the sentence "He is afraid," "is" is a linking verb that connects the subject "He" to the adjective "afraid," describing his emotional state.
an abstract noun refers to something we cannot see or touch. The opposite of an abstract noun is concrete noun.
Some examples of abstract nouns
qualities = beauty freedom truth wealth strength
states = belief, hope, emotion, sleep, peace
events/actions = act, fight, laugh, reply
How do you form the past and past participle of verbs?
For regular verbs that do not end in 'e', or a consonant followed by a 'y', you add 'ed' to form both the past and the past participle:
To jump, I jumped, I have jumped.
To fetch, I fetched, I have fetched.
To defend, I defended, I have defended.
For regular verbs that end in 'e', you add 'd' to form both the past and the past participle:
To hope, I hoped, I have hoped.
To promise, I promised, I have promised.
To devise, I devised, I have devised.
For regular verbs that end in a consonant followed by a 'y', you change the 'y' into 'i' and add 'ed' to form both the past and the past participle:
To sally, I sallied, I have sallied.
To bloody, I bloodied, I have bloodied.
For irregular verbs, you must learn each one individually. There are some patterns that may help you, but you must always beware of exceptions (English has a lot of those).
Here is one example of a pattern. Many monosyllabic verbs with an 'i' in the infinitive form the past and the past participle by changing the vowel to an 'a' and a 'u' respectively:
To sing, I sang, I have sung.
To drink, I drank, I have drunk.
To swim, I swam, I have swum.
But:
To swing, I swung (rarely 'I swang'), I have swung.
What is the difference between active and passive verbs?
Active verbs: The subject does something to something else, eg,
"The boy punctured the balloon."
Passive verbs: The object gets something done to it, eg,
"The balloon was punctured."
If you want to say who or what did the action use by + pronoun/noun phrase. This is called the agent in a passive sentence.
"The balloon was punctured by the boy."
Passive verb forms are used when the doer/agent of the verb is not important eg
The Mona Lisa was painted in the 18th century.
Or the agent can be emphasized by coming at the end of the sentence eg
This painting was painted by Van Gogh.
Passive verbs are used when writing about a process where who does the action is not important eg
First the tea is picked Then it is taken to large sheds where it is dried.
What is 'is' an action verb or a linking verb?
'Is' can function as both a linking verb and an auxiliary verb. As a linking verb, it connects the subject to the subject complement, while as an auxiliary verb, it helps to form verb tenses or express the passive voice.
Is the word same an adjective?
Yes. Same is an adjective because it is used to describe someone or something. Same can mean:
1) not different
2) exactly like someone or something else
3) not changed
4) exactly like an earlier version, event, etc.
Example: Sarah wore the same shirt two days in a row.
What is the Past tense of the word lase?
The past tense of 'lase' (as in: to use a laser) should be 'lased'.
What are the examples of adverb of negation?
An adverb of negation is an adverb that makes a verb or another adverb negative in meaning. The most common adverbs that negate are 'not' and 'never'. Examples:
I will go with you. Or, I will not go with you.
I enjoy hiking. Or, I never enjoy hiking.
We rarely go out to eat.
I scarcely passed that test.
He almost hit that parked car.
I do not know him.
It cannot be discussed.
What is subject and intransitive verb?
An intransitive verb is one that does not take a direct object. For example: to go, to lie.
'I am going to bed now.' 'I' is the subject, 'am going' is an intransitive verb.
'Mary often lies on her bed for a rest after lunch.' 'Mary' is the subject, 'lies' is an intransitive verb.
Many verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively. For example, to sing.
'He was singing very loudly.' (Intransitive.)
'He was singing a French song.' (Transitive - 'a French song' is a direct object.)
Is spell or spelled correct for past tense?
Both "spell" and "spelled" are correct for the past tense of the verb "to spell." In American English, "spelled" is more commonly used, while in British English, "spelt" is often used instead.
No, "knew" is not a linking verb. It is a past tense form of the verb "know" and is used to indicate past knowledge or understanding. Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence with a subject complement or adjective.
What is an adjective ending with -ous?
One example of an adjective ending with -ous is "dangerous," which means full of danger or risk.
Can a noun follow a linking or action verb?
A noun can follow both a linking verb and an action verb. When it follows a linking verb, it's called a predicate nominative. Ex: Henry is a teacher. When a noun follows an action verb, it's called a direct object. Ex: Kevin threw the ball.
When do you use she versus her?
'She' is the subject of a verb, or the complement of the verb 'to be'. 'Her' is the object of a verb.
Examples:
She is my mother.
I don't know if she will want to do that.
Can she swim?
This is she.
I have never met her.
Please give this to her.
I am writing her a letter.
Have they hurt her?
Determining whether to use the subject or object form can become confusing when they're used in a compound construction. For example, you may hear someone say something like "They spoke to my father, brother, and she." Because there are three nouns/pronouns following "to", they're said to be a compound object.However, something isn't quite correct ... Should the last word be 'her' or 'she'? If you take out all of the other words, the sentence becomes "They spoke to she." which is clearly not correct, so the sentence should read "They spoke to my father, brother, and her."
Subject intransive verb indirect object direct object and object compliment?
In a sentence, the subject is the performer of the action, the intransitive verb doesn't require a direct object to complete its meaning, the indirect object is the recipient who benefits from the action, the direct object receives the action, and the object complement provides more information about the direct object.
How do you use cluster in a sentence about race?
The word 'cluster' is both a noun (cluster, clusters), and a verb (cluster, clusters, clustering, clustered). Example uses:
Noun: The cyclists were still in a cluster as they reached the finish line.
Verb: We held our breath when the runners clustered, fearing someone would trip the others.
