English Grammar/Basic Parts of Speech/Verbs

A verb is a word or group of words expressing an action or a state.

Categories of Verbs
Generally, verbs fall into any of four basic categories, based upon their functions. Many verbs have more than one function and therefore can be considered to fall into more than one category.


 * 1) Action verbs describe physical or mental action.
 * 2) *Transitive verbs take a direct and/or indirect object.
 * 3) *Intransitive verbs take no object. (Note: Passive verbs always are intransitive, but they become transitive when changed to the active mood.)
 * 4) Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to its complements: a predicate noun, a predicate pronoun or a predicate adjective. They do not express action and thus may be considered intransitive. They include:
 * 5) *The forms of “to be,” (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, become and became.)
 * 6) *Various verbs related to the senses (appear, feel, look, smell, sound, taste, etc.)
 * 7) *Verbs expressing condition or placement of the subject (become, grow, remain, seem, stay, etc.)
 * 8) Auxiliary verbs are used to inflect various verb tenses, moods, etc. The auxiliary verbs are:
 * 9) *The forms of “to be,” (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been.)
 * 10) *The forms of “have,” (has, have, had.)
 * 11) *The forms of “do,” (do, does, did.)
 * 12) Modal verbs are used to express influence over the subject of the sentence, e.g. duty/obligation, ability/permission, volition, or necessity. The modal verbs are as follows.
 * 13) *May, might, and must
 * 14) *Can and could
 * 15) *Will, would, shall, and should
 * 16) *Ought (to), had better and had best
 * 17) *Have to and need to
 * 18) *Used to
 * 19) *Dare

Some verbs can function as either linking or action verbs depending on how they are used.


 * The drainage smelled  foul. (Linking verb)
 * The dog smelled the blooming flowers. (Action verb)

Other verbs can function as either linking or auxiliary verbs, again depending on usage.


 * The man in the bow tie was barking mad. (Linking verb)
 * The woman was trying to help him anyway. (Auxiliary verb)

Verb Phrases
Verb phrases are formed by the combination of linking or auxiliary/modal verbs with main verbs to complete an idea.

Principal Parts of Verbs
The principal parts are a verb’s basic forms, from which its other forms can be created by inflection or conjugation. In English, there are three principal parts. These are the simple present indicative, the simple past indicative, and the past perfect indicative.

It is worth noting that lists or recitations of principal parts in English often omit the third principal part’s auxiliary verb, rendering it identically to its grammatically distinct participial form.

There are two kinds of verb in English, regular (or weak) and irregular (or strong). Regular verbs’ second and third principal parts are identical (with the exception that the third principal part takes the auxiliary verb “have”), e.g. play, played, (have) played. Irregular verbs’ second and/or third principal parts contain at least a stem vowel change, e.g. do, did, (have) done.

Regular Verbs
Regular, or weak, verbs form the second principal part by appending -(e)d to the first principal part. (Note that for some verbs, the final consonant is doubled before adding the -ing.) The third principal part is formed by appending -(e)d to the first principal part, combined with use of the auxiliary verb “have.”

The Participle I (more commonly called the “present participle”) is formed by appending -ing to the first principal part. The Participle III (more commonly called the “past participle”) is identical in inflection to the third principal part sans auxiliary verb.

Following is a list of some regular verbs in their different parts.

Irregular Verbs
Irregular, or strong, verbs have different ways of forming their principal parts. They can be described as belonging to one of five classes

Class 1
Class 1 verbs have the same form across all three principal parts.

Class 2
Class 2 verbs have a vowel change in the simple past and past perfect tenses. Note that got is both Class 2 and Class 3, taking an optional -en in the third principal part.

Class 3
Class 3 verbs take a vowel change in the simple past and form the past perfect by adding an -(e)n to the simple past. Note that bear, bite, and shear do not follow this pattern exactly.

Class 4
Class 4 vowels change i in the present to a in the simple past and u in the past perfect.

Class 5
Class 5 verbs take a vowel change in the simple past but form the past perfect from the present.

Tenses of Verbs
A verb takes different forms to show when an action occurs. These forms are called tenses. The table below shows the six basic tenses (the three simple tenses and the three perfect tenses) and the special forms of a verb: the six progressive forms and two emphatic forms. Problems in using the tenses are also included. Note: In the formation of the passive voice, only two progressive forms are included.

Simple Present Tense
The simple present tense encompasses the past, present and future time.

Formation: Uses
 * 1) Expresses present action or condition
 * 2) Expresses regularly occurring action or condition
 * 3) Expresses constant action or condition
 * 4) Expresses introduction to a quotation
 * 5) Expresses past historical action or a piece of literature as if happening now to make description more vivid and realistic
 * 6) Expresses future time when sentence contains adverb or phrase indicating the future
 * 7) Expresses action or condition as in present perfect tense

Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense indicates that an action terminated in the past.

Formation: Uses
 * 1) Expresses action or condition that happened at a definite time in the past
 * 2) Expresses action or condition that began and ended in the past
 * 3) Expresses polite speech

Problems in Using Tenses
Improper Shifts in Tense and Form The same tense must be express two or more actions that occur in the same time. Incorrect: I watched television and my brother plays computer last night.
 * A shift in tense within a sentence or between consecutive sentences must be avoided.

Correct: I watched television and my brother played computer last night. Example: The Beatles had performed (past perfect ) in small German clubs before they conquered (past) the international scene. By the time our team wins (present) the World Cup, the Ice Age will have returned (future perfect).
 * A shift in tense may be necessary to show a logical sequence of actions or the relationship of one action to another. This is considered correct.

Voices of Verbs
The voice of verbs indicates whether its subject is the performer or the receiver of the action the verb expresses.
 * Active voice shows that the subject is the doer or performer of the action. It is preferred in writing because it is more forceful and direct than the passive voice.
 * Passive voice shows that the subject is the receiver of the action. it is used in the following:
 * to express an action when the doer of the action is unknown.
 * to describe an ongoing experience
 * to avoid giving a direct order or to state a rule.
 * to express action when the doer is not important.

Moods of Verbs
Mood identifies the manner in which a verb expresses an idea.

The Three Moods of Verbs
Note: The indicative and subjunctive moods have the same forms except for the following:
 * 1) The indicative mood states a fact or asks a question.
 * 2) The subjunctive mood is used to express:
 * 3) *a wish or a condition that is contrary to fact.
 * 4) *a command or request after the word that.
 * 5) The imperative mood gives a command or makes a request. Verbs in this mood are always in the present tense and second person.
 * In the third=person singular, the -s is omitted from verbs.
 * The form of the verb to be is always be in the present subjunctive mood.
 * The form of the verb to be is always were in the past subjunctive mood.