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Study Guide - Verbs
Verbs
What is a verb?
A verb is one of the main parts of a sentence or question in English.
In fact, you can’t have a sentence or a question without a verb! That’s how important
these “action” parts of speech are.
The verb signals an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Whether mental,
physical, or mechanical, verbs always express activity.
Physical Verbs – Definition and Examples
Physical verbs are action verbs. They describe specific physical actions. If you can
create a motion with your body or use a tool to complete an action, the word you use
to describe it is most likely a physical verb.
Physical Verb Examples
The physical verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
• Let’s run to the corner and back.
• I hear the train coming.
• Call me when you’re finished with class.
Mental Verbs – Definition and Examples
Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as discovering,
understanding, thinking, or planning. In general, a mental verb refers to a cognitive
state.
Mental Verb Examples
The mental verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
• I know the answer.
• She recognized me from across the room.
• Do you believe everything people tell you?
States of Being Verbs – Definition and Examples
Also known as linking verbs, state of being verbs describe conditions or situations
that exist. State of being verbs are inactive since no action is being performed. These
verbs are usually complemented by adjectives.
States of Being Verb Examples
The state of being verbs in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
• I am a student.
• We are circus performers.
• Please is quiet.
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Types of Verbs
How many types of verbs are there? In addition to the main categories of physical
verbs, mental verbs, and state of being verbs, there are several other types of verbs. In
fact, there are more than ten different types of verbs that are grouped by function.
List of all Verb Types
Action Verbs
Action verbs express specific actions, and are used any time you want to show action
or discuss someone doing something.
Action Verbs are verbs that express action. Ex: run, walk, do, drive.
I’ll do my homework when I get home.
Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities. These verbs
always have direct objects, meaning someone or something receives the action of the
verb.
Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities. No direct
object follows an intransitive verb.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Examples
Most action verbs are defined as transitive or intransitive. This means that some are
used with a direct object (the person or thing that receives the action of the subject)
and others don’t need a direct object. Some verbs can be both transitive and
intransitive depending on their meaning.
• Transitive Verb – Joe will send the price quote as soon as he can.
• Intransitive Verb – Many of the students are not well. They coughed throughout the
lesson.
Auxiliary (or Helping) Verbs
Auxiliary (or Helping) verbs are used together with a main verb to show the verb’s
tense or to form a negative or question. The most common auxiliary verbs are have,
be, and do.
• Does Sam write all his own reports?
• The secretaries haven’t written all the letters yet.
Terry is writing an e-mail to a client at the moment.
Stative Verbs
Stative verbs are verbs that express a state rather than an action. They usually relate
to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being and measurements. These
verbs are not usually used with the ending ‘ing’ in progressive (continuous) tenses
even though they may take on time expressions such as now and at the moment. We
use the simple tenses for them.
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• Paul feels rotten today. He has a bad cold.
• Do you recognize him? He is a famous rock star.
• Our client appreciated all the work we did for him.
Modal Verbs - Modal and Modal Phrases (Semi-Modals)
A modal is a type of auxiliary (helping) verb that is used to express: ability,
possibility, permission or obligation. Modal phrases (or semi-modals) are used to
express the same things as modals, but are a combination of auxiliary verbs and the
preposition to. The modals and semi-modals in English are:
• Can/could/be able to
• May/might
• Shall/should
• Must/have to
• Will/would
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs aren’t single words; instead, they are combinations of words (a verb + a
preposition or verb +adverb) that when used together, usually take on a different
meaning to that of the original verb.
Phrasal Verb Examples
• break down, check in, tear up
When we use phrasal verbs, we use them like normal verbs in a sentence, regardless if
it’s a regular or irregular verb.
1 Ella tore up the letter after she read it.
2 Their car broke down two miles out of town.
3 Did the manager deal with that customer’s complaint.
More phrasal verb examples:
1 Be sure to put on a life jacket before getting into the boat.
2 We left out the trash for pickup.
3 It’s time to get on the plane.
4 What will she think up next?
5 I’m having some trouble working out the solution to this equation.
6 We’re going to have to put off our vacation until next year.
7 Stand up when speaking in class, please.
8 We’ll have to wake up early if we want breakfast.
9 Take off your shoes before you walk on the carpet.
My dog likes to break out of his kennel to chase squirrels.
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t take on the regular –d, -ed, or -ied spelling
patterns of the past simple (V2) or past participle (V3). Many of the irregular V2 and
V3 forms are the same, such as: cut – cut, had – had, let – let, hurt – hurt, fed- fed,
sold-sold.
Irregular Verb Examples
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Irregular verbs are also known as strong verbs. Here are nine that are used more often
than the rest. These nine irregular verb examples also happen to be among the most
commonly used words in the English language. They are:
• Go
• Make
• Get
• Take
• Say
• Come
• See
• Know
• Think
The following list of examples show how irregular verbs are used in sentences. Some
sentences contain more than one example.
• Go get your brother. It’s time to eat dinner. → In this example, all three irregular
verbs (go, get, and eat) are in base form.
• I want to build a sand castle like the one we built last year. → In this example, the
irregular verb build is in base form. The irregular verb built is the past simple
form of “build”. When you look at the complete list of examples, you’ll notice
that built is also the past participle of the irregular verb “build”.
• He bet me that I couldn’t run five miles without stopping. I proved him wrong; I ran
seven miles before I had to catch my breath. → In this example, bet is a past
simple form. When you look at the complete list, you will see that all three
forms of “bet” are the same. Next, in the same sentence, the irregular verb run
is in base form. In the next sentence, ran is the past simple form of “run” and
had is the past simple form of “have.” Meanwhile, catch is base form.
• I awoke to find that a spider had bitten me. Although the wound didn’t bleed, it
itched terribly. → In this example, the irregular verb awoke is the past simple
form of “awake.” Bitten is past participle form of “bite” and bleed is base
form.
• Let’s drink some of this lemonade. I drank some yesterday and found it delicious.
→ In this example, the irregular verb drink is in base form. Drank is the past
simple form of “drink,” and found is the past simple form of “find.”
Irregular Verbs1
Most verbs have past tense and past participle in –ed ( worked, played,
listened). But many of the most frequent verbs are irregular:
Base form
Past tense
Past participle
be
begin
break
bring
buy
build
choose
was/were
began
broke
brought
bought
built
chose
been
begun
broken
brought
bought
built
chosen
1For complete list of irregular verbs, download the ”Extensive List of Irregular Verbs” file from the
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come
cost
cut
do
draw
drive
eat
feel
find
get
give
go
have
hear
hold
keep
know
leave
lead
let
lie
lose
make
mean
meet
pay
put
run
say
see
sell
send
set
sit
speak
spend
stand
take
teach
tell
think
understand
wear
win
write
came
cost
cut
did
drew
drove
ate
felt
found
got
gave
went
had
heard
held
kept
knew
left
led
let
lay
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
ran
said
saw
sold
sent
set
sat
spoke
spent
stood
took
taught
told
thought
understood
wore
won
wrote
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come
cost
cut
done
drawn
driven
eaten
felt
found
got
given
gone
had
heard
held
kept
known
left
led
let
lain
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
run
said
seen
sold
sent
set
sat
spoken
spent
stood
taken
taught
told
thought
understood
worn
won
written
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