Verbs are the engine of every sentence. And when a verb teams up with a small word like up, off or into, it becomes a phrasal verb — a whole new meaning that has nothing to do with the words alone!
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A helping verb works alongside the main verb — it does not show an action by itself.
| Helping verbs | Example |
|---|---|
| is, am, are, was, were | She is singing. |
| has, have, had | They have finished. |
| can, could, may, might, must, should, will | You must try. |
A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word. Together they mean something you cannot guess from the two words alone.
give up
stop trying
look after
take care of
look for
search for
put off
postpone
run out of
have no more of
get up
rise from bed
The verb must always "agree" with its subject — singular subjects and plural subjects need different verb forms.
A collective noun (team, family, class) usually takes a SINGULAR verb, because it acts as one unit: "The team is playing well."
Each and every also take a singular verb, even before a list: "Each boy and girl has a book."
12 IEO-style questions on verbs, phrasal verbs and agreement. 🍀
