Verbs, Main Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs
Verbs, Main Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs MCQ Questions
13.
Select the correct verb: I ____ breakfast every morning.
Approach
The question asks to select the correct verb to complete the sentence "I ____ breakfast every morning." This requires understanding subject-verb agreement and the correct tense for habitual actions.
Step-by-step
- Identify the subject: The subject of the sentence is "I", which is a first-person singular pronoun.
- Identify the tense/aspect: The phrase "every morning" indicates a habitual action or a routine. For habitual actions, the simple present tense is used.
- Determine the correct verb form for "have" in simple present tense with "I": In the simple present tense, the verb "have" conjugates as follows:
- I have
- You have
- We have
- They have
- He/She/It has
- Apply to the sentence: Since the subject is "I" and the action is habitual (simple present), the correct form of the verb is "have".
- Form the complete sentence: "I have breakfast every morning."
Correct Option: B) have
Incorrect Options
- A) has — "Has" is used with third-person singular subjects (he, she, it), not with "I". For example, "He has breakfast every morning."
- C) having — "Having" is the present participle form and requires an auxiliary verb (e.g., "I am having breakfast now" for present continuous, or "Having had breakfast, I left" as a participle phrase). It cannot stand alone in this context to describe a habitual action.
- D) had — "Had" is the past tense form of "have". While grammatically correct for a past action (e.g., "I had breakfast yesterday"), it does not fit the context of "every morning," which indicates a recurring present action.
14.
Identify the action verb: The baby crawled.
Approach
To identify the action verb in a sentence, we need to look for the word that describes an action being performed by the subject. Verbs are words that show an action, an occurrence, or a state of being.
Step-by-step
- Understand the role of a verb: A verb is the part of speech that typically expresses action, state, or relation. In simple terms, it tells us what the subject is doing or what is happening.
- Analyze the sentence: The given sentence is "The baby crawled."
- Identify the subject: The subject of the sentence is "baby" because it is who or what the sentence is about.
- Look for the action performed by the subject: What did the baby do? The baby "crawled".
- Confirm the word type: "Crawled" is a word that describes an action (the act of moving on hands and knees). Therefore, it is an action verb.
Correct Option: C) Crawled
Incorrect Options
- A) The — "The" is an article, which is a type of determiner. It specifies a noun but does not show action.
- B) Baby — "Baby" is a noun. It is the subject of the sentence, representing a person, but it does not perform the action itself.
- D) None — Since "crawled" is clearly an action verb, this option is incorrect.
15.
Choose the correct tense: I have seen that movie.
ANSWER :
C. Present perfect
Approach
To identify the correct tense, we need to analyze the structure of the given sentence, "I have seen that movie." We will look for auxiliary verbs and the form of the main verb to determine which tense it represents.
Step-by-step
- Analyze the verb phrase: The verb phrase in the sentence is "have seen."
- Identify the auxiliary verb: The auxiliary verb is "have." This is a form of the verb "to have."
- Identify the main verb form: The main verb is "seen," which is the past participle form of the verb "to see."
- Recall tense formations:
- The present perfect tense is formed using "has/have" + the past participle of the main verb.
- The simple past tense uses the past form of the verb (e.g., "saw").
- The present continuous tense uses "is/am/are" + the present participle (verb + -ing) (e.g., "am seeing").
- The future tense typically uses "will" + the base form of the verb (e.g., "will see").
- Match the sentence structure: The structure "have + seen" perfectly matches the formation of the present perfect tense. It indicates an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past, or an action that started in the past and continues to the present, or an action completed in the recent past with a present result. In this case, it indicates that the experience of seeing the movie occurred at some point before now.
Correct Option: C) Present perfect
Incorrect Options
- A) Simple past — The simple past tense would be "I saw that movie." It does not use "have" as an auxiliary verb.
- B) Present continuous — The present continuous tense would be "I am seeing that movie" (which implies watching it right now) or "I am going to see that movie" (future arrangement). The given sentence does not use "am" and the -ing form.
- D) Future — The future tense would typically be "I will see that movie." The given sentence does not use "will."
16.
Choose the right option: He ____ his homework now.
Approach
The key to answering this question is to identify the correct verb tense required by the adverb "now". "Now" indicates an action happening at the present moment, which typically calls for the present continuous tense.
Step-by-step
- Analyze the sentence: The sentence is "He ____ his homework now."
- Identify the time indicator: The word "now" explicitly states that the action is happening at the present moment.
- Recall verb tenses for ongoing actions: The present continuous tense (am/is/are + verb-ing) is used to describe actions that are happening at the time of speaking.
- Apply the rule to the subject: The subject is "He" (third person singular). Therefore, the auxiliary verb should be "is".
- Form the present participle: The main verb is "do", so its present participle form is "doing".
- Combine to form the correct tense: "is doing" fits the present continuous tense requirement for the subject "He" and the time indicator "now".
Correct Option: A) is doing
Incorrect Options
- B) do — This is the base form of the verb. It would be used with plural subjects or "I"/"you" in the simple present tense (e.g., "They do their homework daily"), but not with "He" for an ongoing action "now".
- C) did — This is the simple past tense. It indicates an action that was completed in the past, which contradicts the word "now".
- D) done — This is the past participle form of the verb. It is used with auxiliary verbs like "has/have/had" to form perfect tenses (e.g., "He has done his homework") or in passive voice, but it cannot stand alone as the main verb in this context.
17.
Identify the helping verb in: They will come tomorrow.
Approach
To identify the helping verb, we need to understand what a helping verb (or auxiliary verb) is. Helping verbs assist the main verb in a sentence to express tense, mood, or voice. They typically come before the main verb.
Step-by-step
- Analyze the sentence: The given sentence is "They will come tomorrow."
- Identify the main verb: The action being performed in the sentence is "come." So, "come" is the main verb.
- Look for words assisting the main verb: The word "will" comes before "come" and modifies its tense, indicating a future action.
- Define helping verb: A helping verb works with the main verb to form a verb phrase. Common helping verbs include forms of "be" (is, am, are, was, were), "have" (has, have, had), "do" (do, does, did), and modals (will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must).
- Confirm the helping verb: In this sentence, "will" is a modal auxiliary verb that helps the main verb "come" to express future tense.
Correct Option: B) Will
Incorrect Options
- A) They — "They" is a pronoun, specifically the subject of the sentence, performing the action. It is not a verb.
- C) Come — "Come" is the main verb in the sentence, indicating the primary action. It is not a helping verb.
- D) Tomorrow — "Tomorrow" is an adverb of time, indicating when the action will happen. It modifies the verb "come" but is not a verb itself.
18.
Choose the verb in passive voice: The food was eaten.
Approach
To identify the verb in the passive voice, we need to understand what constitutes a passive voice construction. The passive voice typically consists of a form of the verb "to be" (e.g., is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Step-by-step
- Analyze the sentence: The given sentence is "The food was eaten."
- Identify the verb phrase: The action described in the sentence is "was eaten."
- Check for passive voice structure: This phrase consists of "was" (a form of the verb "to be") and "eaten" (the past participle of the verb "to eat").
- Confirm passive voice: This structure perfectly matches the definition of a passive voice verb. The subject ("The food") is receiving the action rather than performing it.
Correct Option:
C) Was eaten is the complete verb phrase in the passive voice. It includes both the auxiliary verb ("was") and the main verb's past participle ("eaten").
Incorrect Options
- A) Food is the subject of the sentence, not a verb.
- B) Was is an auxiliary verb (a form of "to be") but it is only part of the passive voice construction. By itself, it does not convey the full action in the passive voice.
- D) Eaten is the past participle of the main verb, but it is also only part of the passive voice construction. Without the auxiliary verb "was," it cannot function as a complete verb in the passive voice in this sentence.
