Page 13 - The Language Sandwich

Verb ( The meat )

A verb is used to describe

• an action (make, as in you make too many

sandwiches)

• an event (toast, as in the bread is toasted)

• a state (eat, as in I need to eat).

Verbs have different types, tenses, and moods,

and they must agree with their subjects to form

a correct sentence.

Verbs are the meat of a sentence. A sentence

does not exist without a verb, just as a

sandwich does not exist without meat. (I can

hear the vegetarians and peanut-butter-and-

jelly lovers crying out at this point, but go with

us here.) Just as you need both a noun and a

verb to form a sentence, most people agree you

need at least bread and meat to make a

sandwich.