What part of speech is the word verb

It is in primary school that students are formally given their first glimpse into the field of grammar. At this educational level, the different parts of speech such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, and verbs are all introduced.

Since you have learned these word types at your mother’s knee, it is understandable if you need a little review to refresh your knowledge of basic grammar. This article will focus on answering the question, “What is a verb?” and discuss its kinds and tenses.

What is a Verb?

A verb can be considered as one of the most important parts of a sentence. You probably already know that a sentence must be composed of a subject and a predicate, so what makes a verb so important? Well, the verb is the main component of a predicate. Without it, there won’t be a sentence, just a bunch of words with an incomplete thought. Simply defined, the verb is a part of speech which is used to demonstrate an action or a state of being.

What are the Different Kinds of Verbs?

Your primary school teachers must have defined verb as an “action word.” That is right, however, verbs are more than just words that express an action done physically like:

run, jump, dance, write, kick, etc.

In reality, verbs may also refer to an action done mentally such as:

think, ponder, guess, imagine, wonder, etc.

1. Normal Verbs and Non-Continuous Verbs

The first type of verb used to express physical action is called  a Normal Verb, while the second one, which refers to an action you can’t see someone do, is called a Non-Continuous Verb.

Sample Sentences:

• Jesse Pinkman laughed hysterically.
• The verb in this sentence is laughed and the subject who does the action is Jessie Pinkman.

•  Aegon Targaryen and his sisters conquered the Seven Kingdoms.
• The verb is conquered, while the subject in this sentence is Aegon Targaryen and his sisters.

• Darth Vader thought of an evil plan to get rid of Darth Sidious.
• Thought is the mental action word done by the subject Darth Vader in the sentence above.

• I wonder what will happen on the next episode.
• The pronoun, I, is the subject in the last sentence and the verb is wonder.

2. Linking Verb

Aside from the Normal Verbs and Non-Continuous Verbs, there is another type which is called the Linking Verb.

As the name suggests, a linking verb is a kind of verb that links a subject to the complement. A complement is the part of a sentence which modifies or provides more information about the subject. Examples of linking verbs are:

am, is, was, are, were, has been, might have been, become, etc.

The words listed above are just some of the “true linking verbs.” They are called that way because they have no other functions but to serve as linking verbs. However, just like some people, certain verbs also have dual personalities. Take a look at the two sentences below:

• Irine tasted the exotic food.
• The exotic food tasted great!

In the first sentence, you can easily say that the italicized word is an action word done by Irine. However, in the second sentence, the same word has a different function. It serves as a linking verb that connects exotic food with the word, great.

What are Multi-Part Verbs?

Do not assume that verbs are limited to a single word. Sometimes, they come in two to four words. The basic formula for verbs with multiple parts is:

The auxiliary verbs, also called “helping verbs,” allow you to write in various verb tenses and voices when combined with a base or main verb.

Take a look at the examples below:

• I was given a two-week notice by the sales agent.
• The sentence above is written in the passive voice.  Was is the auxiliary verb and given is the main verb.

•  It must have been raining very hard.
• The main verb is raining and the auxiliary verbs are must have been.

What are the Different Forms of Verbs?

In order to be able to construct a grammatically correct sentence, it is very important that you know how to write in the proper verb tense. The three basic forms of verbs are past, present, and future. The first one obviously refers to an action that was already done, the second is for present action, and the third is for an action that will be done.

Examples:

Past	Present	Future
aimed	aim/s	will aim
counted	count/s	will count
marched	march/es	will march
picked	pick/s	will pick
walked	walk/s	will walk

You will notice that:

1. The present form is just the basic form of the verb (add –s or –es for a singular subject)

• Example: He marches; Soldiers march

2. The past tense is the basic form plus –ed.

• *Note: The past tense of a verb pertaining to a singular subject and a plural subject is the same.
• Example: She walked; They walked

3. The future tense is the word will plus the basic form of the verb.

• *Note: The future tense of a verb pertaining to a singular subject and a plural subject is the same.
• Example: Andrea will count; The teachers will count

Although most verbs follow these rules, there are still some exceptions. Take a look at the examples below:

Past	Present	Future
drove	drive/s	will drive
read	read/s	will read
felt	feel/s	will feel
taught	teach/es	will teach
thought	think/s	will think

The verbs presented in the table above are called irregular verbs. There are actually no specific rules on how to form this kind of verb. But don’t worry because you can easily find a complete list on the internet.

Final Thoughts

Verbs are very easy to spot. What can be challenging is deciding which correct verb tense to use. However, this can be easily solved by reading a lot and practicing your writing skills. Other people might find grammar a trivial thing, but the truth is that a considerable amount of knowledge in proper grammar can take you a long way.

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]

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

Verbs are used to express a state or an action. For example, they show what people or things do, think or feel. Verbs are one of the eight parts of speech, or nine parts of speech.

Verbs are used to express an action:

Tim is driving his car.

Or a state (how someone feels, thinks, etc.)

Jack is feeling better today.

They show what people or things do, think or feel. 

Action Verbs

Action verbs are verbs that show an action that a person or an object performs. Action verbs express something that is done by someone or something. Here are some examples of action verbs:

• play — They are playing football.
• study — Anna is studying for her test tomorrow.
• cook — Mark cooked dinner for us last night.

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs refer to how things are, rather than what they do. There are not nearly so many stative verbs as there are action verbs. Here are some of the most common with example sentences:

• be — He is a teacher
• think — I think that’s a good idea.
• cost — It costs twenty dollars.
• belong — James belongs to that club.

You might want more information on active vs stative verbs.

Active Voice Versus Passive Voice

Verbs are used in the active or passive voice. The active voice describes what the subject does:

Tom throws the ball. Andy has lived in Queens for twenty years. Helga would like to go camping next week.

The passive voice describes what is done to something. It is not used as often as the active voice. The passive voice always conjugates the verb ‘to be’ and is combined with the past participle (third form of the verb i.e. do — did — done). Here are a few examples of verbs in the passive voice:

Mary was raised in Kansas. My car was made in Germany. That document will be completed by Robert.

You might want more information on the passive vs the active voice.

What Are Verb Forms?

There are a variety of verb forms. The main verb forms in include the infinitive, the gerund or present participle (or ‘ing’ form), the past participle, the base form, and, most importantly the conjugated form of the verb. Here is each form with a few examples:

• Infinitive (to + verb) — to do, to think, to eat, to live, etc.
• Present participle (gerund, ‘ing’ form) — going, understanding, allowing, etc.
• Past form (used with the past simple) — went, ate, played, taught, etc.
• Past participle (used with perfect tenses) — gone, eaten, played, become, etc.
• Conjugated form (only used in present simple) — plays, play, speak, speaks, etc.

NOTE: Most tenses use verb take the conjugation in the auxiliary verb form.

What Are Phrasal Verbs?

Phrasal verbs are verbs that are made up of short phrases, usually two or three words. The phrasal verb consists of the principal verb and one or two particles (usually prepositions). Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken English but are used in written English as well. Here are some phrasal verbs you may know:

• pick up — I picked him up at the airport.
• get away — The thief got away with the robbery.
• look after — I looked after my sister’s cat for the weekend.

You might want more on information on phrasal verbs.

Different Verb Functions

Verbs take on different functions. Generally, we think of verbs as ‘main verbs’. These are verbs such as ‘play, eat, drive, etc.’. However, verbs can also serve as helping (auxiliary) verbs or modal verbs. 

Helping verbs include: do/does, did, am/is/are, was/were, have/has, had.

• How often does she go to New York?
• I didn’t understand the question yesterday.
• They have lived in Chicago for five years.
• I had already eaten when he arrived. 

Modal Verbs include: should, can, must, might.

• I can’t believe your story!
• She must have gone to class.
• What should I do?
• He might be late to work today.

Verb Conjugation

Verbs are used in tenses. Tenses are conjugated. Here are the principal tenses in English with an example sentence for each:

• Present Simple — I work at a bank.
• Present Continuous (progressive) — Mary is watching TV now.
• Present Perfect — She has lived in New York since 2002.
• Present Perfect Continuous — We’ve been playing tennis since three o’clock.
• Future With Will — I will make you a sandwich.
• Future With Going to — Mary is going to fly to Chicago next week.
• Future Continuous — They will be studying later today.
• Future Perfect — She will have finished the report by six o’clock.
• Past Simple — I bought a new car last month.
• Past Perfect — They had finished lunch by the time he came.
• Past Perfect Continuous — They had been working for two hours when he came in the door.

A verb is a word or a combination of words that indicates action or a state of being or condition. A verb is the part of a sentence that tells us what the subject performs. Verbs are the hearts of English sentences.

Examples:

• Jacob walks in the morning. (A usual action)
• Mike is going to school. (A condition of action)
• Albert does not like to walk. (A negative action)
• Anna is a good girl. (A state of being)

Verbs are related to a lot of other factors like the subject, person, number, tense, mood, voice, etc.

Basic Forms of Verbs

There are six basic forms of verbs. These forms are as follows:

• Base form: Children play in the field.
• Infinitive: Tell them not to play
• Past tense: They played football yesterday.
• Past participle: I have eaten a burger.
• Present participle: I saw them playing with him today.
• Gerund: Swimming is the best exercise.

Different Types of Verbs

• Main/Base Verb
• Regular/Weak Verb
• Irregular/Strong Verb
• Transitive Verb
• Intransitive Verb
• Weak Verb
• Strong Verb
• Finite Verbs
• Non-finite Verbs
• Action Verbs
• Linking Verb
• Auxiliary Verbs
• Modal Verbs
• Reflexive Verb
• Ergative Verb
• Phrasal Verb
• Lexical Verb
• Delexical Verb
• Stative/Being Verb
• Dynamic Verb
• Non-continuous Verb
• Participle
• Gerund
• Infinitive

Base Verb

The base verb is the form of a verb where it has no ending (-ing, -ed, -en) added to it. It is also called the Root Verb since it is the very root form of a verb.

Examples:

• I go to school every day.
• You run a mile every morning.
• Do your homework.

Regular Verb

The Verbs that follow the most usual conjugations are considered Regular Verbs. It is regular since it abides by most if not all of the regular grammar rules there are.

Examples:

• Rehan plays cricket.
• Tam called out my name.
• You really walked all the way back? 

Irregular Verb

The Verbs that have irregularities in terms of following grammar rules are Irregular Verbs, in general.

Examples:

• Do the dishes.
• I hardly ever drink enough water in a day.
• She drove all the way back. 

Transitive Verb

The Main Verb that takes a direct object sitting right after it would be a Transitive Verb. They usually construct the most straightforward of sentences.

Examples:

• She went to the fair.
• We do not like being called out loud in crowds.
• I love visiting my village home.

Intransitive Verb

The main Verb that does not take a direct object specified right afterward and rather there is an indirect one mentioned somewhere along the line is called an Intransitive Verb. These verbs often make the corresponding sentences incomplete.

Example:

• I laughed.
• John ran.
• A ghast of cold wind blew.

Weak Verb

Verbs that end with “-d” and “-t” in their Past Indefinite and Past Participle form are Weak Verbs. There is a tendency to associate Weak Verbs with Regular Verbs but not all Weak Verbs are Regular Verbs in the English language.

Examples:

Present Indefinite	Past Indefinite
Spend	Spent
Walk	Walked
Book	Booked
Learn	Learnt
Want	Wanted

 Strong Verb

Strong Verbs are those in which the vowels in the verb stem changes from “i” to “a” to “u” in the Present Indefinite to Past Indefinite to Past Participle form of Verbs.

Examples:

Present Indefinite	Past Indefinite	Past Participle
Ring	Rang	Rung
Drink	Drank	Drunk
Cling	Clang	Clung
Swim	Swam	Swum
Sing	Sang	Sung
Wring	Wrang	Wrung

Finite Verbs

Finite verbs are the actual verbs that are called the roots of sentences. It is a form of a verb that is performed by or refers to a subject and uses one of the twelve forms of tense and changes according to the number/person of the subject.

Example:

• Alex went to school. (Subject – Alex – performed the action in the past. This information is evident only by the verb ‘went’.)
• Robert plays hockey.
• He is playing for Australia.
• He is one of the best players. (Here, the verb ‘is’ directly refers to the subject itself.)

Non-finite Verbs

Non-finite Verbs are not actual verbs. They do not work as verbs in the sentence rather they work as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc. Non-finite verbs do not change according to the number/person of the subject because these verbs, also called verbals, do not have any direct relation to the subject. Sometimes they become the subject themselves.

The forms of non-finite verbs are – infinitive, gerund, and participle (participles become finite verbs when they take auxiliary verbs.)

Example:

• Alex went abroad to play (Infinitives)
• Playing cricket is his only job. (Present participle)
• I have a broken bat. (Past participle)
• Walking is a good habit. (Gerund)

Action Verbs

Action verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence performs. Action verbs can make the listener/reader feel emotions, see scenes more vividly and accurately.

Action verbs can be transitive or intransitive.

Transitive verbs must have a direct object. A transitive verb demands something/someone to be acted upon.

Example:

• I painted the car. (The verb ‘paint’ demands an object to be painted)
• She is reading the newspaper. (The verb ‘read’ asks the question “what is she reading?” – the answer is the object)

Intransitive verbs do not act upon anything. They may be followed by an adjective, adverb, preposition, or another part of speech.

Example:

• She smiled. (The verb ‘smile’ cannot have any object since the action of ‘smiling’ does not fall upon anything/anyone)
• I wake up at 6 AM. (No object is needed for this verb)

Note: {Subject + Intransitive verb} is sufficient to make a complete sentence but {Subject + Transitive verb} is not sufficient because transitive verbs demand a direct object.

Linking Verb

A linking verb adds details about the subject of a sentence. In its simplest form, it connects the subject and the complement — that is, the words that follow the linking verb. It creates a link between them instead of showing action.

Often, what is on each side of a linking verb is equivalent; the complement redefines or restates the subject.

Generally, linking verbs are called ‘be’ verbs which are — am, is, are, was, were. However, there are some other verbs that can work as linking verbs. Those verbs are:

Act, feel, remain, appear, become, seem, smell, sound, grow, look, prove, stay, taste, turn.

Some verbs in this list can also be action verbs. To figure out if they are linking verbs, you should try replacing them with forms of the be verbs. If the changed sentence makes sense, that verb is a linking verb.

Example:

• She appears ready for the game. (She is ready for the game.)
• The food seemed delicious. (The food was delicious.)
• You look happy. (You are happy.)

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs. An auxiliary verb extends the main verb by helping to show time, tense, and possibility. The auxiliary verbs are – be verbs, have, and do.

They are used in the continuous (progressive) and perfect tenses.

Linking verbs work as main verbs in the sentence, but auxiliary verbs help main verbs.

Do is an auxiliary verb that is used to ask questions, to express negation, to provide emphasis, and more.

Example:

• Alex is going to school.
• They are walking in the park.
• I have seen a movie.
• Do you drink tea?
• Don’t waste your time.
• Please, do submit your assignments.

Modal Verbs

A modal verb is a kind of auxiliary verb. It assists the main verb to indicate possibility, potentiality, ability, permission, expectation, and obligation.

The modal verbs are can, could, must, may, might, ought to, shall, should, will, would.

 Example:

• I may want to talk to you again.
• They must play their best game to win.
• She should call him.
• I will go there.

Reflexive Verb

When the Subject and the Object are the same and the Verb reflects on the Subject, that is the Reflexive Verb. These Verbs are often used with Reflexive Pronouns like — myself, himself, herself, itself etc.

Examples: 

• He has done it himself.
• I’ll watch it myself. 

Ergative Verb

Ergative Verbs can be used as Transitive and Intransitive Verb. They are also called Labile Verb in English.

Examples:

Intransitive Verbs	Transitive Verbs
The door opens.	I opened the door.
The bell rang.	She rang the bell.
The light is fused.	They fused the lights.
The whistle blew.	Tom blew the whistle.

 Phrasal Verb

An idiomatic phrase consisting of a Verb and another element, most likely an Adverb or a Preposition is called a Phrasal Verb.

Examples:

• She broke down in tears.
• Don’t look down upon the poor.
• I’ll see to it. 

Lexical Verb

Lexical Verb is the main or principal verb of a sentence which typically takes the major responsibility of a Verb that represents the action of the Noun or Pronoun.

Examples:

• He ran to his father.
• I laughed out loud.
• Rina tried her best. 

DE-Lexical Verb

Delexical Verbs lack importance when it comes to meaning since these Verbs hardly have meanings of their own when used individually. The meaning is taken out of the Verbs and put into the Noun. Take, have, make, give etc. are Delexical Verbs.

Examples:

• He took a shower.
• I had a cold drink.
• She made some arrangements. 

Stative Verb

The Verbs that describe the state of being are called Stative or Being Verbs.

Examples:

• I need some boxes.
• You belong to the pomp and power.
• He smells danger.
• They remember what happened that day. 

Dynamic Verb

The Verbs that entail continuous or progressive action of the Subject are called Dynamic or Fientive Verbs. They express the Subject’s state of being on the move.

Examples:

• He’s running fast.
• Keep hitting the ball hard.
• The dog goes for a walk every afternoon.

Non-continuous Verb

The Verbs that are usually never used in their continuous forms are called Non-continuous Verbs.

Examples:

I like to swim.	I’m liking to swim.
I love to do the chords.	I’m loving to do the chords.
He does not hate you.	He’s hating you.
She just feels a bit dizzy, no need to worry.	She’s just feeling a bit dizzy.

 Intensive Verb

The Verbs that focus intensely on just the Subject are called Intensive Verbs. Intensive Verbs are also called Linking or Copular Verbs.

Examples:

• You seem happy.
• It appears to be just perfect.
• She looks stunning.
• He’s become rather irritable. 

Extensive Verb

All the Verbs that do not focus intensively on just the Subject (as the Intensive Verbs) of the sentence are Extensive Verbs.

Examples:

• He loves her.
• She runs too fast.
• Ron sells fish. 

Participle

A participle is a Verb form where they retain some of the characteristics and functions of both Verbs and adopt those of the Adjectives.

Examples:

Present Participle (Verb + -ing)

• Have I become a laughing stock?
• Cycling is a well-rounded exercise.

Past Participle

• I have taken a hint.
• Have you given it enough thought?

Perfect Participle (Having + Past Participle)

• Having said that, I was quite worried.
• Having stepped out of my comfort zone, I saw a whole new world.

Gerund

The Verbs having -ing endings that function like Nouns in sentences are called Gerunds.

Examples:

• Smoking is injurious to health.
• Walking is good for health.
• I love swimming.

Infinitive

The ‘to + Verb’ forms where the Verbs are at their base or stem forms while they function as Nouns, Adjectives or Adverbs instead of Verbs.

Examples:

• I wanted to help you out.
• Are you trying to go there?
• I just love to flaunt my new Ferarri.