Verb

Uses of Verbs

• Verbs tell you what the subject of a sentence or clause is doing (or being).
• Verbs are conjugated according to person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, or voice.

Action Verbs

Action verbs can also be actions you can't see such as: 

• Sue thought about pets.
• She wanted a puppy.

Action verbs are time-telling verbs. They also tell when something takes place. Examples:

• My dog runs faster than yours. (present tense)
• Yesterday he ran around the block. (past tense)
• Tomorrow he will run in a race. (future tense)

Actions verbs may be used alone as the main verb of a sentence; as in: 

• My kitten fell into the pond. 

Or the action verb may use a helping verb; as in: 

• If you get too close to the edge, you will fall too.

Non-action Verbs

Non-action verbs can indicate a state of being, sense, emotion, desire, possession, or opinion. The most common non-action verb is to be.

Helping Verbs

Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. The "help" the main verb (which has real meaning).

Verb Phrases

Helping verbs and main verbs combine to form verb phrases. The main verb is always the last verb in the phrase.

Helping Verb + Main Verb = Verb Phrase

Not every sentence will have a helping verb with the main verb.

When you see an "ing" verb such as "running", be on the lookout for a helping verb also.

Sometimes there is another word which separates the helping verb from the main verb. One common example is "not", as in:

• The boy couldn't find his socks.

The helping verb is could and the main verb is find.

A sentence may contain up to three helping verbs to the main verb. An example would be:

• The dog must have been chasing the cat.

The helping verbs are: must, have and been; the main verb is chasing. 

State-of-Being Verbs

State-of-being verbs can be the main verb of the sentence; as in:

• Sally is my best friend.

Or a state-of-being verb can be used as a helping verb; as in:

• She is going on a vacation.

Note that the verbs: be, being, and been always NEED a helping verb; as in:

• Pat has been sick all week.

State-of-being verbs can show time. The present tense state-of-being verbs are: am, are, is. Past tense state-of-being verbs are: was and were.

The Basic Checklist of Newborn Essentials

I've almost completed with the second trimester of pregnancy, at 25th weeks to be precise. Alhamdulillah, things are easier in this phase, compared to the first trimester, i.e., I could eat better, less nauseous, better mood, etc. just to name a few. And entering the third phase somehow makes me a bit nervous / anxious because the baby is about to coming out soon. Hoho, honestly, I don't know what to expect. So, I have several things in mind that I thought would be helpful in prepping for baby's arrival - and shopping for all the baby necessities is one of them. Here I've listed all items (some with pictures) which I think are the most basic, yet essentials and inshaallah I'll try to stock these up before the baby arrives. 

You may download this checklist here. 

Basic newborn shopping list from IMSHA LEARNING

Hopefully, this would be a helpful newborn shopping list for you too. 

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English Stories and Activities

Following my previous post on "Cultivating Reading Habits in Kids", I am sharing here some English stories and activities (relevant to each stories) that parents or teachers can easily use at home or as in-class activity.

To make kids interested in the story, we as parents first need to be engaged and enthusiastic about the story. Here are some easy ways to get the kids enjoy reading:

1. Read stories with lots of illustrations / pictures. These illustrations could be very good hooks in each story that capture your kids attention and memory.
2. Ask questions based on the illustrations.
3. Relate the stories to real daily life.
4. Don't hesitate to make silly sounds or imitate voices.
5. Ask prediction questions. Ask what your kid thinks will happen next and how he would tackle a particular situation.

The following are English Stories & Activities, suitable for very young learners (Beginner and Medium Level).

English Stories & Activities (Beginner) from IMSHA LEARNING

English Stories & Activities (Medium) from IMSHA LEARNING

Cultivating Reading Habit in Kids

Many researchers have demonstrated the importance of reading habit in your children. A wealth of studies show that cultivating reading can have a significant impact on children and their future. For example,

• “Extensive reading was linked to superior performance on measures of general knowledge, vocabulary, spelling, verbal fluency, and reading comprehension.” – Cunningham and Stanovich, 1998
• “It is clear that reading early in life are critical factors in student success,” – Anthony W. Marx, president of the New York Public Library, New York Times (2015)
• “Students not reading well in third grade are 4 times more likely to drop out.” – Students First, Statistics About Education in America 
• “Research consistently shows strong correlation to reading & academic success at all ages” – National Center for Educational Statistics

Reading is a critical skill that needs to be promoted since an early age. Ultimately, the purpose of reading is comprehension - the ability to understand the intended meaning from the text. It is straightforward to see just how reading leads to academic success. Most of a child's learning through reading the textbooks, workbooks, and teacher's writing on the whiteboard. If a child cannot read those things, how would he answer questions of science, math, or any subjects? Impossible!

Here I'm listing three simple and doable tips/approaches on getting a child to read.

1. Be a role model
• Action speaks louder than word, isn't it? Plus, kids learn best from their parents. Read whatever you like - newspaper, novel, magazine, etc. - and encourage your kid to join you with his own book while you are reading.
2. Discuss what your child is reading
• Show interest in what your kid is reading. For example, while my kids are still reading a storybook, I would usually ask about what happened so far, the characters, and their feedback on the plot. 
3. Visit a library or a bookstore.
• Oh, these are my favorite places to visit. Believe me, it is so much easier to make reading fun when we are surrounded by books and readers! Try to create a library card/bookstore membership and let your kids choose any book that catches his attention.
• Perpustakaan Awam Selangor, Shah Alam: http://www.ppas.gov.my/index.php/perkhidmatan/waktu-perkhidmatan
• BookXcess, Cyberjaya (Open 24 hours): https://www.facebook.com/BookXcess/

Perpustakaan Awam Selangor, Shah Alam



BookXcess, Tamarind Square, Cyberjaya

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