What is a verb?
Verbs are words in a sentence that tell you what someone or something is doing.
The hairy scary fairy scratches his head.
'Scratches' is a verb, it's what the hairy scary fairy is doing.
Without verbs, sentences wouldn’t make much sense.
Activity: What are verbs?
Learn about verbs with this poem about a naughty fairy. Then, put your knowledge to the test in the quiz!
What are verbs?
Verbs tell you what someone or something is doing, like 'run', 'jump', 'shout' or 'draw'.
Even the word ‘said' is a verb, but you can use more descriptive words like ‘moaned’ to show someone is unhappy while they’re speaking.
Verbs help you understand what’s happening in a sentence. Without them, you wouldn’t know how characters move, talk, or feel.
Example 1
The hairy scary fairy felt bad for what he had done.
Which verb could you use to show he was sorry in the sentence?
The hairy scary fairy ___________ for his behaviour.
a) sung
b) apologised
c) loved
✓ b) apologised
As the fairy felt bad for what he did, the word 'apologised' would be perfect.
The words 'sung' and 'loved' are both verbs, but they don’t make sense in this sentence.
The hairy scary fairy apologised for his behaviour.
Example 2
Which group of verbs are you most likely to do when learning?
a) watch, listen, try
b) scratch, itch, sneeze
✓ a) watch, listen, try.
'Scratch', 'itch' and 'sneeze' are verbs, but they aren’t things you usually do when learning.
'Watch', 'listen' and 'try' are things you might do every day in class.
Task
Hairy fairy friends!
The hairy fairy gets up to lots of mischief.
This hairy fairy has made a friend and they start to cause trouble together.
Write three sentences explaining what they get up to.
You can use some fun and silly verbs to tell the reader what their actions are.
Karate Cats English game! game
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