Grammar Question

[miyako73]

Can a sentence have two different kinds of verb? How do you write such sentence?

Example:

He danced and was very excited.

[hillwalker]

Yes it can - assuming you mean two verbs rather than two kinds of verbs since 'danced' is the past tense of 'dance' and 'was' is the past tense of 'is'.

If you mean can a sentence have two verbs in different tenses than that's a different proposition -

You can write something like 'I danced all night and it always makes me feel excited' - 'danced' is still past tense but 'makes' is present tense (implying the dancing was in the past but still relatively recent and it continues to make the writer feel excited).
If you had written 'and it always made me feel excited' it would suggest that is no longer the case - that both events were in the distant past.

As long as the sense of what you're trying to say is not compromised it's perfectly grammatically allowable.

H

[miyako73]

Thanks, Hill.

I meant whether a sentence can have both an intransitive verb and a linking verb like in the example I gave.

He danced (IV) and was (LV) very excited.

Should their be a comma after "danced"? Is the sentence above awkward and grammatically incorrect?

[Charles Darnay]

It's not how I would phrase it, but that doesn't make it incorrect. I don't believe a comma is necessary in this case.

I would write it as:

He was very excited when he danced.

or.

He danced and became very excited.


I think what is missing from you example is the relationship between the two actions. Based on the content, we get that excitement came from dancing, but it should be shown grammatically as well.

[hillwalker]

The short answer is 'yes'

H

[xtianfriborg13]

Yes it can - assuming you mean two verbs rather than two kinds of verbs since 'danced' is the past tense of 'dance' and 'was' is the past tense of 'is'.

If you mean can a sentence have two verbs in different tenses than that's a different proposition -

You can write something like 'I danced all night and it always makes me feel excited' - 'danced' is still past tense but 'makes' is present tense (implying the dancing was in the past but still relatively recent and it continues to make the writer feel excited).
If you had written 'and it always made me feel excited' it would suggest that is no longer the case - that both events were in the distant past.

As long as the sense of what you're trying to say is not compromised it's perfectly grammatically allowable.

H

Wow I'm learning a lot here!