Verbs

Introduction

In this chapter, we will learn about verbs. Verbs are important because they describe actions, states, or occurrences. Understanding how to use verbs helps us form complete sentences and convey actions or states clearly.

What Are Verbs?

Verbs are action words. They tell us what someone or something is doing. Verbs are essential in sentences because they show actions (like running or jumping), states (like being or feeling), or occurrences (like raining or happening).

Key Points

• Describe Actions, States, or Occurrences: Verbs tell us what someone or something does, what they are like, or what happens.
• Essential Parts of Sentences: Every complete sentence needs at least one verb.
• Change Forms: Verbs can change forms to show when something happens (tense), how it happens (mood), or whether it’s done (aspect).

Examples

• Action: She runs every morning.
• State: He is happy.
• Occurrence: It rains a lot here.

Types of Verbs

Listed below are each of the 11 types of verbs we are going to look at and a brief explanation of each type:

1. Action Verbs
2. Stative Verbs
3. Transitive Verbs
4. Intransitive Verbs
5. Linking Verbs
6. Helping Verbs (Auxiliary Verbs)
7. Modal Verbs
8. Regular Verbs
9. Irregular Verbs
10. Phrasal Verbs
11. Infinitives

1. Action Verbs

Action verbs, as their name says, are used to refer to actions. These can refer to physical actions that are performed with bodies or objects, such as jump, hit, or sing, or mental actions that we use our brains to perform, such as think, consider, or memorize. Most verbs you will find are action verbs.

List of Action Verbs:

• run
• swim
• help
• ignore
• believe

Examples of Action Verbs in a Sentence:

• I work at a factory.
• Cats chase mice.
• We listened to the woman’s amazing story.

2. Stative Verbs

Stative verbs describe a state or condition rather than an action. They often refer to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being, and measurements.

List of Stative Verbs:

• love
• know
• believe
• belong
• seem

Examples of Stative Verbs in a Sentence:

• I love chocolate.
• She knows the answer.
• He believes in ghosts.
• This book belongs to me.
• The task seems difficult.

3. Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are action verbs that require an object to receive the action. The action they express is directed towards a person, place, thing, or idea.

List of Transitive Verbs:

• kick
• eat
• write
• buy
• watch

Examples of Transitive Verbs in a Sentence:

• She kicked the ball.
• He eats an apple.
• She writes a letter.
• They bought a new car.
• He watches TV.

4. Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs are action verbs that do not require an object. They express an action that is complete in itself and does not need an object to receive the action.

List of Intransitive Verbs:

• run
• sleep
• laugh
• arrive
• cry

Examples of Intransitive Verbs in a Sentence:

• She runs fast.
• He sleeps peacefully.
• They laughed loudly.
• The train arrived on time.
• The baby cried.

5. Linking Verbs

Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, which describes or identifies the subject. They do not show action but instead link the subject to additional information.

List of Linking Verbs:

• is
• seem
• become
• appear
• feel

Examples of Linking Verbs in a Sentence:

• She is a teacher.
• He seems tired.
• They became friends.
• The sky appears blue.
• She feels sad.

6. Helping Verbs (Auxiliary Verbs)

Helping verbs are used with main verbs to form different tenses, moods, or voices. They help the main verb in a sentence by extending its meaning.

List of Helping Verbs:

• has
• is
• will
• have
• do

Examples of Helping Verbs in a Sentence:

• She has finished her homework.
• He is running fast.
• They will go to the park.
• They have been working hard.
• Do you know the answer?

7. Modal Verbs

Modal verbs express necessity, possibility, permission, or ability. They are a type of helping verb used to give additional information about the function of the main verb that follows it.

List of Modal Verbs:

• can
• must
• should
• might
• would

Examples of Modal Verbs in a Sentence:

• She can swim.
• He must study for the exam.
• They should be careful.
• It might rain later.
• Would you help me?

8. Regular Verbs

Regular verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” or “-d” to the base form. These verbs follow a consistent pattern.

List of Regular Verbs:

• walk (walked, walked)
• play (played, played)
• talk (talked, talked)
• jump (jumped, jumped)
• bake (baked, baked)

Examples of Regular Verbs in a Sentence:

• She walked to the store.
• They played soccer.
• He talked to his friend.
• The frog jumped high.
• She baked a cake.

9. Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs form their past tense and past participle in different ways, not by adding “-ed” or “-d.” These verbs do not follow a consistent pattern.

List of Irregular Verbs:

• go (went, gone)
• eat (ate, eaten)
• see (saw, seen)
• take (took, taken)
• write (wrote, written)

Examples of Irregular Verbs in a Sentence:

• They went to the park.
• She ate an apple.
• He saw a movie.
• She took the bus.
• He wrote a letter.

10. Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs combined with one or two particles (prepositions or adverbs) that create a meaning different from the original verb. They often have idiomatic meanings.

List of Phrasal Verbs:

• give up
• look after
• run into
• turn off
• put on

Examples of Phrasal Verbs in a Sentence:

• She gave up smoking.
• He looks after his younger brother.
• They ran into an old friend.
• Please turn off the lights.
• He put on his jacket.

11. Infinitives

Infinitives are the base form of the verb, often preceded by “to.” They can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

List of Infinitives:

• to eat
• to run
• to read
• to write
• to sing

Examples of Infinitives in a Sentence:

• She likes to eat ice cream.
• He wants to run a marathon.
• They love to read books.
• She decided to write a letter.
• He learned to sing a new song.

Using Verbs in Sentences

Verbs are essential in sentences because they tell us what the subject does or what happens to the subject.

Examples:

• Action: She plays the piano.
• State: He is a doctor.
• Occurrence: It snowed last night.

Identifying Verbs

It’s easy to identify verbs because they describe actions, states, or occurrences in a sentence.

Examples:

• Eat: They eat breakfast at 8 AM.
• Sleep: He sleeps eight hours a night.
• Enjoy: She enjoys reading books.

Practice

Let’s practice identifying verbs! Find the verbs in each sentence below.

1. She dances beautifully.
2. They were tired after the trip.
3. He will call you tomorrow.
4. The cat is sleeping on the sofa.
5. We can solve this problem together.
6. She has completed her assignment.
7. He seems happy today.
8. They must leave early.
9. She wrote a letter to her friend.
10. He thinks deeply about his decisions.

Answers:

1. Dances
2. Were
3. Will call
4. Is sleeping
5. Can solve
6. Has completed
7. Seems
8. Must leave
9. Wrote
10. Thinks

Conclusion

Verbs are words that describe actions, states, or occurrences. They are essential for forming complete sentences and conveying what the subject does or what happens to the subject.