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VERBS: What is a Verb?

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What Is A Verb?

What is a verb? A verb is a word or group of words that describes an action,

experience or expresses a state of being.

Verbs are the main part of a sentence and one of the nine parts of SPEECH in
English.
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Verb examples: Walk, is, seem, run, see, swim, stand, go, have, get, promise,
invite, listen, sing, sit, …

 He speaks English
 I don’t know how to spell the word
 She studies hard
There are many different TYPES OF VERBS in English grammar: irregular
verb, modal verb, dynamic verb, stative verb, auxiliary verb, causative verb,…

Types of Verbs & Verb Examples

Learn different types of verbs in English with useful grammar rules and verb
examples.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verb Definition

Irregular verbs are common verbs in English that do not follow the simple system
of adding “d” or “ed” to the end of the word to form the past tense (the past simple
and/or the past participle).

Irregular Verb Examples

 Fall – fell – fallen

 Feed – fed – fed
 Feel – felt – felt
 Fight – fought – fought
 Find – found – found
 Fly – flew – flown
 Forbid – forbade – forbidden
 Forget – forgot – forgotten
 Forgive – forgave – forgiven
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 Freeze – froze – frozen

 Get – got – got
 Give – gave – given
 Go – went – gone
 Grind – ground – ground
 Grow – grew – grown
 Hang – hung – hung
 Have – had – had
 Hear – heard – heard
 Hide – hid – hidden
 Hit – hit – hit
 Hold – held – held
 Hurt – hurt – hurt
 Keep – kept – kept
 Kneel – knelt – knelt
 Know – knew – known
 Lay – laid – laid
 Lead – led – led
 Lean – leant/ leaned – leant/ leaned
 Learn – learnt/ learned – learnt/ learned
 Leave – left – left
 Lent – lent – lent
 Lie (in bed) – lay – lain
 Lie (not to tell the truth) – lied – lied
 Light – lit/ lighted – lit/ lighted
 Lose – lost – lost
 Make – made – made
 Mean – meant – meant
 Meet – met – met
 Overtake – overtook – overtaken
 Pay – paid – paid
 Put – put – put
 Read – read – read
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 Ride – rode – ridden

 Ring – rang – rung
 Rise – rose – risen
 Run – ran – run
 Saw – sawed – sawn/ sawed
 Say – said – said
 See – sawed – seen
 Sell – sold – sold
 Send – sent – sent
 Set – set – set
 Sew – sewed – sewn/ sewed
 Shake – shook – shaken
 Shed – shed – shed
 Shine – shone – shone
 Shoot – shot – shot
 Show – showed – shown
 Shrink – shrank – shrunk
 Shut – shut – shut
 Sing – sang – sung
 Sink – sank – sunk
 Sit – sat – sat
 Sleep – slept – slept
 Slide – slid – slid
 Smell – smelt – smelt
 Sow – sowed – sown/ sowed
 Speak – spoke – spoken
 Spell – spelt/ spelled spelt/ spelled
 Spend – spent – spent
 Spill – spilt/ spilled – spilt/ spilled
 Spit – spat – spat
 Spread – spread – spread
 Stand – stood – stood
 Steal – stole – stolen
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 Stick – stuck – stuck

 Sting – stung – stung
 Stink – stank – stunk
 Strike – struck – struck
 Swear – swore – sworn
 Sweep – swept – swept
 Swell – swelled – swollen/ swelled
 Swim – swam – swum
 Swing – swung – swung
 …
Common Irregular VERBS LIST in English
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Modal Verbs

Modal Verb Definition

Modal verbs are a small class of auxiliary verbs used to express possibility,
obligation, advice, permission, ability, …

Modal Verb Examples

 Will
 Shall
 Would
 Should
 Ought to
 Must
 Mustn’t
 May
 Might
 Can
 Could
 Have to/ Has to
 Don’t/ Doesn’t have to

Modal Verb Examples

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Modal Verbs To Express Ability

Learn how to use Modals of Ability in English

 Be able to
 Can/Can’t
 Be able to
 Could/Couldn’t
 Managed to
 Be able to
 Can/can’t

Modals for Asking Permissions

Learn useful Modals for Asking Permissions in English

 Can
 Could
 May
 Would

Perfect Infinitive with Modals

The structure “have + past participle” is called a perfect infinitive.

Learn how to use perfect infinitive with modal verbs in English: must have, can’t
have, should have, shouldn’t have, needn’t have, ought to have, may have, might
have, could have, would have.
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Perfect Infinitive with Modals Image

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Infinitives

What is a To-Infinitive?

A to-
to-infinitive is a verbal consisting of to + a verb,
verb and it acts like a subject,
direct object, subject complement, adjective, or adverb in a sentence.
We use the infinitive:

 To indicate the purpose of an action

 As subject of the sentence
 As direct object of the sentence
 As subject complement
 As an adjective
 As an adverb
 After adjective
 After object that is noun or pronoun referring to a person
 Used with question word

Verbs Followed by Infinitives

List of commonly used Verbs Followed by Infinitives

 Attempt
 Ask
 Arrange
 Beg
 Begin
 Care
 Choose
 Claim
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 Consent
 Continue
 Dare
 Decide
 Demand
 Deserve
 Dislike
 Expect
 Fail
 Forget
 Get
 Hesitate
 Hope
 Hurry
 Intend
 Learn
 Like
 Love
 Manage
 Mean
 Neglect
 Need
 Offer
 Plan
 Prefer
 Prepare
 Pretend
 Proceed
 Promise
 Propose
 Refuse
 Remember
 Seem
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 Start
 Stop
 Struggle
 Swear
 Threaten
 Try

Zero Infinitive

We use the Zero Infinitive when:

 After modal auxiliary verbs

 After the object after certain verbs, such as hear, see, make, let
 After verbal idioms would rather and had better
 Used with WHY
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Zero Infinitive in English

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Gerunds

What is a Gerund?

Gerunds are verbals that function as nouns and have an –ing ending.
The gerund form of verbs is used as follows:

 Used as subject of a sentence

 Used as direct object of a sentence
 Used as a subject complement
 Used as an object of a preposition
 Used after certain expressions

How to Use Gerunds in English

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Verbs Followed by Gerunds

Useful list of Verbs Followed by Gerunds in English.

 Admit
 Advise
 Anticipate
 Acknowledge
 Appreciate
 Avoid
 Bear
 Begin
 Complete
 Consider
 Defer
 Delay
 Deny
 Discuss
 Dislike
 Enjoy
 Entail
 Finish
 Forget
 Hate
 Intend
 Involve
 Justify
 Keep
 Like
 Love
 Mention
 Mind
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 Miss
 Postpone
 Practice
 Prefer
 Quit
 Recall
 Recollect
 Recommend
 Regret
 Resent
 Resist
 Risk
 Sanction
 Start
 Stop
 Suggest
 Tolerate
 Try
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Present and Past Participles

What is a Participle?

A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing
or -ed. They function as adjectives, thus participles modify nouns or pronouns.

Types of Participles

There are two participles in the English language: the present and past
participle.

The Present Participle Image

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The Past Participle Image

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Finite and Non-

Non-finite Verbs

Learn Finite and Non-Finite Verb Forms in English.

Finite Verb Forms

A finite verb is controlled by the number of the subject. If the subject is singular,
the verb is singular. If the subject is plural, the verb is plural.

Examples

 They arestudying reproduction in shellfish.

 I sing with the university chorus.

Non-finite Verb Forms

A non-finite verb is not controlled by the number, person and tense of the
subject.

Examples

 I don’ t want to go home in the dark.

 She put a blanket over the sleeping child.
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Finite and Non-

Non-finite Verb Forms
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Dynamic Verbs

Dynamic Verb Definition

A dynamic verb is a verb that shows continued or progressive action on the part
of the subject. This is the opposite of a stative verb.

Dynamic Verb Examples

 Eat
 Walk
 Learn
 Grow
 Sleep
 Talk
 Write
 Run
 Read
 Go

Stative Verbs

Stative Verb Definition

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.

Stative Verb Examples

Mental State
 Suppose
 Recognise
 Forget
 Remember
 Imagine
 Mean
 Agree
 Disagree
 Deny
 Promise
 Satisfy
 Realise
 Appear
 Astonish
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Possession

 Have
 Own
 Possess
 Lack
 Consist
 Involve

Emotions

 Like
 Dislike
 Hate
 Adore
 Prefer
 Care for
 Mind
 Want
 Need
 Desire

Measure, cost, others

 Measure
 Weigh
 Owe
 Seem
 Fit
 Depend
 Matter

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary Verb Definition

An auxiliary verb is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the

clause in which it appears, such as to express tense, aspect, modality, voice,
emphasis, etc. An auxiliary verb is most generally understood as a verb that
“helps” another verb by adding grammatical information to it.

Auxiliary Verb Examples

 Do: I do not feel like going out tonight.

 Have: I have just received his reply.
 Be: A model railway mart will beheld on Friday.
 Will: He will not play volleyball.
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Auxiliary Verb Examples

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Causative Verbs

Causative Verb Definition

Causative verbs are verbs that show the reason that something happened. They
do not indicate something the subject did for themselves, but something the
subject got someone or something else to do for them.

Causative Verb Examples

 Have: I had the mechanic check the brakes.

 Get: I couldn’t get the engine to start.
 Make: I like him because he makes me laugh.
 Let: If you accept, please let me know.

Subject Verb Agreement Rules

Learn 10 Subject Verb Agreement Rules in English Grammar.

 The subject and verb must agree in number. A singular subject takes a singular
verb, whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.
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 with”,
The subject is separated from the verb by “with as well as”,
with “as together with”,
as “together with
along with”.
“along with These words and phrases are not part of the subject. The verb
agrees with the subject.
 and”
Two subjects joined by “and
and are plural.
 or/not”,
Two subjects joined by “or/not either…or/neither…nor”,
or/not “either…or/neither…nor not only…but also”
either…or/neither…nor “not also
take the verb that agrees with the subject closest to it.
 With collective nouns, the verb might be singular or plural (UK), depending on
meaning.
 here”
In sentences beginning with “here there“,
here or “there
there the true subject follows the verb.
 The verb is singular if the subject is a singular indefinite pronoun. The verb is
plural if the subject is a plural indefinite pronoun. And, some indefinite pronouns
some, any, all, most)
(some, most may be either singular or plural, depending upon their use
in a sentence.
 Use a singular verb for expressions of measurement, time. money and weight
when the amount is considered one unit.
 Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular verb.
 Titles of single entities are always singular.
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10 Subject Verb Agreement Rules in English

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List of Verbs

Learn an extensive list of commonly used verbs in English

 Do:
Do I don’t know.
 Doubt:
Doubt I doubt if it’ll snow.
 Drag:
Drag I had to drag him out of bed.
 Drive:
Drive He drives a truck.
 Drop:
Drop I dropped my sandwich.
 Dry:
Dry Raisins are dried grapes.
 Earn:
Earn He earns three times more than me.
 Eat:
Eat You can’t eat your cake and have it.
 Encourage:
Encourage John encouraged Mary to learn how to speak French.
 Engage:
Engage We used to be engaged.
 Enter:
Enter He entered the room.
 Establish:
Establish The school was established in 1650.
 Examine:
Examine The doctor examined the patients.
 Experiment:
Experiment They’re experimenting with a new car.
 Explore:
Explore He explored the Amazon jungle.
 Extend:
Extend We extended a hearty welcome to them.
 Fly:
Fly Tom wishes he could fly.
 Fold:
Fold Tom and Mary folded up the flag.
 Follow:
Follow We must follow the rules of the game.
 Forbid:
Forbid I forbid you to smoke.
 Fry:
Fry She fried fish in salad oil.
 Generate:
Generate This machine generates electricity.
 Get:
Get We’ve got to get the economy under control or it will literally eat us up.
 Give:
Give The waiter gives me the menu.
 Grow: Apples grow on trees.
 Hang:
Hang Don’t you hang up on me.
 Happen:
Happen You made it happen.
 Hesitate:
Hesitate I hesitate to spend so much money on clothes.
 Hide:
Hide I’m hiding from Tim.
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 Hug:
Hug I really need a hug.
 Hurry:
Hurry It had to hurry to find a home because I was already on to something
else.
 Hurt:
Hurt I hurt my elbow.
 Identify:
Identify She identified him as the murderer.
 Improve:
Improve I need to improve my French.
 Include:
Include Tom’s lunch includes a sandwich and an apple.
 Incorporate:
Incorporate Her business was incorporated.
 Indicate:
Indicate The arrow indicates the way to go.
 Involve:
Involve This procedure involves testing each sample twice.
 Iron:
Iron I iron my clothes almost every day.
 Jog:
Jog I make it a rule to jog every morning.
 Jump:
Jump Can you jump over the river?
 Kiss:
Kiss Did you kiss anybody?
 Kneel:
Kneel Do not run, stand, kneel or spin in the slide.
 Laugh:
Laugh Tom is laughing.
 Lay:
Lay He laid on his back.
 Learn:
Learn Children learn to creep ere they can go.
 Leave:
Leave Leave me alone!
 Lift:
Lift He couldn’t lift the table and no more could I.
 …
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