Identify Verb

[greenfields]

Hi, y'all!

I came across a placement test that asks the student to identify the "doing verb":

Weeds need to be pulled out of the garden regularly.

 

Answer key lists "pulled" as the verb.

 

However, it appears to me that "need" is the verb and that "to be pulled out" is an infinitive phrase behaving as a noun (and the object of the verb "need").

Also, is the prepositional phrase "of the garden" acting as an adjective phrase by modifying "weeds"?

Can anyone shed light on this?  Help!  

 

Thanks!

 

[theelfqueen]

I agree with need. 

[barnwife]

I agree with you OP, except for one thing. You said it asks for the "doing verb." So, that immediately led me to think "pulled". Because pulling is something I physically do. Need, while a verb, to me wouldn't fit the description of "doing verb."

 

[PeterPan]

Maybe the better question is what placement test has kids reading about weeding, lol. Is this R&S? 

Ill written curricula abound. I agree the question is odd because you're asking a simple question (something you'd ask a 1st grader, something you'd work on with a dc with autism where you're asking what the ACTION is), but you're using a more complex syntactical construction. So that's back to the point of ill written curricula, sigh. It never ends. 

So what grade level was this aimed at and who was the publisher?

As far as the breakdown, ask the questions.

Pulled when?  regularly

Pulled where?  out of the garden

If you want to say The weeds of the garden need to be pulled out regularly it does make sense in english but doesn't mean the same thing as the original. You're switching of to indicate a genitive, possessive type meaning which it didn't have in the original. In the original sentence, you're seeing what some will call a "compound preposition". Pulled where, pulled out of the garden. To keep the original meaning, the "out of" is actually functioning as a unit. 

Like I said, more complex construction, odd choice for the level of question. Maybe consider a different curriculum. 

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by PeterPan

[greenfields]

This question was from Milestone Books (free placement test) - question #8 for 2nd grade: 

https://www.milestonebooks.com/bin/Placement_Test_English.pdf

The answer key was emailed by the company.  There are also other grade levels on this test.

 

Thank you for the explanations!  I think that I am seeing it now:

• Need to be = auxiliary modal verbs 
• Pulled = action verb

 

Could I say that this is a simple future passive construction (that uses the past participle of "pull")?

 

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by greenfields

[Clear Creek]

You are way overthinking this. I have used R&S English 2 with all three of my kids. Literally all they are asking is for the student to differentiate between an action verb (that they can physically do) and a being verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been). "Sarah is happy" has a being verb. "Sarah smiled at the cat" has a doing verb. Verb types are covered  quite well as the student progresses through the program, but they begin by introducing action and being verbs by making this differentiation.

[greenfields]

1 hour ago, Clear Creek said:

You are way overthinking this. I have used R&S English 2 with all three of my kids. Literally all they are asking is for the student to differentiate between an action verb (that they can physically do) and a being verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been). "Sarah is happy" has a being verb. "Sarah smiled at the cat" has a doing verb. Verb types are covered  quite well as the student progresses through the program, but they begin by introducing action and being verbs by making this differentiation.

Okay, thanks for the feedback about the materials - good to know!  I probably need a vacation!  😄😵😄