Peter,

I think the key to finding the  main verb is to understand the 
concepts of subject and predicate. ' Who is doing what" is certainly 
useful.  But one way to help students call on their inner grammar to 
find the line between subject and predicate is to substitute a 
pronoun for the subject.  That pronoun will replace the entire 
subject, no matter how many modifiers it might have.  What comes next 
is nearly always the verb or the verb expanded with auxiliaries. 
(And this also changes the traditional definition of "pronoun" as a 
replacement for a noun.  Clearly, a pronoun stands in for the entire 
noun phrase--or any other structure filling the nominal slot.)

The pronoun replacement method doesn't work for questions or for 
various inversions, but when students learn they can do that for 
straightforward Subject/Verb sentences, it helps them apply that 
knowledge to more complicated patterns as well.

Martha



>In a message dated 8/17/06 8:21:11 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:
>
>>
>>When I called on "form" rather than meaning to define "verb,",I was 
>>defining a  "part of speech":  verb as a word class;  I was not 
>>defining predicate or "main verb of the clause."   To look at form 
>>in the case of all four form classes shows students how to use 
>>their inner grammar computer.
>>
>>The definition for words in context requires both form and 
>>function.    Your participle example makes that case.  That 
>>two-sided definition represents an important change from 
>>traditional school grammar.
>>
>>And, yes, it does help the students in both writing and editing 
>>stages to know about participles as modifiers of verbs. The idea 
>>that verb phrases can function within noun phrases, adjectivally, 
>>is a powerful tool for writers.
>>
>
>Thanks, Martha, for your clarifying reply.  I wonder if you or 
>anyone on this list has come up with a better way of explaining to 
>students how to identify the main verb of a clause.  The traditional 
>definition--a word that "expresses an action or state of 
>being"--seems to be to be clear only to people who already know what 
>a main verb is. 
>
>For now, I'll forego any discussion of that unfortunate term "state 
>of being" and only take a stab at an explanation that student may 
>find more helpful for identifying main verbs that are action verbs.
>
>1.  look for a word that expresses something someone or something is 
>doing or was doing.
>2.  if the word has a "to" in front of it, it is not a verb
>3.  if the word ends in "-ing" and doesn't have an auxilliary verb, 
>it is not a verb
>
>Not a very elegant approach, but it does seem to be clearer than the 
>traditional "expresses an action," which my students interpret as 
>not applying to verbs like "sleep," "sit," "think," or "decide."
>
>Anyone have a better solution?
>
>
>Peter Adams
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