Verbs

What is a verb?
Verbs are the action words in a sentence that describe what the
subject is doing. Along with nouns, verbs are the main part of a
sentence or phrase, telling a story about what is taking place. In fact,
without a verb, full thoughts can’t be properly conveyed, and even the
simplest sentences, such as Maria sings, have one. Actually, a verb
can be a sentence by itself, with the subject, in most case you,
implied, such as, Sing! and Drive!

When learning the rules of grammar, schoolchildren are often

taught that verbs are ‘doing’ words, meaning they signify the part of
the sentence which explains the action taking place: He ran away,
she eats chocolate cake on Sundays, the horses gallop across the
fields. Ran, eats and gallop are the ‘action’ parts of those sentences,
thus they are the verbs. However, it can be confusing because not all
verbs are easily identifiable as action: I know your name, Jack
thought about it, we considered several applications. These are
non-action verbs, i.e. those that describe a state of being, emotion,
possession, sense or opinion. Other non-action verbs include include
love, agree, feel, am, and have.

How to Recognize a Verb

As you can see from the examples above, one clue to help you
recognize a verb is its location compared to the subject. Verbs almost
always come after a noun or pronoun. These nouns and pronouns
are referred to as the subject. The verb thought comes after the
noun Jack, so the action Jack (subject) was taking was thinking
(verb).

Mark eats his dinner quickly.

We went to the market.
You write neatly in your notebook.
They thought about all the prizes in the competition.

Here are some other ways to recognize verbs in a sentence:

1 If you’re not sure if a word is a verb, ask yourself, “Can I do
______?”
Can I think, wonder, walk, yawn? Yes, so these are verbs.
2 You can also ask, ”What is happening?”

In the sentence Mark eats his dinner quickly, what is happening?

Eating is happening, so eating is the verb.

In the sentence They thought about all the prizes what is happening?
Thought (thinking) is happening, so thought is the verb.

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. For example, Joe sat in his chair, the dog breathes
quickly after she chases her ball, and should we vote in the election?
Even when the action isn’t very active, if the action is done by the
body or a tool, consider it 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 – 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, forms of to be, such as am,
is, are, 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.

Types of Verbs
There are many types of verbs. 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 together 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. It’s important to
remember that the action does not have to be physical.
Action verb examples:
1 Run
2 Dance
3 Slide
4 Jump
5 Think
6 Do
7 Go
8 Stand
9 Smile
10 Listen.

The action verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification.
I run faster than David.
He does it well.
She thinks about poetry all day long

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable
activities that relate or affect someone or something else. These
other things are generally direct objects, nouns or pronouns that are
affected by the verb, though some verbs can also take an indirect
object, such as show, take, and make. In a sentence with a transitive
verb, someone or something receives the action of the verb.

Transitive verb examples:

Love
Respect
Tolerate
Believe
Maintain.

The transitive verb examples in the following sentences are in bold

for easy identification.
Gary ate the cookies.

The transitive verb is ate, Gary is the subject, because it is Gary who
is doing the eating, and the cookies are the direct object, because it is
the cookies that are being eaten. Other examples:
He kicked John.
John punches him.
They sold the tickets.

Examples of verbs used with both direct and indirect objects:

They sell him the tickets.

In this sentence, the tickets are the direct object while him is the
indirect object.
 Mary baked her mother a pie.
In this sentence, a pie is the direct object while her mother is the
indirect object.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

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.

Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs always receive a direct object:
Richard annoys his boss so much that he’ll never get a
promotion.
(His boss is the direct object of annoys and a promotion is the
direct object of get)
Jenna brings Mrs. Smith lunch every day.
(Mrs. Smith is the direct object of brings. Jenna is the subject.

Here’s a list of some common transitive verbs that must be followed

by a direct object:
bring
send
owe
contain
buy
show
take
tell
verify
check
get
 wash
finalize
annoy
lay
lend
offer
edit
make
phone
box
Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object in order to complete
their meaning. Many are followed by an adjective, adverb, preposition
or verb complement (gerund or infinitive).

Here is a list of common intransitive verbs:

come
explode
laugh
sit
rise
excel
respond
run
cough
swim
emigrate
smile
act
cry
immigrate
lie
arrive
continue
die
go
If Cathy continues to be late for work, the boss will fire her.
(Continues is followed by an infinitive (to be), with no direct
object.)
The bomb exploded in the city center.
(Exploded is followed by a preposition of place with no direct
object.)

Many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive depending on their

meanings.
box

Examples
Jamie set the documents down on the CEO’s desk.
(Transitive: The documents are the direct object to the verb:
set.)
The sun set low over the Pacific Ocean.
(Intransitive: Low is an adverb. Set doesn’t need a direct
object.)
Ms. Tyson manages the accounting department.
(Transitive: The accounting department is the direct object to
the verb: manage.)
John has had difficulty managing since his wife’s death.
(Intransitive: Since is a preposition of time. Managing doesn’t
need a direct object)
Note: Transitive and intransitive verbs can appear in any tense.
Here is a list of several verbs that can be both transitive and
intransitive depending on their meanings:
set
leave
give
study
sit
grow
smell
dance
sing
write
teach
 burn
eat
paint
drive
manage
stop
climb
run
check
cost
go
pay
improve
box

Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable
activities. They are different from transitive verbs because there is no
direct object following an intransitive verb.

Intransitive verb examples:

Walk
Laugh
Cough
Play
Run

The intransitive verb examples in the following sentences are in bold

for easy identification.
We travelled to London.

The intransitive verb is travelled, the subject is we, because we are

doing the travelling, but London is not a direct object because London
is not receiving the action of the verb. Other examples:
I sneeze in the morning.
He arrived with moments to spare.
Kathryn sat away from the others.
John eats before leaving for school.
The last example shows that the verb eats can be both transitive and
intransitive depending on whether there is a direct object or not. If the
sentence read: John eats the cookies before leaving for school, eats
would be transitive as there is a direct object – the cookies. By the
way, some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive. These verbs
include: start, leave, change, live, stop.

Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs are also known as helping verbs and are used
together with a main verb to show the verb’s tense or to form a
question or negative. Common examples of auxiliary verbs include
have, might, will. These auxiliary verbs give some context to the main
verb, for example, letting the reader know when the action took place.

Auxiliary verb examples:

Would
Should
Do
Can
Did
Could
May

The auxiliary verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification.
I will go home after football practice.

The auxiliary verb will is telling us that the action of the main verb go
is going to take place in the future – after football practice has ended.
If the auxiliary verb will was removed, we get the sentence:
I go home after football practice.

In this case, there is no definite time frame for the action. The
sentence suggests that going home after football practice is just
something the subject I generally does. Other examples:
I may dance with you later.
We did consider Bryan’s feelings.
Jenny has spoken her final words.

In addition, we can sometimes use the auxiliary very before the

pronoun to make a question:
 Might you dance with me later?
Did we consider Bryan’s feelings?
Has Jenny spoken her final words?

Also, auxiliary verbs are used to help form negative statements, with
the use of words like not and never. These will usually split the
auxiliary and main verbs:
I may never dance with you again.
We did not consider Bryan’s feelings.
Jenny has not spoken her final words.

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.

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, add functional or

grammatical meaning to the clauses in which they appear. They
perform their functions in several different ways:

By expressing tense ( providing a time reference, i.e. past,

present, or future)

Grammatical aspect (expresses how verb relates to the flow of

time)

Modality (quantifies verbs)

Voice (describes the relationship between the action expressed

by the verb and the participants identified by the verb’s subject,
object, etc.)

Adds emphasis to a sentence

Auxiliary verbs almost always appear together with a main verb, and
though there are only a few of them, they are among the most
frequently occurring verbs in the English language.
How to Identify an Auxiliary Verb
You probably know that every sentence has at least one verb in it.
There are two main types of verbs. Action verbs are used to depict
activities that are doable, and linking verbs are used to describe
conditions. Both action verbs and linking verbs can accompany
auxiliary verbs including the three main ones: do, be, and have.

Sometimes actions or conditions occur only one time and then they’re
over. It’s at times like these that some of the same verbs that are
used as auxiliary verbs are instead used as action or linking verbs. In
this example, we see the word “is”. This is one of the most common
auxiliary verbs, but because it stands alone here, it is not functioning
as an auxiliary verb.

Jerry slammed the car door on his thumb. He is in horrible pain.


“Is” is a linking verb in this sentence. Because it stands alone, it is not
an auxiliary verb.

At other times, an action or condition is ongoing, happening

predictably, or occurring in relationship to another event or set of
events. In these cases, single-word verbs like is are not accurately
capable of describing what happened, so phrases that include
auxiliary verbs are used instead. These can be made up of anywhere
from two to four words.

A main verb, also known as a base verb, indicates the kind of action
or condition taking place. An auxiliary or helping verb accompanies
the main verb and conveys other nuances that help the reader gain
specific insight into the event that is taking place.

Read the following sentences and explanations to gain greater insight

into how auxiliary verbs work.
Jerry caught his thumb in the car door as coffee spilled from
his cup onto his favorite shirt.
Jerry is always spilling things.
Since Jerry is also accident prone, he should have been
drinking coffee from a mug with a lid, which would not have
spilled on his favorite shirt.
In sentence one, caught and spilled, single-word verbs, describe
quick, one-time actions of both Jerry and his messy coffee. This
sentence does not contain an auxiliary verb.

Since Jerry often has unfortunate accidents, is spilling

communicates the frequency of his clumsy actions in sentence two.

In sentence three, the auxiliary verbs that make up should have

been drinking and would have stained express time relationships
as well as an evaluation of Jerry’s actions.

Three Common Auxiliary Verbs

There are just three common auxiliary verbs:
Have
Do
Be

In this section, we’ll take a closer look at how these common verbs
work, plus you’ll see some examples.

Have
“Have” is a very important verb that can stand alone in all its tenses,
including has, have, having, had, and hadn’t or had not. It is
usually used to denote ownership, and it can also be used to discuss
ability or describe appearance. “Have” is also a very popular
substitute for the verbs “eat” and “drink.” For example: “Let’s have
dinner.”

When used as an auxiliary verb, have is always teamed up with

another verb to create a complete verb phrase, making it easy to
differentiate between uses. You can see the difference in the
sentences below:
Jerry has a large coffee stain on his shirt. → Has = action verb
Jerry has bought a new shirt to replace the one that was
ruined earlier. → Has = auxiliary verb; bought is a past
participle that competes the verb phrase.
Jerry should have been more careful! → Have = auxiliary verb;
 phrase “should have been” expresses time and evaluates
Jerry’s actions.

Do
“Do” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses,
including to do, do, does, done, did and didn’t, doesn’t or did not .
When used as an auxiliary verb, do is always paired up with another
verb to create a complete verb phrase. In some cases, it is used to
add emphasis: “I did put the garbage out!” Do is often used to form
questions and negated clauses. It is also used in elliptical sentences,
where the main verb is understood and is omitted as a result. For
example: “He plays piano well, doesn’t he?” or “They all had dinner,
but I didn’t.”
Because he spills things so often, Jerry does more laundry than
most people. Does = action verb
Jerry didn’t put his coffee in a cup with a lid. Didn’t = auxiliary
verb
Jerry doesn’t always spill things, but it happens a lot. Doesn’t
= auxiliary verb
Be
“Be” or “to be” is an important verb that has a multitude of uses in
English. It can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its
tenses including be, to be, been, am, are, is, was, were, wasn’t,
was not aren’t, are not, weren’t and were not.
When used as an auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another
verb to create a complete verb phrase. It can be singular or plural,
present or past. Negative sentences are formed by adding the word
“not”.
Jerry is messy. Is = action verb
Although he is always complaining about his accidents, Jerry
fails to pay attention. is = auxiliary verb
Jerry is going to be doing extra laundry for the rest of his life.
to be = auxiliary verb

Modal Auxiliary Verbs

In addition to the three main auxiliary verbs, have, do, and be, there
are additional auxiliary verbs. These are called modal auxiliary
verbs, and they never change form. A complete list of modal auxiliary
verbs follows:
Can
Could
May
Might
Must
Ought to
Shall
Should
Will
Would

Auxiliary Verb Examples

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs and verb phrases. In the
examples below, the verb phrase is italicized and the auxiliary verb is
in bold.
Jessica is taking John to the airport.
If he doesn’t arrive on time, he’ll have to take a later flight.
Unfortunately, our dinner has been eaten by the dog.
I have purchased a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that
were lost in my luggage.
We hope you don’t have an accident on your way to school.
She was baking a pie for dessert.
Dad has been working hard all day.
The bed was made as soon as I got up.
Sarah doesn’t ski or roller skate.
Did Matthew bring coffee?

Stative Verbs
Stative verbs can be recognized because they express a state
rather than an action. They typically relate to thoughts,
emotions, relationships, senses, states of being, and
measurements. The best way to think about stative verbs is that they
are verbs that describe things that are not actions. The stative verbs
are all expressing a state: A state of doubting, a state of believing, a
state of wanting. These states of being are often temporary.

The stative verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification.

The doctor disagrees with your analysis.

Disagree is a stative verb here, as it describes the doctor’s state of

being – disagreement.
John doubts the doctor’s opinion.
I believe the doctor is right.
She wanted another opinion.

What are 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 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.
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.

Incorrect: I’m smelling your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce.

Correct: I smell your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce.

However, there are some verbs that look like they should be stative,
but may appear in the ing form. These verbs differ in meaning to the
stative verbs.
Stative Verb Examples:
see
I see Michael, but he can’t see me. I’m too far away. (I see him
with my eyes.)
James is seeing Marsha. They’ve been together for a month.
(He’s dating her.)
hear
I hear music coming from the Smith’s apartment. Someone
must be home now. (To experience sound)
I’m hearing voices. (I’m imagining it)

have
Jeremy has a Mercedes. (He owns it.)
Sara is having lunch with her editor. (She’s eating lunch)
box
List of Stative Verbs
adore
agree
appear (seem)
appreciate
be (exist)
believe
belong to
concern
consist of
contain
cost
deny
depend on
deserve
detest
disagree
dislike
doubt
equal
feel
hate
have (possession)
hear
imagine
include
involve
know
lack
like
 loathe
look (seem)
love
matter
mean
measure
mind
need
owe
own
possess
promise
realize
recognize
remember
resemble
satisfy
see
seem
smell
sound
suppose
surprise
taste
think (opinion)
understand
want
weigh
wish

Modal Verbs
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are used to express abilities,
possibilities, permissions, and obligations.
Modal verb examples:
Can
Must
May
Should
Would
The modal verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification.
He can shoot a three-point shot easily.

The auxiliary verb can is expressing an ability, suggesting that

shooting a three-point shot is a skill the subject possesses.

Please note that in the case of should and must in the examples
below, the modal verbs are expressing obligations, whereas would
and may are expressing possibilities.
I should go home.
You must not delay.
Sally would not recommend the sushi.
David may be late.

Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs aren’t single words; instead, they are combinations of
words that are used together to take on a different meaning to that of
the original verb. There are many examples of phrasal verbs, some of
which have colloquial meanings, such as make up, hand in, bring up,
point out, look forward to. Each time the verb takes the extra word(s)
it takes on a new meaning. For example, make without the up
expresses that something is being created, whereas with make up,
the suggestion is that there are some lies or a fantastical element to
the story and make out can mean either to grasp or see something
difficult, or to kiss passionately.

Phrasal verb examples:

Run out
Go all out
Make out
Hand out
Bring out
Face up
Think through

The phrasal verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification.
Mary looked forward to her high school reunion.
The verb looked has taken on forward to to become a phrasal verb
meaning to be excited about or eagerly await something.
He brought up the same points again and again.
Leroy handed in the wallet to the police.
I make up stories all the time.
She pointed out Donald’s mistake.

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

Can, Could, Be Able To

Can, could and be able to are used to express a variety of ideas in
English:

Ability/Lack of Ability
Present and Future:
can/can’t + base form of the verb
Tom can write poetry very well.
I can help you with that next week.
Lisa can’t speak French.

am / is / are / will be + able to + base form of the verb

am not/ isn’t / aren’t/ won’t be + able to + base form of the verb
Mike is able to solve complicated math equations
The support team will be able to help you in about ten
minutes.
 I won’t be able to visit you next summer.

Past:
could / couldn’t + base form of the verb
3 When I was a child I could climb trees.
was / were + able to + base form of the verb
wasn’t / weren’t + able to + base form of the verb
hasn’t / haven’t + been able to + base form of the verb
I wasn’t able to visit her in the hospital.
He hasn’t been able to get in touch with the client yet.

Note: Can and could do not take an infinitive (to verb) and do not take
the future auxiliary will.
Incorrect: I can to help you this afternoon.
Correct: I can help you this afternoon.
Correct: I will (I’ll) be able to help you this afternoon.

Possibility / Impossibility
can / can’t + base form of the verb
You can catch that train at 10:43.
He can’t see you right now. He’s in surgery.
could + base form of the verb
I could fly via Amsterdam if I leave the day before.

Ask Permission / Give Permission

Can + Subject + base form of the verb (informal)
Can you lend me ten dollars?
Can + base form of the verb (informal)
You can borrow my car.
Could + subject + base form of the verb (polite)
Could I have your number?
Could I talk to your supervisor please?

Make a suggestion – To make a suggestion use:

Could + base form of the verb (informal)
You could take the tour of the castle tomorrow.
May, Might
Formal Permission / Formal Prohibition
may / may not + base form of the verb
You may start your exam now.
You may not wear sandals to work.

Polite Request
May + subject + base form of the verb
May I help you?

Possibility / Negative Possibility

may/ might + base form of the verb
We may go out for dinner tonight. Do you want to join us?
Our company might get the order if the client agrees to the
price.

may not / might not + base form of the verb

Adam and Sue may not buy that house. It’s very expensive.
They might not buy a house at all.

To Make a Suggestion (when there is no better

alternative)
may as well / might as well + base form of the verb
You may as well come inside. John will be home soon.
We might as well take Friday off. There’s no work to be done
anyway.

Polite Suggestion
might + base form of the verb
You might like to try the salmon fillet. It’s our special today.
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Shall, Should, Ought to

To Offer of Assistance or Polite Suggestion (When you are quite
sure of a positive answer)
Shall + subject + base form of the verb
 Shall we go for a walk?

Note: Shall is only used with I or we. It is used instead of will only in
formal English.

To Offer of Assistance or Polite Suggestion (When you are not

sure of a positive answer)
Should + subject + base form of the verb
Should I call a doctor?

A Prediction or Expectation that Something Will

Happen
should/shouldn’t + base form of the verb
The proposal should be finished on time.
I shouldn’t be late. The train usually arrives on time.

To Give Advice
should / ought to + base form of the verb
You should check that document before you send it out.
You ought to have your car serviced before the winter.

To Give Advice (about something you think wrong or

unacceptable)
shouldn’t + base form of the verb
James shouldn’t teach him words like those.

Must, Have to, Need to, Don’t have to,

Needn’t
Necessity or Requirement
Present and Future:
must / have to / need to + base form of the verb
You must have a passport to cross the border.
Elisabeth has to apply for her visa by March 10th.
I need to drop by his room to pick up a book.
Past:
had to / needed to + base form of the verb
I had to work late last night.
I needed to drink a few cups of coffee in order to stay awake.

Note: have to and need to are often used in the same context, but
many times, need to is used to express something that is less urgent,
something in which you have a choice.

Almost 100% Certain

must + base form of the verb
Thomas has lived in Paris for years. His French must be very
good.

To Persuade
must / have to + base form of the verb
You must try this wine. It’s excellent.
You have to visit us while you’re in town.

Prohibited or Forbidden
must not / mustn’t + base form of the verb
You must not drive over the speed limit.
You mustn’t leave medicines where children can get to them.

Lack of Necessity
don’t /doesn’t /didn’t + have to + base form of the verb
You don’t have to park the car. The hotel valet will do it for
you.
Tim doesn’t have to go to school today. It’s a holiday.
You didn’t have to shout. Everyone could hear you.

needn’t + base form of the verb

You needn’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.

Modals: Will / Would

will / won’t + base form of the verb
John will pick you up at 7:00am.
Beth won’t be happy with the results of the exam.
Polite Request or Statement
Will / Would + base form of the verb
Will you please take the trash out?
Would you mind if I sat here?
I’d (I would) like to sign up for your workshop.

Habitual Past Action

Would/Wouldn’t + base form of the verb
When I was a child, I would spend hours playing with my train
set.
Peter wouldn’t eat broccoli when he was a kid. He loves it
now.

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are those that don’t take on the regular spelling
patterns of past simple and past participle verbs. Unfortunately, there
are hundreds of irregular verbs in the English language. But don’t
worry, while many are used often, the majority are not in common
usage – or if they are, you will use them so often you will learn them
quickly. Some of the most common irregular verbs include: say,
make, go, take, come, know and see.

Irregular verb examples:

Eat
Think
Bring
Hold
Bear
Buy
Lay
Catch
Drive
Paid
Feel
Redo

The irregular verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification.

I take my time when I go to the shops (present tense)

 I took my time when I went to the shops (past tense)
Julie makes cake for the classroom (present tense)
Julie made a cake for the classroom (past tense)
She sees a silhouette shaped like a man in the window
(present tense)
She saw a silhouette shaped like a man in the window (past
tense)
We come to Aunt Jane’s for Thanksgiving each year (present
tense)
We came to Aunt Jane’s for Thanksgiving each year (past
tense).

You should also remember that auxiliary verbs ‘do’ and ‘have’ are
also irregular verbs:
I do agree.
He does it often.
We have done our homework early.
They do their homework on Fridays.
I have a suspicion about Fran
Fran has a devious look.
We have no money left.
They have had a cough twice this winter.

What Are 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

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
Get
Say
See
 Think
Make
Take
Come
Know

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.”
What are Phrasal Verbs?
A phrasal verb is a combination 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.
Ella tore up the letter after she read it.
Their car broke down two miles out of town.
Did the manager deal with that customer’s complaint.

More phrasal verb examples:

Be sure to put on a life jacket before getting into the boat.
We left out the trash for pickup.
It’s time to get on the plane.
What will she think up next?
I’m having some trouble working out the solution to this
equation.
We’re going to have to put off our vacation until next year.
Stand up when speaking in class, please.
We’ll have to wake up early if we want breakfast.
Take off your shoes before you walk on the carpet.
My dog likes to break out of his kennel to chase squirrels.

Verb Tenses
Present Simple
Positive: Most kids like milk.
Negative: I do not like milk unless it’s chocolate.
Yes/No Questions: Do you like milk?
Wh-Questions: When do we board the train for Paris?
Tag Questions: You like scuba diving, don’t you?
Present Progressive (Continuous)
Positive:You are learning to use perfect English.
Negative:You are not sleeping now.
Yes/No Questions:Are you eating?
Wh-Questions:What are you watching?
Tag Questions:You aren’t eating liverwurst, are you?

Past Simple
Positive:I visited my grandmother yesterday.
Negative:We didn’t watch the movie on Saturday.
Yes/No Questions:Did you have spaghetti for dinner last
night?
Wh-Questions:Why didn’t you wash the car yesterday?
Tag Questions:You went to Paris last year, didn’t you?

Past Progressive (Continuous)

Positive:We were watching TV when the power went out.
Negative:You were not listening to the teacher’s instructions
yesterday.
Yes/No Questions:Were you skateboarding when you broke
your leg?
Wh-Questions:What were you doing when you heard the
news?

Future
Future Simple
Be Going To:We are going to the movies tonight.
Shall:You will help your grandmother later.
Future Progressive (Continuous)
Present Simple and Present Progressive with Future
Meaning: Sam will be coming home any minute.

Perfect Tenses
The perfect tenses describe actions that have already been
completed or that began in the past and are relevant to the present or
that will have happened at a particular time in the future. They are
also referred to as the perfective aspect.
Present Perfect Simple
Positive:They have been to Paris.
Negative:You haven’t gone overseas.
Yes/No Questions:Have you been to London?
Wh-Questions:Why are we here?
Tag Questions:You haven’t been to Zurich, have you?

Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Positive:They have been swimming for more than an hour.
Negative:You haven’t waited thirty minutes yet.
Yes/No Questions:Have you been waiting long?
Wh-Questions:What time did you begin waiting?
Tag Questions:You haven’t been waiting long, have you?

Past Perfect Simple

Positive:He had studied French before traveling to Paris.
Negative: She hadn’t studied French before last semester.
Yes/No Questions:Had you studied French before you
traveled to Paris?
Wh-Questions:Why hadn’t you studied French when you knew
you’d be traveling to Paris soon?
Tag Questions:You hadn’t visited the U.S. before your trip in
2010, had you?

Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Positive:We had been waiting for more than three hours when
the train finally arrived.
Negative:We had not been waiting for more than thirty minutes
when her plane landed.
Yes/No Questions:Had you been waiting for longer than three
hours?
Wh-Questions:Why had you been waiting for the last two
hours?

Future Perfect Simple / Future Perfect Progressive

Future Perfect Simple:You will have perfected your French by
the time you come back from Paris.
Future Perfect Progressive:We will be waiting for him when
his plan arrives tonight.
 Confusing Verbs
There are many verbs that sound similar and it’s easy to get
confused between them. Here is a list of some of the most common
confusing verb pairs, their meanings and examples of how they
should be used in a sentence.

Verb Meaning/ Use The Verb in Context

borrow To take a loan Can I borrow $20 from you please?
lend To give a loan I will lend you $20.
To report someone’s words
Did she say anything about me?
say To ask about how to use a
How do you say “hello” in Spanish?
language
To instruct Tell him to stop the car.
tell
To narrate He’s telling a good joke.
do To carry out activities or tasks He needs to do his homework.
To cause to happen Don’t make him angry.
make
To create or build something Don’t forget to make a list.
I can contact the company if you would
To show ability
can like me to.
To request (informal)
Can I help you?
To express a possibility I may see you later at the party.
may
To request (polite) May I help you?
To come into contact with
He met her for the first time yesterday.
someone
meet I will meet you in front of the main
To be introduced to someone
building.
To arrange to see someone
To be familiar with someone I’ve known Sheila for a long time.
know
To understand a fact or truth He knows a lot about geography.
Don’t waste your time watching too much
To fail to use something valuable TV.
waste
in an effective way Don’t waste water! We don’t have
enough of it.
I spent a lot of money at the shop
To pay out yesterday.
spend
To pass time He spends much of his time at the
beach.
The cat lies in the sun most of the day.
To recline or to rest
lie The documents are lying on the table
To not tell the truth
now.
 He lay on his bed in pain last night.
He lied to me about the money he’d
spent.
He lays his keys on the counter every
day.
lay To put, place or set down
He laid the mail on the table when he
came in.
To carry towards someone or
bring He brings me flowers every week.
somewhere
To carry away from someone or He always takes his brother to hockey
take
somewhere games.
They adopted a child from Vietnam last
adopt To take or claim as one’s own
year.
John adapted to the weather in the East
To get used to quite quickly.
adapt
To change That company adapts and resells the
ideas of others.
To get up He rises at 5:00 every morning
rise
To go up Gas prices are steadily rising.
The government is raising the price of
raise to make higher
fuel.
emigrat
To leave a country Joshua emigrated from the UK in 2001.
e
immigra
To move to another country She immigrated to Canada in 2002.
te

Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds and infinitives are sometimes referred to as verb
complements. They may function as subjects or objects in a
sentence.

What are Gerunds?

A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions as
a noun that names an activity rather than a person or thing. Any
action verb can be made into a gerund.
Spelling Tip
Verbing (Present Participle)
Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark >
barking
For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide >
sliding, ride > riding
For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die
> dying, tie > tying
For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-
vowel-consonant and is stressed, double the last letter before
adding ing. Ex: beg > begging, begin > beginning. However:
enter > entering (last syllable is not stressed)

Gerund Examples
Gerunds can appear at the beginning of a sentence when used as a
subject:
Jogging is a hobby of mine.

Gerunds can act as an object following the verb:

Daniel quit smoking a year ago.

Gerunds can serve as an object after a preposition:

I look forward to helping you paint the house.

Note: The same spelling rules that apply to the progressive tenses
also apply to gerunds.

Some verbs and verb phrases are directly followed a gerund:

Paul avoids using chemicals on the vegetables he grows.

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or an infinitive without

causing a change in meaning:
Some people prefer getting up early in the morning.
Some people prefer to get up early in the morning

Some verbs can be followed by a gerund or infinitive but with a

change in meaning:
He remembered sending the fax. (He remembered the act of
send the fax)
 He remembered to send the fax. (He remembered the fax and
sent it.)

What are Infinitives?

An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a
sentence. It is formed with to + base form of the verb. Ex: to buy, to
work.

Infinitive Examples
Infinitives can be used as:
an object following the verb:
Jim always forgets to eat

a subject at the beginning of a sentence:

To travel around the world requires a lot of time and money.

an adverb modifying a verb:

You promised to buy me a diamond ring.

an adjective modifying a noun:

Tara has the ability to succeed.

Some verbs are directly followed by an infinitive:

Do you want to call your family now?

Some verbs are directly followed by a noun or pronoun and then by

an infinitive:
I convinced Catherine to become vegetarian.
He advised me to sell all my shares of stock.

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund without

causing a change in meaning:
Will you continue working after you give birth?
Will you continue to work after you give birth?
Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund but with a
change in meaning:
He stopped drinking coffee. (He never drank coffee again.)
He stopped to drink coffee. (He stopped what he was doing
and drank some coffee.)

What is the passive voice?

In general we tend to use the active voice. That is when a subject
does an action to an object.
Somebody stole my laptop. (subject = Somebody / action(verb) =
stole / object = my laptop)

The passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the action

(the verb) and the object of a sentence rather than subject. This
means that the subject is either less important than the action itself or
that we don’t know who or what the subject is.
My laptop was stolen. (The object – now the subject = My
laptop / action= was stolen)
Passive: Napa Valley is known for its excellent wines.
Active: [Many people] know Napa Valley for its excellent wines.
Passive: Twenty civilians were killed in the bomb explosion.
Active: Someone killed twenty civilians in the bomb explosion.

The passive agent

When we know who the subject is, we put it at the end with by. We
call this an agent.
Passive: The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.
(agent =Leonardo Da Vinci )
Active: Leonaro Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.

Most writing instructors and editors recommend against using the

passive voice, when possible. The reason for this is that when you
use the active voice, your writing is clearer and less complicated.
Active: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101, a
police officer pulled him over and gave him a speeding ticket.
Passive: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101, he
was pulled over and given a ticket by a police officer.
 If it’s a long sentence and you know who the subject is, it’s best to
use the active voice.
The passive is often used to report something or to state a fact.
Highway 15 was closed yesterday due to a serious road
accident.
A lot of corn is grown in Iowa.

Forming the passive voice

The passive voice is not a tense in English. Each tense has its own
passive voice which is created by using a form of the auxiliary verb
to be + V3 (past participle)

The passive voice in each tense:

Auxiliary verb + sample V3
Tense Examples
(past participle)
Present Wine is made from grapes.
am, is, are + made
simple Many cars are made in Japan.
Present
The document is being sent right now.
progressiv am, is, are + being + sent
I am being sent to work in the London office.
e
John was invited to speak at the
Past conference.
was, were + invited
simple We were invited to Daniel and Mary’s
wedding.
The dog was being washed when I got
Past
was, were + being + home.
progressiv
washed Their cars were being washed while they
e
were in the mall shopping.
The contract will be signed tomorrow.
Future
will be + signed The documents will all be signed by next
(will)
week.
A bridge is going to be built within the next
Future am, is, are + going to be + two years.
(going to) built New houses are going to be built in our
neighborhood.
That start-up has been sold for $5 million.
Present
has, have + been + sold The rights to his book have been sold for
perfect
$250,000.
Past had + been + hired The new manager had been hired before
perfect John left the company.
All the employees had hired before the store
opened.
The car will have been loaded by the time
Future
will + have been + finished he gets home.
perfect
The crates will have been loaded by then.
A passport can only be issued at the
Modals: embassy.
can, could + be + issued
can/could He said the documents could be issued
within the week.
A babysitter has to be arranged for this
Modal: have to, has to, had to + be evening.
have to + arranged Joan’s travel plans have to be arranged by
December.
Modal: Criminals must be stopped before they
must + be + stopped
must commit crimes.

All of the rules for passive negatives and questions are the same as
for the active voice.

Note: Verbs that have no object (no one to “receive” the action)
cannot be put into the passive, such as, arrive, come, die, exist, go,
happen, have, live, occur sleep, etc.

Conjugation
Definition of Conjugation
Conjugation is the change that takes place in a verb to express tense,
mood, person and so on. In English, verbs change as they are used,
most notably with different people (you, I, we) and different time (now,
later, before). Conjugating verbs essentially means altering them into
different forms to provide context. If we regard verbs as the action
part of the speech, conjugation alters verbs to tell us who is doing the
action and when the action takes place. If we didn’t conjugate the
verb, leaving it in what is called the infinitive form (to think, to laugh,
to whisper), the context (tense, person, mood, etc.) might be unclear
or lost all together.
Consider the verb to be and the examples of how it is conjugated into
the present tense.
I am 32 years old.
You are a terrific foot player.
Acoustics is the study of the properties of sound.
The sheep is running across the field.
The sheep are running across the field.

First of all, the conjugation of be into the present tense tells us that
these actions are happening now. I am (currently) 32 years old.
(Right now) you are a terrific football player. Secondly, while one
could argue that the context of who is doing the action is already
given by pronouns you and I, notice how the conjugated form is tells
us that acoustics, which looks like a plural, is a singular word. The
importance is really driven home in the last two examples, both of
which are grammatically correct as sheep has the same spelling in
the singular and plural forms. The first tells us that a (just one) sheep
is running across the field, whereas the last tells us that multiple
(more than one) sheep are running across the field. No other word in
this sentence indicates how many sheep there are but the verb, thus
the conjugation is critical to the meaning of the sentence.

Grammatical Conjugation
Of course, verbs are not just conjugated into the present tense and
there are many reasons – some subtle, some explicit – for them to be
altered into different variations. The overall term for this altering
specific to verbs is called grammatical conjugation. We achieve
conjugation by the process of inflection, which is a way of saying
changing a word to provide different inflected, or adjusted, meaning.

The way a verb is conjugated is determined by factors like number,

person and tense. Look at the example below to see how the verb to
go changes meaning (and spelling) when conjugated and how its
change changes the meaning of the sentence.
I go to work each day. This is something that still occurs.
I went to work each day. This is something that no longer
occurs.
I will go to work each day. This is something that has not yet
happened.
I would go to work each day. This is something that might
 happen (if a condition is met).
I am going to work each day. This is something that is
presently occurring.
I would have gone to work each day. This is something that
might have happened in the past (if a condition had been met).
I would have gone to work each day if they gave us yummy
cookies means that if they offered us delicious cookies in the
past, I would have gone (in the past).
I will have gone to work each day. This is something that will
have happened (when a future condition is met). For example, I
will have gone to every game of the season by the
championship means that in the future, when there is a
championship, I can look back and see that I went to all the
games. I will be looking backward from some time in the future.

The verb to go is conjugated in seven different ways to provide seven

different meanings (tenses) to an otherwise identical sentence. Look
at the next example that shows how the verb to dance is conjugated
differently to express the number, people and tense of the action.
I dance alone, yet I still love to dance. This is something that is
presently occurring.
Will you dance with me? This is something you hope will
happen in the future.
Jane danced with Bob, but she didn’t dance with me or Kevin.
This happened in the past.
I saw Kevin dancing alone, so I asked him if he would dance
with me. This happened in the past, but I asked him if he would
dance with me in the future.
I soon learned that Kevin dances badly, so I let him dance
alone again. This happened in the past.
Next time, I will dance with Jane and Bob. Although, I am not
sure if they will dance with me. This is something that will
happen in the future.

All Types of Conjugations Exist

As you may have noticed, conjugation is inextricably tied to the idea
of verb tenses. A verb cannot be conjugated without reflecting the
tense, otherwise we would not know when the action of the verb
takes place. There is actually some debate as to how many tenses
there are in the English language, with as many as 12 to 16 cited.
There is a bit of confusion as some tenses can go by two names:
future simple or simple future, for example. The good news is that
most of these tenses are formed by the use of auxiliary verbs, such
as will, have, be, so it’s not as if you have to learn up to 16 different
conjugations. In English, we can break the tenses down to five main
areas: past, present, future, perfect and conditional.

Past tense conjugations:

Simple past: Zoe went to the store.
Past progressive: Zoe was going to the store.

Present tense conjugations:

Simple present: Caren buys make-up.
Present progressive: Caren is buying make-up.

Future tense conjugations:

Future simple (I): Michael and Benjy will eat lunch at noon.
Future simple (I) with going to: They are going to eat lunch at
noon.
Future perfect (II): Will they have eaten lunch by noon?
Future progressive (I): They will be eating lunch at noon.
Future perfect progressive (II): They will have been eating
lunch for a few minutes by the time I arrive at 12:15.

Perfect tense conjugations:

Present perfect simple: He has spoken about it.
Present perfect progressive: He has been speaking about it.
Past perfect progressive: He had been speaking about it.
Past perfect simple: He had spoken about it.

Conditional tense conjugations:

Conditional simple (I): We would consider your proposal.
Conditional perfect (II): We would have considered your
proposal.
Conditional progressive (I): We would be considering your
proposal.
Conditional perfect progressive (II): We would have been
considering your proposal.
Examples of Conjugation in English
As you can see from the examples above, most verbs are conjugated
by the use of auxiliary, or helping, verbs and the addition of infinitives,
gerunds and participles. We will provide some basic examples of fully
conjugated verbs below. For context, the conjugation in the form of a
question and negative will also be provided. With the verb to be, it
changes form in the present: am, is, are. But with the verb to find in
the past, there is no change in form except in the negative or when
used as a question: found. And for both the verb to go in the future
tense and the verb to think in the conditional tense, notice how they
no longer display any of irregular properties when paired with the
auxiliary verbs will and would:

The irregular verb to be conjugated into the (simple) present tense:

I am.
You (singular) are.
He/she/it/John/Jane is.
We
You (plural) are.
They/John & Jane are.
Are you?
I am

The irregular verb to find conjugated into the (simple) past tense:
I found.
You (singular) found.
He/she/it/John/Jane found.
We found.
You (plural) found.
They/John & Jane
Did he find it?
We did not find

The irregular verb to go conjugated into the future tense:

I will go.
You (singular) will go.
He/she/it/John/Jane will go.
We will go.
You (plural) will
They/John & Jane will go.
 Will we go?
You will not go.

The regular verb to think conjugated into the conditional tense:

I would think.
You would think.
He/she/it/John/Jane would think
We would think.
You (plural) would think.
They/John & Jane would think.
Would we think?
You would not think.