e it me ed
This piece of effective communication contains all that is necessary for an effective simple sentence -
The object is superfluous to the case of the simple sentence: e it is quite sufficient for us to know what arry did - but the judge's curiosity being what it is, we need to offer more evidence to enlighten him:
e it me ed wiv a ammer
would be much more explicit. We have already examined nouns and pronouns and you are aware of their roles as subjects and objects. They tell the judge the answers to such questions as:
a. oo it im ?
b. wot did e it ?
c. wot did e it im wiv ?
Verbs usually describe the actions that the subjects take, took or are about to take
(known as tense - past, present and future, to name but a few;the infinitive is the base of the verb from which all other forms derive - to it),
although they can also describe feelings and emotions (I feel angry; I hate pronouns).
Some verbs describe the state of being or having and are used as auxiliaries to help change the meaning of other verbs
In many languages, changes of tense are shown by changes in spelling as we mentioned with nouns and pronouns.
Instead of describing the action which the subject takes, verbs can describe the action taken against the subject:
is ed was it wiv a ammer
In this case, your honour, the head of the subject did not hit anybody - rather, it was itself 'it, if you see what I mean?
When the subject performs the action, then the verb is said to be active; in the alternative case, where the action is performed upon the subject, the verb is said to be passive. You should strive to use active verbs wherever possible [where the subject performs the action] because they are direct and the meaning is much clearer.
Do not write The strength of patients may be increased by ... Instead, try Patients should exercise gently to increase their strength. Not I have been asked by the tutor to raise in this tutorial the subject of, but rather I will now discuss ... Make your subjects do the action. Always check your sentences by asking who is doing what ? [eg, what is the strength of the patients doing ? What is I doing in the second example ?]
A few pointers will need to be acknowledged if you are studying a foreign language, but they are not so relevant otherwise. For example, you need to know that transitive verbs take a direct object - he hit the ball - whereas intransitive verbs do not - she walked towards the car.
Verbs can have several moods:
|
indicative |
makes a statement |
I went yesterday |
|
interrogative |
asks a question |
Are you going to the lecture? |
|
imperative |
gives an order |
Do your assignment! |
|
subjunctive |
purpose, wish, condition |
If I were to go [almost obsolete in English] |
Present and past participles are parts of the verb, often ending in ing or ed, which are used with auxiliaries in various tenses, or as adjectives -
Gerunds are verbal nouns - parts of the verb used as a noun: Writing is tedious. I hate being criticised
Once upon a time, when grammar was taught properly [?] in schools, you would be asked to parse sentences - ie, identify every part of speech and its function in the sentence. Nowadays, there is no need to worry if you cannot identify these parts of verbs - there is no exam following these notes!
What you most need to remember is that: