Verb Structure

I am so happy to be taking a course on grammar. I cannot tell you enough how wonderful it is. Not only am I learning a lot and refining my skills but I’m also studying for my West B test. Everything I’ve learned so far has already prepared me for this test, but what I learned this week has given me even more knowledge. The great thing about this course is that you really do learn something every week. This week we went over the three different types of verb sentences.
The first kind is called a subject-verb intransitive. It is important to pay attention to these names because they are used in dictionaries and if you know what they are, dictionaries are much easier to understand. Intransitive verbs are verbs that can stand alone but may have modifiers. Examples of sentences like these would be something like: the family jumped when they saw the clown. You do not have to say this whole sentence; you could simply say the family jumped. This is an intransitive verb. You can also add the preposition or modifier in but it is not required. For future reference this type of verb sentence is abbreviated as S-Vi.
Transitive verbs are another type of verb sentence structure. Most important with transitive verbs is that they require direct objects. Direct objects can be either nouns or pronouns that will follow the transitive verb. Sentences with this structure could say, My mom baked the cake. In this example “baked” is the verb and “cake” is the following noun or direct object. When looking in a dictionary a transitive verb will be written as S-Vt-O meaning subject verb transitive direct object.
The third sentence pattern for verbs is linking verbs. Linking verbs are meant to connect the subject with a description of that subject. Linking verbs are “to be” verbs. These include am, is, are, was, and were. Also included are verbs of the senses like look, feel, sound, taste, and smell. There is a wide range of linking verbs but the easiest way to understand is by looking at a sentence and determining if there is a verb that links the two halves. Pretty simple concept but just in case you don’t get it an example is “that hamburger looks delicious.” Another sentence would be “Michelle Obama became the next first wife.” When looking at a word in the dictionary how you will know that it is a linking verb is if it has S-LV-SC next to it. Those are the three types of verb patterns. Most of the time you won’t even notice the difference but try picking them out while you’re reading. It can be a brain work out while also refining your grammar.
Another important piece of grammar to keep in mind is prepositions. Prepositions include to, at, by, in, of, from. A lot of headlines in newspapers use these. After a preposition is used a noun or pronoun is sure to follow. If however a verb follows these words then it is infinitive. And that’s my last little tid-bit for the day. Hope this helps anyone that cares.  Like I said if you’re a teacher in training this is a great course for the West B.


My question this week is about “affect” and “effect.” What is the difference because I always mess these up, along with “then and than.” If anyone can explain this I would greatly appreciate it. I know it’s a simple concept but I thought it would be a good one to ask!