Learn What a Verb Is and See Examples in English

Learn What a Verb Is and See Examples in English A verb is the part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. Verbs and verb phrases usually function as predicates. Verbs can display differences in tense, mood, aspect, number, person, and voice. There are two main classes of verbs:  lexical verbs  (also known as  main verbs), which arent dependent on other verbs, and  auxiliary verbs  (also called  helping verbs). As with lexical versus auxiliary verbs, many types of verbs come in opposites, as explained below. Lexical vs. Auxiliary Lexical verbs- also called  full verbs- convey the  semantic (or lexical) meaning  in a  sentence, such as: It rained last night.I  ran  fast.I  ate  the entire hamburger. The great majority of verbs in English are lexical verbs. An auxiliary verb, by contrast, determines the mood or tense of another verb in a phrase, for example: It will rain tonight. In this sentence, the verb will  helps the verb rain by pointing to the future. In English, the auxiliary verbs are: Is, am, are, was, wereBe, being, beenHas,  have,  hadDo, does, didWill, shall, should, wouldCan, couldMay, might, must Dynamic  vs.  Stative A  dynamic verb  is used primarily to indicate an action, process, or sensation as opposed to a state, such as: I bought a new guitar.   It is also called an  action or event verb. There are three major types of dynamic verbs: Accomplishment verbs: expressing action that has a logical endpointAchievement verbs: expressing action that occurs instantaneouslyActivity verbs: expressing action that can go on for an indefinite period of time A stative verb- such as  be, have, know, like, own, seem, prefer,  understand,  belong, doubt,  and hate- describes a state, situation, or condition, as in: Now I own a Gibson Explorer.We  are  what we  believe  we  are. A  stative verb  primarily describes a state or situation as opposed to an action or process. It can be a mental or emotional state as well as a physical state of being. The situations are unchanging while they last and can continue for a long or indefinite time period.  These words are also known as a  state verbs  or a  static verbs. Finite  vs.  Nonfinite A finite verb expresses tense and can occur on its own in a main  clause, as in: She walked to school. A finite verb shows  agreement  with a  subject  and is marked for  tense. If there is just one verb in a  sentence, that  verb is finite. Put another way, a finite verb  can stand by itself in a sentence.   Nonfinite verbs, meanwhile, are not marked for tense and do no show agreement with a subject. A  nonfinite verb  (an  infinitive  or  participle) doesnt show a distinction in tense and can occur on its own only in a  dependent  phrase or clause, as in: While  walking  to school, she spotted a bluejay. The main difference between finite and nonfinite verbs is that the former can act as the root of an independent clause, or full sentence, while the latter cannot.  For example: The man  runs  to the store to  get  a gallon of milk. The word runs  is a finite verb because it agrees with the subject (man) and because it marks the tense (present tense). The word  get is a nonfinite verb because it does not agree with the subject or mark the tense. Rather, it is an infinitive and depends on the main (finite) verb runs.   Regular  vs.  Irregular A regular verb forms its verb tenses, especially the  past tense  and  past participle, by adding one in the set of generally accepted standardized suffixes. Regular verbs are conjugated by adding -d, -ed, -ing, or -s to its base form, unlike irregular verbs which have special rules for conjugation. The majority of English verbs are regular. These are the principal parts of regular verbs: The  base form: the  dictionary  term for a word like walkThe -s form: used in the singular third person, present tense  like walksThe -ed form: used in the past tense and past participle  like walkedThe -ing form: used in the present participle  like walking Regular verbs are predictable and always function the same regardless of speaker. An irregular verb  does not follow the usual rules for verb forms. Verbs in English are irregular if they dont have the  conventional -ed ending (such as asked or ended) in the past tense and/or past participle forms.   Transitive  vs.  Intransitive A  transitive verb  takes an  object  (a  direct object  and sometimes also an  indirect object):   She sells seashells. An intransitive verb doesnt take a direct object: She sat there quietly. This distinction is especially tricky because many verbs have both transitive and intransitive functions, depending on how they are used. The verb  break, for instance, sometimes takes a direct object (Rihanna breaks my heart) and sometimes does not (When I hear your name, my heart breaks). Phrasal  vs.  Prepositional A  phrasal verb  is a  type of  compound  verb  made up of a  verb  (usually one of action or movement) and a  prepositional adverb- also known as an adverbial  particle. Phrasal verbs are sometimes called  two-part verbs  (take off  and  leave out) or  three-part verbs  (look up to  and  look down on). There are hundreds of phrasal verbs in English, many of them (such as  tear off, run out [of],  and  pull through) with multiple meanings. Linguist  Angela Downing points out in English Grammar: A University Course that phrasal verbs are one of the most distinctive features of  present-day informal English, both in their abundance and in their productivity. Phrasal verbs often appear in  idioms. A  prepositional verb, by contrast,  is an  idiomatic  expression that combines a  verb  and a  preposition  to make a new verb with a distinct meaning. Some examples of prepositional verbs in English  are  care  for, long for, apply for, approve of, add to, resort to, result in, count on,  and  deal with. The preposition in a prepositional verb is generally followed by a  noun  or  pronoun, and thus prepositional verbs are  transitive. Other Types of Verbs Since verbs describe all action or indicate all states of being in English, its not surprising that there are other types of verbs, which are important to know. Catenative:  A  catenative verb  can link with other verbs to form a chain or series. Examples include  ask,  keep, promise, help,  want,  and  seem. Causative:  A causative verb  is used to indicate that some person or thing makess of causative verbs  include make, cause, allow, help, have, enable, keep, hold, let, force, and require, which can also be referred to as causal verbs or simply causatives. Compound:  A  compound verb  is made up of two or more  words  that function as a single  verb. Conventionally, verb compounds are written as either one word (housesit) or two words joined with a hyphen (water-proof). Copular:  A  copular  verb is a specific type of linking verb that joins the  subject  of a  sentence  or  clause  to a subject  complement. For example, the word  is  functions as a copular verb in the sentences, Jane  is  my friend and Jane  is  friendly. Iterative:  An  iterative verb  indicates that an action is (or was) repeated, such as, Philip  was kicking  his sister. Linking:  A linking verb is a traditional term for a type of  verb  (such as a form of  be  or  seem) that joins the  subject  of a sentence to a word or phrase that  tells something about the subject. For example,  is  functions as a linking verb in the sentence: The boss  is  unhappy. Mental-state:  A  mental-state verb  is a  verb  with a  meaning  related to understanding, discovering, planning, or deciding. Mental-state verbs refer to cognitive states that are generally unavailable for outside evaluation. For example: Toms teaching ability is  known by  all his colleagues. Performative:  A  performative verb  conveys the kind of  speech act  being performed- such as  promise, invite, apologize,  predict, vow, request, warn, insist,  and  forbid. It is also known as  speech-act verb  or  performative utterance.   Prepositional:  A  prepositional verb  is an  idiomatic  expression that combines a  verb  and a  preposition  to make a new verb with a distinct meaning. Some examples  are  care for, long for, apply for, approve of, add to, resort to, result in, count on,  and  deal with. Reporting:  A  reporting verb  (such as  say, tell, believe, reply, respond,  or  ask) is used to indicate that  discourse  is being  quoted  or  paraphrased, such as:  I highly  recommend  that you get a better lawyer. It is also called a  communication verb.