ESL Blogs

English verbs are a very important part of speech - if not the most important one. No wonder some learners still can't use verbs correctly, even though they have learned all the basic rules of them. When you use verbs to make a sentence, you should take into consideration the following:

What structures are possible after a particular verb

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or the -ing form or 'object + infinitive' or two objects or a preposition group or nothing , while some are more often used with a that-clause.

For example, the verb 'suggest' can be followed by the -ing form, not an infinitive. You can say 'Expector suggests reading all the blogs' - you don't say 'Expector suggests us to read all the blogs'. 

Verb tenses

You should let your readers know whether you're referring to past, present, or future time. For instance, this sentence 'I eat or eat something' doesn't make much sense - you should say 'I've eaten' or 'I ate' or 'I'm eating' instead.  Verb tenses can be so difficult to master, though. It's not uncommon for a learner to find it hard to choose an appropriate verb tense. 

Subjest-verb agreement

• I think
• Tara thinks
• What really counts is...
• Learning English is the right thing to do.
• 580 blogs per month doesn't seem to be such a big goal.

Now, you may find it hard to use verbs correctly, though I failed to mention the subjuntive mood, passive voice, phrasal verbs or modals. Try to pay more attention to the verbs you use or read.

You may have asked, 'How could they know I'm not a native English speaker or an advanced learner?'  It may have been the verbs you used that gave you away.