Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp: More About Verbs (Words Are Categorical)

by Brian P. Cleary illustrated by Brian Gable

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To Isabella —B.P.C.

Verb: A word that shows ing action or be

by Brian P. Cleary illustrated by Brian Gable J M ILLBROOK P RESS / M INNEAPOLIS

Verbs are words like sneak an

d

sniff,

sneez e and seize h i w f f d . n a e z e he w d an

4

Planting carrots, getting traction,

Verbs give sentences their action.

5

,

You might be exploring the Alps or the Amazon, maybe restoring the ch air th a ty our grandm ’s o n a

6

knitting or h itting or roping or bit ing— m n a c ake sente s b r e n v very exc ces iting .

They tell us of horses

that nu

zz le a n

d nip,

of bears as they guzzle and birds as they 8

sip.

They tell us of scooters

e r w v s both i ng and stopping ,

throws that are curving or sliding or dr oppin .

g

9

So

wrap a package, tie a knot,

. t o l a clap your hands, or cry

, e l b m e r t , h p m u i r T

10

tr ot, an

dt

ra

you’ll

m ple,

use a verb for each example! 11

Fly to the flower shop, dash to the dance,

g b n y i the w s sw

immin pool, g

frolic in France.

12

i r c u s c e h t o t r Soa the fair. o t t a o l f and

Without verbs, your sentence can’t go anywhere.

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Each sentence h as a subject— it’s kind of like the star.

It’s what the whole thing’s all about:

Dave’s d ish , , k Mom’s loo Todd’s r. ca 15

need a verb— w s i m s e h s i f s e k a tm

Subjects always

a h it ’s w

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and lanterns li gh t and writers write and clippers cut and trim.

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S

’t the action n e r a s kin b r e d v — e om They “link” instead of “do,”

connecting sentence parts, as in, “ You r dog a

ppear s

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” . e u l b e t i u q

These linking verbs connect a subject to a word or phrase

called a subject complement. th at’s

It’s done in lots of ways: 19

It

became ridic

ulou s.

That strudel sure smells great. 20

The crime

This play

remains a mystery.

seems second rat e

.

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The forms of “be” are linking verbs, like, “Ar e your names Mich elle? ”

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Were and was work this way, too— they’re forms of “be” as well.

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I am Shannon. He is Mor t.

Wer ey w

ou the one

ho w

as in court?

24

is

There are times a form of “be” all that’s needed, verbally.

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slide p i l s ou

Whether you or

y

or yo sl u r p, u if you should scream

u o y or

26

scratch or you bur p,

if you’re making a fraction or writing a blurb,

because there is action, you know it’s a verb. 27

ld u o h s u o y oS if

gloat

or you glisten or li

ste n,

say to the chef, “Take th at out a

nd pu

28

t this in,”

whether you

or

pounce

pronounce or

perturb,

I’m here to announce that you’re using a verb! 29

So, what

30

is a verb?

you know?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR

BRIAN P. CLEARY is the author of the Words Are Categorical™ and Math Is Categorical™ series, as well as Rainbow Soup: Adventures in Poetry and Rhyme and PUNishment: Adventures in Wordplay. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. BRIAN GABLE is the illustrator of many Words Are Categorical™ books, the Math Is Categorical™ series, and the Make Me Laugh! joke books. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and two children. Text copyright © 2007 by Brian P. Cleary Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Millbrook Press, Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Millbrook Press, Inc. A division of Lerner Publishing Group 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. Website address: www.lernerbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cleary, Brian P., 1959– Slide and slurp, scratch and burp : more about verbs / by Brian P. Cleary ; illustrations by Brian Gable. p. cm. – (Words are categorical) ISBN-13: 978–0–8225–6207–8 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–8225–6207–3 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. English language—Verb—Juvenile literature. I. Gable, Brian, 1949– ill. II. Title. III. Series: Cleary, Brian P., 1959– Words are categorical. PE1271.C57 2007 428.2—dc22 2006012096 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 - JR - 12 11 10 09 08 07

eISBN-13: 978-0-8225-8805-4