LITERACY FOCUS FOR TERM 1 (Weeks 6-8)

 WHAT IS A VERB?

There are two main types of verbs.  They are:

• Action verbs – words which tell us what the subject is doing.  These words are usually the main verb in a sentence.

• Auxiliary verbs – these words are known as helping verbs and are found next to the action verb.  They often assist with letting the reader know the tense of the sentence (e.g. is running, was running etc.)

N.B. Sometimes auxiliary verbs become the main verb when there is no action verb for the auxiliary verb to help.  This will mean that the helping verb is now the only verb in the sentence and no longer helping another word.

EXAMPLES

• Action verbs – The couple danced all night.
• Auxiliary verbs - The couple had been dancing all night.
• Auxiliary verb as the main verb - The winner is Paul.

WHAT IS AN ADVERB?

An adverb is a word that describes a verb. There are several types of adverbs.  The most common are:-

• Adverbs of manner (how) – these usually end in ‘ly’.
• Adverbs of place (where)
• Adverbs of time (when)
• Adverbs of frequency (how often)
• Adverbs of degree (to what extent)

EXAMPLES

• Adverbs of manner –  quickly, hungrily, imaginatively, fast, well (usually end in ‘ly’)
• Adverbs of place – here, there, nowhere, up, down, home, far, near
• Adverbs of time – today, tomorrow, yesterday, now, then soon, immediately
• Adverbs of frequency – always, never, often, seldom, once, usually, occasionally, frequently
• Adverbs of degree – very, quite, rather, so, almost, fairly, radically, hardly, extremely, well, really, just, too, nearly

Yellow = most commonly used adverbs