Understanding Verbs from Top SSC Coaching Institute

Among the eight parts of speech (Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective, Preposition, Conjunction and Interjection), the VERB is one of the most important. Any English language sentence is composed of a SUBJECT & a PREDICATE. The most important part of the predicate is the verb.

Therefore, understanding the concepts related to verbs is essential for correct sentence formation. This understanding becomes even more critical when it comes to SSC Exam Preparation where a lot of stress on grammar is there in English language section. Keeping this in mind, the Institute for Best SSC Coaching Classes in Delhi has explained verbs in great detail below.

What are Verbs?

Verbs are the words that express action in a sentence. That is why, verbs are known as action words.

Example sentences:

• Youngsters play football with a lot of enthusiasm.
• The cheetah runs at a fast pace.
• The musician drives a Jaguar.

However, not all verbs are action words. Some verbs are ‘stative verbs’. These verbs are generally related with senses, feelings, emotions, states of being & thoughts.

• I see a lot of smoke in this room.
• Do you feel sad after fighting with her?
• He likes listening to rock music of the late sixties.
• She agrees with everything I believe in.
• The patient is in coma.
• Rachel was my classmate.

NOTE: Stative verbs aren’t usually used in the continuous (-ing) form.

Basic Forms of Verbs:

1. Base form
2. Present Participle form (-ing)
3. Past Participle form (-ed , -en)
4. Infinitive (to-)

Given below is a table explaining the above forms with examples:

Base form	Present Participle form (-ing)	Past Participle form (-ed , -en)	Infinitive (to-)
Work	Working	Worked	To work
Play	Playing	Played	To play
Listen	Listening	Listened	To listen
Sit	Sitting	Sat	To sit
Learn	Learning	Learnt	To learn

Regular Verbs & Irregular Verbs:

Depending upon their structure, there are two types of verbs: Regular & Irregular.

(I) Regular Verbs – Most verbs are regular verbs. These are the verbs whose past tense & past participles are formed by adding a ‘-d’ or an ‘-ed’ at the end. Ex: roll-rolled, play-played, blow-blowed, have-had, intimate-intimated.

Here is a list of commonly used regular verbs with their base form, simple past form and the past participle form.

BASE FORM	SIMPLE PAST &  PAST PARTICIPLE	FUTURE TENSE
Accept	Accepted	Will Accept
Achieve	Achieved	Will Achieve
Add	Added	Will Add
Admire	Admired	Will Admire
Admit	Admitted	Will Admit
Earn	Earned	Will Earn
Employ	Employed	Will Employ
Encourage	Encouraged	Will Encourage
Enjoy	Enjoyed	Will Enjoy
Establish	Established	Will Establish
Joke	Joked	Will Joke
Jump	Jumped	Will Jump
Kick	Kicked	Will Kick
Kill	Killed	Will Kill
Offer	Offered	Will Offer

(II) Irregular Verbs – Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow particular formulae for their past tense construction. There are nearly 250 irregular verbs in English, whose construction has to be remembered.

Here is a list of commonly used irregular verbs along with their base, simple past & past participle forms.

BASE FORM	SIMPLE PAST	PAST PARTICIPLE
Begin	Began	Begun
Bring	Brought	Brought
Do	Did	Done
Drive	Drove	Driven
Eat	Ate	Eaten
Break	Broke	Broken
Give	Gave	Given
Take	Took	Taken
Go	Went	Gone

Verbs Followed by ‘To-Infinitives’:

(I) The verbs of thinking and feeling are followed by the ‘to-infinitive’ form. Ex: choose, expect, forget, hate, plan, hope, intend, learn, mean, like, prefer, remember, decide, would like and would love. Example sentences:

• He must learn to obey his elders.
• I choose to drive on my own.
• We like to spend our summer vacation at our grandmother’s house.
• He hopes to pass the IIT entrance exam with flying colours.
• Sheena intends to build a career in fashion designing.

(II) The verbs of saying like agree, promise, refuse and other common verbs such as: arrange, attempt, fail, help, manage, tend, try, want etc. are also followed by the ‘to-infinitive’ form.

Example sentences:

• The doctor has agreed to perform the surgery free of cost.
• Though they were close friends, yet he failed to recognize her when they met after five years.

Verbs Followed by –Ing Nouns:

(I) A significant number of verbs follow this pattern. –Ing nouns are used after verbs such as: avoid, suggest, miss, postpone, admit, consider, deny, imagine, remember, begin, finish, start, risk, keep etc.

Example sentences:

• He must avoid making obscene remarks about women.
• Jane must consider joining a part-time MBA program to further her career.
• The old man suggested waiting until the landslide was over.
• Everybody denies seeing the car accident.
• I remember playing with her in the garden.
• Warner brothers missed swimming in the pool that was near their residence.
• Shawn is a hardworking man who keeps trying all the time.
• The teacher considered giving her student a second chance to score well in the exam.

Difference Between Transitive & Intransitive Verbs:

(I) Transitive Verbs – These verbs are followed by an object. Basically, a transitive verb transfers an action from the subject to the object.

Example sentences:

• My grandmother eats apples in the morning. (‘eat’ is a transitive verb. The action has been transferred from ‘grandmother’ (subject) to ‘apples’ (object).
• The athlete rows the boat with an oar. (‘row’ is a transitive verb. The action has been transferred from ‘athlete’ (subject) to ‘the boat’ (object)

(II) Intransitive Verbs – A verb NOT followed by an object is called an intransitive verb.

Example sentences:

• In the afternoon, my grandmother often sleeps. (‘sleeps’ is an intransitive verb that is not followed by any object.)
• The stray dog barks all day long. (‘barks’ is an intransitive verb that is not followed by any object.)

(III) Transitive & Intransitive Verbs

However, many verbs are such that they can be transitive as well as intransitive. This can be understood by looking at how they are being used in a sentence.

Example sentences:

• Alice sings carols at the local church. (‘sing’ is a transitive verb out here. It has transferred the action to ‘carols’ which is the object.)
• Alice sings (‘sing’ is an intransitive verb in this sentence. It is not followed by any object out here.)
• He plays the guitar exceptionally well. (‘play’ is a transitive verb out here. It has transferred the action to ‘the guitar’ which is the object.)
• The girls have been playing in the garden since morning. (‘play’ is an intransitive verb out here. In this sentence, it is not followed by an object.)
• Write an essay explaining the benefits of Coaching for SSC Exam Preparation. (‘write’ is a transitive verb out here. It has transferred the action to ‘an essay’ which is the object.)
• An illiterate person is unable to read or write. (‘write’ is an intransitive verb out here as it is not followed by any object.)

As a student working towards cracking competitive exams, you would know that conceptual learning must be followed by adequate practice. When this combination is there, cracking even the difficult questions becomes possible. For well directed & exam relevant preparation, experts from SSC Coaching Centre in Delhi suggest that you attempt past year CGL & CHSL papers as model tests.

Summary:

The main focus of this article is to improve, broaden and enhance the knowledge related to verbs of candidates interested in making a career in Banking, SSC & other Govt. jobs. For more information and further guidance, you can write to vidyagurudelhi@gmail.com.