If you want to understand English sentences, verbs are one of the best places to start. They tell us what someone does, what happens, or what someone or something is.
A verb is a word or group of words that expresses an action, occurrence, experience, condition, or state of being. Examples include run, write, think, happen, seem, and be. Verbs form the central part of a sentence’s predicate and can change form to express grammatical information such as tense and agreement. Cambridge Dictionary
Consider these examples:
- Maria runs every morning.
- I understand the question.
- The accident happened yesterday.
- The children are tired.
- Your idea seems reasonable.
Although students are often taught that a verb is simply an “action word,” that definition is incomplete. Some verbs describe actions, but others describe states, relationships, perceptions, or changes.
What Is a Verb in English Grammar?
A verb is a part of speech that commonly expresses an action, event, or state. Oxford, for example, defines a verb as a word or group of words expressing an action, event, or state. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries
Here are the three basic ideas:
| Verb function | Example verb | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Physical action | run | Emma runs every day. |
| Mental action | believe | I believe you. |
| State | exist | Dinosaurs no longer exist. |
| Occurrence | happen | Something happened outside. |
| Condition | feel | She feels tired. |
Cambridge similarly describes a verb as a word or phrase describing an action, condition, or experience. Cambridge Dictionary
This broader definition matters because words such as know, love, exist, and seem are verbs even though they do not describe obvious physical actions.
What Does a Verb Do in a Sentence?
A verb tells us something about the subject or forms part of the predicate that says something about it.
Look at this sentence:
Daniel opened the window.
- Daniel = subject
- opened = verb
- the window = direct object
The verb opened tells us what Daniel did.
Now compare:
Daniel is tired.
Here, is does not describe an action. It connects Daniel with the information tired.
This is why searching for an action alone is not always a reliable way to identify verbs.
Types of Verbs With Examples
English verbs can be classified in several overlapping ways. A single verb may belong to multiple categories depending on its form and function. Common classifications include action and stative verbs, linking and helping verbs, transitive and intransitive verbs, and regular and irregular verbs. Scribbr
Action Verbs
An action verb, also called a dynamic verb in many grammar descriptions, expresses something a person, animal, object, or other subject does.
Physical actions include:
- run
- jump
- swim
- write
- eat
- build
- throw
For example:
Jack kicked the ball.
The verb kicked describes a physical action.
Actions can also be mental:
I considered the proposal.
Here, considered describes a mental activity rather than a visible physical movement.
Other examples include:
- think
- decide
- imagine
- remember
- consider
So an action verb does not necessarily involve physical movement.
Stative Verbs
A stative verb describes a state, condition, possession, emotion, perception, or thought rather than a temporary action.
Common examples include:
- know
- believe
- understand
- love
- prefer
- belong
- own
- need
For example:
I know the answer.
Know describes a mental state.
This book belongs to Sarah.
Belongs describes a relationship or possession.
Many stative verbs are not normally used in progressive forms when they express their stative meaning. Scribbr
For example:
I understand the problem.
is normally preferred over:
I am understanding the problem.
However, some verbs can be stative in one context and dynamic in another.
Compare:
I think you are correct.
Here, think means “believe.”
I am thinking about the problem.
Here, thinking describes an ongoing mental activity.
The verb’s meaning and context determine its function.
Linking Verbs
A linking verb connects the subject with information that identifies or describes it. The information following the verb is often called a subject complement.
The most common linking verb is be:
- am
- is
- are
- was
- were
- be
- been
- being
For example:
The room is quiet.
Is connects room with the adjective quiet.
Other verbs can also function as linking verbs:
- seem
- become
- appear
- feel
- look
- smell
- taste
- remain
- turn
For example:
The soup smells delicious.
Here, smells links soup with delicious.
Context matters because the same word can sometimes work as an action verb.
Compare:
The dog smelled the food.
Here, smelled describes what the dog did.
The food smelled wonderful.
Here, smelled functions as a linking verb. This distinction between action and linking uses is also illustrated by the Language Portal of Canada. Our Languages
Helping Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs
A helping verb, or auxiliary verb, works with another verb to express tense, aspect, voice, questions, negatives, or other grammatical meanings.
Three especially important primary auxiliary verbs are:
- be
- have
- do
Consider:
She is studying.
- is = auxiliary verb
- studying = main verb
Another example:
They have finished their homework.
- have = auxiliary
- finished = main verb
And:
Do you understand?
Here, do helps form the question.
Auxiliary verbs are easy to overlook because words such as be, have, and do can also function as main verbs.
Compare:
I have a bicycle.
Here, have is the main verb.
I have finished dinner.
Here, have is an auxiliary verb helping finished.
Modal Verbs
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs used to express meanings such as possibility, ability, permission, necessity, prediction, and obligation.
Common modal verbs include:
- can
- could
- may
- might
- must
- shall
- should
- will
- would
Examples:
She can swim.
Can expresses ability.
It might rain tonight.
Might expresses possibility.
You should call your teacher.
Should can express advice or recommendation.
Employees must wear identification badges.
Must expresses necessity or obligation in this context.
Modal verbs normally appear before the base form of another verb:
can go
should study
might arrive
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Another useful way to classify verbs is according to whether they take an object.
Transitive Verbs
A transitive verb takes a direct object—the person or thing directly affected by the verb.
For example:
Sophia opened the door.
Ask:
Sophia opened what?
Answer:
the door
Therefore, opened is transitive in this sentence.
Other examples:
He bought a laptop.
Bought what? A laptop.
The student answered the question.
Answered what? The question.
The nouns following these verbs function as direct objects.
Intransitive Verbs
An intransitive verb does not take a direct object.
For example:
The baby cried.
There is no direct object.
Another example:
Everyone laughed loudly.
Loudly gives more information about the laughing, but it is not a direct object.
A verb can sometimes be transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another. Scribbr
Compare:
The bell rang.
Rang is intransitive.
She rang the bell.
Rang is transitive because the bell is the direct object.
Ditransitive Verbs
Some verbs can take two objects: an indirect object and a direct object. These are often called ditransitive verbs.
For example:
Dad gave me a gift.
- gave = verb
- me = indirect object
- a gift = direct object
Another example:
She taught us English.
- us = indirect object
- English = direct object
Common verbs that can be used this way include give, send, tell, show, and teach.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
Verbs can also be classified according to how their past forms are created.
Regular Verbs
A regular verb normally forms its simple past and past participle by adding -ed or -d.
Examples:
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| walk | walked | walked |
| play | played | played |
| clean | cleaned | cleaned |
| jump | jumped | jumped |
| love | loved | loved |
For example:
I walk to school every day.
I walked to school yesterday.
Irregular Verbs
An irregular verb does not form its past forms using the standard -ed pattern. Scribbr
Examples:
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| go | went | gone |
| write | wrote | written |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| see | saw | seen |
| take | took | taken |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| begin | began | begun |
Some irregular verbs do not change at all:
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| cut | cut | cut |
| put | put | put |
| hit | hit | hit |
Because irregular verbs do not follow one universal pattern, learners usually need to become familiar with their individual forms.
Main Verbs vs. Helping Verbs
A main verb carries the central lexical meaning of the verb phrase.
Consider:
Lucy has been studying all morning.
The verb phrase is:
has been studying
Within it:
- has = auxiliary
- been = auxiliary
- studying = main verb
Now look at:
Lucy studies every morning.
Here, studies works by itself as the main verb.
Recognizing the entire verb phrase is important when identifying verbs in more complicated sentences.
For example:
The package might have been delivered yesterday.
The complete verb phrase is:
might have been delivered
Simply looking for a single “action word” can cause you to miss much of the grammatical structure.
Finite and Non-Finite Verbs
Verbs can also be divided into finite and non-finite forms.
Finite Verbs
A finite verb is grammatically tied to features such as tense and, in the present tense, sometimes person or number.
Compare:
She works here.
They work here.
The form changes according to the subject.
Or:
She worked yesterday.
The verb indicates past time.
Non-Finite Verbs
Non-finite verb forms do not function as the tensed verb by themselves.
They include forms traditionally described as:
- infinitives
- participles
- gerunds
For example:
I want to leave.
Want is finite, while to leave is an infinitive construction.
Running every morning is enjoyable.
Running is traditionally called a gerund here because the verb form functions in a noun-like position.
The broken window needs replacing.
Broken is a past participle derived from the verb break.
What Are Phrasal Verbs?
A phrasal verb combines a verb with one or more particles to create a meaning that may differ from the meaning of the original verb.
Examples include:
- give up
- find out
- turn down
- pick up
- look after
- carry on
For example:
Don’t give up.
Here, give up means to stop trying.
Compare that with:
Give the book to Sarah.
The ordinary verb give has a different meaning and structure.
Another example:
I found out the truth.
Found out means “discovered.”
Phrasal verbs are particularly important for English learners because understanding each individual word does not always reveal the meaning of the complete expression.
Verb Forms and Conjugation
Conjugation refers to changing a verb into different grammatical forms.
Take the verb write:
- write
- writes
- wrote
- written
- writing
These forms allow the verb to work in different grammatical structures.
For example:
I write every day.
She writes every day.
I wrote yesterday.
I have written three pages.
I am writing now.
The underlying lexical verb remains write, but its form changes according to its grammatical role.
Verbs and Tense
Verbs help communicate when situations occur, though English expresses time through combinations of verb inflection, auxiliaries, and context.
Consider:
She works at the library.
This is simple present.
She worked at the library.
This is simple past.
She will work at the library tomorrow.
Here, future time is expressed using will plus the base verb.
English also uses combinations of auxiliary verbs and participles to express distinctions such as progressive and perfect aspect:
She is working.
She has worked.
She has been working.
Understanding the whole verb phrase is therefore more useful than assuming every idea about time is expressed by changing a single word.
Subject-Verb Agreement
A verb sometimes changes according to its subject. This relationship is called subject-verb agreement.
Compare:
The student works hard.
The students work hard.
In the simple present, most ordinary English verbs take -s with a third-person singular subject.
The verb be has more noticeable changes:
I am ready.
She is ready.
They are ready.
One common mistake occurs when another noun appears between the subject and verb:
The box of old photographs is heavy.
The subject is box, not photographs, so the singular verb is agrees with box.
How to Identify a Verb in a Sentence
Finding a verb becomes easier when you use several clues instead of asking only, “What is the action?”
Try this process:
- Find the subject. Determine who or what the sentence is about.
- Ask what the subject does, experiences, or is.
- Look for state and linking verbs. Remember that is, seem, and become are verbs even without physical action.
- Check for helping verbs. Words such as have, be, do, can, should, and will may form part of a larger verb phrase.
- Identify the complete verb phrase when necessary.
Consider:
The children have been playing outside.
The subject is children.
The complete verb phrase is:
have been playing
- have = auxiliary
- been = auxiliary
- playing = main verb
Now consider:
The children seem tired.
There is no physical action. Seem is still a verb because it links the subject with the description tired.
Common Mistakes When Identifying Verbs
Mistake 1: Assuming Every Verb Is an Action
Consider:
She knows the answer.
Knows is a verb even though there is no visible action.
A better rule is that verbs can express actions, states, occurrences, conditions, and experiences, not merely movement. Cambridge Dictionary
Mistake 2: Missing Helping Verbs
In:
He is running.
Students sometimes identify only running.
But the verb phrase is:
is running
The auxiliary is contributes grammatical information to the main verb.
Mistake 3: Treating Every Form of “Be” as a Helping Verb
Consider:
She is singing.
Is is helping the main verb singing.
But:
She is happy.
Here, is functions as a linking verb connecting she with happy.
The same word can therefore have different grammatical functions depending on context.
Mistake 4: Assuming a Word Always Has the Same Part of Speech
Many English words can function as different parts of speech.
Consider run:
I run every morning.
Run is a verb.
I went for a run.
Run is a noun.
Or consider paint:
We paint the walls every year.
Paint is a verb.
The paint is dry.
Paint is a noun.
You have to examine how the word functions in the sentence rather than identifying its part of speech from the word alone.
Examples of Verbs in Sentences
Here are several examples showing different verb functions:
| Sentence | Verb/verb phrase | Type or function |
|---|---|---|
| Birds fly. | fly | Action/intransitive |
| Ava opened the box. | opened | Action/transitive |
| I know the answer. | know | Stative |
| The cake smells wonderful. | smells | Linking |
| She is reading. | is reading | Auxiliary + main verb |
| We might leave early. | might leave | Modal + main verb |
| He gave me the key. | gave | Ditransitive |
| They walked home. | walked | Regular verb |
| She wrote a letter. | wrote | Irregular verb |
| Please sit. | sit | Imperative verb |
Notice that the categories can overlap.
In:
She wrote a letter.
wrote can simultaneously be described as a main, action, transitive, irregular, and finite verb. Verb classifications are therefore not always mutually exclusive. Englishan
Can a Sentence Have More Than One Verb?
Yes. A sentence can contain multiple verbs and multiple clauses.
For example:
Sarah finished her homework and watched television.
The verbs are:
- finished
- watched
A sentence can also contain a multi-word verb phrase:
Sarah has been studying.
The verb phrase contains:
- has
- been
- studying
More complex sentences may contain separate verb phrases in different clauses:
I think that Sarah has finished her homework.
The main clause contains think, while the subordinate clause contains has finished.
Is “Is” a Verb?
Yes. Is is a form of the verb be.
For example:
The sky is blue.
Here, is functions as a linking verb.
It can also function as an auxiliary:
The baby is sleeping.
Here, is helps form the progressive construction is sleeping.
Other forms of be include am, are, was, were, be, been, and being.
This is a useful reminder that verbs are not limited to obvious actions such as run and jump.
What Is the Difference Between a Verb and a Noun?
A noun commonly names a person, place, thing, or concept, while a verb functions as the central element of a predicate and can express an action, occurrence, or state.
Compare:
The children play outside.
Play is a verb.
The school organized a play.
Play is a noun.
Likewise:
We work every day.
Work is a verb.
The work was difficult.
Work is a noun.
The grammatical role depends on how the word is being used.
Why Are Verbs Important?
Verbs allow speakers and writers to say what happens, what people do, what things are like, and how situations change.
They also carry or combine with grammatical information connected with concepts such as:
- tense
- aspect
- voice
- mood
- subject agreement
Without understanding verbs, it becomes much harder to master sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, active and passive voice, or more advanced English grammar.
So, what is a verb? It is a word or part of a verb phrase that helps express an action, event, state, condition, or experience and plays a central role in the predicate of a sentence. Once you learn to recognize action, linking, helping, stative, transitive, intransitive, regular, and irregular verbs, English sentence structure becomes much easier to analyze and use correctly.