VERBS: What is a Verb? Useful Rules, Types & Examples

English Verbs!!! What is a verb? Learn verb definition and different types of verbs in English with useful verbs list. Learn verb examples and grammar rules with ESL printable worksheets.

Table of Contents

What Is A Verb?

What is a verb? A verb is a word or group of words that describes an action, experience or expresses a state of being.

Verbs are the main part of a sentence and one of the nine parts of speech in English.

Verb examples: Walk, is, seem, run, see, swim, stand, go, have, get, promise, invite, listen, sing, sit, …

He speaks English
I don’t know how to spell the word
She studies hard

There are many different types of verbs in English grammar: irregular verb, modal verb, dynamic verb, stative verb, auxiliary verb, causative verb,…

Types of Verbs & Verb Examples

Learn different types of verbs in English with useful grammar rules and verb examples.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verb Definition

Irregular verbs are common verbs in English that do not follow the simple system of adding “d” or “ed” to the end of the word to form the past tense (the past simple and/or the past participle).

Irregular Verb Examples

Fall – fell – fallen
Feed – fed – fed
Feel – felt – felt
Fight – fought – fought
Find – found – found
Fly – flew – flown
Forbid – forbade – forbidden
Forget – forgot – forgotten
Forgive – forgave – forgiven
Freeze – froze – frozen
Get – got – got
Give – gave – given
Go – went – gone
Grind – ground – ground
Grow – grew – grown
Hang – hung – hung
Have – had – had
Hear – heard – heard
Hide – hid – hidden
Hit – hit – hit
Hold – held – held
Hurt – hurt – hurt
Keep – kept – kept
Kneel – knelt – knelt
Know – knew – known
Lay – laid – laid
Lead – led – led
Lean – leant/ leaned – leant/ leaned
Learn – learnt/ learned – learnt/ learned
Leave – left – left
Lent – lent – lent
Lie (in bed) – lay – lain
Lie (not to tell the truth) – lied – lied
Light – lit/ lighted – lit/ lighted
Lose – lost – lost
Make – made – made
Mean – meant – meant
Meet – met – met
Overtake – overtook – overtaken
Pay – paid – paid
Put – put – put
Read – read – read
Ride – rode – ridden
Ring – rang – rung
Rise – rose – risen
Run – ran – run
Saw – sawed – sawn/ sawed
Say – said – said
See – sawed – seen
Sell – sold – sold
Send – sent – sent
Set – set – set
Sew – sewed – sewn/ sewed
Shake – shook – shaken
Shed – shed – shed
Shine – shone – shone
Shoot – shot – shot
Show – showed – shown
Shrink – shrank – shrunk
Shut – shut – shut
Sing – sang – sung
Sink – sank – sunk
Sit – sat – sat
Sleep – slept – slept
Slide – slid – slid
Smell – smelt – smelt
Sow – sowed – sown/ sowed
Speak – spoke – spoken
Spell – spelt/ spelled spelt/ spelled
Spend – spent – spent
Spill – spilt/ spilled – spilt/ spilled
Spit – spat – spat
Spread – spread – spread
Stand – stood – stood
Steal – stole – stolen
Stick – stuck – stuck
Sting – stung – stung
Stink – stank – stunk
Strike – struck – struck
Swear – swore – sworn
Sweep – swept – swept
Swell – swelled – swollen/ swelled
Swim – swam – swum
Swing – swung – swung
…

Common Irregular Verbs List in English

Modal Verbs

Modal Verb Definition

Modal verbs are a small class of auxiliary verbs used to express possibility, obligation, advice, permission, ability, …

Modal Verb Examples

Will
Shall
Would
Should
Ought to
Must
Mustn’t
May
Might
Can
Could
Have to/ Has to
Don’t/ Doesn’t have to

Modal Verb Examples

Modal Verbs To Express Ability

Learn how to use Modals of Ability in English

Be able to
Can/Can’t
Be able to
Could/Couldn’t
Managed to
Be able to
Can/can’t

Modals of Ability Image

Modals for Asking Permissions

Learn useful Modals for Asking Permissions in English

Can
Could
May
Would

Modals for Asking Permissions Image

Perfect Infinitive with Modals

The structure “have + past participle” is called a perfect infinitive.

Learn how to use perfect infinitive with modal verbs in English: must have, can’t have, should have, shouldn’t have, needn’t have, ought to have, may have, might have, could have, would have.

Perfect Infinitive with Modals Image

Infinitives

What is a To-Infinitive?

A to-infinitive is a verbal consisting of to + a verb, and it acts like a subject, direct object, subject complement, adjective, or adverb in a sentence.

We use the infinitive:

To indicate the purpose of an action
As subject of the sentence
As direct object of the sentence
As subject complement
As an adjective
As an adverb
After adjective
After object that is noun or pronoun referring to a person
Used with question word

Verbs Followed by Infinitives

List of commonly used Verbs Followed by Infinitives

Attempt
Ask
Arrange
Beg
Begin
Care
Choose
Claim
Consent
Continue
Dare
Decide
Demand
Deserve
Dislike
Expect
Fail
Forget
Get
Hesitate
Hope
Hurry
Intend
Learn
Like
Love
Manage
Mean
Neglect
Need
Offer
Plan
Prefer
Prepare
Pretend
Proceed
Promise
Propose
Refuse
Remember
Seem
Start
Stop
Struggle
Swear
Threaten
Try

Zero Infinitive

We use the Zero Infinitive when:

After modal auxiliary verbs
After the object after certain verbs, such as hear, see, make, let
After verbal idioms would rather and had better
Used with WHY

Zero Infinitive in English

Gerunds

What is a Gerund?

Gerunds are verbals that function as nouns and have an –ing ending.

The gerund form of verbs is used as follows:

Used as subject of a sentence
Used as direct object of a sentence
Used as a subject complement
Used as an object of a preposition
Used after certain expressions

How to Use Gerunds in English

Verbs Followed by Gerunds

Useful list of Verbs Followed by Gerunds in English.

Admit
Advise
Anticipate
Acknowledge
Appreciate
Avoid
Bear
Begin
Complete
Consider
Defer
Delay
Deny
Discuss
Dislike
Enjoy
Entail
Finish
Forget
Hate
Intend
Involve
Justify
Keep
Like
Love
Mention
Mind
Miss
Postpone
Practice
Prefer
Quit
Recall
Recollect
Recommend
Regret
Resent
Resist
Risk
Sanction
Start
Stop
Suggest
Tolerate
Try

List of Common Verbs Followed by Gerunds

Present and Past Participles

What is a Participle?

A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. They function as adjectives, thus participles modify nouns or pronouns.

Types of Participles

There are two participles in the English language: the present and past participle.

The Present Participle Image

The Past Participle Image

Finite and Non-finite Verbs

Learn Finite and Non-Finite Verb Forms in English.

Finite Verb Forms

A finite verb is controlled by the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is singular. If the subject is plural, the verb is plural.

Examples:

They arestudying reproduction in shellfish.
I sing with the university chorus.

Non-finite Verb Forms

A non-finite verb is not controlled by the number, person and tense of the subject.

Examples:

I don’ t want to go home in the dark.
She put a blanket over the sleeping child.

Finite and Non-finite Verb Forms

Dynamic Verbs

Dynamic Verb Definition

A dynamic verb is a verb that shows continued or progressive action on the part of the subject. This is the opposite of a stative verb.

Dynamic Verb Examples

Eat
Walk
Learn
Grow
Sleep
Talk
Write
Run
Read
Go

Stative Verbs

Stative Verb Definition

Stative verbs are verbs that express a state rather than an action. They usually relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being and measurements.

Stative Verb Examples

Mental State

Suppose
Recognise
Forget
Remember
Imagine
Mean
Agree
Disagree
Deny
Promise
Satisfy
Realise
Appear
Astonish

Possession

Have
Own
Possess
Lack
Consist
Involve

Emotions

Like
Dislike
Hate
Adore
Prefer
Care for
Mind
Want
Need
Desire

Measure, cost, others

Measure
Weigh
Owe
Seem
Fit
Depend
Matter

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary Verb Definition

An auxiliary verb is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in which it appears, such as to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, etc. An auxiliary verb is most generally understood as a verb that “helps” another verb by adding grammatical information to it.

Auxiliary Verb Examples

Do: I do not feel like going out tonight.
Have: I have just received his reply.
Be: A model railway mart will beheld on Friday.
Will: He will not play volleyball.

Auxiliary Verb Examples

Causative Verbs

Causative Verb Definition

Causative verbs are verbs that show the reason that something happened. They do not indicate something the subject did for themselves, but something the subject got someone or something else to do for them.

Causative Verb Examples

Have: I had the mechanic check the brakes.
Get: I couldn’t get the engine to start.
Make: I like him because he makes me laugh.
Let: If you accept, please let me know.

Causative Verb Examples

Subject Verb Agreement Rules

Learn 10 Subject Verb Agreement Rules in English Grammar.

The subject and verb must agree in number. A singular subject takes a singular verb, whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.
The subject is separated from the verb by “with”, “as well as”, “together with”, “along with”. These words and phrases are not part of the subject. The verb agrees with the subject.
Two subjects joined by “and” are plural.
Two subjects joined by “or/not”, “either…or/neither…nor”, “not only…but also” take the verb that agrees with the subject closest to it.
With collective nouns, the verb might be singular or plural (UK), depending on meaning.
In sentences beginning with “here” or “there“, the true subject follows the verb.
The verb is singular if the subject is a singular indefinite pronoun. The verb is plural if the subject is a plural indefinite pronoun. And, some indefinite pronouns (some, any, all, most) may be either singular or plural, depending upon their use in a sentence.
Use a singular verb for expressions of measurement, time. money and weight when the amount is considered one unit.
Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular verb.
Titles of single entities are always singular.

10 Subject Verb Agreement Rules in English

List of Verbs: Examples & Images

Learn an extensive list of commonly used verbs in English.

Do: I don’t know.
Doubt: I doubt if it’ll snow.
Drag: I had to drag him out of bed.
Drive: He drives a truck.
Drop: I dropped my sandwich.
Dry: Raisins are dried grapes.
Earn: He earns three times more than me.
Eat: You can’t eat your cake and have it.
Encourage: John encouraged Mary to learn how to speak French.
Engage: We used to be engaged.
Enter: He entered the room.
Establish: The school was established in 1650.
Examine: The doctor examined the patients.
Experiment: They’re experimenting with a new car.
Explore: He explored the Amazon jungle.
Extend: We extended a hearty welcome to them.
Fly: Tom wishes he could fly.
Fold: Tom and Mary folded up the flag.
Follow: We must follow the rules of the game.
Forbid: I forbid you to smoke.
Fry: She fried fish in salad oil.
Generate: This machine generates electricity.
Get: We’ve got to get the economy under control or it will literally eat us up.
Give: The waiter gives me the menu.
Grow: Apples grow on trees.
Hang: Don’t you hang up on me.
Happen: You made it happen.
Hesitate: I hesitate to spend so much money on clothes.
Hide: I’m hiding from Tim.
Hug: I really need a hug.
Hurry: It had to hurry to find a home because I was already on to something else.
Hurt: I hurt my elbow.
Identify: She identified him as the murderer.
Improve: I need to improve my French.
Include: Tom’s lunch includes a sandwich and an apple.
Incorporate: Her business was incorporated.
Indicate: The arrow indicates the way to go.
Involve: This procedure involves testing each sample twice.
Iron: I iron my clothes almost every day.
Jog: I make it a rule to jog every morning.
Jump: Can you jump over the river?
Kiss: Did you kiss anybody?
Kneel: Do not run, stand, kneel or spin in the slide.
Laugh: Tom is laughing.
Lay: He laid on his back.
Learn: Children learn to creep ere they can go.
Leave: Leave me alone!
Lift: He couldn’t lift the table and no more could I.
…

English Verbs!!! What is a verb? Learn verb definition and different types of verbs in English with useful verbs list. Learn verb examples and grammar rules with ESL printable worksheets.

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