Types of Verbs, Definition and Examples

In this article, you will learn about types of verbs, their forms, uses, and functions, with examples for each.

A verb describes an action, occurrence, or state of being. It is often called a “doing” word because it tells what the subject of the sentence is doing or experiencing.

Examples:

• Action: “She walks to the store.” (The verb “walks” shows what she is doing.)
• State: “He is happy.” (The verb “is” shows his state of being.)

Verbs can show tense (when an action happens: past, present, or future), mood (the speaker’s attitude: indicative, imperative, subjunctive), and voice (whether the subject performs or receives the action: active or passive).

Verbs form the main part of a sentence’s predicate and are essential to sentence structure.

Common Types of Verbs

1. Action Verbs
2. Linking Verbs
3. Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs
4. Modal Verbs
5. Transitive Verbs
6. Intransitive Verbs
7. Phrasal Verbs
8. Stative Verbs

There are several types of verbs in English, including:

Types of Verbs and Their Examples

Action Verb

An action verb describes a physical or mental action performed by the subject in a sentence. It shows what the subject is doing, such as “run,” “walk,” “jump,” “eat,” “think,” or “play.”

Action verbs can appear in different tenses:

• Present: “I run every day.”
• Past: “I ran yesterday.”
• Future: “I will run tomorrow.”

Action verbs can be transitive or intransitive:

• Transitive: Followed by a direct object. Example: “I ate an apple” (apple is the object).
• Intransitive: No direct object. Example: “He laughed.”

Understanding action verbs helps clarify who is performing the action and what the action involves.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to a state, condition, or identity, rather than showing action. They link the subject to a predicate or a subject complement. Common linking verbs include “be,” “appear,” “seem,” “become,” “feel,” “look,” “sound,” and “taste.”

Examples:

• She looks happy. (“Looks” connects “she” to the adjective “happy.”)
• The cake smells delicious. (“Smells” connects “the cake” to “delicious.”)
• He became a doctor. (“Became” connects “he” to “a doctor.”)

Here is a list of common linking verbs:

• am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
• become, seem, appear, look, feel, taste, smell, sound
• remain, grow, turn, stay, prove, get, go, keep, run, stand, lie, sit

These verbs help describe a subject’s state or identity instead of an action.

Helping Verbs

Helping verbs (or auxiliary verbs) are used with main verbs to indicate tense, voice, mood, or aspect. Common helping verbs include “be,” “do,” “have,” and modals like “will,” “can,” “should,” and “must.”

Common Helping Verbs and Their Functions

Helping Verb	Function	Example
Be	Indicates continuous or passive voice	She is singing. (Present continuous)
Have	Forms perfect tenses	They have finished their homework. (Present perfect)
Will	Expresses future tense	He will be going to the party. (Future)
Should	Suggests obligation or advice	I should have studied more. (Past obligation)

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that express the speaker’s attitude toward the action or state of the main verb. They convey meanings like ability, possibility, necessity, permission, advice, and preference.

Common Modal Verbs and Their Functions

Modal Verb	Function	Examples
Can	Ability or possibility	I can swim. / It can rain today.
Could	Past ability or possibility	I could swim when I was younger. / It could have been worse.
May	Permission or possibility	May I borrow your pencil? / It may rain tomorrow.
Might	Possibility or uncertainty	He might come to the party. / I might take a nap.
Must	Necessity or obligation	I must finish my homework. / You must follow the rules.
Should	Advice or recommendation	You should study for the exam. / We should go to bed early.
Would	Willingness or preference	I would like some tea. / Would you mind helping me?

Modal verbs are essential in English as they help convey different modalities, making sentences clearer and more specific. Understanding the use of modal verbs enriches communication.

Transitive verbs

Transitive verbs are action verbs that require a direct object to complete their meaning in a sentence. The direct object receives the action performed by the subject.

Examples of Transitive Verbs in Sentences

• He threw the ball.
• She ate the sandwich.
• They built a house.
• I wrote a letter.
• The dog chased the cat.

Without a direct object, the meaning of a transitive verb is incomplete. Transitive verbs are essential in expressing actions that are performed on specific objects.

Common Transitive Verbs

• Write, Read, Eat, Drink, Cook
• Paint, Draw, Play, Throw, Catch
• Build, Use, Buy, Sell, Wear

Understanding transitive and intransitive verbs helps clarify whether a verb requires a direct object to complete its meaning. This distinction is important for constructing accurate sentences.

Intransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs are action verbs that don’t require a direct object to complete their meaning. They describe actions that stand alone, without transferring the action to something else. These verbs can be modified by adverbs or prepositional phrases but don’t have a direct recipient.

Examples of Intransitive Verbs in Sentences

• She laughed.
• The flowers bloomed.
• He ran quickly.
• The baby slept peacefully.
• The bird flew away.

Common Intransitive Verbs

• Run
• Sleep
• Laugh
• Cry
• Sing
• Dance
• Jump
• Walk
• Fly
• Arrive
• Fall
• Shine
• Melt
• Freeze
• Explode
• Collapse

These verbs may be followed by adverbs or prepositional phrases that describe the action, but they do not require an object. For example, “He ran quickly” uses the adverb “quickly” to modify the verb “ran.”

Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs combined with one or more particles (prepositions or adverbs) that create a unique meaning, often different from the base verb.

Types of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs combined with particles (prepositions or adverbs) that create unique meanings. Some phrasal verbs are separable and inseparable phrasal verbs, depending on whether the object can be placed between the verb and particle or must follow the particle directly. Understanding this distinction helps in using these verbs correctly in sentences.

• Separable: The object can be placed between the verb and the particle or after the particle.
  • Example: “Turn off the lights” or “Turn the lights off.”
• Inseparable: The object must always follow the particle.
  • Example: “Look after the children.”

Knowing whether a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable helps in using it correctly in sentences.

Regular Verb

A regular verb is a verb that forms its past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” to the base form of the verb. For example, the verb “walk” is a regular verb. Its past tense and past participle are formed by adding “-ed” to the base form, resulting in “walked.” Other examples of regular verbs include “talk,” “play,” “smile,” “laugh,” “work,” and “clean.”

Irregular Verb

An irregular verb does not form its past tense by simply adding “-ed” like regular verbs. Instead, it changes in various ways, such as altering vowel sounds or keeping the same form.

Examples:

• go → went, gone
• eat → ate, eaten
• see → saw, seen
• run → ran, run

Since irregular verbs don’t follow standard patterns, it’s important to memorize their forms.

Stative Verb

A stative verb describes a state or condition rather than an action. These verbs often refer to mental or emotional states, physical sensations, or characteristics of a person or thing. Stative verbs are not usually used in continuous or progressive tenses.

Examples:

• love, hate, believe
• know, own, seem
• appear, weigh, feel

Since stative verbs express non-actions, they are often paired with verbs like “be” or “have” and typically don’t appear in forms like “loving” or “knowing.”

Finite Verb

A finite verb is a verb that shows tense, mood, and agrees with its subject. It indicates when an action happens and who performs it. For instance, in “She walks to school,” “walks” is a finite verb because it’s in the present tense and agrees with the subject “she.”

Non-finite verbs, on the other hand, don’t change according to tense or subject. These include infinitives (to walk), gerunds (walking), and participles (walked). Non-finite verbs don’t act as the main verb in a sentence. Understanding these types of verbs is essential for identifying the main action in a sentence and structuring sentences correctly.

Infinite Verb

An infinite verb is a non-finite verb that is not bound by tense, mood, or subject agreement. It does not show when an action happens or who performs it.

Types of Infinite Verbs:

1. Infinitive: The base form of a verb, usually preceded by “to” (e.g., “to walk,” “to eat”). It is often used as the subject, object, or after verbs like “want” or “need.”
2. Gerund: A verb ending in “-ing” that functions as a noun (e.g., “walking,” “talking”). Gerunds can be the subject or object of a sentence or follow prepositions.
3. Participle: Verb forms that act as adjectives or help form verb tenses. Present participles end in “-ing” (e.g., “walking”), while past participles often end in “-ed” (e.g., “walked”). Participles are used in tenses like the present continuous (“She is walking”) or past perfect (“He had walked”).

These forms of non-finite verbs are important for creating varied and complex sentences.

Common Verb List

Walk	Illustrate	Acquire
Doubt	Advise	Criticize
Start	Steal	Invest
Restore	Paint	Assure
Sleep	Stop	Deduct
Retain	Belong	Prefer
Integrate	Retain	Postpone
Communicate	Integrate	Achieve
Pursue	Communicate	Climb
Chop	Drill	Drink
Hurry	Must	Behave
Cling	Decide	Feel
Mind	Might	Recall
Hate	Push	Whip
Comprehend	Enhance	Attribute
Lay	Derive	Reflect
Allocate	Occupy	Open
Survey	Point	Risk
Prepare	Perceive	Wake
Arise	Appreciate	Claim
Apply	Indicate	Come
Plan	Involve	Eat
Arrive	Consult	Imply
Seem	Spend	Struggle
Enjoy	Stack	Contradict
Locate	Slice	Regret
Compensate	Owe	Bring
Sting	Reverse	Stir
Demand	Spill	Delay
Should	Sink	Intervene
Fit	Win	Drive
Fry	Consume	Include
Learn	Retire	Breed
Shed	Contain	Explore
Determine	Expand	Generate
Fall	Spit	Forget
Modify	Replace	Legislate
Propose	Warn	Slide
Dare	React	Rely
Wash	Astonish	Blow
Inhibit	Submit	Emphasize
Avoid	Like	Specify
Wait	Argue	Realize
Bow	Analyze	Pull
Hear	Assume	Adjust
Leap	Shine	Function
Restrict	Translate	Begin
Announce	Receive	Volunteer
Compound	Feed	Participate
Slip	Mention	Wish
Investigate	Set	Grow
Expect	Squat	Scrub
Pay	Depend	Interact
Observe	Monitor	Refer
Reinforce	Identify	Tiptoe
Matter	Beg	Alternate
Evaluate	Spell	Recommend
Require	Hug	Prioritize
Measure	Order	Relieve
Desire	Remember	Justify
Pinch	Give	Facilitate
Compete	Dance	Conduct
Promote	Affect	Bet
Calculate	Concern	Channel
Ring	Hit	Stink
Link	Comprise	Mean
Add	Attract	Care
Create	Relax	Exist
Imagine	Get	Refuse
Miss	Light	Inform
Manage	Write	Buy
Lie (not to tell the truth)	Prevent	Drink
Deliver	Get	Fail
Process	Throw	Sit
Bend	Break	Validate
Transfer	Experiment	Kiss
Overtake	Spread	Prove
Ride	Practice	Insist
Aid	Recollect	Possess
Follow	Bind	Incorporate
Consider	Install	Ask
Would	Discover	Guide
Wave	Confine	Obtain
Demonstrate	Rid	Deviate
Consent	Attempt	Attain
Convince	Can/could	Attach
Swing	Repair	Build
Impose	Read	Ski
State	Vary	Supply
Promise	Maintain	Tell
Proceed	Improve	Deal

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