REVIEW OF VERBS AND ADVERBS

Topic:              Review of Verbs and Adverbs

Content:

            A verb is an action word. It tells us what the subject of a sentence does. There are two types of verbs: transitive and intransitive verbs.

Transitive Verbs

These are verbs that have / take objects.

Example:

One man does the work.

 

I broke my leg.

She slapped the boy.

The tailor made a beautiful dress.

Intransitive Verbs

These are verbs that don’t take / have objects

Examples:

A cock crows.

I slept very well yesterday.

The baby cries everyday.        

However, some verbs can be used either as transitive verbs (that is, with objects) and as intransitive verbs (that is, without objects) e.g;

ate

i.          He ate rice (rice is the object)

ii.         He ate (no object)

fight

i.          I can fight him (Him is the object)

ii.         I can fight (no object)

sing

i.          Bimpe sings a song everyday (song is the object)

ii          Bimpe sings everyday (no object)

Verb Tenses

Tenses show the time actions take place in sentences. As the subject of a sentence does, the time an action takes place determines the form of the verb in a sentence.

Note how the verb in each of the following sentences changes its form according to the time the action takes place.

Now                                        Everyday                     Yesterday                    Already

Present Progressive Tense       Present Tense              Past Tense                   Present Perfect

I am playing                            I play                           I played                       I have played

You are working                     You work                    You worked                You have worked

He is writing                           He writes                     He wrote                     He has written

She is doing it                         She does it                  She did it                    She has done it

We are going there                  We go there                 We went there             We have gone there

They are dancing                     They dance                  They danced               They have danced

However, some verbs don’t change their forms in the present, the past and the perfect tenses, eg.

Present Tense              Past Tense                   Perfect Tense

Broadcast                    broadcast                     broadcast

Shut                             shut                             shut

Spread                         spread                          spread

Burst                           burst                            burst

Cast                             cast                              cast

Sweat                          sweat                           sweat

Cost                             cost                              cost

Set                               set                                set

Evaluation:    List five verbs, use them in sentences and state whether the verbs are transitive or intransitive.

Change to simple present:

a.         Tolu bought a book

b.         We ate beans last night

c.         The children did the work

d.         I have learnt driving

e.         You are beating your brother

Adverbs

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb in the same sentence.

Examples of adverbs are: quickly, slowly, loudly, boldly, beautifully, secretly, today, tonight, tomorrow, how, very, too, so, etc.

Types of Adverbs

i.          Adverb of Manner

            a. He ran quickly

            b. She walked slowly

ii.         Adverb of Time

             a. I saw him yesterday.         

             b. He will arrive soon

iii.        Adverb of Place

              a. I saw him there.

b.They are playing outside.

iv.        Interrogative Adverb

              a. Where is my book?

              b. When will you come to my house?

v          Appropriate adverb for expressing frequency of actions and events.

            (a)  Always, (b) frequently (c) often normally, scarcely, barely etc

vi.        Adverbs that are intensifier are: very, too, so.

 vii.      Adverbial Phrases

             a. He is a little taller than I.

             b. She visits me every Sunday.

             c. He went there on Saturday.

Common adverbs that express negation include: nothing, nowhere, hardly, rarely, seldom, never, etc.

Evaluation:  Point out adverbs and adverbial phrases in the following passage:

I was tired yesterday. My sleep was so deep that I did not wake up until 7.am. Then I quickly got out of bed so that people would not know when I woke up.