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Introduction to Verbs
A verb is a word that expresses an action, event, or state of being. Verbs are one of the most important parts of speech in English, as they tell us what the subject of a sentence is doing or what condition the subject is in.
Types of Verbs
Type of Verb
Definition
Examples
Action Verbs
Verbs that express physical or mental actions.
run, eat, write, think, believe
Linking Verbs
Verbs that connect the subject to additional information (state or condition).
be, seem, become, appear
Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs
Verbs that are used with a main verb to express tense, mood, or voice.
have, be, will, do
Regular and Irregular Verbs
1. Formation of Regular Verbs
Regular verbs follow a consistent pattern when forming their past tense and past participle. To form the past tense of regular verbs, we usually add -ed to the base form of the verb.
2. Common Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs do not follow the standard -ed rule when forming their past tense or past participle. Each irregular verb has its own unique form.
Common regular Verbs in English
Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle
walk
walked
walked
play
played
played
jump
jumped
jumped
cook
cooked
cooked
clean
cleaned
cleaned
move
moved
moved
smile
smiled
smiled
listen
listened
listened
open
opened
opened
call
called
called
watch
watched
watched
talk
talked
talked
live
lived
lived
work
worked
worked
Common irregular Verbs in English
Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle
be
was/were
been
begin
began
begun
break
broke
broken
bring
brought
brought
build
built
built
buy
bought
bought
catch
caught
caught
choose
chose
chosen
come
came
come
do
did
done
know
knew
known
see
saw
seen
eat
ate
eaten
go
went
gone
Verb Tenses
1. Present Simple
The present simple tense is used to describe general truths, habits, or repeated actions.
    Examples
  • I eat breakfast every day.
2. Present Continuous
The present continuous tense indicates an action that is currently happening or ongoing.
    Examples
  • I am eating lunch right now.
3. Past Simple
The past simple tense describes an action that was completed in the past.
    Examples
  • I ate dinner yesterday.
4. Past Continuous
The past continuous tense describes an action that was ongoing in the past, often interrupted by another action.
    Examples
  • I was eating when the phone rang.
5. Present Perfect
The present perfect tense indicates an action that occurred at an unspecified time in the past or that started in the past and continues to the present.
    Examples
  • I have eaten sushi before.
6. Future Simple
The future simple tense describes an action that will happen at a later time.
    Examples
  • I will eat pizza tomorrow.
Common Modal Verbs
  • can: ability or permission
  • could: past ability or polite requests
  • may: possibility or permission
  • might: possibility (less certain than may)
  • must: obligation or necessity
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
1. Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs are action verbs that require a direct object to complete their meaning. The action of the verb is performed on the object.
    Examples
  • She reads a book.
  • They bought a car.
  • He wrote a letter.
2. Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that do not require a direct object. The action is complete without needing to act upon something.
    Examples
  • He sleeps.
  • The sun sets.
  • The baby cried.