Action!

(Verbs)

Name:___________________________
Practice Using Action Verbs

Write the correct tense of the action verb to match the rest of the sentence.
1. (to write) Yesterday, Samuel __________________________ his name on his test.
2. (to sing) My mother __________________________________ in church next Sunday.
3. (to play) Robert cant come over right now because he ____________________ soccer.
4. (to teach) Our teacher____________________________ us how to do that last week.
5. (to drive) Mr. Peterson _______________________ a big truck for a moving company.
6. (to eat) I _________________________ dinner with my best friends family last night.
7. (to work) Michael and Scott _________________________ at the fast food restaurant.
8. (to study) Tomorrow night, Jessica ________________________ with me at the library.
9. (to watch) My dad and I _____________________________ a movie on t.v. right now.
10. (to paint) Last summer, Uncle Ted _____________________ the outside of our house.
11. (to buy) My aunt _______________________ me a game for my birthday next month.
12. (to cook) Whenever my brother ___________________________ dinner, he burns it!
13 (to park) Susies mom ____________________ her car right next to ours this morning.
14. (to look) I ______________________________________ for my keys for two hours!
15. (to sit) When we went to the football game last night, Joe ____________ next to me.
16. (to sleep) Jennifer _______________________________ late today. Shes still not up.
17. (to run) My friend and I ______________________________ in a race this weekend.
18. (to clean) Johnathan _______________________________ his room each Saturday.

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Name:___________________________

Verb Tense

Verbs show an action or a state of being.

The verb tense places the verb in time. The three major tenses verbs can
show are past, present, and future. Sometimes it helps kids to think of the
past as yesterday, the present as today, and the future as tomorrow.
Each verb tense has several options that allow you to be precise about what you mean.
Lets look at the verb, to ride.
Past

Present

Future

I rode my bicycle.
I was riding my bicycle.
I had been riding my bicycle.

I ride my bicycle.
I am riding my bicycle.
I have been riding my bicycle.

I will ride my bicycle.

I will be riding my bicycle.
I am going to ride my bicycle.

Your ear can probably tell which verb tense sounds right in a sentence.
Choose the correct tense of the verb to best complete each sentence below.

1. Jim and Susan _________________________ to school tomorrow.

(went/will go)

2. Sam sits down and ______________________ in his notebook.

(writes/wrote)

3. The energetic puppy sure ________________ happy yesterday!

(is/was)

4. Mrs. Smith _________________ a song in the talent show next month.

(sang/will sing)

5. They ___________________ on the phone for three hours last night.

(talk/talked)

6. My baby sister ________________ for the first time yesterday!

(speaks/spoke)

7. Uncle Scott ____________________ me a new video game today.

(gave/is giving)

8. The teacher ___________________to her students every day.

(read/reads)

Next to each verb, write past tense, present tense, or future tense .
9.

plays

10.

were

11.

painted

12.

is smiling

13. write

14.

drew

15. will drive

16.

are

Copyright 2011 K12Reader - http://www.k12reader.com

Name:____________________

The Verb
To Be

The verb to be is a very important verb in the

English language because it helps us explain the
condition or characteristics of people and things. In the study of grammar, we
say that this verb shows state of being. This verb is usually seen as a linking verb,
linking the subject of a sentence to an adjective or a noun. It is also used with
gerunds to show action happening right now. This verb is very irregular. It is
important to know its correct forms in the past, present, and future tenses. Lets
take a look.

We
We
We
We

are happy.
are students.
were studying.
are dancing.

Person

Past

Present Future

I
You
He/She/It
We
You (all)
They

was
were
was
were
were
were

am
are
is
are
are
are

will
will
will
will
will
will

be
be
be
be
be
be

Complete each sentence by writing the correct form of the verb to be.
1. Our teacher, Mrs. Walker, ______________________ absent last Friday.
2. Uncle Bob _______________________ not feeling well today.
3. Scott and Matt ___________________________ playing soccer tomorrow.
4. I ______________________ happy today.
5. You ______________ my best friend!
6. Last year, you ___________________ in the hospital for an operation.
7. The weather _________________ rainy today.
8. We _______________ eating dinner last night when the doorbell rang.
9. Aunt Virginia ________________ my favorite aunt.
10. They __________________________ visiting their grandma next month.

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Action Verbs &

Linking Verbs

Name:___________________________

Every sentence has to include a subject (someone or something)

and a verb (what that person or thing does or is).
Circle the subject and underline the verb in each sentence:
1. Harriet wrote an essay about her vacation to France.
2. The new teacher was a young man from England.
3. The energetic student dropped his pencil on the floor.
4. Bobby forgot his trumpet at home.
5. The children were sad.
6. Mrs. Anderson gave the students a reward.
7. Peter and Steven ran on the field during recess.
8. On the way to lunch, the students stopped at the bathrooms.
The main verb in a sentence shows action or a state of being.
Those that show action are called action verbs, and those that show
state of being are called linking verbs.
The dog ran back home. In this sentence, ran shows an action.
My pet is a dog.
In this sentence, is shows a state of being.
Tell whether each verb is an action verb (A), or a linking verb (L).
1.

talk

2.

am

2.

dance

4.

visited

3.

worked

6.

were

4.

are

8.

write

5.

slept

10.

was

6.

want

12.

create

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Regular & Irregular

Past Tense Verbs

Name:___________________________

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the rules for what verbs
are supposed to look and sound like in the past tense. Regular verbs are
easy to find in the past tense because they end with the letters -ed. You
see them and use them all the time: talked, painted, worked, played,
helped, smiled, cooked, turned, looked, wanted, etc.

Irregular verbs are sneaky because they dont follow the -ed rule. Some

are just a little different, like verbs that end in y and the y changes to i
before the -ed ending is added. Others take on some very unusual
forms that you just have to remember. For example, you may sing
in the choir today, but you sang in the choir yesterday, not
singed.
All of the verbs below are in the present tense. Some of them are regular
verbs, and some are irregular verbs. Write the correct past tense form of
each verb. Circle the Irregular Verbs.

1.

bring

13.

are

2.

call

14.

visit

3.

sell

15.

grow

4.

swim

16.

sit

5.

create

17.

wish

6.

sleep

18.

create

7.

stretch

19.

run

8.

come

20. learn

9.

serve

21.

fill

10. show

22.

eat

11.

23.

drive

teach

12. carry

24. dance

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Advanced
Linking Verbs

Name:___________________________

The simple explanation for a linking verb is that it

shows state of being rather than action. An example of this is: Mary is happy.
Is is a linking verb that joins Mary to an adjective that describes Mary:
happy. Linking verbs that join subjects and adjectives are the easiest to
identify.

However, there are some verbs that can be either action verbs or linking verbs, depending
on how they are used. For example, if we say, Jim tastes the tomato soup,
the verb, tastes, is an action verb because it is something Jim is doing. But,
if we say, The soup tastes salty, the verb tastes is now a linking verb. It
joins soup with the adjective salty, which describes it.
Even more difficult to identify are the linking verbs that join a subject to a
noun. For example: He became a teacher. Became links the subject, he, to
the noun, teacher. This one is tricky. If you can replace the verb with a form
of to be (am, are, is, was, etc.) and it makes sense, the verb is acting as a
linking verb. In this case, it would be fine to say, He is a teacher.
Circle the linking verb in each sentence. Underline the adjective or noun that
the verb links to the subject. Draw an arrow from the adjective or noun back to
the subject. The first one is done for you.
1. The abandoned puppy looked hungry.
2. Joe and his father are friendly.
3. We were excited by the good news.
4. His feet grew tired by the end of the day.
5. That rock music sounds loud!
6. You are a beautiful girl.
7. They became friends.
8. The kitchen floor seems dirty.
9. Your perfume smells delightful!
10. We were afraid during the thunderstorm.

Copyright 2011 K12Reader - http://www.k12reader.com

Helping Verbs

Name:___________________________

Many verbs are just a single word, but there are some that have two
parts. There is the main verb that tells the action, and another verb,
called the helping verb that helps the verb be more precise. The helping
verb will often be a form of the verb to be, or the verb to have, or the
verb will to show action in the future. When there is a helping verb, the
main verb is often a gerund (a form of the verb that ends in ing ) or a past
participle (a form of the verb which often ends in ed,n, or en).
Underline the complete verb in each sentence. Circle the helping verb.

1. Jason will play video games tomorrow.

2. The surgeon has operated many times before.
3. My little sister is singing like a rock star.
4. Scott can kick better than anyone on the team.
5. The beautiful sailboat was built in 1985.
6. Sarah is walking her puppy in the park.
7. Jake and his dad are using the computer.
8. Mom will bake special cookies for the party.
9. Tim had given his mother some flowers.
10. The very small girl can ski all by herself.
Bonus: Write a sentence that uses a helping verb:
____________________________________________________
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