What do verbs tell you?

Verbs are the action words of a sentence, and they tell you a lot! Here's what verbs reveal:

1. What is happening:

* Action: "The dog ran across the yard." (The verb "ran" tells us the action the dog performed)

* State of being: "She is happy." (The verb "is" shows her current state)

* Possession: "He has a new car." (The verb "has" shows ownership)

2. Who or what is performing the action:

* Subject: The verb usually agrees with the subject in number (singular or plural). "The cat sleeps." "The cats sleep."

3. When the action is happening:

* Tense: Verbs are conjugated to show time:

* Present: "He walks to school."

* Past: "He walked to school yesterday."

* Future: "He will walk to school tomorrow."

4. How the action is happening:

* Voice: Verbs can be active or passive.

* Active: "The dog bit the mailman." (The dog is the actor)

* Passive: "The mailman was bitten by the dog." (The mailman is acted upon)

5. The relationship between the subject and the object:

* Transitive verbs: Require a direct object to receive the action. "She bought a new book."

* Intransitive verbs: Do not require a direct object. "The baby cried."

In summary: Verbs are essential to understanding the meaning of a sentence. They tell us what's going on, who's doing it, when it happened, and how it happened!