INTRODUCTION TO VERBS

Verbs are words that describe an action, state, or occurrence and are the main element of the predicate of a sentence, such as a jump, smell, and so on. A sentence contains one or more verbs.

Examples:

1. The baker delivered the pancake to our office.
2. I will study for my exam tomorrow.
3. The dog was wagging his tail when he saw his owner.
4. I saw an elephant when we traveled to Bangkok, Thailand.
5. What beautiful scenery to see!

We should take note that there are 11 types of verbs.

The following are the types of verbs and their examples:

1. Action verbs – refer to physical actions; through objects, bodies, or brains

Examples:

• I helped an old woman cross the street this morning.
• I will memorize the poem for tomorrow’s recitation.

2. Stative verbs – refers to qualities, emotions, or opinions

Examples:
– I love him as he is.
– My mother wants to travel to South Korea this December.

3. Transitive verbs – accompanied by an object

Examples:

• Karl deleted his Mobile Legend game.
• My father brought a bag for me.

4. Intransitive verbs – when a verb is not used with a direct object

Examples:

• The baby snores a lot.
• My brother slept when he got home

5. Linking verbs – used with a subject complement

Examples:

• The pepperoni pizza looks delicious.
• The style of the car is cool.

6. Helping verbs – link with other verbs to change their meaning; also called auxiliary verbs

Examples:

• My dog is getting weaker each day because of his illness.
• My sister can eat lots of pizza.

7. Modal verbs – to specify a mood in a sentence

Examples:

• I must intentionally work out in the gym tomorrow.
• Once the rain is finished, my sister may watch a movie.

8. Regular verbs – a verb in its past tense form; add – or -ed

Examples:

• I checked my pocket in the morning to look for my identification card.
• The horse hopped into the barn.

9. Irregular verbs – a verb in its past tense form; change of spelling or nothing at all

Examples:

• I bought a bag full of potatoes in the market yesterday morning.
• My father read the newspaper this morning and he was shocked.
• I took a cab yesterday to meet my lover.

10. Phrasal verbs – making a simple verb into a phrase; “up” means “not down”

Examples:

• My father took off his jacket after the rain.
• Benny opened up about his feelings for Karen yesterday.
• I will show off my awards in my portfolio.

11. Infinitives – it is not a verb but looks like a verb; different sentence construction

Examples:

• Fly to Switzerland is on my bucket list.
• The loaf of bread is too big to eat.

It is important to notice that the form of a verb changes based on the mood, tense, voice, and subject. This is commonly known as conjugation.

Also, we should take note of what verbs change in spelling or not at all. It connects with participle which is a nonfinite verb that functions as a verb or an adjective.

Examples:

 (base form – past simple – past participle)

1. Choose – chose – chosen
2. Swear – swore – sworn
3. Shake – shook – shaken
4. Fly – flew – flown
5. Hide – hid – hidden
6. Ride – rode – ridden
7. Forbid – forbade – forbidden
8. Go – went – gone
9. Do – did – done
10. Ring – rang – rung

 

(Verbs that do not change form)

1. Bet – bet – bet
2. Burst – burst – burst
3. Cost – cost – cost
4. Cut – cut – cut
5. Hurt – hurt – hurt
6. Set – set – set
7. Wet – wet – wet
8. Read – read – read
9. Upset – upset – upset
10. Shut – shut – shut