Why Should I Care about Verbs?

Why Should I Care about Verbs?

Even though there’s a lot of terminology associated with verbs, native English speakers are really good at using them (e.g., using the right tense, conjugating verbs correctly). The majority of them can handle all this stuff without giving the grammar a second thought. Nevertheless, the terms covered on this page will definitely be useful if you decide to learn a foreign language or to teach English because, if you do, you will encounter all of these terms. Knowing what they mean in English is a great starting point for learning how these features are addressed in other languages.

That said, some of the terms covered in this entry do have their own oddities or traps, and these are covered on their individual pages. At the “verb” level, there are five good reasons to think more carefully about verbs.

(Reason 1) Write flowing sentences.

We fill our speech with verbs. For that reason, speech is great. It’s clear and structured naturally. Writing, on the other hand, can be boring, corporate, predictable, and structured abnormally. These bad traits are most often caused by an overuse of nouns.

So, a good trick to ensure your writing leans towards verbs and not nouns is to say your sentence aloud and make that the start point of your sentence structure. This is a good way to get some verbs into your writing and to limit yourself to just enough nouns to get the job done.

Unnatural (Overusing Nouns)		Natural (Deploying a Good Verb)
I was under the mistaken assumption you had made the payment.		I mistakenly assumed you had paid.
They are in agreement that he was in violation of several regulations.		They agree he violated several regulations.
She will be in attendance to present a demonstration of how the weather will have an effect on our process.		She will attend to demonstrate how the weather will affect our process.

Opting for verbs over nouns will not only make your sentences flow better but also reduce your word count because you will avoid the articles (e.g., an, the) and prepositions (e.g., in, on) required to make nouns work.

There’s another refinement. To optimise your sentence flow and to reduce your word count even further, opt for action verbs over linking verbs, which – like nouns – can sound a little stuffy.

Stuffy (Using Linking Verbs)		Natural (Using Action Verbs)
This rule is applicable to both teams.		This rule applies to both teams.
The treaty is binding for all parties.		The treaty binds all parties.

Top Tip

“If your writing reads like writing, then re-write it.”

(Reason 2) Ensure your subject and verb agree in number.

Here is an excellent reason to care about verbs: subject-verb agreement.

“Subject-verb agreement” means using the right version of the verb to agree with the subject. It just means saying “The cat was hungry” and not “The cat were hungry.” In other words, it’s about changing a verb to match its subject (called “verb conjugation”).

Verb conjugation is a simple concept, but there are many traps that cause writers to match a singular subject with a plural verb or vice versa. When this mistake occurs, we say there is no subject-verb agreement. A subject and its verb must agree.

Here are three examples of sentences with no subject-verb agreement. (The verbs are shown in bold.)

Either of the buttons work. ✖︎
(Works would be correct because either is singular.)
The agenda are pinned on the wall. ✖︎
(Agenda is now accepted as a singular word, despite deriving from the plural of agendum.)
Jack as well as Jill fall down the hill. ✖︎
(Falls would be correct because as well as does not create a compound subject like and does.)

(Reason 3) Avoid common spelling errors related to verbs.

Here are some common spelling errors caused by failing to spot a verb:

“Accept” is a verb, but “except” usually isn’t.
“Advise” is verb, but “advice” isn’t.
“Affect” is usually a verb, but “effect” usually isn’t.
“Lose” is usually is verb, but “loose” usually isn’t.
“Marinate” is a verb, but “marinade” isn’t.
“Passed” is a verb, but “past” isn’t.
In British English, “practise” is a verb, but “practice” isn’t.
In British English, “license” is a verb, but “licence” isn’t.

(Reason 4) Spot when you’ve written a sentence and end it appropriately.

Verbs are important. You can’t write a sentence without one. Remember that a sentence expresses a complete and includes a subject that governs at least one finite verb. It may sound basic, but lots writers fail to spot when they’ve written a sentence. Consequently, they commit the most common mistake made by otherwise excellent writers: the run-on error. The most common type of run-on error is writing a sentence, putting a comma, and then writing another sentence.

I don’t know how to act my age, I’ve never been this old before. ✖︎
Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation. ✖︎
It was me, I let the dogs out. ✖︎
My house was clean yesterday, I’m sorry you missed it. ✖︎

Having written a sentence, writers are drawn to a comma because they’ve more to say and feel a period (full stop) is too abrupt a halt. It isn’t. A period is fine. There are other options of course (e.g., a dash, a semicolon, an ellipsis (three dots), a subordinating conjunction like because) – you just can’t use a comma.

What’s this got to do with verbs? Well, spotting finite verbs and their subjects is a good start point for dividing your work into proper sentences. If you look at the wrong examples above, you will find a subject, a finite verb, and a complete thought either side of the comma, which means you’re looking at two sentences.

(Reason 5) Spot when to use a comma after a conjunction (e.g., and).

Of course, it is common for a sentence to consist of more than one independent clause. (An independent clause is one that can stand alone as a sentence.) When these “standalone sentences” are joined with a conjunction (e.g., and, but, or), it is normal to put a comma before the conjunction.

Actors are con men, and con men are actors. (Actor Edward Burns)
(This sentence comprises two “standalone sentences” (i.e., independent clauses). The comma before and is correct.)

When a conjunction does not join two independent clauses, it is normal not to use a comma.

My grandmother was gruff and looked very fierce. She was quite small, but she was very wide. (Author Salman Rushdie)
(Here, the words “looked very fierce” is not an independent clause because there’s no subject. However, the words “she was very wide” is an independent clause. That’s why there’s no comma before and but one before but.)

What’s this got to do with verbs? Well, spotting finite verbs and their subjects is a good start point for dividing your work into independent clauses, and that’s key for determining whether to use commas before conjunctions.

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AGH / Jan 2020