3 Structuring verb groups

Verb groups are another type of word group. A verb is a word that describes doing something, for example:

donate, influence, distribute.

It can also be a word that describes thinking, feeling or being, for example:

need, trust, be.

Verbs in English often combine with prepositions to make different meanings, for example:

roll out, look for, find out.

They also combine with other verbs to convey tense (past, present and future), for example:

went, stay, are operating, will help.

As you have seen in Week 6, they may also combine with other verbs to convey certainty or different degrees of possibility, for example:

will achieve, would be, can influence, may sound.

In the next sections you will look at why and how verbs combine to express tense, and how to choose the correct tense in academic writing.