The verb base Worksheet Practice Exercises with Answers

Sometimes a verb changes its form. Let's look at the following sentences. The verb is underlined in each one.

• John should study.
• John studied.
• John is studying.
• John studies.

You certainly can't say, "John should studied," or "John to studied," so how do we know that studied is a verb? To test the word, you have to see if it can follow should or to in a different form, not necessarily in the form that you see in a particular sentence. For example, if you see John studied, ask yourself if there's a different form of studied that can follow should or to. In this case there is: John should study or John decided to study. So study and all its forms are verbs. The form of the verb that follows should or to is called the base form or infinitive form. The term infinitive is used to refer either to the base form alone (for example, study), or to the to + base form (for example, to study).

Let's put each of these verbs into its base form. The base form is underlined.

• working: (should, to) work
• believed: (should, to) believe
• written: (should, to) write
• wore: (should, to) wear
• throws: (should, to) throw

Question 1. wrote:
Answer: write
In simple words: The base form of wrote is write. You can verify this by checking if you can say "should write" or "to write" - both work correctly.

Question 2. talking:
Answer: talk
In simple words: The base form of talking is talk. This makes sense because you can say "should talk" or "to talk".

Question 3. thought:
Answer: think
In simple words: The base form of thought is think. You can check this by saying "should think" or "to think".

Question 4. considered:
Answer: consider
In simple words: The base form of considered is consider. This works because both "should consider" and "to consider" are valid phrases.

Question 5. seen:
Answer: see
In simple words: The base form of seen is see. You can verify this with "should see" or "to see".

Question 6. investigates:
Answer: investigate
In simple words: The base form of investigates is investigate. Both "should investigate" and "to investigate" are correct.

Question 7. spoken:
Answer: speak
In simple words: The base form of spoken is speak. This is confirmed by saying "should speak" or "to speak".

Question 8. married:
Answer: marry
In simple words: The base form of married is marry. You can say "should marry" or "to marry".

Question 9. decides:
Answer: decide
In simple words: The base form of decides is decide. Both "should decide" and "to decide" work correctly.

Question 10. found:
Answer: find
In simple words: The base form of found is find. This can be checked by saying "should find" or "to find".

Question 11. danced:
Answer: Verb
In simple words: Danced is a verb because it shows an action. You can say "should dance" or "to dance".

Question 12. sofa:
Answer: Not a verb
In simple words: Sofa is not a verb. It's a noun - the name of a piece of furniture. You cannot say "should sofa" or "to sofa".

Question 13. large:
Answer: Not a verb
In simple words: Large is not a verb. It's an adjective that describes a noun. You cannot say "should large" or "to large".

Question 14. gave:
Answer: Verb
In simple words: Gave is a verb because it shows an action. You can say "should give" or "to give".

Question 15. stares:
Answer: Verb
In simple words: Stares is a verb because it shows an action. You can say "should stare" or "to stare".

Question 16. pushed:
Answer: Verb
In simple words: Pushed is a verb because it shows an action. You can say "should push" or "to push".

Question 17. goodness:
Answer: Not a verb
In simple words: Goodness is not a verb. It's a noun that names a quality. You cannot say "should goodness" or "to goodness".

Question 18. at:
Answer: Not a verb
In simple words: At is not a verb. It's a preposition that shows location or position. You cannot say "should at" or "to at".

Question 19. carries:
Answer: Verb
In simple words: Carries is a verb because it shows an action. You can say "should carry" or "to carry".

Question 20. them:
Answer: Not a verb
In simple words: Them is not a verb. It's a pronoun that refers to people or things. You cannot say "should them" or "to them".

Question 21. The host greeted us cordially.
Answer: The verb is greeted. It shows the action the host performed. You can verify this by saying "should greet" or "to greet".
In simple words: Greeted is the verb because it shows what the host did - the action in the sentence.

Question 22. She should say that again.
Answer: The verb is say. It shows the action and follows the word should, which is how you identify the base form.
In simple words: Say is the verb here. It tells us what action the person should perform.

Question 23. Jonathan walked over to the car.
Answer: The verb is walked. It shows the action Jonathan performed. You can verify this by asking if a different form can follow should or to - and it can: "should walk" or "to walk".
In simple words: Walked is the verb because it shows what Jonathan did - he moved to the car.

Question 24. He washes dishes every evening.
Answer: The verb is washes. It shows the action he performs regularly. The base form is wash, which you can confirm with "should wash" or "to wash".
In simple words: Washes is the verb because it tells us what he does - the action he performs every evening.

Question 25. You can't speak Vietnamese.
Answer: The verb is speak. It follows the word can't and shows the action. You can verify this by checking if "should speak" or "to speak" works - and it does.
In simple words: Speak is the verb because it shows the action the person cannot do.

Question 26. My neighbor flew to Chicago.
Answer: The verb is flew. It shows the action the neighbor performed. The base form is fly, which you can verify with "should fly" or "to fly".
In simple words: Flew is the verb because it shows what the neighbor did - the action of traveling to Chicago.

Question 27. The children wanted some candy.
Answer: The verb is wanted. It shows the action - what the children desired. The base form is want, which works with "should want" or "to want".
In simple words: Wanted is the verb because it tells us what the children desired or wished for.

Question 28. Tomorrow we might go to the museum.
Answer: The verb is go. It follows the word might and shows the action. You can confirm this by saying "should go" or "to go".
In simple words: Go is the verb because it shows the action we might perform - visiting the museum.

Question 29. The censor usually objects to the same seven words.
Answer: The verb is objects. It shows the action the censor typically performs. The base form is object, which works with "should object" or "to object".
In simple words: Objects is the verb because it tells us what the censor usually does - the action of opposing certain words.

Question 30. In the afternoon I bought a present for my son.
Answer: The verb is bought. It shows the action performed in the afternoon. The base form is buy, which you can verify with "should buy" or "to buy".
In simple words: Bought is the verb because it shows what someone did - the action of purchasing a gift.