Name: _______________________

I. Verb Phrases
A. A phrase that includes a main verb and one or more helping verbs
B. Main Verb
a. Can stand by itself in a sentence
b. Shows the action or state of being in the sentence
i. Kate came to the party.
ii. Jerry served everyone dessert.
C. Helping Verb
a. Helps the main verb express time or show action
b. Sometimes you must use a special form of the main verb when it is used with a helping verb
i. Kimberly will be coming to the party later.
ii. Jerry has been a waiter at our parties before.
c. Common helping verbs
i. Be: am, is was, were, been, being
ii. Do: did, does, done
iii. Have: have, has, had
iv. Others: can, may, might, could, should, would, will
d. Sometimes, words that are NOT verbs separate parts of a verb phrase These words are NOT part of the
verb phrase.
i. Examples: not, never, ever, sometimes, always, usually, still, hardly, barely, rarely
ii. Kate has always been my friend.
iii. Maura will never forget my birthday.
iv. Will is still cleaning his room.
II. Compound Sentence Parts
A. Compound Subject: two or more subjects that share the same verb
a. Subjects are joined by a conjunction
b. Use commas to separate more than 2 subjects in the same sentence
i. Susan and Lucy are sister.
ii. Peter, Ed, and Lucy enjoy swimming.
B. Compound Predicate: two or more verbs that share the same subject
a. Verbs are joined by a conjunction
b. Use commas to separate more than 2 verbs in the same sentence
i. The girls enjoy archery but dislike soccer.
ii. The brothers and sisters play sports, do chores, and finish their homework after school each day.
III. Compound Sentence
A. Two complete sentences joined by a comma and conjunction to form one sentence
B. Sometimes, a semicolon will take the place of the comma and conjunction
a. Susan plays softball, and Lucy is on the swim team.
b. Peter plays football, but Ed prefers soccer.
c. All of the children play sports; Peter is the most athletic.