What does the word verbs mean

Examples

I ‘jump’ up and down. That is John. I beat my friend. They are running . Go there on Monday. He said, «Hello!». Can she play the piano? The sleeping baby looks beautiful. She saw the girl who had been bitten by the dog.

A verb is a kind of word (part of speech) that tells about an action or a state. It is the main part of a sentence: every sentence has a verb. In English, verbs are the only kind of word that changes to show past or present tense.^[1]

Every language in the world has verbs, but they are not always used in the same ways. They also can have different properties in different languages. In some other languages (Chinese & Indonesian, for example) verbs do not change for past and present tense. This means the definition above only works well for English verbs.

There are sixteen verbs used in Basic English. They are: be, do, have, come, go, see, seem, give, take, keep, make, put, send, say, let, get.

The word ‘verb’[change | change source]

The word verb originally comes from *were-, a Proto-Indo-European word meaning «a word». It comes to English through the Latin verbum and the Old French verbe.

Verbal phrase[change | change source]

In simple sentences, the verb may be one word: The cat sat on the mat. However, the verb may be a phrase: The cat will sit on the mat.

Verbal phrases can be extremely difficult to analyse: I’m afraid I will need to be going soon. There seem to be three verbal phrases here, which mean something like Sorry, I must go soon.

Verb forms[change | change source]

In English and many other languages, verbs change their form. This is called inflection. Most English verbs have six inflected forms (see the table), but be has eight different forms.

Forms of English verbs

Primary forms	past: walked	She walked home
3rd singular present: walks	She walks home
plain present: walk	They walk home
Secondary forms	plain form: walk	She should walk home
gerund: walking	She is walking home
past participle: walked	She has walked home

You should notice that some of the verb forms look the same. You can say they have the same shape. For example, the plain present and the plain form of walk have the same shape. The same is true for the past and the past participle. But these different forms can have different shapes in other verbs. For example, the plain present of be is usually are but the plain form is be. Also, the past of eat is ate, but the past participle is eaten. When you look for a verb in the dictionary, it is usually the plain form that you look for.

An English sentence must have at least one primary-form verb. Each main clause can only have one primary-form verb.

Kinds of Verbs[change | change source]

English has two main kinds of verbs: normal verbs (called lexical verbs) and auxiliary verbs. The difference between them is mainly in where they can go in a sentence. Some verbs are in both groups, but there are very few auxiliary verbs in English. There are also two kinds of auxiliary verbs: modal verbs and non-modal verbs. The table below shows most of the English auxiliaries and a small number of other verbs.

Kinds of English verbs

auxiliary verbs	lexical verbs
modal verbs	Can you play the piano?	I fell.
I will not be there.	I didn’t fall.
Shall we go?	I had breakfast.
Yes, you may.	I’m playing soccer.
You must be joking.	Must you make that noise?
non-modal verbs	Have you seen him?	Have you seen him?
I did see it.	I did see it.
He is sleeping.	He is sleeping.

There are several auxiliary verbs:

• To do (do, does, did)
• To be (am, is, are, was, were): Creates a progressive tense
• To have (have, has, had): Creates a perfect tense

The following verbs are modal auxiliaries.

• Can
• Could
• May
• Might
• Must
• Shall
• Should
• Will
• Would

Auxiliary verbs also inflect for negation. Usually this is done by adding not or n’t.^[1]

• You shouldn’t be here.
• He isn’t at home.
• We haven’t started yet.

Use of the auxiliary do[change | change source]

Sometimes the verb do is used with other verbs. It does not really change the meaning, but it can be used to make a strong statement.

• I do talk (Present)
• I did go (Past)

It is also used in the negative when no other auxiliary verbs are used.

• I don’t talk (Present)
• I didn’t go (Past)

Sometimes it comes before the subject. This is called inversion and it usually means the sentence is a question.

• Do you talk? (Present)
• Did you go? (Past)

Many other languages do not use the verb do as an auxiliary verb. They use the simple present for do, and the simple past or perfect for did.

Tense, aspect, and mood[change | change source]

There are three main systems related to the verb: tense, aspect, and mood.

Tense[change | change source]

Tense is mainly used to say when the verb happens: in the past, present, or future. In order to explain and understand tense, it is useful to imagine time as a line on which past tense, present tense and future tense are positioned.^[2]

Some languages have all three tenses, some have only two, and some have no tenses at all. English and Japanese for example have only two tenses: past and present.^[1] Chinese and Indonesian verbs do not show tense. Instead they use other words in the sentence to show when the verb happens.

English tenses

Past tense	Present tense
She walked home	She walks home
He ran quickly	He runs quickly
I could swim well	I can swim well
Did you live here?	Do you live here?

Aspect[change | change source]

Aspect usually shows us things like whether the action is finished or not, or if something happens regularly. English has two aspects: progressive and perfect. In English, aspect is usually shown by using participle verb forms. Aspect can combine with present or past tense.

Progressive aspect[change | change source]

English uses the gerund-participle, usually together with the auxiliary be (and its forms am, is, are, was, and were) to show the progressive aspect.

• I’m sleeping. (present progressive)
• He was studying English last night. (past progressive)
• He will be going to the store tomorrow (future progressive)

Many other languages, such as French, do not use progressive tenses.

• I’ve seen him twice. (present perfect)
• I had lived there for three years. (past perfect)

The past perfect can be used to express an unrealized hope, wish, etc.

• He had intended to bake a cake but ran out of flour.
• She had wanted to buy him a gift but he refused.

After If, wish and would rather, the past perfect can be used to talk about past events that never happened.

• If only I had been born standing up!
• I wish you had told me that before.
• I would rather you had gone somewhere else.

Mood[change | change source]

Finally, English mood is now usually shown by using modal verbs. In the past, English had a full mood system but that has almost completely disappeared. The subjunctive mood now uses the plain form. There is also a form of be that is used in conditionals to show that something is not true (e.g., If I were a bird, I would fly to California.)

Sentence parts that go with verbs[change | change source]

Certain parts of a sentence naturally come before verbs or after them, but these are not always the same for all verbs. The main sentence parts are: subject, object, complement, and modifier.

Subjects[change | change source]

Almost all English sentences have subjects, but sentences that are orders (called imperatives) usually do not have any subjects. A subject usually comes before a verb, but it can also come after auxiliary verbs. In the following examples, the subject is underlined and the primary verb is in bold.

• We need you.
• The food was good.
• The small boy with red hair is sleeping.
• Can you see the car?
• Come here. (no subject)

Objects[change | change source]

Many verbs can be followed by an object. These verbs are called transitive verbs. In fact, some verbs must have an object (e.g., take), but some verbs never take an object (e.g., sleep). Verbs that do not take an object are called intransitive verbs. Some verbs can even have two objects. They are called ditransitive verbs. In the following examples, the object is underlined and the primary verb is in bold.

• I’m sleeping. (no object)
• I took the book from him.
• I gave him the book. (2 objects)
• I am happy. (no object)
• I became a teacher. (complement, no object)
• I slept in my bed (1 object)

Complements[change | change source]

Some verbs can or must be followed by a complement. These verbs are called linking verbs or copula. In the following examples, the complement is underlined and the verb is in bold.

• He is good.
• He is a boy.
• She became sick.
• She became a manager.
• It looks nice.

Modifiers[change | change source]

Verbs can be modified by various modifiers, mainly adverbs. Note that verbs generally do not need modifiers; it’s usually a choice. In the following examples, the adverb is underlined and the verb is in bold.

• The boy ran quickly.
• The freely swinging rope hit him.

Verbs also commonly take a variety of other modifiers including prepositions.

Differences between verbs and other words[change | change source]

Sometimes a verb and another word can have the same shape. In these cases you can usually see the difference by looking at various properties of the words.

Verbs vs. adjectives[change | change source]

Sometimes a verb and an adjective can have the same shape. Usually this happens with participles. For example, the present participle interesting and the adjective interesting look the same. Verbs are different from adjectives, though, because they cannot be modified by very, more, or most.^[1] For example, you can say «That is very interesting,» so you know interesting is an adjective here. But you cannot say «My teacher is very interesting me in math» because in this sentence interesting is a verb. On the other hand, if you cannot change the ‘be’ verb to ‘seem’ or ‘become’, it is probably a verb.

• He was isolated / He became isolated (isolated is an adjective)
• The door was opening / *The door became opening (opening is a verb)

Verbs vs. nouns[change | change source]

The gerund-particle sometimes looks like a noun. This is especially true when it is used as a subject, as in the following example:

• Running is good for you.

The main differences between these verbs and nouns are: modifiers, number, and object/complement

Modifiers[change | change source]

Verbs cannot generally be modified by adjectives and nouns cannot generally be modified by adverbs. So, in «Running regularly is good for you», running is a verb because it is modified by regularly, an adverb.

Number[change | change source]

Verbs cannot change for number, so if you can make the word plural, it is a noun, not a verb. For example, «this drawing is nice» can change to «these drawings are nice», so drawing is a noun. But «drawing trees is fun» cannot change to «drawings trees is fun», so it is a verb here.

Object/complement[change | change source]

Many verbs can take objects or complements, but nouns cannot.^[1] So, in «parking the car is hard», parking is a verb because it takes the object the car. But, if you say, «there’s no parking», parking may be a noun because it does not have an object.

Verbs vs. prepositions[change | change source]

Some verbs have become prepositions.^[1] Again, usually these share a shape with participles. Here are some examples:

• Given the problems, I do not think we should go.
• We have many helpers, including John.
• According to the map, we are here.
• He went to hospital following the fight.

The main difference between verbs and prepositions is that verbs have a subject. Even if the subject is not written, you can understand what it is. Prepositions do not have a subject.^[1]

References[change | change source]

Last Updated:
28 Mar 2023
— Updated example sentences

Verbs are words that show an action (sing), occurrence (develop), or state of being (exist). Almost every sentence requires a verb. The basic form of a verb is known as its infinitive. … (There is also a kind of noun, called a gerund, that is identical in form to the present participle form of a verb.)

What does it mean to transcend something?

transitive verb. 1a : to rise above or go beyond the limits of. b : to triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects of : overcome. c : to be prior to, beyond, and above (the universe or material existence)

What is a verb for Grade 3?

Verbs are words that show actions, motions, doing, or states of being. They can also demonstrate how someone feels. Verbs are an absolutely necessary part of sentences. A sentence cannot work without an action verb.

How do you teach the verb to be?

How To Introduce And Practice The Verb “To Be” To Beginners

1. Review any adjectives or jobs students have already learned. …
2. Introduce any new vocabulary you plan to use in this lesson and students haven’t learned them yet such as happy, sad, etc.
3. Use flashcards to drill the vocabulary and worksheets for further vocabulary practice activities. …
4. Make sentences such as “I am happy.

What is the two verb rule?

When a sentence has two verbs, the first verb is conjugated and the second verb remains in the infinitive form.

How do you use two verbs together?

In English, when we want to use two verbs together, we normally put the second verb in the infinitive form….Guide: Using Two Verbs Together

1. Verbs Followed by the Infinitive. …
2. Verbs Followed by the Gerund. …
3. Verbs Followed by either the Infinitive or Gerund. …
4. Verbs Followed by the Base Infinitive.

What is the two word verb of set up?

There is often a choice in English between a two word verb and a single verb – bring up/raise, set up/establish.

How do you use two tenses in one sentence?

These two actions (“stood” and “waved”) happen at the same time and hence, need to have the same tense. This sentence could take place in the present or future tense too, but both verbs will still need to take on the same tense. For example: Example 2: During my matches, my dad stands up and waves at me.

How do you combine past and present tense?

2 Answers. It’s fine to use the present and the past here. After all, that’s what happens: as you say, you paid the deposit in the past and pay the rent in the present. Tenses should agree in the same clause, but it’s very common to have multiple tenses in the same sentence.

Can we use two past tense verbs together in a sentence?

‘past tense words’ is not a usual way to talk about English verbs. … ‘we should not use 2 past tense words in a sentence‘. It is perfectly allowable (in fact it is required) to use a past simple verb form and a past participle verb form in past perfect and/or past passive tenses.

How do you use verb tenses?

As a general rule, the verb tense you are using should be consistent throughout your sentence and your paragraph. For example, the sentence “We had eaten (past perfect tense) dinner, and then we talked (simple past tense)” should be written as “We ate (simple past tense) dinner, and then we talked (simple past tense)”.

What are the 6 verb tenses?

The six tenses are:

• Simple present.
• Present perfect.
• Simple past.
• Past perfect.
• Future.
• Future perfect.

How do you fill a verb correctly?

Steps on how to fill in the correct verb forms into gap-filling exercises.

1. Is there a signal word in the sentence? …
2. What action is it?
3. Define the tense and find the correct verb form.
4. Is it a sentence or a question? …
5. Is there an auxiliary in the question? …
6. Use do or does in the Simple Present – did in the Simple Past.

What verb tense is have?

The verb have has the forms: have, has, having, had. The base form of the verb is have. The present participle is having. The past tense and past participle form is had.

What is verb have example?

2.

Is has a past tense?

Have or has is used with a past participle to form the present perfect tense. This tense designates action which began in the past but continues into the present, or the effect of the action continues into the present.

How do you make a past tense verb?

The past tense refers to event that have happened in the past. The basic way to form the past tense in English is to take the present tense of the word and add the suffix -ed. For example, to turn the verb “walk” into the past tense, add -ed to form “walked.” .

Is ate past tense?

Hi Inocencia, The verb ‘eat‘ is irregular. Therefore the past simple tense is ‘ate‘ and the past participle is ‘eaten‘. E.g. I ate dinner with my friends yesterday (past simple tense). I’ve eaten dinner so you don’t need to cook for me (present perfect tense).

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!

Asked by: Ethel Mraz

Score: 4.5/5
(13 votes)

A verb is a word that in syntax conveys an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive. In many languages, verbs are inflected to encode tense, aspect, mood, and voice.

What is a verb give 5 examples?

Many verbs give the idea of action, of «doing» something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action. But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of «being». For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.

What are the 4 types of verbs?

There are four TYPES of verbs: intransitive, transitive, linking, and passive.

What is a verb for kids?

A verb is a main part of speech that is often used to describe or indicate an action. Action verbs tell what the subject of a sentence is doing. Action verbs include words such as run, write, think, sleep and wonder, among thousands of others.

Is a verb a doing word?

A verb is a word used to describe an action, state or occurrence. Verbs can be used to describe an action, that’s doing something. For example, like the word ‘jumping’ in this sentence: … Or a verb can be used to describe an occurrence, that’s something happening.

21 related questions found

This article is about the part of speech. For the physical activity program, see VERB (program). For English usage of verbs, see English verbs. For the radio programme, see The Verb.

A verb (from Latin verbum ‘word’) is a word (part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand). In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive. In many languages, verbs are inflected (modified in form) to encode tense, aspect, mood, and voice. A verb may also agree with the person, gender or number of some of its arguments, such as its subject, or object. Verbs have tenses: present, to indicate that an action is being carried out; past, to indicate that an action has been done; future, to indicate that an action will be done.

For some examples:

• I washed the car yesterday.
• The dog ate my homework.
• John studies English and French.
• Lucy enjoys listening to music.
• Barack Obama became the President of the United States in 2009. (occurrence)
• Mike Trout is a center fielder. (state of being)

Agreement

In languages where the verb is inflected, it often agrees with its primary argument (the subject) in person, number or gender. With the exception of the verb to be, English shows distinctive agreements only in the third person singular, present tense form of verbs, which are marked by adding «-s» ( walks) or «-es» (fishes). The rest of the persons are not distinguished in the verb (I walk, you walk, they walk, etc.).

Latin and the Romance languages inflect verbs for tense–aspect–mood (abbreviated ‘TAM’), and they agree in person and number (but not in gender, as for example in Polish) with the subject. Japanese, like many languages with SOV word order, inflects verbs for tense-aspect-mood, as well as other categories such as negation, but shows absolutely no agreement with the subject—it is a strictly dependent-marking language. On the other hand, Basque, Georgian, and some other languages, have polypersonal agreement: the verb agrees with the subject, the direct object, and even the secondary object if present, a greater degree of head-marking than is found in most European languages.

Types

Verbs vary by type, and each type is determined by the kinds of words that accompany it and the relationship those words have with the verb itself. Classified by the number of their valency arguments, usually four basic types are distinguished: intransitives, transitives, ditransitives and double transitive verbs. Some verbs have special grammatical uses and hence complements, such as copular verbs (i.e., be); the verb do used for do-support in questioning and negation; and tense or aspect auxiliaries, e.g., be, have or can. In addition, verbs can be non-finite (not inflected for person, number, tense, etc.), such special forms as infinitives, participles or gerunds.^[1]

Intransitive verbs

An intransitive verb is one that does not have a direct object. Intransitive verbs may be followed by an adverb (a word that addresses how, where, when, and how often) or end a sentence. For example: «The woman spoke softly.» «The athlete ran faster than the official.» «The boy wept.»

Transitive verbs

A transitive verb is followed by a noun or noun phrase. These noun phrases are not called predicate nouns, but are instead called direct objects because they refer to the object that is being acted upon. For example: «My friend read the newspaper.» «The teenager earned a speeding ticket.»

A way to identify a transitive verb is to invert the sentence, making it passive. For example: «The newspaper was read by my friend.» «A speeding ticket was earned by the teenager.»

Ditransitive verbs

Ditransitive verbs (sometimes called Vg verbs after the verb give) precede either two noun phrases or a noun phrase and then a prepositional phrase often led by to or for. For example: «The players gave their teammates high fives.» «The players gave high fives to their teammates.»

When two noun phrases follow a transitive verb, the first is an indirect object, that which is receiving something, and the second is a direct object, that being acted upon. Indirect objects can be noun phrases or prepositional phrases.^[2]

Double transitive verbs

Double transitive verbs (sometimes called Vc verbs after the verb consider) are followed by a noun phrase that serves as a direct object and then a second noun phrase, adjective, or infinitive phrase. The second element (noun phrase, adjective, or infinitive) is called a complement, which completes a clause that would not otherwise have the same meaning. For example: «The young couple considers the neighbors wealthy people.» «Some students perceive adults quite inaccurately.» «Sarah deemed her project to be the hardest she has ever completed.»

Copular verbs

Copular verbs (a.k.a. linking verbs) include be, seem, become, appear, look, and remain. For example: «Her daughter was a writing tutor.» «The singers were very nervous.» «His mother looked worried.» «Josh remained a reliable friend.» These verbs precede nouns or adjectives in a sentence, which become predicate nouns and predicate adjectives.^[3] Copulae are thought to ‘link’ the predicate adjective or noun to the subject. They can also be followed by an adverb of place, which is sometimes referred to as a predicate adverb. For example: «My house is down the street.»

The main copular verb be is manifested in eight forms be, is, am, are, was, were, been, and being in English.

Valency

The number of arguments that a verb takes is called its valency or valence. Verbs can be classified according to their valency:

• Avalent (valency = 0): the verb has neither a subject nor an object. Zero valency does not occur in English; in some languages such as Mandarin Chinese, weather verbs like snow(s) take no subject or object.
• Intransitive (valency = 1, monovalent): the verb only has a subject. For example: «he runs», «it falls».
• Transitive (valency = 2, divalent): the verb has a subject and a direct object. For example: «she eats fish», «we hunt nothing».
• Ditransitive (valency = 3, trivalent): the verb has a subject, a direct object, and an indirect object. For example: «He gives her a flower» or «She gave John the watch.»
• A few English verbs, particularly those concerned with financial transactions, take four arguments, as in «Pat₁ sold Chris₂ a lawnmower₃ for $20₄» or «Chris₁ paid Pat₂ $20₃ for a lawnmower₄«.^[4]

Impersonal and objective verbs

Weather verbs often appear to be impersonal (subjectless, or avalent) in null-subject languages like Spanish, where the verb llueve means «It rains». In English, French and German, they require a dummy pronoun and therefore formally have a valency of 1. However, as verbs in Spanish incorporate the subject as a TAM suffix, Spanish is not actually a null-subject language, unlike Mandarin (see above). Such verbs in Spanish also have a valency of 1.

Intransitive and transitive verbs are the most common, but the impersonal and objective verbs are somewhat different from the norm. In the objective, the verb takes an object but no subject; the nonreferent subject in some uses may be marked in the verb by an incorporated dummy pronoun similar to that used with the English weather verbs. Impersonal verbs in null subject languages take neither subject nor object, as is true of other verbs, but again the verb may show incorporated dummy pronouns despite the lack of subject and object phrases.

Valency marking

Verbs are often flexible with regard to valency. In non-valency marking languages such as English, a transitive verb can often drop its object and become intransitive; or an intransitive verb can take an object and become transitive. For example, in English the verb move has no grammatical object in he moves (though in this case, the subject itself may be an implied object, also expressible explicitly as in he moves himself); but in he moves the car, the subject and object are distinct and the verb has a different valency. Some verbs in English, however, have historically derived forms that show change of valency in some causative verbs, such as fall-fell-fallen:fell-felled-felled; rise-rose-risen:raise-raised-raised; cost-cost-cost:cost-costed-costed.

In valency marking languages, valency change is shown by inflecting the verb in order to change the valency. In Kalaw Lagaw Ya of Australia, for example, verbs distinguish valency by argument agreement suffixes and TAM endings:

• Nui mangema «He arrived earlier today» (mangema today past singular subject active intransitive perfective)
• Palai mangemanu «They [dual] arrived earlier today»
• Thana mangemainu «They [plural] arrived earlier today»

Verb structure: manga-i-[number]-TAM «arrive+active+singular/dual/plural+TAM»

• Nuidh wapi manganu «He took the fish [to that place] earlier today» (manganu today past singular object attainative transitive perfective)
• Nuidh wapi mangamanu «He took the two fish [to that place] earlier today»
• Nuidh wapi mangamainu «He took the [three or more] fish [to that place] earlier today»

Verb structure: manga-Ø-[number]-TAM «arrive+attainative+singular/dual/plural+TAM»

The verb stem manga- ‘to take/come/arrive’ at the destination takes the active suffix -i (> mangai-) in the intransitive form, and as a transitive verb the stem is not suffixed. The TAM ending -nu is the general today past attainative perfective, found with all numbers in the perfective except the singular active, where -ma is found.

Tense, aspect, and modality

Depending on the language, verbs may express grammatical tense, aspect, or modality.

Tense

Grammatical tense^[5][6][7] is the use of auxiliary verbs or inflections to convey whether the action or state is before, simultaneous with, or after some reference point. The reference point could be the time of utterance, in which case the verb expresses absolute tense, or it could be a past, present, or future time of reference previously established in the sentence, in which case the verb expresses relative tense.

Aspect

Aspect^[6][8] expresses how the action or state occurs through time. Important examples include:

• perfective aspect, in which the action is viewed in its entirety through completion (as in «I saw the car»)
• imperfective aspect, in which the action is viewed as ongoing; in some languages a verb could express imperfective aspect more narrowly as:
  • habitual aspect, in which the action occurs repeatedly (as in «I used to go there every day»), or
  • continuous aspect, in which the action occurs without pause; continuous aspect can be further subdivided into
    • stative aspect, in which the situation is a fixed, unevolving state (as in «I know French»), and
    • progressive aspect, in which the situation continuously evolves (as in «I am running»)
• perfect, which combines elements of both aspect and tense and in which both a prior event and the state resulting from it are expressed (as in «he has gone there», i.e. «he went there and he is still there»)
• discontinuous past, which combines elements of a past event and the implication that the state resulting from it was later reversed (as in «he did go there» or «he has been there», i.e. «he went there but has now come back»)^[9]

Aspect can either be lexical, in which case the aspect is embedded in the verb’s meaning (as in «the sun shines,» where «shines» is lexically stative), or it can be grammatically expressed, as in «I am running.»

Mood and modality

Modality^[10] expresses the speaker’s attitude toward the action or state given by the verb, especially with regard to degree of necessity, obligation, or permission («You must go», «You should go», «You may go»), determination or willingness («I will do this no matter what»), degree of probability («It must be raining by now», «It may be raining», «It might be raining»), or ability («I can speak French»). All languages can express modality with adverbs, but some also use verbal forms as in the given examples. If the verbal expression of modality involves the use of an auxiliary verb, that auxiliary is called a modal verb. If the verbal expression of modality involves inflection, we have the special case of mood; moods include the indicative (as in «I am there»), the subjunctive (as in «I wish I were there»), and the imperative («Be there!»).

Voice

The voice^[11] of a verb expresses whether the subject of the verb is performing the action of the verb or whether the action is being performed on the subject. The two most common voices are the active voice (as in «I saw the car») and the passive voice (as in «The car was seen by me» or simply «The car was seen»).

Non-finite forms

Most languages have a number of verbal nouns that describe the action of the verb.

In the Indo-European languages, verbal adjectives are generally called participles. English has an active participle, also called a present participle; and a passive participle, also called a past participle. The active participle of break is breaking, and the passive participle is broken. Other languages have attributive verb forms with tense and aspect. This is especially common among verb-final languages, where attributive verb phrases act as relative clauses.

See also

• Linguistics

Verbs in various languages

Grammar

Other

• Le Train de Nulle Part: A 233-page book without a single verb.

References

• Goldenberg, Gideon «On Verbal Structure and the Hebrew Verb», in: idem, Studies in Semitic Linguistics, Jerusalem: Magnes Press 1998, pp. 148–196 [English translation; originally published in Hebrew in 1985].
• Jackendoff, R. (2002). Foundations of Language. Oxford University Press.
• Morenberg, Max (2010). Doing Grammar (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1997-3288-3.

External links

• www.verbix.com Verbs and verb conjugation in many languages.
• conjugation.com English Verb Conjugation.
• Italian Verbs Coniugator and Analyzer Conjugation and Analysis of Regular and Irregular Verbs, and also of Neologisms, like googlare for to google.
• El verbo en español Downloadable handbook to learn the Spanish verb paradigm in an easy ruled-based method. It also supplies the guidelines to know whenever a Spanish verb is regular or irregular