The Verb is a word used in every sentence to show its action, occurrence and state of being. Think, what if there were no verbs in your talks? Did it even convey your actions properly? Well, it would not, as verbs are used for that purpose only. As a result, it is vital to know the importance of verbs in English. Therefore, in this blog, you will explore what a verb is, its types, forms of verbs, tips in detail. So, get ready to polish your English grammar through this guide.
Table of Contents
A verb is a word that generally describes an action (read, walk, run, learn, bring), an occurrence (become, happen) or a state of being (stand, exist). Moreover, every sentence must contain one verb, as it is essential to its structure. In addition, in English grammar, the verb is a vital component of speech. If there is not a single verb in the sentence, it would be called an incomplete sentence fragment. Additionally, auxiliary (or helper) verbs are used to modify the tenses of another verb, making it easier to express time and context. Hence, this is a simple overview about verbs, but through examples, you will understand it more clearly. So, have a look at the examples in the next part.
A verb represents an action, occurrence, or state of being. Thus, to understand this deeply, we have shared the list of examples of verbs in each category below.
Action verbs are defined that have movement in anyone’s body, such as
These verbs refer to speaking about something that you can experience or feel. Also, it doesn’t involve any kind of movement.
These verbs refer to any situation or any existence, reality or state of being.
These are some examples of verbs that might help you to identify the verb easily in any sentence. Now, let’s evaluate verb definition and types in the next section.
Also read: Proverbs in English
The types of verbs can be classified into various categories according to their role and function in any context. Moreover, the reason behind several types of verbs is to indicate the specific subject in a sentence when it's performing any action. Therefore, in this section, we have shared the verb definitions and types along with their examples. So, let's navigate them.
The first type of verb is an action verb that describes specific physical and mental actions. Also, it highlights the role of the subject in the text. Also, it can be a thing, place, person or idea about the sentence. In English grammar, this is the major verb that articulates what the subject in the sentence is doing. Action verbs can be further categorized into two types: transitive and intransitive. Transitive verbs act on direct or indirect objects, while intransitive verbs do not require an object. For example - To learn to swim, you have to jump in the pool; here, the jump is action verb.
A transitive verb is a verb that uses a direct object to obtain any action. Besides, this type of verb directly applies to the object used along with the action. For instance, Kelly asks a question. Ask is a verb, and a question is an object.
The intransitive verb doesn't act on a direct object to refer to the things or persons acted upon. Moreover, it can be used along with the adverb phrase. An example of an intransitive verb is Riya coughed. Or Riya coughed loudly. Here, coughed is a verb and loudly is an intransitive verb.
A linking verb in English also denotes the copular verb, which is very dynamic and connects the context's subject to another word in a similar text. In other words, it links the next word with subject compliments that describe nouns, pronouns and adjectives. Moreover, the linking words can be, be, seem, feel, or refer to the five senses.
For example, the skin of Hedgehogs feels highly spikey. Here, Feel is Linking Verb.
The other types of verbs are Auxiliary verbs, or you can say helping verbs. According to the name, it is used to assist another verb to make a sentence meaningful and sensible. Moreover, it is used to indicate or change another verb's tense, voice, and mood. Therefore, whenever an auxiliary verb is used, you have to use another verb that will act as the main verb in the text. For example, in the sentences "I am waiting" and "The door was locked," the words "am" and "was" are auxiliary verbs. These verbs support the main verbs (waiting and locked) to indicate tense, mood, or voice.
Modal verbs are types of verbs or auxiliaries that are used to express permission, ability, possibility or obligation. Moreover, the main modal verbs are may, might, much, can, could, should, will, and would. However, keep in mind that it does not change the form of the verb. For instance, I can read Hebrew and Arabic, here can is a modal verb.
A stative verb is specific to the perception or state of being a verb. It is mainly used to describe the emotional, mental, or physical state. Moreover, this verb is mainly used when any content is unchanging or general so that it can be used in the continuous tense in English. For example, Lily believes in herself, so here, believes is a stative verb.
Also, read: degrees of comparison
Dynamic verbs, or action verbs in short, are mostly used to describe physical action that is external and can be heard or seen. Moreover, in English grammar, these verbs are mainly used to express physical action taking place on the exterior. For example, Jessica is running to school; here, running is a dynamic verb.
A phrasal verb is a type of phrase that is created by adding two or more words that work as one verb. Thus, it combines verbs and adverbs or prepositions to create a meaning that is neutral to the original word. For instance, two words, kick (verb) and off (preposition), combine to form kick off which means “begin”.
Regular verbs adhere to standard rules of combustion in English verbs, as most of them are regular. However, a verb is considered regular when it is in the simple past or past participle created by adding “ed” or “d.” For instance, Tina completed her work yesterday; here, completed is a regular verb.
Irregular verbs don’t use “ed” or “d” patterns in the past participles or simple past. Moreover, many of the irregular verb forms sound the same. For instance, Andrew swam in all the famous lakes last summer. Swam is the past simple and past participle of swim; here, this word is an irregular verb in English that doesn’t use ed.
Finite verbs in English show specific tenses, numbers, and nouns. Also, it differentiates a person, any digit, or mood. This is usually used to express emotions by using finite verbs in the sentence. For instance, Rahul opens the door; open here is the finite verb.
Lastly, an infinite verb denotes the use of “to” with a non-conjugated verb or base verb. Moreover, they are often used in writing and speaking in English, for instance, to eat, to run, or to jump.
These are different types of verbs in English that are used differently and in various ways. Thus, it is important to understand them in detail and use them appropriately. However, did you know that there are distinct verb forms? If not, worry less and understand the verb form in the next section.
In English, there are different types of forms of verbs. These helped to modify or shape the verb to fit in the setting that conveys the actions performed at a specific time. Thus, there are five Verb forms v1, v2, v3, v4 and v5. Moreover, these are distinct from each other. This verb form helps massively when you conjugate verbs in the sentence. However, you need to use this in the right place and form. Also, these works mainly in regular verbs, as irregular verbs have their own forms. Hence, here is the table to give you an idea of the forms of verbs by using an action.
| Base | Simple Past | Past Participle | Third-person singular present | Present Participle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dance (regular ) | Danced | Danced | Dances | Dancing |
| Sing (irregular) | Sang | Sung | Sings | Singing |
Now let’s understand forms of verb meaning along with its examples in the next section. So have a glance.
The first form of the verb is a base form, also defined as the root verb in the original. Moreover, the base form or root verb is created to give it a base to form another verb. In addition, only regular verbs have their root form transformed when conjugated to signify other verb forms. Also, base forms are usually used to specify other simple present tense. It is used in many Idioms in English to create a base by using simple verbs. Thus, to clear doubt, let’s take a look at the examples of verbs stated below.
Examples of base forms
The simple past form is mainly used to describe actions that happened in the past. This type of verbs in English is created by adding words like “ed” or “d” at the end of the root verb. However, keep in mind that irregular verbs don’t follow the general simple past verb form. Hence, below are some examples of simple past verb forms.
Examples of Simple Past Form.
There are some words in the root verbs that are pronounced the same in the simple past form of the verb.
The Past Participle form of the verb indicates the perfect tense. Some irregular verbs have distinct spellings when utilised as past participles. On the other hand, regular verbs maintain their simple past form and past participles form. Thus, to better understand, let’s examine a few examples.
| Root verb | Simple past | Past participles |
| Read | Read | Read |
| Buy | Bought | Bought |
| Stand | Stood | Stood |
| Tumble | Tumbled | Tumbled |
Another form of verb is the third-person singular present, which is mainly used in the simple present tense. Thus, when it comes to regular verbs, the addition of an “es” or” s” to the root verb elaborates the third-person singular present form.
Examples of Third Person Singular Present:
John likes having cereal for breakfast.
Root or base verb – like, Third person singular form – likes
The last form of verb is the present participle that is created by adding “ing” to the root verb in the sentence. Moreover, in some scenarios, there are some words that are monosyllabic that end with a vowel in English grammar. Also, when the verb ends with an “e” that will be removed by “ing”. Let’s analyse this by classifying the Examples of verbs mentioned below.
Examples of Present Participle
Run – Running
Sit – Sitting
Swim – Swimming
Cut – Cutting
Forget – Forgetting
This was all about the three forms of verb that help you choose the right word or verb to use in your daily conversation. Now, in the next section, let's learn How to conjugate verbs in English.
Also read: difficult words in English
You need to conjugate verbs to make them agree with the subject and tense. There are four tense forms, namely the simple tense, the continuous tense, the perfect tense and the perfect continuous tense. Besides, these tense forms represent the present, past and future, thereby forming twelve main tense forms in total. Thus, you can learn more about tenses and how to conjugate verbs in English with them in detail by reading these points in this section.
This was all about how to use conjugate verbs in English. Thus, it will give you an idea of how to use verb forms.
The verbs are important aspects of the speech, showing action, feeling, and state of being. Therefore, you should know the approach to use it properly to improve your English grammar. Therefore, here are a few tips that can help you put verbs into action.
In short, verbs are words that define actions, occurrence, and state of being. There are many different types of verbs that you can use to enhance the sentence structure. Also, you must know the forms of verbs to use them properly according to tenses. Moreover, verbs are the basic component of English grammar that denotes the subject's actions. It is not possible to formulate a proper sentence without using them. Therefore, if you want to learn more about the various forms of verb lists and how to use them, you can consult the experts at Gradding.com. They will assist you in polishing your verb utilization.
Verbs are the essential part of English grammar that denotes the action, occurrence or state of being. Moreover, without using a verb it is impossible to indicate your subject. Hence, there are various types and forms created so that each verb performs differently.
Verbs are the words that generally describe three categories, which are
Action: Walk, Jump, Read, etc.
Occurrence: Trust, Love, Believe, etc.
State of Being: Is, Are, Will be, etc.
In English grammar, a verb specifies a mental action (e.g., think), physical action (e.g., read) or state of being (e.g., exist). In addition, verbs are almost used in every noun and pronoun to showcase what they (noun and pronoun) are doing.
There are several types of verbs. However, it may fall into other categories as well, depending on how it is used. Thus, there are various types of verbs i.e. Action Verb, Transitive verb, Intransitive Verbs, Linking Verbs, Auxiliary Verbs, Modal Verbs, Stative Verbs, Dynamic Verbs, Phrasal Verbs, Regular Verbs, Irregular Verbs, Finite Verbs, and Infinite Verbs
In English grammar, there are different forms of verbs containing V1. Base Form, V2. Simple Past Form, V3. Past Participle, V4. Third person singular present, V5. Present Participle. These forms will help you to use the right form of the verb in the sentence as per the tenses.
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