Verbs:

Verbs are words that express an action or a state of a being.

Action Verbs
Ex: The children ran across the road.
The verb is “ran” because it expresses the action that the children are accomplishing—it is what
the children are doing.

Ex: The team scored a touchdown on the very first play of the game.
The verb is “scored” because it expresses the action that the team has accomplished. Often—but
not always—an active verb will be accompanied by a direct object. If the subject is the noun or
pronoun that is doing the action, the direct object is the noun or pronoun that is receiving the
action or is being acted upon. In this sentence, “team” is the subject because it is the thing
doing the scoring. “Touchdown” is the direct object because it is the thing being scored.

Linking Verbs
Ex: The woman was hungry after hiking for so long.
The verb is “was” because it expresses the woman’s state of being. More specifically, it functions
as a linking verb because it links the adjective “hungry” to the noun that it describes, which is
“woman.” Any form of the verb “to be” that appears just by itself is almost always a linking verb.
This includes words like “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” “be,” “been,” and “being.”

Helping Verbs
Ex: The dog is chasing its tail
The verb is “is chasing”—both words—because it expresses the action that the dog is
accomplishing. The word “is” functions here as a helping verb. Some verbs can’t stand alone
some or all the time, and they need help from other verbs to make sense. For example, you can’t
say “The dog chasing its tail.” By adding in a helping verb or verbs, however, we can complete
the sentence in a way that makes sense:
• The dog is chasing its tail.
• The dog was chasing its tail.
• The dog will be chasing its tail.
• The dog has been chasing its tail.

The following words can be used as helping verbs:

• be (am, is, are; was, were; be, been, being)
• do (did, do, does)
• have (had, has, have)
• can, could
• shall, should
• will, would
• may, might, must

Tip: Ignore adverbs or prepositional phrases that interrupt a complex verb.

Ex: Dave was not really paying attention to the presentation.
The verb is “was paying” because it expresses the action that Dave is (not) doing. “Not” and
“really” are both adverbs.
Compound Verbs
Ex: Nora lifts weights and jogs daily.
Sometimes, a single subject will have more than one verb. The verbs are “lifts” and “jogs”
because both express what Nora is doing. “Nora” is the subject of the sentence because she is the
one doing the lifting and doing the jogging.

Infinitives
Ex: You must learn to listen more carefully.
The verb in this sentence is “must learn” because it expresses what the subject “you” is (or needs
to be) doing. The word “listen” usually functions as a verb, but not here; because it is preceded by
the word “to,” it is actually being used as an infinitive. Even though it is a preposition and a verb,
the phrase “to listen” functions as a direct object in this sentence; it explains what must be
learned or what is being learned. The point here is to ignore any verbs that appear in “to verb”
constructions when you are looking for the main verb of the sentence.

Subjects:
The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or being something. If you can
find the main verb of the sentence, then you can find the subject simply by asking “Who/What verb?”

Ex: The speeding car crashed into a telephone pole.

“What crashed?” The “car” did.

Ex: The quiz is on Tuesday.

“What is on Tuesday?” The “quiz” is.
Note: Sometimes, it helps to put the complete predicate in the blank.

Compound Subjects
Ex: Elizabeth and I went to the movies this weekend.
“Who went to the movies this weekend?” “Elizabeth” and “I” did.

Tip: Ignore possible subjects that appear within prepositional phrases or dependent clauses.
Ex: That bouquet of flowers really brightens the room.
“What brightens the room?” The “bouquet” does. “Of flowers” is a prepositional phrase, so we
can just ignore it.

Ex: Because the power went out in the middle of the night, my alarm did not go off this morning.
“What did not go off this morning?” The “alarm” didn’t. “Because the power went out in the
middle of the night” is a dependent clause, so we can just ignore it.

Tip: Sometimes, the subject will appear after the verb.

Ex: There is a bottle of water in the refrigerator.
“What is in the refrigerator?” The “bottle” is. “Of water” and “in the refrigerator” are
prepositional phrases, so we can just ignore them. “There” (and the word “here,” as well) can
never be the subject of a sentence.

Tip: Understood subjects.

Ex: Be sure to complete your assignments on time.
 “Who (must/should) be sure to complete your assignments on time?” “You” should. Even though
the word doesn’t appear in the sentence, the understood subject of this command is “you.”
Exercise – UNDERLINE the MAIN VERB(S) and CIRCLE the MAIN SUBJECT(S) in each of the
following sentences:

1. Chattahoochee Technical College is recognized as the largest technical college in Georgia and the

fastest growing college of our size in the nation.

2. Our growth can be seen from more than the physical construction of buildings.

3. As the economy and job market continue to change, Chattahoochee Technical College strives to offer

new programs that mirror the needs of business and industry.

4. With a 96% job placement rate, we pride ourselves on “uniting people and technology for the world of

work.”

5. We invite you to explore this website and visit any of our convenient campus locations.

6. Our informative, knowledgeable, and friendly staff members are ready to answer your questions.

1. Besides metals, many materials have been used for money.

2. In some parts of the world, men have used fishhooks, whale teeth, and elephant tails for money.

3. Metal coins, of course, have always been popular as a medium of exchange.

4. Because of their size and weight, coins are not suitable for all purposes.

5. Paper money is one solution.

6. Without paper money our lives would be quite different.

7. Paper money must be backed by a reliable source.

8. People must have faith in their government.

9. The Chinese printed the first paper money centuries ago.

10. Marco Polo in the Thirteenth Century found paper money already in use in China.

11. Since that time, governments have been printing paper money, sometimes with disastrous results.

12. In times of great difficulty, governments sometimes print too much paper money.
13. The value of the money then decreases.

14. In 1946, during the inflation, Hungary printed a paper note for 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengos.

15. Our own paper money is backed by the faith of the people of the United States.

16. Some facts about our money may interest you.

17. Paper money was once issued in the amount of five cents.

18. The life of an average dollar bill is only six months.

19. A twenty-dollar bill lasts, on the average, thirty months.

20. Except for a handful of notes many years ago, the Treasury Seal has always appeared on American

paper money.