Errors Related To Verbs In a Sentence

Sometimes while writing or speaking, we make mistakes with our verbs. We can mix up the tenses, or use the wrong verb. These errors make it hard to express ourselves. The goal today is to understand verbs in-depth and then correct these errors. Let’s begin with the simple definition of a verb.

What Is a Verb?

A verb is a word that gives names to an action or a state of being. This means that without verbs, actions won’t have names.

A verb names a doing or action word like run, jump, sleep, dance, crawl, clap, open, eat, and so on.

A verb also names states of being like am, is, are, was, were, and so on.

Types Of Verbs

There are many ways you can group verbs. You can group them as regular and irregular, transitive and intransitive, finite and non-finite, and so on. We will be grouping verbs today based on the role they play and how they are to change from one tense to another. They are:

1. Regular and irregular verbs: all verbs in the English language can be grouped into regular and irregular verbs. What makes them regular or irregular depends on the form they take when changed to past tense and past participle. 

• Regular verbs: Regular verbs will take the “-ed” suffix when changed to past tense and past participle tense. Here is a list of regular verbs:

• Irregular verbs: Irregular verbs that don’t take the “-ed” suffix when changed from present tense to past tense and past participle tense. Here are some examples:

2. Main and auxiliary verbs: here verbs are grouped into main and auxiliary based on the role they play. Main verbs and auxiliary verbs are further divided into groups.

Main Verbs

They are very common. They are action verbs. They can stand alone in a sentence and make sense. They are also called doing verbs. Here are some examples of running, playing, dancing, eating, singing and so on.

Here are some examples in sentences

He eats a lot

I love dancing

My uncle drove me to the park

Mima loves animals

Auxiliary Verbs

These are also called helping verbs. They are verbs of state of being. These verbs can not stand alone in a sentence. Auxiliary verbs are divided into two: primary auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliary verbs.

Primary auxiliary verbs are verbs that are used to show possession, form negatives, ask questions and give information. They are:

Be – is, am, are, was, were, being, been

Have – have, has, had

Do – do, did, done

Examples

She is a wonderful teacher

I did all the laundry

Have you finished your meal?

Modal auxiliary verbs are verbs that assist main verbs to indicate the mood, possibility, intention, or permission. They don’t have plurals or tenses. They are:

can, could, shall, should, may, might, will, would, need, ought, must, dare, and so on.

Errors Related to Verbs In a Sentence

Now that we are done with the basics we can understand the errors related to verbs and how to correct them.

Verb errors are under the following groups:

Verb tense errors

Verb tense error is one of the most common errors made when it comes to verbs. It is the use of the wrong verb in a sentence. Tenses are important because they tell the time of an action or event. If the tense of the action is wrong, it will send the wrong message. To avoid this error you must be sure of the tense and write it down correctly to pass the right message across.

For example:

I am going to the store to bought milk

Have you did your chores?

She always swept the class when she comes in the morning.

The correct sentences are:

I am going to the store to buy some milk.

Have you done your homework?

She always sweeps the class when she comes in the morning.

Subject-verb agreement errors

The subject-verb agreement error has to do with the mismatch of the subject with the verbs. This means that the verb tense does not match the number of the subject in the sentence. Let’s look at a few rules to keep in mind to avoid the subject-verb agreement error:

1. If the subject (i.e is, has, was) is singular, then the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural (i.e are, have, were) the verb must be plural.

For example,

He sleeps, they sleep

2. If the word joins two subjects, then the verb must be plural. 

For example,

Sean and I are skating

3. Two subjects that are joined with neither…nor, either….or etc. will agree with the nearest subject. 

For example,

Neither Stephen nor James came home early 

Either my siblings or my best friend could have done this.

4. A proper noun in plural form takes a singular verb.

For example,

Measles is common among children.

Mathematics is dreaded by many students.

Here are some examples of disagreement verb errors:

The boys loves sandwiches

My mother and I is going to the market

Hilda eat lunch by1 pm every day

The correct sentences are:

The boys love sandwiches

My mother and I are going to the market

Hilda eats lunch by 1pmevery day.

Conclusion

A verb is a part of speech that describes actions and state of being. There are many types of verbs. The most common are regular, irregular, main, and auxiliary verbs. Verb errors are caused by mistakes in tenses and subject-verb agreement. There are rules to note to avoid these errors.