What are Verbs with examples? In this article, we will be listing a detailed set of information regarding the definition, examples, meaning, type, list, and various rules of English grammar usage.

Let’s explore verbs in English!

What are Verbs & Examples?

Let’s learn what are verbs in English grammar! English is currently one of the most preferred languages in the world, and thanks to its appeal, it has earned the reputation of a global language.

But much of the credit goes to two main things,

• the grammar and
• the general structure of the English language.

It’s easy to understand, follow and learn only if one develops an affinity with English grammar.

Now, when it comes to English grammar, verbs play a major role. Without proper knowledge of different verbs, their forms, and usage, using the language can be very difficult.

Now, without any further ado, let’s get started with the definition and meaning of verbs!

Verb Definition & Meaning

Verb Meaning

Let’s understand the meaning of verbs. Take two examples,

• Riju eats an apple regularly.
• Riju plays football.

From the first example, Raju eats. Here, eat is work or it implies action, and Raju uses to do the same thing regularly.

From the second example, Raju plays. Here, play means an action or a type of work, and Raju uses to do this activity.

So, these eat or play, etc. are nothing but verbs.

Verb means –

• The verb doesn’t mean the only action, it may be an event or maybe a state, etc.
• It generally comes after noun or pronouns or we can say, subject.

Verb Definition

A verb is a word that indicates an action, an event, or a state. A sentence can have more than one verb, like the main verb, helping verb, or both of them. Apart from indicating an action, it can also refer to the existence of something or even an occurrence.

That’s why the verb becomes the main word in the sentence, and no sentence can be formed without a verb.

Etymologically, the word ‘verb’ comes from the Latin word ‘verbum‘.

[Verbum —————> Verb]

Type of Verbs

Now let’s look at the different types of verb:

• Main Verbs (or Action Verbs)
• Transitive Verbs
• Intransitive Verbs
• Helping Verbs (Auxiliary Verbs)
• Linking Verbs
• Regular Verbs
• Irregular Verbs
• Modal Verbs
• Stative Verbs

Description of Verb Types

Let’s learn the basics of each type of verbs.

Action Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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What are action verbs? 

Let’s learn the action verb definition. First, we have the main verbs or action verbs, as we call them. These are used to express an action that is done by an animal, a person, or a thing.

Basically, action verb means,

• It implies some action or work.
• When some is doing something, an action verb is used.
• It can be physical work or it may be mental action as well.

Action Verbs List

There are thousands of action valves, few of them are as follows:

• Eat
• Run
• Lift
• Kick
• Read
• Jump
• Slide
• Smile
• Think
• Play
• Go
• Breathe
• Blink etc.

Action Verbs Examples

Let’s look at a few sentence examples:

• The wind blows. Here, blow means an action. So, blow is an action verb.
• The dog barks. Here, bark means an action. So, bark is an action verb.
• The monkey jumps. Here, jump means an action. So, jump is an action verb.

There are primarily two types of action verbs:

• Transitive Verbs
• Intransitive Verbs

Transitive Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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Transitive Verbs Definition

What is a verb transitive? Transitive verbs help us express an action directed towards a person, place, or thing. Usually, the action expressed by the transitive verb passes from the subject to the receiver of the action. This receiver of the action for the transitive verb is called an object.

Transitive Verbs List

There are many examples for transitive verbs,

• Bring
• Love
• Threw
• Respect
• Convey
• Catch
• Tolerate
• Convey
• Push
• Hold
• Teach
• Believe
• Make

Transitive Verbs Examples

Refer sentence examples for transitive verbs,

• The inspector made the report.
• Richard broke the glass.

Now in these two sentences, if you question the verbs with ‘what’, you will get the answer, and that will be the object of the transitive verb.

The inspector made ……………….. what? (Ans: the report)

Richard broke ……………….. what? (Ans: the glass)

This is why a transitive verb will always need a direct object to complete the meaning.

• She is eating an apple.
• I like French movies.
• He bought a new cycle.
• Ronda is making pies.

Intransitive Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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Intransitive Verbs Definition

Let’s try to understand transitive verbs with examples. On the contrary, the verbs that do not need an object to make complete sense are called intransitive verbs. These verbs can express actions without passing the action to the receiver’s end or object.

The predicate itself can stand alone since the meaning is already complete.

Intransitive Verbs List 

There are many examples for intransitive verbs,

• Arrive
• Smile
• Cry
• Panic
• Move
• Speak
• Start
• Sails
• Blow
• Drive

Intransitive Verbs Examples

Refer sentence examples for understanding intransitive verbs,

• John always speaks loudly.
• The school starts at seven o’clock.
• The ship sank rapidly.
• The department store opens at six o’clock.
• Bob is driving carefully.
• The wind blew strongly.

Helping Verbs or Auxiliary Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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Auxiliary Verbs Definition

Now, let’s look at the function of helping verbs, which are also called auxiliary verbs. Just like the name suggests, the helping verb will always help the main verb to form the complete idea.

Basically, helping verb means,

• It simply helps or supports the main verb.
• It helps to form a complete sentence or a question along with the main verb

Auxiliary Verbs List

There are many helping or auxiliary valves, a few of them are illustrated,

• Are
• Do
• Did
• Can
• Could
• Would
• Should
• May etc.

Auxiliary Verbs Examples

Sentence examples for auxiliary verbs,

• We are playing football now. (Are: helping verb; playing: the main verb)
• You should finish your meal quickly. (Should: helping verb; finish: the main verb)

State of Being Verbs (Linking Verbs) – Definition, Examples, List

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Linking Verbs Definition

To put it simply, State of Being verbs state that something ‘is’. These verbs are also known as linking verbs. This is mainly because they explain a link between the subject of the sentence and a noun or adjective being linked to it. Let’s look at a few examples:

• The sun is shining.
• The Earth is round.
• I feel happy.

Linking Verbs List

• Am
• Is
• Are
• Was
• Were etc.

Understanding Linking Verbs

Here we are going to look at the verbs like am, is, are, was, and were, which belong to the cluster of the “To Be” verb. Now, we can use ‘am’ and ‘was’ with the pronoun ‘l’, and ‘is’ and ‘was’ will be used when the subject of the sentence is singular.

Similarly, ‘are’ and ‘were’ will be used in case the subject of the sentence is plural.

Linking Verbs Examples

Let’s look at a few examples:

• I was never late for school.
• I am sixteen years old.
• He is a fantastic football player.
• They were playing yesterday.

You need to use ‘is’ for all the singular nouns and pronouns like ‘he, she, it’. Examples:

• My office is near my house.
• The cinema hall is closing down very soon.
• Delhi is the capital of India.
• He is behaving strangely today.

You need to use ‘are’ with plural nouns and pronouns like ‘we, you, they’

• The oranges are fresh.
• They are good friends.
• We are going to plan a trip to the mountains.

You need to use ‘are’ in case you join two or more nouns.

• You and I are meant to be together.
• Mike and John are brothers.
• and Mrs. Smith is going on a vacation.

There are many worksheets for verbs available on the web for practice.

Regular Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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Regular Verbs Definition 

Regular verbs, as the name suggests, it means the verb which is regular and can be changed its past or past participle form by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’ at the end.

Regular Verbs List

Examples of regular forms are expressed in Verb – Past – Past Participle format,

• Ask – asked – asked
• Talk – talked – talked
• Agree – agreed – agreed
• Close – closed – closed
• Fill – filled – filled
• Move – moved – moved
• Play played played

Regular Verbs Examples

Sentence examples for Regular verbs,

• Rohan plays cricket every day (present tense).
• Gita played basketball in the school  (past tense).
• Rima has never played chess (Past Participle)

Irregular Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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Irregular Verbs Definition

We have already seen that many verbs change it’s past tense by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’ at the end. Now, irregular verbs, as the name suggests, is simply irregular that means it doesn’t follow the regular method of adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’.

Irregular Verbs List

Examples are expressed in Verb – Past – Past Participle format,

• Feel – felt – felt
• Find – found – found
• Forget – forgot – forgotten
• Get – got – got
• Go – went – gone
• Hide – hid – hidden
• Keep – kept – kept
• Leave – left – left
• Make – made – made
• Pay – paid – paid
• Rise – rose – risen
• Shake – shook – shaken
• Sing – sang – sung
• Speak – spoke – spoken
• Steal – stole – stolen

Irregular Verbs Examples

Sentence examples for Irregular verbs,

• Rimi keeps a coin in the box every day (present tense).
• Gita kept a book on the table (past tense).
• I go to school every day (present tense)
• I went to school yesterday (past tense)
• We have never gone to Canada (Past Participle)

Modal Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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Modal Verbs Definition

The modal verbs indicate that something is probable or the skill of the noun is present. In English, we have 10 modal verbs in total, and each of them plays an essential role in sentence formation.

Modal Verbs List

These are, as follows:

• Can,
• Could,
• May,
• Might,
• Will,
• Would,
• Must,
• Shall,
• Should,
• Ought to

Modal Verbs Examples

Sentence examples for modal verbs,

• I can do it.
• It may happen someday.
• I must look on the bright side of things.
• You ought to pass the exam this time.

Stative Verbs – Definition, Examples, List

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Stative Verbs Definition

We have already learned action verbs. Now, stative verbs are different from action verbs. As the name suggests, stative means a state. So, stative verbs mean the verb which expresses a state.

Stative Verbs List

The examples of stative verbs are,

• doubt
• belief
• want
• love
• like
• thought
• agree
• promise
• measure, etc.

Stative Verbs Examples

Sentence examples for stative verbs,

• She promises to visit the Victoria Memorial.  Here, a promise means a mental state, so the promise is a stative verb.
• Minu loves her cats. Here, love means a mental state, so love is a stative verb.
• Rina believes her friends. Here, believe means a mental state, so believe is a stative verb.
• She wanted another opinion. Here, want means a mental state, so want is a stative verb.

Conclusion

So there you go – all the types of verbs and their examples relevant examples. I believe with this above discussion; you can now understand the correct usage of verbs and their different forms.

Once you develop a good grasp on the usage of verbs, you can frame the sentences not only correctly but also much more effectively. Your expressions will be concise, and you can convey the exact emotion you wish to express.

Should you have any further questions, feel free to mention that in the comments section below, and we’ll get back to you to the best of our knowledge.

Till then, happy learning!