As an English teacher, one thing I always teach students is how to identify verbs in sentences. However, teaching verbs ESL students must know is vital!
How/why is knowing certain verbs vital?
If ESL students are to learn English, there are two verbs they must understand fully and some others that they need to know if they are to survive in a country where English is the primary language.
Although there are probably others, in the following paragraphs I will examine verbs that I believe are absolutely necessary for anyone who wants or needs to learn English, especially if they plan to live in an English-only society, or at least where English is the primary language.
Let’s Begin With Be and Do
Both of these tiny two-letter words are very common in English. The words may or may not be vital to one’s very existence in life but they are vital to the learning and understanding of English.
They are both irregular. They can be and are confusing to English learners.
It’s one of the first things I teach my adult ESL students. We practice them regularly.
It’s one thing to understand the two words themselves. It’s something else altogether to understand how and why the word be changes to:
- Am
- Is
- Are
- Was
- Were
As native English speakers, we take for granted that these words are what they are depending on who or what the subject of the sentence is and what the verb tense is:
- Present
- Past
- Future
Also, why does the word do change to does sometimes, and when do we say did?
If you’re a native English speaker, you may not know the answer but, as second nature, you know when to use do, does, or did.
I know for a fact that English learners have a difficult time understanding this, at least in the early stages.
Genreally speaking, if someone does not use the proper form of be or do in the proper tense etc., people will probably get the gist of what the person is saying, but when someone does not know how to use this word properly, it is obvious to the listener that the person is not fluent in English.
There are people who can be very judgmental and harsh toward such people.
Sad but true.
What Are Some Other Verbs English Learners Need To Know?
Here are some examples:
- Go
- Come
- Eat
- Sleep
- Drive
- Write
- Have
- Cut
- Find
- Read
What you may or may not have noticed is that all of these verbs are irregular verbs.
When we talk about regular verbs in the past tense, we simply add ed.
Irregular verbs are not like that and there isn’t really any rhyme or reason about how or why they change.
Why is the past tense of go went? Why is the past tense of cut cut? Why is the past tense of read read, and why is the present tense pronounced differently than the past tense if it’s spelled exactly the same way?
I tell students not to worry about it and not to try to remember all of them at once, but that they need to be aware that like just about everything in the English language, there are exceptions.
They will learn them as they need to but it’s important that they know which are regular and which are irregular.
From the list above, I don’t think knowing or not knowing any of the words is vital to anyone’s existence but it’s essential that in order to learn the English language that at some point, they learn all of them
What Are Some Regular Verbs They Need To Know?
Of course, there are many more than what’s on this list, but I will list ten.
Notice that all of the verbs on this list are also at least one other part of speech.
How is an English learner to know if it’s a verb or another part of speech?
- Back-Does this mean back up, back a person or cause, or is it talking about a part of the human body?
- Bathe-Does this mean to take a bath or shower or is it misspelled and supposed to be bath?
- Call-Does this mean to call someone on the phone or is it the word call a noun as in I will take your call?
- Change-Does this mean to change your clothes or is about pocket change (money) you might have.
- Correct-Does this mean to fix mistakes or does it mean it’s the right answer?
- Dress-Is the talking about how you decide what clothes to wear or is it referrring to a piece of women’s clothing?
- Face-Does this mean to look at someone/something or is it referring to the front part of someone’s head?
- Hand-Does this mean to give something to someone or is it referring to a part of someone’s body?
- Like-Does this mean you find something pleasing or does it mean it’s similar to something?
- Look-Does this mean to focus on something with your eyes or is it referring to someone’s appearance?
As already stated, there are countless others, but it’s important for English learners to know that many of the words in English have more than one meaning, sometimes several meanings.
What Is The Best Way To Avoid The Confusion?
It’s important that English learners learn and understand as early as possible that there are two basic kinds of verbs:
- State of being
- Action
Furthermore, anyone who hopes to speak English properly needs to understand that there are two main elements to a complete sentence in English:
- Subject
- Predicate
The sooner people understand these concepts, the easier it is for them to understand how to discern the different parts of speech in English.
People need to understand that:
- The subject is who or what is doing or being something
- The predicate includes the verb and explains what the subject is doing or being.
- There is no action in a state-of-being verb
- That action verbs are things we do
To Summarize
Teaching verbs ESL students must know needs to be at or near the top of the list of things English learners address. It’s a major part of the foundation of the English language.
As complicated and confusing as English can be, it’s important to begin at the beginning and make sure it’s clearly understood how and why it’s important to know certain things before moving forward.
Although others may not agree, (have a look at some other perspectives.) I firmly believe that the first two verbs that need to be fully learned and understood are the verbs be and do.
Prior to learning and understanding those two verbs, English learners need to understand the concepts of what a subject and predicate are, which includes the ability to identify the verb(s).
Once those concepts are learned, it’s time to move forward. Unless they are learned, it will be more difficult to learn English.
Click this link to watch the YouTube video that corresponds to this lesson
Leave questions and comments in the box below and I will promptly reply.
Verbs are building blocks of Language and having a strong foundation in verb usage is essential for effective communication not only for children but adults as well. This list of ESL will undoubtedly empower students to enhance their language skills and confidence. There are clear explanations and examples provided that make it easy for learners to grasp each verb enabling them to express themselves more fluently and accurately. Plus I love the images it shows and tells readers what they are reading.
Kudos to you kbob for creating search valuable resource that will benefit ESL learners toward English proficiency.
Hi Tasha. Thanks for your kind comments. I’m glad you enjoyed the lesson.
Yes, verbs are building blocks of language.
Leave comments and questions here any time. I will promptly reply.
KBob
Hi KBob,
I enjoyed reading your post on the essential verbs ESL students must know. Your focus on the foundational verbs “be” and “do” really resonated with me.
I couldn’t agree more that mastering these verbs is crucial for anyone trying to learn English.
I’m curious, though—how do you approach teaching the concept of words with multiple meanings to ESL students?
It’s such a nuanced aspect of the English language that I’d love to hear your take on it.
Thank you for sharing.
Hi Eric. Thanks for reading and commenting on this lesson. I’m glad to know you agree about the importance of learning be and do.
The way I approach teaching the concept of words with multiple meanings is the same way I try to approach all my teaching of the English language.
First of all, I rely heavily on Google Translate. Chances are, if students see words in their language, there’s a good chance that what it means in their language is not necessarily the same in English. If there’s more than one meaning in English, it doesn’t mean that in their language it has more than one meaning.
The second thing is, I try to always connect words and concepts to students’ real life by putting the word/concept in a sentence, especially when I know words have multiple meanings. I also try to use synonyms whenever possible.
I hope that answers your question.
Leave comments and questions here any time. I will promptly reply.
KBob
Hi Bob,
I am an ESL teacher in Vietnam and surprisingly enough the students here are pretty good with Grammar. And that is mainly because the “Vietnamese” English teachers are also good at grammar but less so with their listening and speaking skills.
So you end up with students who are great at grammar but in some cases, they can barely string two words together. And this is why ESL and EFL is still such a big industry here. Unfortunately, because of the money and generally low wages, there is a bit of corruption across many aspects of the industry.
Things are improving and it is considerably better than when I first moved here about 15 years ago.
Steve
Hi Steve,
It’s good to hear from you. I’ve had several Vietnamese ESL students here in the USA and they are just as you said. They’re good at grammar but not so much when it comes to speaking. However, they’ve all been a pleasure to work with and I can’t ask for a better effort. One particular Vietnamese student of mine, a tiny woman in her 50s with a very big voice, is always one to speak up about everything, in her best English, but I can’t understand what she says. She writes beautifully and is very articulate in English when she writes. She will argue with me and is often correct. I love her spunk.
Thanks for your comments.
KBob