Verb: Definition, Types and Examples

Verb: Definition, Types and Examples

Verb Definition:

A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence; and forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence, is called a verb.

For Example:  go, write, read etc.

  1. He played cricket. (action)
  2. He is laughing. (state)
  3. It rained yesterday. (occurrence)
  4. I write a letter. (action)
  5. He appears satisfied. (state)
  6. It snowed a lot that winter. (occurrence)

Types of Verbs:

  1. Main Verbs
  2. Linking Verbs
  3. Auxiliary Verbs
  4. Modal Verbs
  5. Transitive Verbs
  6. Intransitive Verbs
  7. Regular Verbs
  8. Irregular Verbs

Main Verbs:

An action verb or main Verb tells what the subject of the sentence is doing.Main verbs have meanings relevant to actions, events and states of sentence. Main verbs are defined as the verbs that contain the meaning of the sentence, compared to auxiliary verbs that provide additional grammatical information. Most verbs in English are main verb:

  1. We went home straight after the school. (action)
  2. It snowed a lot that winter. (event)
  3. He is laughing. (state)

Transitive Verbs:

Transitive verbs require a direct / need object to complete their meaning and sense.

For Example: “I ate a sandwich." (The verb "ate" requires the direct object "a sandwich.")

Intransitive Verbs:

Intransitive verbs do not require / need a direct object to complete their meaning and sense.

For Example: “I weep." (The verb "weep" does not require a direct object.)

Linking Verbs:

Linking verbs do not describe an action but connect the subject and verb to give more information . A verb, such as a form of be or seem, that joins the subject of a sentence to a complement is called linking verb.

Some Linking verbs are:

Look, Go, Seem, Feel, run, become, smell, resemble, remain, prove, appear, sound

Examples:

  1. Siama looks happpy.
  2. This fish smells bad.
  3. These roses turned green.
  4. The chocolate tastes good.

Auxiliary or Helping Verb

Auxiliary verb are verbs that help the base verb in a sentence by extending the meaning of the verb to complete a sense.

Has, Must, Can, Was, Might, May, Shall, Will, Are, Am, Does, Had, Could, IS, Do, Have, Would, Were, Ought to

Positive Sentence

  1. I am a boy.
  2. He is a teacher.
  3. They are a girl.
  4. We were friends.
  5. I am a doctor.
  6. They have a book.
  7. He has a pen.
  8. She had a car.

Negative Sentence

  1. I am not a boy.
  2. He is not a teacher.
  3. You are not a girl.
  4. We were not friends.
  5. I am not a doctor.
  6. I have no book.
  7. He has not a pen.
  8. She had not a car.

Interrogative Sentence

  1. Am I a boy?
  2. Is he a teacher?
  3. Are you a girl?
  4. Were we friends?
  5. Am I a doctor?
  6. Have I a book?
  7. Has he a pen?
  8. Had she a car?

Modal Verb:

Modal verbs are those helping verbs which help to express the mood or manner in which the action / an action are done.

The modal verbs "can, could, may, might, must, ought to, should' modify the meaning of the base verb.

For Example:

  1. I can speak English.
  2. You must offer prayer.

Regular Verbs:

Regular verbs are a type of verb that follows a fixed pattern when forming their past tense and past participle. They are called "regular" because they follow a standard set of rules to form these tenses. Regular verbs are contrasted with irregular verbs, which do not follow these rules.

Regular verbs typically follow the following patterns to form their past tense and past participle:

Past Tense: The past tense of a regular verb is formed by adding "-ed" to the main form of the verb. For example:

Base form: walk

Past tense: walked

Past Participle: The past participle of a regular verb is formed by adding "-ed" to the base form of the verb.

Examples of Regular Verbs

For example:

1. Walk:

Base form: walk

Past tense: walked

Past participle: walked

2. Asked:

Base form: asked

Past tense: asked

Past participle: ask

3. End:

Base form: end

Past tense: ended

Past participle: ended

4. Paly:

Base form: play

Past tense: played

Past participle: played

5. Wash:

Base form: wash

Past tense: washed

Past participle: washed

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the any patterns for tense and past participle. They are called "irregular" because they do not conform to the standard rules of verb conjugation, where the past tense and past participle are formed by adding "-ed" to the base form of the verb. Irregular verbs have unique forms for each tense, which must be memorized.

Characteristics of Irregular Verbs:

1. No Standard Pattern: Irregular verbs do not follow the standard pattern of adding "-ed" to form the past tense and past participle. Each irregular verb has its own unique forms for these tenses.

2. Unique Forms: Irregular verbs have distinct forms for the base, past tense, and past participle. These forms are not predictable and must be learned individually.

3. No Formula: Unlike regular verbs, there is no formula to form the past tense and past participle of irregular verbs. Each verb has its own set of forms that must be memorized.

Examples of Irregular Verbs

1. Be:

Base form: be

Past tense: was/were

Past participle: been

2. Take:

Base form: take

Past tense: took

Past participle: taken

3. Go:

Base form: go

Past tense: went

Past participle: gone

4. Eat:

Base form: eat

Past tense: ate

Past participle: eaten

Read More Related Posts:

  1. Parts of Speech
  2. Noun: Definition, Types and Examples
  3. Pronoun: Definition, Types and Examples
  4. Adjective: Definition, Types and Examples
  5. Verb: Definition, Types and Examples
  6. Adverb: Definition, Types and Examples
  7. Preposition: Definition, Types and Examples
  8. Interjection: Definition, Types and Examples
  9. Conjunction: Definition, Types and Examples
  10. Article: Definition, Types and Examples

Verb: Definition, Types and Examples
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