Below are explanations for the two Verb Samples:

Verbs from The Brothers Karamazov

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

As the interactive exercise instructs, the first step is to highlight any words that could be verbs:

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

There appear to be seven verbs in this sentence:

1. CAME: Main Verb; past tense; follows a subject (IT)
2. PASS: follows an infinitive marker (TO); non-finite verb; nominal infinitive phrase
3. SETTLING: has verb inflection (-ing); non-finite verb; adverbial present participle phrase
4. FORGOT: Main Verb; past tense; follows a subject (HE)
5. BROKE OUT: Main Verb; past tense; follows a subject (REVOLUTION); verb particle
6. MAKING: has verb inflection (-ing); non-finite verb; adverbial present participle phrase
7. REMEMBERED: Main Verb; past tense; has verb inflection (-ed); follows a subject (HE)

Challenge Sample from The Brothers Karamazov

While he was wearying every one with his tears and complaints, and turning his house into a sink of debauchery, a faithful servant of the family, Grigory, took the three-year-old Mitya into his care.

Again, the first step is to highlight any words that might be verbs:

While he was wearying every one with his tears and complaints, and turning his house into a sink of debauchery, a faithful servant of the family, Grigory, took the three-year-old Mitya into his care.

For this sample, there appear to be four verbs in this sentence:

1. WAS: technically, this is not a "verb" because this is an auxiliary
2. WEARYING: Main Verb; follows an auxiliary (WAS); has verb inflection (-ing)
3. TURNING: has verb inflection (-ing); non-finite verb; adverbial present participle phrase
4. TOOK: Main Verb; past tense; follows a subject (SERVANT)

Brief Preview of Future Analyses

Since the first clause is a subordinate clause (WHILE is the key marker), which means that the comma before the AND is working in conjunction with the second comma (after DEBAUCHERY) to form a non-restrictive phrase. This would argue that TURNING is a non-finite verb, not a Main Verb, and also means that TOOK is the Main Verb and A FAITHFUL SERVANT is the subject of the independent clause (the second set of double commas makes GRIGORY non-restrictive, not the subject).

Tips to Keep in Mind

When reviewing for verbs, begin by analyzing in context and determining "who the word is hanging out with," then use the verb characteristics as primary tests to determine if a word is a verb. Verb Inflections are the most accurate KEY MARKERS for verbs. Finally, don't confuse auxiliaries (or other structure-class words) with form-class words.

If you have questions about these sample analyses, please contact your instructor or start a conversation in your work group.