Verbs: Definition, Types and Examples

A verb is a word that names an action (run, write), a state (be, seem) or helps another verb form a tense or question (is, have, will). Every complete English sentence needs one. The main types are action, linking, helping and modal verbs, and each verb has five forms. Below are the types, forms, transitive and intransitive use, US and UK differences and a quiz.

The short answer

A verb is the word that tells what a subject does, is or experiences. It is the core of the sentence: remove it and you no longer have a complete thought.

• The engineer designed a new bridge. (action)
• The soup smells wonderful. (state, linking)
• We have finished the report. (helping verb plus main verb)
• You must sign here. (modal)

English verbs do three jobs:

Verbs also change form to show tense (time), person and number (he walks, they walk), voice (active or passive) and mood.

How to find the verb in a sentence

1. Ask what the subject does or is. In The committee approved the budget, the committee approved.
2. Try changing the time. Add yesterday or tomorrow. The word that changes is the verb: The committee approved / will approve the budget.
3. **Try to + the word.** To approve, to be and to seem all work; to budget works too, which is a reminder that many words are both nouns and verbs. Context decides.

Some verbs are made of more than one word, called a verb phrase: has been working, should have called, will be arriving. The last word is the main verb; the words before it are helping verbs.

The main types of verbs

Action verbs

Action verbs describe something a subject does, physically or mentally: run, build, send, decide, imagine, remember. They are the most common type.

• The nurse checked the chart.
• I considered her offer for a week.

Not every action verb is visible. Think, believe and want are mental actions or states.

Linking verbs

A linking verb does not show action. It connects the subject to a word that describes or renames it. The most common is be (am, is, are, was, were, been, being). Others include seem, become, appear, remain, stay, feel, look, sound, smell, taste, grow, turn.

• The results are clear.
• The coffee tastes bitter.
• He became a teacher.

The word after a linking verb is an adjective or a noun, never an adverb. That is why we say The soup tastes good, not tastes well. The adverbs guide covers this trap in more detail.

Test: replace the verb with is or seems. If the sentence still makes sense, it is probably a linking verb. The soup is bitter works, so tastes is linking in The soup tastes bitter. But She tasted the soup cannot take is, so there tasted is an action verb. Many verbs (look, feel, grow, turn) can be either.

Helping (auxiliary) verbs

Helping verbs combine with a main verb to form tenses, questions, negatives and the passive voice. There are three primary ones:

Modal verbs

Modal verbs add meaning such as ability, permission, possibility, obligation or advice. They are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, plus phrases like ought to and have to.

Modals have no -s in the third person (she can, not she cans) and are followed by the base form of the verb (She can swim, not She can swims).

Phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word that changes the meaning: give up, look into, carry out, put off, run out of. Their meaning is often not obvious from the parts. In formal writing, a single verb is often a better choice: investigate for look into, postpone for put off.

The five forms of an English verb

Most verbs have five forms. Learn these and the tenses become much easier.

Regular verbs add -ed for both past and past participle. Irregular verbs change in other ways (sing, sang, sung; put, put, put), and you simply have to learn them. Frequent mix-ups include I seen (correct: I saw or I have seen) and I have went (correct: I have gone).

A quick pointer on tenses

A tense places the action in time. The three basic times are present, past and future, and each has simple, continuous and perfect versions.

Use the simple forms for facts and completed events, continuous forms for actions in progress, and perfect forms to connect two points in time. For a deeper look at one common pattern, see the guide to the past perfect tense.

Transitive and intransitive verbs

A transitive verb needs a direct object, the thing or person receiving the action. An intransitive verb does not.

Check by asking what? or whom? after the verb. The team launched what? The product, so transitive. The product launched what? No answer, so intransitive.

Why it matters: only transitive verbs can be turned into the passive voice (The product was launched by the team). You cannot say The meeting was happened, because happen is intransitive. See active vs passive voice for more.

Watch these pairs, which cause frequent errors:

• lay / lie: lay needs an object (Lay the folder on the desk); lie does not (The folder lies on the desk). Past forms: laid, laid and lay, lain.
• raise / rise: raise needs an object (They raised prices); rise does not (Prices rose).
• set / sit: set needs an object (Set the cup down); sit does not (Sit down).

Stative verbs

Some verbs describe states rather than actions, and they are not normally used in continuous forms: know, believe, understand, own, belong, need, prefer. Write I know the answer, not I am knowing the answer. A few, such as think and have, change meaning and can be continuous in their action sense: I am thinking about it (considering) but I think it is fine (opinion).

US and UK differences with verbs

American and British English share nearly all verb grammar, but a few forms differ. Neither side is wrong within its own variety. Dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster (US) and the Oxford English Dictionary or Collins (UK) record both patterns.

Two important notes. First, have got meaning "possess" (I've got a car) is common in both varieties, but gotten as a participle meaning "obtained" or "become" is mainly American. Second, whichever form you pick, stay consistent in one document. The Spell Checker lets you choose American, British, Australian or Canadian English, which helps you keep spellings like learned and learnt consistent with your audience; grammar choices such as gotten are a style decision you make yourself.

Common verb mistakes

1. Subject-verb disagreement. The list of items are long should be The list of items is long; the subject is list.
2. Wrong past participle. She has wrote should be She has written.
3. Missing helping verb. He working today should be He is working today.
4. **A past form after did.** Did she went? should be Did she go?; did already carries the tense.
5. Tense shifts. She opened the file and sees the error should be opened ... and saw (or opens ... and sees).
6. **Base form after to or a modal.** He can goes should be He can go.
7. Adverb after a linking verb. The plan seems badly should be The plan seems bad.

Quick quiz

Choose the correct option.

1. She ______ the answer yesterday. (a) knowed (b) knew
2. The cake ______ delicious. (a) tastes (b) tastes deliciously
3. They have ______ their homework. (a) did (b) done
4. Which verb is intransitive? (a) discover (b) arrive
5. In You should rest, should is a ______ verb. (a) linking (b) modal
6. ______ the book on the table. (a) Lay (b) Lie
7. Prices have ______ sharply this year. (a) risen (b) raised
8. In the UK, you may see learnt. In the US, the usual form is ______. (a) learnt (b) learned
9. He ______ to the office every day. (a) go (b) goes
10. In The team is ready, is is a ______ verb. (a) linking (b) action

Answers

1. (b) Know is irregular: knew.
2. (a) Tastes is linking, so it takes an adjective, not an adverb.
3. (b) The past participle of do is done.
4. (b) Arrive takes no direct object.
5. (b) Should is a modal expressing advice.
6. (a) Lay takes an object (the book).
7. (a) Rise, rose, risen has no object.
8. (b) Learned is the standard American form.
9. (b) Third person singular needs the -s form.
10. (a) Is links team to ready.

Using AdeptWrite tools

The Grammar Checker can flag many verb errors, such as wrong participles (has wrote), missing helping verbs and subject-verb disagreement, and it shows every change highlighted so you can accept or reject each one. Treat its suggestions as prompts to review, because choices like gotten or got, or The team is or The team are, depend on your audience. The Spell Checker catches misspelled verb forms such as begining or occured against the English variety you choose. If a sentence leans on weak verbs (make a decision, give consideration to), the Sentence Rewriter can suggest tighter wording (decide, consider); keep only the version that says what you mean. Each run handles up to 6,000 characters.

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