WORDS THAT ASSERT

27. After the primitive man had invented names for the things about him, probably his next step was to invent words of action. He very naturally wanted to tell what all of these various things did. So the words that tell what things do, the words of action, the words that assert, came into the language. A child follows much the same development. As you can readily observe, it first names the objects about it, then learns the words that tell what these objects do.

So the words that tell what things do, become the second class of words. These words we call verbs. The word verb, like the word noun, is taken into our language from the Latin. In Latin, the word verbum means the word; and the verb is practically the word in a sentence, for we cannot have a sentence without a verb. You may string a number of words together, but if you do not have an asserting word, you will not have a sentence.

Notice the following sentences:

Men work.

Flowers fade.

Snow flies.

Winds blow.

In these sentences, the words work, fade, flies and blow, are the words used to assert or say something of the subject, hence they are the verbs in these sentences.

28. Sometimes it takes more than one word to express the action or make the assertion. Notice the following sentences:

The men are working.

The boy has been studying.

In the first sentence it takes two words, are working, to make the assertion; in the second, three are required, has been studying. These groups of words are called verb phrases.

29. A verb is a word that asserts.

A verb phrase is a group of words used as a single verb.

The verb is perhaps the most difficult part of speech to master. It is not hard to find the verb in short sentences, but in longer sentences it is sometimes difficult.

For example:

The sun shines.

The man walks.

The boys strike.

We very easily see that shine, walk and strike are the verbs in these sentences. But let us add other words, as for example:

The sun shines brightly.

The man walks for his health.

The boys strike the dog.

Now we are very apt to confuse the verb with the words which state how and why the action is performed, or the object towards which the action is directed. But in these sentences, shine and walks and strike are still the verbs, just as in the first sentences. The verb asserts the action; the other words merely give additional information about how or why or upon what the action is performed.

30. Another thing which makes it difficult for us to distinguish verbs in English is that the same word may be used both as a noun and as a verb; but always remember that words are separated into classes according to the work which they do. When a word is used as a name it is a noun; when it is used as an asserting word it is a verb. Note the following sentences:

The play made the child tired.

The children play in the yard.

In the first sentence play is a noun, the subject of the verb made. In the second sentence play is the verb, telling what the children do. Always classify words according to the work which they perform in the sentence. This will help you very much in finding your verb.

31. Then we have some verbs which do not assert action but express rather a connection or relation between the subject and some other word or words. For example:

The dog belongs to the man.

The girl is happy.

In these sentences belongs and is are the verbs. Belongs asserts or shows the relation between the dog and the man. Is shows the relation between the girl and happy. If we simply say girl and happy, we do not show any connection between them or make any statement relating the two, but when we say, The girl is happy, we are asserting something, and the word is makes the assertion.

Or when we say, The girl was happy, or The girl will be or may be happy, in each of these cases, it is the verb or verb phrase was or will be or may be, that asserts or shows the relation between the subject girl and the descriptive word happy. You will observe that the verbs will be and may be are composed of more than one word and are verb phrases.

We will study the verb in succeeding lessons, but let us remember from this lesson that the word or group of words that makes the assertion in the sentence is the verb. Remember too that every sentence must contain a verb.

Get this basic principle firmly fixed in mind that what a word does decides what it is—to what part of speech it belongs, and that every class of words fulfills its own function in sentence building.

32. Remember:—

Every sentence must have a subject and a predicate.

Every sentence must express a complete thought.

Every sentence must contain a verb.

A noun is the name of something.

A verb is a word that asserts.

What a word does determines what it is.

Study carefully the following quotation. The verbs are printed in italics.

Slowly, painfully, proceeds the struggle of man against the power of Mammon. The past is written in tears and blood. The future is dim and unknown, but the final outcome of this world-wide struggle is not in doubt. Freedom will conquer slavery, truth will prevail over error, justice will triumph over injustice, the light will vanquish the darkness; and humanity will rise in the glory of universal brotherhood.—Warren.

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