MODULE 3: PARTS OF SPEECH

VERBS
3a A verb is a word that expresses an action or a state of being.
EXAMPLES The rabbit scampered into the bushes.
Lionel is in the seventh grade.
3b An action verb is a verb that expresses physical or mental action.
EXAMPLES Cara built a model airplane.
Remember your books!
3c A transitive verb is an action verb that expresses an action directed toward a person or thing.
EXAMPLES The grocer helped the customers.
Only the hardiest plants survived the frost.
With transitive verbs, the action passes from the doer—the subject—to the receiver of the action. Words that
receive the action of transitive verbs are called objects.
3d An intransitive verb expresses action (or tells something about the subject) without passing the
action to a receiver.
EXAMPLES The audience clapped.
His eyeglasses shattered on the pavement.
A verb may be transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another.
EXAMPLES Leta sang a song. [transitive]
Leta sang softly. [intransitive]
EXERCISE 1 Identifying Action Verbs
Underline the action verb in each of the following sentences.
EX. 1. Dolphins remember sounds.

1. In San Francisco we visited an aircraft carrier.

2. Throw the ball to the pitcher.
3. Yoshi saw the notice on the bulletin board.
4. Who waters the plants every day?
5. First, melt the butter in the skillet.

EXERCISE 2 Identifying Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Identify the italicized action verbs by writing trans. for transitive or intr. for intransitive on the line before each
sentence. Hint: Use the sentence pattern questions to help
EX. Intr. 1. I looked carefully through the early morning mist.

_____ 1. The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor.

_____ 2. The people of France gave the statue to the United States.
_____ 3. The French people raised most of the money themselves.
_____ 4. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue.
_____ 5. The statue rises above star-shaped Fort Wood.

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EXERCISE 3 Writing Sentences with Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Choose five verbs from the group below. Use each verb to write two sentences on the lines provided. In one
sentence, use the verb as a transitive verb and underline its object. In the other, use the verb as an intransitive
verb. You may use different tenses of the verb. Identify each verb by writing transitive or intransitive.
EX. 1. draw Monet drew sketches of the waterlilies. (transitive)
Monet drew quickly. (intransitive)

bake forget join play stop turn watch

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MODULE 3: PARTS OF SPEECH- LINKING VERBS

3e A linking verb is a verb that links, or connects, the subject of a sentence with a noun, a pronoun,
or an adjective in the predicate.
EXAMPLES Nancy Lopez is a golfer. [The verb is connects golfer with the subject Nancy Lopez.]
Most of the runners seemed tired after the race. [The verb seemed links tired with the subject
runners.]
Linking Verbs Formed from the Verb Be
am has been may be
is have been might be
are had been can be
was will be should be
were shall be would have been

Other Linking Verbs

appear become feel grow look remain
seem smell sound stay taste turn
Some words may be either action verbs or linking verbs, depending on how they are used.
ACTION Farmers grow a variety of crops.
LINKING Children grow taller each year. [The verb links taller with the subject
children.]
ACTION Look at the seeds through the microscope.
LINKING Look happy! [The verb links happy with the understood subject you.]

EXERCISE 4 Identifying Linking Verbs

Underline the linking verb in each of the following sentences.
EX. 1. Her name sounded unfamiliar to me.

1. Is Kimiko a new student in our school?

2. At first, she appeared shy and nervous.
3. Like many immigrants, she often felt homesick.
4. After a few weeks at school, she became more confident.
5. With the support of the teacher and students, she grew comfortable in her new surroundings.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Module 3 2
 6. The English language now seems easier for her.
7. After having studied it for several years, Kimiko is fluent in Chinese.
8. In Japan she had been a member of a gymnastics team.
9. The sport of gymnastics looks very difficult to me.
10. Maybe someday I can be a gymnast like Kimiko.

EXERCISE 5 Identifying Linking Verbs

Underline the linking verb in each of the following sentences. Put two lines under the two words connected by
each linking verb.
EX. 1. Mars was the Roman god of war.

1. The planet Mars appears red in the nighttime sky.

2. It is smaller than the earth.
3. Throughout the ages, Mars has been a source of mystery.
4. An icecap at the south pole remains frozen during the entire Martian year.
5. During autumn and winter, the icecap grows larger.

MODULE 3: PARTS OF SPEECH- HELPING VERBS

3f A verb phrase contains a main verb and one or more helping verbs.
EXAMPLES Theo did remember his overdue books.
I might have seen your jacket in the lunch room.
The painting may have been painted by Winslow Homer.
3g A helping verb helps the main verb to express action or a state of being.
EXAMPLES Soon the judges will be announcing the winner.
The meat should have been cooked more thoroughly.
Helping Verbs
am is are was were be
being been have has had do
does did may might must can
could shall should will would
Sometimes a verb phrase is interrupted by another part of speech, such as a pronoun or an adverb.
EXAMPLES Am I singing only in the second act?
He does not have a new car.
EXERCISE 6 Identifying Verb Phrases and Helping Verbs
Underline each verb phrase in the following paragraph. Draw a second line under the helping verb.
EX. 1. Have you ever played tennis?

[1] Tennis can be traced back to an old French game. [2] Over the years, the rules of the game have remained

largely the same. [3] However, the players’ equipment has changed greatly. [4] During the twelfth and thirteenth

centuries, players would hit the ball with the palms of their hands. [5] The sheepskin ball was filled with sawdust.

[6] Later, pieces of wood and gloves were used instead of hands. [7] By the middle of the fifteenth century, strung

rackets had been invented. [8] Today, many professional players do not use wooden rackets. [9] Modern racket

frames are made from a combination of materials, such as fiberglass, graphite, and metal.

[10] Different kinds of stringing have also been tried.

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EXERCISE 7 Identifying Verb Phrases and Helping Verbs
Underline the verb phrases in the sentences below. Draw a second line under the helping verbs.
EX. 1. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky.

1. By his eighth birthday, Lincoln had moved twice.

2. As a young man he had become a lawyer.
3. By 1848, he had been elected to the United States Congress.
4. He was elected to the office of President of the United States in 1860.
5. He is regarded for his honesty.
6. George Washington was born in 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
7. Although smart, he never did receive much formal education.
8. In 1759, he was married to Martha Custis.
9. Congress had chosen him as commander of the Continental Army by 1776.
10. He would become the first United States president in 1789.

MODULE 3: PARTS OF SPEECH

ADVERBS
3h An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
An adverb answers the following questions:
Where? How often? To what extent?
When? or or
How? How long? How much?
EXAMPLES Greta moved quietly. [Quietly is an adverb modifying the verb moved; it tells how.]
The meeting ended rather suddenly. [Rather is an adverb modifying the adverb suddenly; it
tells to what extent. Suddenly is an adverb modifying the verb ended; it tells how.]
I often write very long letters to my friends. [Often is an adverb modifying the verb write; it
tells how often. Very is an adverb modifying the adjective long; it tells to what extent.]
Later, we went inside. [Later is an adverb modifying the verb went; it tells when. Inside is an
adverb modifying the verb went, it tells where.]
Words Often Used as Adverbs
Where? away, here, inside, near, there, up
When? ago, later, next, now, soon, then
How? clearly, easily, quietly, slowly
How often? or How long? always, briefly, continuously, endlessly, forever, never,
usually
To what extent? almost, extremely, least, more, not, quite, so, too, very
Many adverbs end in –ly. These adverbs are formed by adding –ly to adjectives. However, some words ending in
–ly are used as adjectives.
Adverbs Ending in –ly
loud + –ly = loudly
slow + –ly = slowly

Adjectives Ending in –ly

daily friendly lively
early kindly lonely

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EXERCISE 8 Identifying Adverbs
Underline the adverbs in the following sentences. Draw an arrow to the word that each adverb modifies. [Note:
A sentence may contain more than one adverb.]

EX. 1. A rather large boat sailed away.

1. The denim skirt was too long and too expensive.

2. Was the sun shining then?

3. Emilio will soon call his relatives in Costa Rica.

4. Suddenly, giant hailstones pounded the area, and extremely high winds uprooted many trees.

5. Yesterday, the seventh-grade class visited the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

6. The huge tiger growled fiercely and angrily.

7. Later, the traffic in the city seemed unusually heavy.

8. My cat seldom goes outside.

9. Kamaria always does her homework before supper.

10. Our old clock works amazingly well.

EXERCISE 9 Choosing Adverbs to Modify Adjectives

The adverb very is used far too often to modify adjectives. Write five sentences that each use an adverb other than
very to modify one of the adjectives below. Use a different adverb with each adjective. Write your answers on
the spaces provided.
EX. 1. strong 1. This elephant is incredibly strong.

1. clever 3. happy 5. neat 7. sweet 9. tired

2. dishonest 4. narrow 6. nervous 8. taller 10. valuable

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© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Module 3 5

MODULE 3: PARTS OF SPEECH- REVIEW EXERCISES
A. Identifying Action Verbs and Linking Verbs
Underline the verb in each of the following sentences. Then on the lines before the sentences, identify the verb
by writing A.V. for action verb or L.V. for linking verb. If the verb is a linking verb, double underline the two
words that it connects.
EX. l.v. 1. Not all dinosaurs looked fierce.

_____ 1. Can you picture a dinosaur in your mind?

_____ 2. These creatures ruled the planet for millions of years.
_____ 3. Dinosaurs had skeletons like those of birds.
_____ 4. Some of these skeletons have been preserved as fossils.
_____ 5. Like the skins of reptiles, dinosaur skins might have felt scaly.
_____ 6. Some meat-eating dinosaurs were huge.
_____ 7. The largest dinosaurs might have been warmblooded.
_____ 8. Some plant-eaters were the size of chickens.
_____ 9. Scientists do not know the color of dinosaurs.
_____ 10. The true appearance of dinosaurs will probably remain a mystery.

B. Writing Adverbs
Rewrite the following sentences on the lines below. Make them more precise by adding to each a different adverb
that answers the question in parentheses.
EX. 1. The teacher gave the instructions. (how?)
1. The teacher gave the instructions slowly.

1. The team had gone to the stadium. (when?)

2. It was an enjoyable trip. (to what extent?)
3. The deer ran across the meadow. (how?)
4. During the storm the girls went. (where?)
5. Did Carlos buy the tickets? (when?)

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© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Module 3 6