Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search
525 bytes added ,  16:33, February 21, 2009
intransitive and transitive; also, moods in English and various minor factual matters
Line 8: Line 8:  
December."
 
December."
   −
Forms of "to be", such as "is", "are", etc. are also verbs of a particular type, called copulas, which define states of being (Jesus is the perfect teacher.  Mary is Jesus' mother.)  Some languages, such as Russian, do not use copulas.
+
Forms of "to be", such as "is", "are", etc. are also verbs of a particular type, called copulas, which define states of being (Jesus is the perfect teacher.  Mary is Jesus' mother.)  Some languages, such as Russian, do not use copulas in the present tense.
   −
Many languages inflect verbs to indicate such categories as person, number, tense, [[aspect (grammar)|aspect]], mood, and [[voice]].  The set of all forms of a verb is called its ''conjugation''.  English inflects for number and tense.  God ''loves'' us; but we ''love'' God. God  ''created'' the Heavens and the Earth; but He creates things daily.
+
Many languages inflect verbs to indicate such categories as person, number, tense, [[aspect (grammar)|aspect]], mood, and [[voice]].  The set of all forms of a verb is called its ''conjugation''.  English inflects for tense and to a limited extent for person and number.  God ''loves'' us; but we ''love'' God. God  ''created'' the Heavens and the Earth; but He creates things daily.  English also inflects for mood; compare ''If I were a rich man'' (subjunctive) with ''I was a rich man'' (indicative).
    
Verbs can also be divided into [[regular verb|regular verbs]], where the tense is conjugated by adding "-d", "-ed" or occasionally "-t" to the [[base form]], and [[irregular verb|irregular verbs]] where the base form's spelling is altered during conjugation.
 
Verbs can also be divided into [[regular verb|regular verbs]], where the tense is conjugated by adding "-d", "-ed" or occasionally "-t" to the [[base form]], and [[irregular verb|irregular verbs]] where the base form's spelling is altered during conjugation.
    
For example, a regular verb would be "listen" (past tense = "listen'''ed''') and an irregular verb would be "sit" (past tense = "s'''a'''t").
 
For example, a regular verb would be "listen" (past tense = "listen'''ed''') and an irregular verb would be "sit" (past tense = "s'''a'''t").
 +
==Intransitive and transitive verbs==
 +
Intransitive verbs have no object:  ''I ran.''  Transitive verbs have an object:  ''I saw you.''  Some transitive verbs are doubly transitive, meaning that they have both direct and indirect objects:  ''I gave her the book.''  Some languages inflect verbs to agree with their objects as well as their subjects.
    
==Compound verbs==
 
==Compound verbs==
Block, SkipCaptcha, Automoderated users, edit, rollback
3,026

edits

Navigation menu