Identify (and write) the verb in each of the following sentences.
Example: The women were baking the bread. →
TOP TIP!
THE VERB SPOTTING SHORTCUT: ASK "WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
Find the subject of the sentence (who or what the sentence is about).
Example: The dog barks loudly. → Subject = "The dog"
Ask "What is the subject doing?" or "What is happening to the subject?"
The dog barks loudly. → The dog does what? → barks → Verb
Check for helping verbs: Look for words like is, are, was, were, has, have, had, will, can.
They often appear before the main verb:
She is reading a book. → "is" (helping) + "reading" (main)
Test tense: Replace the word with past, present, or future forms.
run → ran → will run → If it changes with time, it's a verb.
Tired of ads? Sign up for our
ad-free PREMIUM EDITION for lots of great content!