Writing Great Sentences in English, Part 3
In the first post of this series, we learned about basic English sentence structure.
In the second post, we talked about the subject in an English sentence.
In this post, let’s learn more about the verb, and where it needs to be in an English sentence.
A Quick Review
The order of words in an English sentence is very important. Almost always, the subject needs to come first, then the verb, then the object (the object receives the action of the verb). This is SVO sentence structure.
Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)
Why Is This Structure So Important?
In many languages around the world, the verb changes with the subject. Because of this, it isn’t always necessary to use the subject. The verb tells you who is doing the action of the sentence.
However, in English, most regular and irregular verbs don’t change with the subject. We have to use the subject of the sentence so we have enough information to understand the sentence. The subject needs to come before the verb.
- Jesus went to Jerusalem.
We can’t leave out the subject, Jesus. If we do, we don’t know who went to Jerusalem, because the verb in the past simple tense does not change.
- I went to Jerusalem.
- You went to Jerusalem.
- John went to Jerusalem.
- We went to Jerusalem.
- The disciples went to Jerusalem.
Who went to Jerusalem? We need the subject to tell us. The verb comes after the subject.
Different Kinds of Verbs
Now that we know where the verb needs to be, let’s talk more about how verbs are used in an English sentence. There are two basic kinds of verbs, but they all need to follow the subject.
A Single Verb
Many verbs are just one word. You will use one word verbs in the present simple tense and the past simple tense.
- The Father has the power to give life… (John 5:26a)
- You sent messengers to John, and he told them the truth. (John 5:33)
- Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the disciples. (John 6:8a)
- But he said, “I am Jesus! Don’t be afraid!”
Sometimes your verb will show action (has, sent, told). Some verbs are “state-of-being” verbs (was, am, be), and do not show any action at all.
Compound Verbs
Many verbs are made of two or three words. These verbs are:
- Phrasal verbs
- Verbs with auxiliary (helping) verbs
- Compound words (two words combined to make one word)
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken English. They are usually made of an action verb + a preposition. It is very difficult to understand what a phrasal verb means unless you study them individually. However, in a sentence, they work as regular verbs and come after the subject.
- As Joseph’s brothers sat down to eat… ( Genesis 37:25a)
- A voice said to him, “Peter, get up!… (Acts 10:13)
We don’t have time in this post to discuss phrasal verbs in more detail. But we will do it in another post!
Compound Verbs
Most English verb tenses are compound verbs. These verbs need two words to make one verb.
- Present continuous (is going)
- Present perfect (has gone)
- Present perfect continuous (has been going)
- Past continuous (was going)
- Past perfect (had gone)
- Past perfect continuous (had been going)
- Future simple (will go)
- Future continuous (will be going)
- Future perfect (will have gone)
- Future perfect continuous (will have been going)
There are 12 basic verb tenses in English – 4 in the present tense, 4 in the past tense, and 4 in the future tense. You can see that 2 of these tenses use one word, and 10 are compound verbs.
Modal verbs (could, would, should, etc.) also form compound verbs. Here are just a few samples:
- I would go
- I might have gone
- I should be going
Compound Words
Just like compound nouns (dollhouse, notebook), English verbs can be compound, though it is not very common. Sometimes they are hyphenated. Here are some examples:
- babysit
- waterproof
- proofread
- second-guess
- double-cross
- dry-clean
Let's Review
This was a very quick overview of English verbs. Just remember, that whatever verb you use, it will almost always come after the subject of your sentence. There are exceptions in more formal writing, but unless you need to learn academic English, you should always say the verb after the subject. If you change this word order, you might confuse your English listener.
Next time, in our last post in this series, we’ll talk about the object of the sentence – who or what receives the action of the verb.
Has this post helped you? Be sure to leave a comment below! See you next time!
