Carolyn LoGiudice and Kate LaQuay Skill Area: Grammar Ages: through 11 Grades: through Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc All of our products are copyrighted to protect the fine work of our authors You may only copy the student materials as needed for your own use with students Any other reproduction or distribution of the pages in this book is prohibited, including copying the entire book to use as another primary source or “master” copy LinguiSystems, Inc 3100 4th Avenue East Moline, IL 61244-9700 800-776-4332 FAX: 800-577-4555 E-mail: service@linguisystems.com Web: linguisystems.com Printed in the U.S.A ISBN 0-7606-0646-3 About the Authors Carolyn LoGiudice, M.S., CCC-SLP, was a speech-language clinician in school, clinic, and private settings before joining LinguiSystems in 1984 She has co-authored many materials with LinguiSystems, including The WORD Test 2, No-Glamour Vocabulary Cards, The Test of Semantic Skills (TOSS-P and TOSS-I), 100% Grammar, and 100% Punctuation Carolyn LoGiudice Kate LaQuay, J.D., became part of LinguiSystems’ extended family more than 20 years ago when her mother, Carolyn LoGiudice, joined the company Now a mother herself, Kate has co-authored several LinguiSystems products, including U.S History: A Reading Comprehension Book, U.S Government: A Reading Comprehension Game and Spotlight on Vocabulary: Levels and Previously, she practiced law for six years in Los Angeles Kate and Michael LaQuay Dedication To language and learning instructors devoted to improving students’ skills and supporting their highest aspirations Illustrations by Margaret Warner Cover design by Jason Platt Table of Contents Introduction Pretest/Posttest What Is a Verb? Identifying Verbs in Complete Predicates Recognizing Verbs in Sentences Identifying Verbs in Sentences 10 Identifying Verbs in Paragraphs 11 Present Tense 12 Subject-Verb Agreement 13 Present Verb Endings 14 Subject-Verb Agreement in Sentences 17 Past Tense 20 Helping Verbs 23 Future Tense 25 Past Participle 26 Irregular Verbs 27 Verbs With Direct Objects 33 Linking Verbs 34 Contractions 36 Troublesome Verb Pairs 37 Using Exact Verbs 38 Answer Key 39 Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Introduction By itself, “grammar” is not an engaging topic for students You won’t hear them spontaneously discuss the function of an adjective vs an adverb Students don’t get excited about linking verbs Most adults outside the academic arena even shy away from grammar, especially now that our computers can check our grammar for reports or other writings Even so, effective speakers and writers need to understand and use grammar as a sharp tool to express their thoughts Grammar rules help us modify a message for a target audience We even break some rules on purpose to be more casual Some say the most practical reason to teach grammar in school is to help students score well on tests That practice, while pragmatic, ignores the lifelong benefits of solid grammar skills We make snap judgments when we meet people These impressions are based on communication style as much as appearance and background knowledge When all we know about someone is what that person has written, as in many e-mails, grammar and writing style are even more important How, then, we entice students to master basic grammar well enough to apply it in their conversation and their writing? • First, teach the grammar concept or rule Highlight a specific grammar point • Then, give your students practice, practice, practice • Incorporate the grammar concept in both oral and written activities • Spotlight the concept as your students encounter it in textbooks, Internet articles, school announcements, and classroom interaction • Demonstrate both correct and incorrect use of the grammar concept Talk about the impact of the concept on a message’s listener or reader Often a message is clearer when it is grammatically correct Incorrect grammar can also distract from the meaning or desired effect of a message The goals of Spotlight on Grammar are below • To help students recognize and utilize correct grammar in their speaking and writing • To boost students’ reading comprehension by understanding the role of grammar Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc All six books in Spotlight on Grammar concentrate on basic grammar concepts typically mastered by students in fifth grade Use the Pretest/Posttest on page to determine your students’ specific strengths and weaknesses The activities within each book are sequenced by general complexity Sentence structure, vocabulary, and readability are kept simple to keep students’ energies focused on the grammar concept vs reading comprehension Spotlight on Grammar: Verbs presents basic information about verb tenses, types of verbs, and irregular verbs Below are additional activities to supplement the content of this book • Help your students to list all the verbs/action words they can think of for a given topic, such as paper, school, or a current learning topic For enrichment, talk about adverbs that could modify these verbs and nouns that could the actions • Encourage your students to make new verbs for the actions of imagined machines or creatures If all the objects in your classroom were animated at night, what verbs would your students use to describe the objects’ actions? • Point out that many nouns can become verbs and vice versa Add -or or -er to an action verb to make a noun that does the action: surfboard + -er = surfboarder, act + -or = actor, etc Likewise, add -ing to a verb and use it as a noun (gerund): study + -ing = studying as in Studying exercises your brain • Write 20 nouns on separate cards Then write 20 verbs on separate cards, choosing actions that could be done by the nouns in the first set of cards Give each student one card and ask the students to pair themselves as a noun and a verb that go together well • Ask small groups of students to travel across the same path in your room, one at a time Each student must move differently The other students must think of a verb or verbs to describe each student’s movement across the room No two students may move the same way; they must vary their body position, speed, gestures, etc Allow your students to make up new verbs for this activity, explaining the reasoning that led to creating such a word English has a rich vocabulary, yet we restrict our vocabulary to common words Each week, choose one common verb and challenge your students to list as many synonyms as they can Here are some good candidates for this activity: see hurry go move like eat hold use get want touch write take find walk have say sit know We hope Spotlight on Grammar: Verbs enlivens grammar lessons for you and your students! Carolyn and Kate Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Pretest/Posttest ➥ Underline each action verb in these three sentences Circle each linking verb I feel sad that my team scored just 14 points in the first half Because this science textbook is heavy, I carry it in my backpack Please fasten your seat belt, sit back, and be comfortable ➥ Circle whether the underlined verb is a main verb or a helping verb I will throw you the ball main verb helping verb You could play Monopoly main verb helping verb ➥ Write the correct verb in ( ) to complete each sentence Mrs Sloan _ Spanish (teach / teaches) They _ talented athletes (am / are) My mom _ her lunch in her briefcase (carry / carries) The crop duster _ fertilizer onto the fields 10 We _ the rain would stop ➥ (sprays / spray) (wish / wishes) Write the past tense and the past participle of each verb 11 paint _ has _ 14 drink _ has _ 12 teach _ has _ 15 run _ has _ 13 sleep has _ 16 lay _ has _ _ Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc What Is a Verb? A verb shows action in a sentence It tells what someone or something does We catch fish at the lake Omar brushes his teeth carefully ➥ Underline the verb in each sentence Kevin shut the windows I ride my bike to school My mom walks the dog Bake the muffins for 20 minutes Caitlin draws with her new markers Dad watches the news on TV every night The store opens at ten o’clock Please pass the salt Jason followed the leader 10 The basketball player shot a basket 11 The wind blew hair in my face 12 I drank milk with lunch Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Identifying Verbs in Complete Predicates A sentence has two parts, a complete subject and a complete predicate A noun or a pronoun is the main word in a complete subject A verb is the main word in a complete predicate complete subject Uncle Dan’s dog ➥ complete predicate chases squirrels in our yard Each complete predicate is underlined Circle the verb in each sentence Ellie spins the dial Thunderstorms scare me I take a shower in the morning Eva designs clothes for celebrities I feed my goldfish a pinch of fish food It rains a lot in a rainforest Our teacher reads us one chapter a day My grandfather snores loudly The new theater charges ten dollars per person 10 The police look for evidence in the warehouse 11 Birds build nests for their eggs 12 The Troy Middle School Band marches in the homecoming parade Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Recognizing Verbs in Sentences ➥ Look at the underlined word in each sentence Circle yes if it is a verb Circle no if it is not a verb Lily only reads mysteries yes no My tooth hurts a lot yes no I wash the dishes after dinner yes no His dad drives us to practice yes no Zephan delivers the Sunday paper yes no The neighbors shovel snow from their driveways yes no I talk to my best friend every day yes no My grandmother drinks coffee at breakfast yes no The choir sings beautifully yes no 10 The rock sinks to the bottom of the pond yes no 11 Robyn sprinkles sugar on her cereal yes no 12 The bell rings at the end of recess yes no Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Identifying Verbs in Sentences ➥ Underline each verb in these sentences My uncle rides a green motorcycle We go to every home football game Tara answered every question correctly Dad always listens to my jokes Superheroes rescue people from danger My brother works at the supermarket after school Female lions hunt for prey in the tall prairie grass We shop for fresh fruit at the local farmer’s market At the park, we hang from the monkey bars 10 Every night before bed, I read a chapter in a book 11 Sydney spends all of his allowance every week 12 We build sand castles at the beach Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 10 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Past Participle English uses many ways to show past tense The simple past tense shows that something happened in the past You comb your hair every day The past perfect tense shows that something began and ended in the past You have combed your hair already today To form the past perfect tense, add a helping verb before the past participle of the main verb The most common helping verb for the past perfect tense is have ➥ present past comb combed past participle (have) combed Write the past and the past participle forms for each verb play (have) mail (have) wait (have) climb (have) wash (have) warn (have) attend (have) suggest (have) borrow (have) 10 fasten (have) 11 listen (have) 12 rest (have) Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 26 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Irregular Verbs Irregular verbs don’t follow the rules to form their past tense or their past participle These verbs change their spellings The best way to check their spellings is to use a dictionary A dictionary lists the correct past and past participle forms for an irregular verb speak [spek], v., spoke, spo.ken, speak.ing ➥ Use a dictionary to find the correct past and past participle forms for each irregular verb Write the correct forms in the blanks bring (have) catch (have) fight (have) find (have) say (have) think (have) teach (have) eat (have) run (have) 10 sleep (have) 11 break (have) 12 win (have) Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 27 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Irregular Verbs ➥ Use a dictionary to find the correct past and past participle forms for each irregular verb Write the correct forms in the blanks drink (have) ring (have) sing (have) swim (have) eat (have) ride (have) ➥ Use the past participle of the verb to complete each sentence swim So far this year, I _ in four swim meets ring The bell in the clock tower _ at noon every day for as long as I can remember drink They _ all of the juice boxes 10 sing Ginger _ in the chorus for two years 11 eat I _ all of the spinach 12 ride Devon _ a horse four times this fall Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 28 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Irregular Verbs ➥ Use a dictionary to find the correct past and past participle forms for each irregular verb Write the correct forms in the blanks come (have) run (have) sit (have) set (have) win (have) feel (have) ➥ Use the past participle of the verb to complete each sentence come My mother _ to pick me up early sit I _ in this chair since school started set My brother _ the table already 10 win Cole _ the trophy two years in a row 11 feel I _ cobwebs before in a closet 12 run Mr Green _ the school’s charity auction for years Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 29 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Irregular Verbs ➥ Use a dictionary to find the correct past and past participle forms for each irregular verb Write the correct forms in the blanks break (have) choose (have) (have) drive (have) fall (have) fly (have) freeze (have) give (have) ➥ Use the past participle of the verb to complete each sentence choose I _ the first book 10 give My parents _ us a computer 11 freeze The pipes _ and burst 12 fall All of the leaves _ from that tree 13 They _ well in math 14 break Our windows _ because of the storm 15 fly I _ on an airplane only once before 16 drive Cory _ a tractor before Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 30 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Irregular Verbs ➥ Use a dictionary to find the correct past and past participle forms for each irregular verb Write the correct forms in the blanks go (have) grow (have) hide (have) ride (have) see (have) speak (have) take (have) tear (have) wake (have) 10 wear (have) 11 write (have) 12 hear (have) 13 give (have) 14 find (have) 15 stick (have) 16 lose (have) Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 31 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Irregular Verbs ➥ This chart shows the present tense, the past tense, and the past participle form for verbs Fill in the missing boxes Use a dictionary if you need help Present Tense Past Tense (have) torn Past Participle eat (have) froze (have) hid (have) ride (have) broke (have) (have) swum sing (have) (have) done wore 10 11 (have) shake 12 Spotlight on Grammar Verbs (have) threw (have) 32 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Verbs With Direct Objects An action verb does something to a direct object To find the direct object of a sentence, use the verb in this question: (verb) what? Here is an example Stacy rode her bike to school The verb is rode Rode what? rode (her) bike ➥ Circle the direct object in each sentence Kyle bought apples at the store My Dad cooked hot dogs on the grill Katie gave me a shirt for my birthday I broke my purse during the trip Todd scored the winning goal My brother answered the phone Ms Newton makes the best cupcakes in town My family eats pizza on Friday nights We ride the bus to school 10 My cousins only drink soy milk 11 The nurse weighed me at my checkup 12 I did my chores for today Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 33 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Linking Verbs A linking verb is a special verb that does not show action A linking verb links or connects the subject of a sentence to a word in the predicate of a sentence A linking verb tells what something is or was or will be Jenna is a great cook ➥ Each linking verb is underlined in these sentences For each sentence, circle both the subject and the word or words in the predicate that describe the subject The party’s theme will be Under the Sea The next class project will be a diorama My dad is also the soccer coach Mr Thomas was the school librarian last year My favorite movie is Lord of the Rings This time I will be the winner Jason is tired after his swim meets My breakfast was delicious this morning Our first dog was a mutt 10 My best sport is soccer 11 This key is too rusty to work Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 34 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Linking Verbs An adjective that comes after a linking verb describes the subject of a sentence This soup tastes salty ➥ Draw an arrow from each underlined adjective to the subject it describes That birthday cake looks wonderful! You seem tired this morning I feel shy around new people The thunder sounds closer now The bread from the drawer smells stale Mason appears bored by the movie Carlos feels nervous about the competition Our dinner is ready That outfit looks great 10 The weather is stormy today 11 The lizard’s scales felt bumpy Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 35 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Contractions A contraction is two words put together to say something in a shorter way It means the same thing as the two words ➥ we are we’re Match the two words on the left with the correct contraction on the right I am A they’re you are B we’d he is C you’ve they will D I’d I would E it’s she is F he’s you have G I’m we would H you’d I she’ll it is 10 they are J you’re 11 she will K they’ll 12 you would L she’s Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 36 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Troublesome Verb Pairs Some verb pairs are tricky Here are two pairs of verbs to think about can • may Use can when you mean able to something Can you lift this bed? Use may when you want permission May I sit on your bed? lie • lay Use lie when you mean to rest on something I will lie on my sleeping bag for a nap Use lay when you want to put something down I will lay my sleeping bag on the ground ➥ Write the correct verb to complete each sentence may/can I _ run a mile in eight minutes lie/lay My cat likes to _ on the windowsill may/can _ you afford the tickets? lie/lay _ the sleeping bags down in the tent lie/lay We can _ around on the pool chairs may/can You _ borrow the car on Saturday may/can _ I invite a friend for lunch? lie/lay You may _ your coat on the sofa Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 37 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Using Exact Verbs ➥ Read these stories The verbs below the blanks are too general or common Write a more specific verb in the blank to replace each one My favorite place to in the summer is the community be pool I really swimming Last weekend was like scorching hot, so my family to the pool I went all my friends to come over, too told I like to off the diving board My younger sister only go in the shallow end She closes plays her eyes and “Marco!” to her friends, and says they “Polo!” back to her until she say them My parents f inds stay and watch us I got hungry after a while, so I some ice cream got bars for me and my friends The ice cream truck comes by every few hours I my treat in a flash That ate made me feel better Spotlight on Grammar Verbs 38 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Answer Key The most likely answers are listed here Accept other logical, appropriate answers as correct Page linking - feel action - scored linking - is action - carry action - fasten, sit linking - be main verb helping verb teaches are carries sprays 10 wish 11 painted, painted 12 taught, taught 13 slept, slept 14 drank, drunk 15 ran, run 16 laid, laid Page 7 10 11 12 shut ride walks Bake draws watches opens pass followed shot blew drank Page 8 10 11 12 spins scare take designs feed rains reads snores charges look build marches Spotlight on Grammar Verbs Page no yes no no yes no Page 13 10 11 12 no yes yes no yes yes Page 10 10 11 12 rides go answered listens rescue works hunt shop hang read spends build Page 11 draws, makes, drew, made, shows, laugh takes, goes, practices, plays, goes wants, costs, mows, saves, has, needs collects, likes, has, reads, shares plant, rains, grow, cut, bring, arranges, like Page 12 10 11 12 13 have practices collect helps hang rides mix carries make 10 11 singular, needs singular, cleans plural, hide plural, bother singular, plays singular, gives plural, live singular, makes singular, improves singular, reminds plural, wear Page 14 10 11 12 toss wishes fishes miss washes catches fixes mixes crushes watch scratches pushes Page 15 10 11 12 destroy pays annoy says enjoys delays employs play stays relay displays replays Page 16 39 fly hurry cries studies worries relies 10 11 12 applies carries scurry replies fries marries Page 17 10 11 12 hang lays stretch teaches write opens leave plays spies fix pass tosses Page 18 10 11 12 eat designs practice makes carry balances bring kiss runs finish plays carry Page 19 10 11 12 tosses swim deliver eats pretend stay studies teaches watches says fly enjoy Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc Page 20 10 11 12 past present past present past present past past present past present past Page 21 10 11 12 learned cooked burned listened crashed happened started waited presented returned visited lifted Page 22 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 tried dried carried applied hurried studied dropped clapped slammed stopped stirred shopped jogged flipped clipped wrapped sipped grinned tipped chugged Page 23 will was is have am were Spotlight on Grammar Verbs has had are 10 have 11 is 12 was Page 24 10 11 12 could might does must would did am must might could Page 25 will eat/order will take/attend will feed/watch/ walk will graduate will begin/start will throw/pass will cross/reach will score/make will fly/travel 10 will die/wilt 11 will pay 12 will arrive/come Page 26 10 11 12 played, played mailed, mailed waited, waited climbed, climbed washed, washed warned, warned attended, attended suggested, suggested borrowed, borrowed fastened, fastened listened, listened rested, rested Page 27 brought, brought caught, caught fought, fought found, found said, said thought, thought taught, taught ate, eaten ran, run 10 slept, slept 11 broke, broken 12 won, won Page 28 10 11 12 drank, drunk rang, rung sang, sung swam, swum ate, eaten rode, ridden have swum has rung have drunk has sung have eaten has ridden Page 29 10 11 12 came, come ran, run sat, sat set, set won, won felt, felt has come have sat has set has won have felt has run Page 30 broke, broken chose, chosen did, done drove, driven fell, fallen flew, flown froze, frozen gave, given 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 have chosen have given have frozen have fallen have done have broken have flown has driven Page 31 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 went, gone grew, grown hid, hidden rode, ridden saw, seen spoke, spoken took, taken tore, torn woke, woken wore, worn wrote, written heard, heard gave, given found, found stuck, stuck lost, lost Page 32 10 11 12 tear, tore ate, eaten freeze, frozen hide, hidden rode, ridden break, broken swim, swam sang, sung do, did wear, worn shook, shaken throw, thrown Page 33 10 11 12 apples hot dogs shirt purse goal phone cupcakes pizza bus soy milk me chores Page 34 theme, Under the Sea project, diorama dad, coach Mr Thomas, librarian movie, Lord of the Rings I, winner Jason, tired breakfast, delicious dog, mutt 10 sport, soccer 11 key, rusty Page 35 10 11 cake You I thunder bread Mason Carlos dinner outfit weather scales Page 36 G J F K D L 10 11 12 C B E A I H Page 37 can lie Can Lay lie may May lay Page 38 Answers will vary 23-06-987654321 40 Copyright © 2006 LinguiSystems, Inc