VERBS
Grade:8
WHAT ARE VERBS?
■ Verbs describe an action or a state of being.
■ Example:
1. Mark eats his dinner.
2. We went to the market.
3. You write neatly in your notebook.
4. He is sad.
5. We are happy.
VERB TENSES
■ Verb tenses tell us when an action takes place. There are three basic tenses:
1. Past tense
2. Present tense
3. Future tense
■ Examples:
1. Past tense: I loved grammar in High School.
2. Present tense: I love grammar in High School.
3. Future tense: I will love grammar in High School.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
REGULAR AND A IRREGULAR VERB
■ Regular verbs are those verbs that take –ed to form the past tense of the word.
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE
I walk. I walked.
I wait. I waited.
We dance. We danced.
She clap. She clapped.
He play. He played.
■ Irregular verbs do not form the past tense in the same way as regular verbs. They
change their spellings.
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE
He sleep. He slept.
She eat. She ate.
I sit. I sat.
He stand. He stood.
I have. I had.
ACTIVITY 1
■ QUESTION 1
1.1 Write these sentences in the present tense by changing the form of the verb.
a) We always (eating) at the Wimpy when we (going) on holiday.
b) Thabo (thinking) that we should (stopping) complaining and get on with it.
c) I (needing) to know all the facts before I (making) up my mind.
■ QUESTION 2
2.1 Identify the verb in the sentence
a) She is awake.
b) We found a pen.
c) I enjoy singing.
d) Can we paint the house.
■ QUESTION 3
3.1 Write these sentences in the past tense by changing the form of the verb.
a) Mr Zame (says) that he (wants) to apply for the job.
b) At first I (thought) this (is) a good idea.
c) We (taking) a vote and (decided) what to do.
■ QUESTION 4
4.1 Identify in tense the sentence is written.
a) Tomorrow we will go to the beach.
b) She sang all day.
c) He eats in class.
