The Basic Cozy Grammar Course

Lesson Synopsis
Tape One

Lesson 8: Verb Phrases

(6:53)

"The wind is blowing. Is blowing is a verb of more than one word. A verb of more than one word is called a verb phrase." Braving a howling west coast wind Marie struggles to walk along the high tide line-the surf pounding the rocky shore in the distance behind her- as she breaks down the components of a verb phrase. After the wind has died down she uses a stick to point out examples that teach us about principal verbs and auxiliary verbs, then surprises us with a list of auxiliary verbs written in the sand. Finally she leads us out to the Eagle Rock pond and refines our understanding of verb phrases via a flashback to a recent mishap she suffered while beachcombing for shells.