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IN THIS CHAPTER

❯❯ Finding the verb and understanding its function

❯❯ Distinguishing between linking verbs and action verbs

❯❯ Using helping verbs correctly

Think about a sentence this way: A sentence is a flatbed truck. You pile all your ideas on the truck, and the truck takes the meaning to your audience (your reader or your listener). The verb of the sentence is a set of tires. Without the verb, you may get your point across, but you’re going to have a bumpy ride.

Every sentence needs a verb, so you start with the verb when you want to do anything to your sentence – including correct it. Verbs come in all shapes and sizes, and grammarians have come up with a few dozen names for every single one. In school, you may have learned about predicates, modals, transitive, intransitive, and other sorts of verbs. Don’t worry about terminology. It’s not as important as understanding what verbs add to your sentence.

In this chapter, I explain how to distinguish between linking and action verbs and how to sort helping verbs from main verbs. Then I show you how to choose the correct verb for all your sentences, including questions and negative statements.