A complete guide to English verbs

In this English grammar lesson, we cover all aspects of English verbs. You will learn about their different categories or types, their use in a sentence, and what role they play. This comprehensive guide offers clear explanations of different types of verbs like action verbs, stative verbs, phrasal verbs etc., and includes many example sentences about their usage.

English verbs are categorised into various types. They may fall into one of the categories below depending on the context and their use.

1. Imperative verbs
2. Action verbs
3. Stative verbs
4. Transitive verbs
5. Intransitive verbs
6. Linking verbs
7. Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs
8. Modal verbs
9. Regular verbs
10. Irregular verbs
11. Phrasal verbs
12. Infinitives

Also, check out a list of more than 1300 common English verbs on the next page.

1. Imperative verbs

Verbs allow you to describe actions, events, or states of being. The most basic English sentence consists of a verb and a subject. For example, “She left”. In this sentence, “I” is the subject, and “left” is the verb. In the imperative form, a sentence may contain only one verb:

1. Go.
2. Stop!
3. Sit!
4. Listen.
5. Run.
6. Speak.
7. Jump.
8. Wait!

2. Action verbs

Action verbs describe specific actions or activities. They convey what the subject of the sentence is doing or what is happening to it. Here are some examples of action verbs in a sentence:

1. Maria sang at the concert yesterday.
2. He writes a letter to his friend every month.
3. We danced all night at the party.
4. We worked late yesterday.
5. A pride of lions attacked a man at Kruger’s park.
6. The police shot the suspect.
7. The soldiers ambushed the enemies.
8. The mechanic fixed the car.
9. The government has built a new hospital in town.
10. The cat is chasing the mouse.

3. Stative verbs

Stative verbs describe a state or condition rather than an action. We do not typically use them in the present continuous form. They are often related to one of the following categories:

1. Feelings and emotions
2. Possession
3. Mind and opinion:
4. Measurement
5. Senses (perception or appearance)
6. Existence and relationships
7. others

Feelings and emotions

1. love
2. hate
3. like
4. dislike
5. prefer
6. wish
7. fear
8. envy

Possession

1. have (as the main verb, not an auxiliary, “I have a book.”)
2. own
3. possess
4. belong
5. owe

Mind and opinion

1. believe
2. know
3. understand
4. think (when expressing an opinion, e.g., “I think it’s a good idea.”)
5. recognise
6. remember
7. forget
8. doubt
9. suppose

Measurement

1. weigh (e.g., “The package weighs two kilograms.”)
2. cost (e.g., “The shirt costs thirty dollars.”)
3. contain
4. need
5. measure
6. deserve
7. matter

Senses (perception or appearance)

1. seem
2. look (when referring to appearance, e.g., “He looks tired.”)
3. sound (e.g., “That sounds great!”)
4. taste (e.g., “This soup tastes salty.”)
5. smell (e.g., “The flowers smell lovely.”)
6. feel (when referring to a tactile impression or emotion, e.g., “The fabric feels soft.” or “I feel great.”)

Existence and relationships

1. be
2. exist
3. relate
4. concern
5. include
6. depend

Others

1. mean (e.g., “What does this word mean?”)
2. want
3. need
4. deserve
5. doubt
6. hear

4. Transitive verbs

Transitive verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning.

Correct: They watched a movie last night.
Incorrect: They watched last night.

Correct: The bad news will affect him.
Incorrect: The bad news will affect.

Correct: He gave her a gift on her birthday.

Incorrect: He gave on her birthday.

Correct: He wrote an essay for his homework.
Incorrect: He wrote for his homework.

Correct: She brought some snacks to the party.
Incorrect: She brought to the party.

Correct: He holds a pen.
Incorrect: He holds.

5. Intransitive verbs

Unlike transitive verbs, intransitive verbs do not require a direct object to complete their meaning. Intransitive verbs can be accompanied by other information, such as prepositional phrases, adverbs, or adverbial phrases.

1. We went to school yesterday (intransitive).
2. My dad took me to school yesterday (transitive). Here the action verb “took” needs a direct object “me” to make the sentence meaningful.
3. He laughed.
4. He disappeared.
5. He left right after the party.
6. Did she win?

Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive depending on whether they have direct objects or not.

1. He left right after the party (intransitive).
2. He left us last week (transitive).
3. We will continue the discussion tomorrow (transitive).
4. The debate continued until dusk(intransitive).
5. I will play the guitar at the party tonight (transitive).
6. The kids will play inside the park (intransitive).
7. She broke the vase accidentally (transitive).
8. The vase broke yesterday (intransitive).
9. He ate an apple (transitive).
10. He ate quickly and left (intransitive).

6. Linking verbs

Linking verbs connect or link the subject of a sentence to a word or group of words that provides more information about the state of the subject. The words it connects to can be a noun, pronoun, or an adjective. Linking verbs show a relationship between the subject of the sentence and its complement.

The most common linking verbs include:

1. be,
2. seem,
3. become,
4. appear,
5. look,
6. sound,
7. feel,
8. taste,
9. smell.

Examples of linking verbs in a sentence:

1. I was tired.
2. He seems nice.
3. She became a teacher.
4. The book appears interesting.
5. You look tired.
6. That sounds awesome.
7. The soup tastes salty.
8. The roses smell good.
9. She felt tired after the party.
10. He acted strange.

7. Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are used to indicate the tense, mood, voice, and aspect of a sentence. Auxiliary verbs are divided into two categories:

1. Primary auxiliaries
2. Modal auxiliaries

Primary auxiliaries

1. be (am, is, are, was, were, being, been)
2. have (have, has, had)
3. do (do, does, did)

Examples of primary auxiliaries in a sentence.

1. I am working now.
2. She is studying for her finals.
3. They are listening to the new album.
4. He was playing basketball when it started to rain.
5. We were hoping for good weather during the picnic.
6. I have visited Paris twice.
7. She has written three novels.
8. They had been waiting for an hour when the train finally arrived.
9. Do you play the guitar?
10. Does she like ice cream?

Note that primary auxiliaries can function as main verbs. For example, “She is a doctor.”

Modal auxiliaries

1. can
2. could
3. shall
4. should
5. will
6. would
7. may
8. might
9. must

Modal verbs always accompany the main verbs in a sentence.

Examples of modal auxiliaries in a sentence:

1. She can speak four languages.
2. You could visit the museum tomorrow.
3. We shall go to the party next week.
4. Everyone should wear a mask in public spaces.
5. It will rain later in the evening.
6. I would like a cup of coffee, please.
7. You may enter the room now.
8. She might come to the meeting.
9. They must finish their assignment by tomorrow.

8. Regular verbs

Regular verbs are verbs that follow a predictable pattern when forming their past tense and past participle forms. Specifically, regular verbs typically form their past tense by adding -ed or -d to the base form.

Examples of regular verbs with their past participle and past tense forms.

Examples of regular verbs in a sentence:

1. I work every day.
2. Yesterday, I worked for eight hours.
3. They play soccer every weekend.
4. Last Saturday, they played soccer in the rain.
5. I listen to music while studying.
6. I listened to a new album last night.
7. She loves reading novels.
8. She loved the novel she read last month.
9. We watch movies on Fridays.
10. We watched a thriller movie last week.
11. He cleans his room every day.
12. He cleaned his room yesterday morning.
13. They dance every evening.
14. They danced at the party last night.
15. She studies for four hours every day.
16. She studied until midnight yesterday.
17. I bake bread every Sunday.
18. I baked cookies for the school fair.
19. He paints landscapes beautifully.
20. He painted a masterpiece last year.

9. Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs in English don’t follow the standard patterns seen in regular verbs, especially when forming the past tense and past participle.

See below examples of irregular verbs with their past participle and past tense forms. You may also download a more complete in pdf format.

Examples of irregular verbs in a sentence:

1. I go to the gym every morning. Yesterday, I went to the gym. I will have gone to the gym three times by the end of the day.
2. She often eats salad for lunch. Last week, she ate a sandwich instead. By now, she’s eaten all kinds of meals.
3. They always drink water. Yesterday, they drank juice. They’ve drunk many beverages this month.
4. He drives to work daily. He drove to a seminar last month. He has driven many miles in his car.
5. Children grow so fast. She grew three inches last year. She has grown taller every year.
6. We begin our meetings at 9 AM. We began today’s meeting late. We have begun several projects this year.
7. He swims every weekend. He swam in the ocean last summer. He has swum in many pools and beaches.
8. I fly to Europe annually. I flew to Spain last time. I have flown to multiple countries over the years.
9. She writes novels for a living. She wrote a bestseller last year. She has written several books so far.
10. They see movies frequently. They saw a thriller last night. They've seen many films this year.

10. Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs comprise a combination of a main verb and one or more particles, usually prepositions or adverbs. These particles, when paired with the main verb, give the combined words (phrasal verbs) an entirely new meaning. The meaning of a phrasal verb often can’t be determined by just looking at its individual words; instead, it needs to be understood as a whole. Note that the same phrasal verb may have different meanings in a sentence.

Examples:

1. I didn’t want to bring up his past mistakes in front of the team.
2. My grandparents brought up my mother in a small village.

In the first sentence, bring up means to mention or introduce a topic or subject. In the second sentence, bring up means to raise a child.

Let’s look at how phrasal verbs are formed by combining the main verbs with one or more particles.

Examples of phrasal verbs in a sentence:

1. Can you look up the address for me?
2. She turned down the promotion.
3. A fight broke out at the bar.
4. The plane will take off in ten minutes.
5. She put on her coat and left the room.
6. He ran over the details before starting the presentation.
7. While cleaning, I came across my old yearbook.
8. After many attempts, he finally gave up smoking.
9. The show must go on despite the technical difficulties.
10. The teacher held back the results until everyone was seated.
11. It’s time to check out from the hotel.
12. My aunt brought up the topic of our family history during dinner.
13. The ancient castle began to fall apart over the centuries.
14. The entrepreneur set up a new business downtown.
15. Can you pick up some groceries on your way home?

11. Infinitive

Infinitive verbs are the basic forms of verbs that are usually preceded by the word “to”. In English, infinitive verbs can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs within sentences.

Examples of infinitive verbs in a sentence:

1. As a subject: To travel is the only thing she wants.
2. As a direct object: He loves to read.
3. As an adjective: It’s your duty to finish.
4. As an adverb. He came back to help.

Some verbs are often paired with infinitives. Let’s look at some of them in the table below.