What is a verb? What is an example?

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A verb is a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being. Verbs are essential components of sentences and help convey what the subject is doing or experiencing.

1. Definition and Basic Examples of Verbs

Category	Definition	Examples
Action Verbs	Express physical or mental actions	run, jump, think, believe, write, read
Linking Verbs	Connect the subject to a noun or adjective	am, is, are, was, were, become, seem, appear
State of Being Verbs	Describe a condition or existence	exist, remain, stay, belong

Examples in Sentences:

Action: She writes poetry every evening.
Linking: The cake smells delicious.
State of Being: The keys remain on the table.

2. Types of Verbs with Examples

Verb Type	Definition	Formula/Pattern	Examples
Main Verbs	Carry the primary meaning in a sentence	Subject + Main Verb + Object	I eat breakfast. / They study mathematics.
Helping/Auxiliary Verbs	Assist main verbs to form tenses	Subject + Auxiliary + Main Verb	She is reading. / They have completed the work.
Modal Verbs	Express necessity, possibility, permission	Subject + Modal + Base Verb	You should study. / He can swim.
Transitive Verbs	Require a direct object	Subject + Transitive Verb + Object	She bought a book. / He loves music.
Intransitive Verbs	Do not require a direct object	Subject + Intransitive Verb	The baby laughed. / Birds fly.
Regular Verbs	Form past tense by adding -ed	Base form + -ed	walk → walked, play → played
Irregular Verbs	Form past tense irregularly	Variable patterns	go → went, eat → ate, swim → swam
Phrasal Verbs	Verb + preposition/adverb	Verb + Particle	give up, look after, turn on
Infinitive Verbs	Base form with "to"	to + base verb	to run, to sing, to think
Gerunds	Verb functioning as a noun (verb + -ing)	Verb + -ing	Swimming is fun. / Reading improves vocabulary.

3. Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs: Complete Chart

Auxiliary verbs help main verbs express tense, mood, or voice.

Type	Auxiliary Verbs	Usage	Examples
Primary Auxiliaries	be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being	Form continuous and passive tenses	She is singing. / The letter was written by him.
have, has, had	Form perfect tenses	They have finished. / He had left earlier.
do, does, did	Form questions and negatives	Do you like coffee? / She did not attend.
Modal Auxiliaries	can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, ought to	Express ability, permission, obligation	You must try harder. / Can I help you?

Examples in Context:

Be: The students are studying for exams. (Present Continuous)
Have: I have completed my assignment. (Present Perfect)
Do:Did you finish your homework? (Question Formation)

4. Modal Verbs: Complete Chart with Examples

Modal verbs express necessity, possibility, ability, permission, and obligation.

Modal Verb	Function	Formula	Examples
Can	Ability, permission	Subject + can + base verb	I can speak three languages. / Can I borrow your pen?
Could	Past ability, polite request, possibility	Subject + could + base verb	She could dance well as a child. / Could you help me?
May	Permission, possibility	Subject + may + base verb	May I come in? / It may rain tomorrow.
Might	Possibility (less certain than may)	Subject + might + base verb	He might arrive late. / We might visit next week.
Must	Strong obligation, necessity	Subject + must + base verb	Students must submit assignments on time.
Shall	Future actions, suggestions	Subject + shall + base verb	We shall overcome. / Shall we begin?
Should	Advice, recommendation	Subject + should + base verb	You should exercise regularly.
Will	Future intention, prediction	Subject + will + base verb	I will call you tomorrow. / It will be sunny.
Would	Polite request, past habit	Subject + would + base verb	Would you like tea? / He would walk daily.
Ought to	Moral obligation, advice	Subject + ought to + base verb	We ought to help others.

5. Phrasal Verbs: Complete Chart with Examples

Phrasal verbs combine verbs with prepositions or adverbs to create new meanings.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Break down	Stop functioning / Analyze	The car broke down on the highway.
Bring up	Raise a topic / Raise a child	She brought up an interesting point.
Call off	Cancel	They called off the meeting.
Carry on	Continue	Please carry on with your work.
Come across	Find by chance	I came across an old photograph.
Figure out	Understand, solve	Can you figure out this puzzle?
Get along	Have a good relationship	They get along very well.
Give up	Quit, stop trying	Never give up on your dreams.
Look after	Take care of	She looks after her younger siblings.
Look forward to	Anticipate with pleasure	I look forward to meeting you.
Make up	Reconcile / Invent	They made up after the argument.
Put off	Postpone	Don't put off your assignments.
Run into	Meet unexpectedly	I ran into my teacher at the mall.
Take off	Remove / Leave the ground	The plane took off on time.
Turn down	Reject / Reduce volume	He turned down the job offer.

6. Transitive Verbs: Chart with Examples

Transitive verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning.

Formula	Transitive Verb	Object	Complete Sentence
Subject + Transitive Verb + Object	buy	a car	She bought a car.
read	a book	He reads a book daily.
teach	English	The teacher teaches English.
write	a letter	I wrote a letter to my friend.
make	a cake	Mom made a delicious cake.
take	medicine	Please take your medicine.
bring	flowers	He brought flowers for his mother.
find	the keys	Did you find the keys?

Key Rule:

Test for Transitive Verb: Ask "What?" or "Whom?" after the verb.

She bought what? → a car (Object present = Transitive)

7. Intransitive Verbs: Chart with Examples

Intransitive verbs do not require a direct object.

Formula	Intransitive Verb	Complete Sentence
Subject + Intransitive Verb	sleep	The baby sleeps peacefully.
arrive	They arrived late.
run	The children run in the park.
laugh	Everyone laughed at the joke.
fall	Leaves fall in autumn.
shine	The sun shines brightly.
exist	Happiness exists in small moments.
happen	Accidents happen unexpectedly.

Key Rule:

Test for Intransitive Verb: Cannot answer "What?" or "Whom?" after the verb.

The baby sleeps what? → No answer (Intransitive)

8. Subject-Verb Agreement: Complete Rules Chart

The verb must agree with the subject in number (singular/plural).

Rule	Formula	Correct Example	Incorrect Example
Singular subject	Singular subject + singular verb	The student studies hard.	~~The student study hard.~~
Plural subject	Plural subject + plural verb	The students study hard.	~~The students studies hard.~~
Compound subjects (and)	Subject1 + and + Subject2 + plural verb	Tom and Jerry are friends.	~~Tom and Jerry is friends.~~
Compound subjects (or/nor)	Verb agrees with nearest subject	Neither the teacher nor the students are ready.	~~Neither the teacher nor the students is ready.~~
Collective nouns	Usually singular verb	The team is winning.	The team are arguing. (British English)
Indefinite pronouns (each, every)	Singular verb	Each student has a book.	~~Each student have a book.~~
Indefinite pronouns (several, many, both)	Plural verb	Many students are present.	~~Many students is present.~~
"There is/are" constructions	Verb agrees with following noun	There is a book on the table. / There are books on the table.	~~There is books on the table.~~
Subjects with "of" phrases	Verb agrees with main subject	One of the students is absent.	~~One of the students are absent.~~

9. Verb Tenses: Complete Chart

Tense	Formula	Example
Simple Present	Subject + base verb (+ s/es for 3rd person singular)	She writes daily. / They play football.
Present Continuous	Subject + am/is/are + verb-ing	I am reading a book.
Present Perfect	Subject + has/have + past participle	He has completed the work.
Present Perfect Continuous	Subject + has/have + been + verb-ing	They have been working since morning.
Simple Past	Subject + past form of verb	She wrote a letter yesterday.
Past Continuous	Subject + was/were + verb-ing	I was sleeping at 10 PM.
Past Perfect	Subject + had + past participle	He had left before I arrived.
Past Perfect Continuous	Subject + had + been + verb-ing	She had been studying for two hours.
Simple Future	Subject + will + base verb	I will visit tomorrow.
Future Continuous	Subject + will + be + verb-ing	They will be traveling next week.
Future Perfect	Subject + will + have + past participle	She will have finished by evening.
Future Perfect Continuous	Subject + will + have + been + verb-ing	I will have been working here for 5 years.

10. Active and Passive Voice

Voice	Formula	Example
Active Voice	Subject + Verb + Object	The chef cooks the meal.
Passive Voice	Object + be verb + past participle + by + subject	The meal is cooked by the chef.

Conversion Examples:

Active	Passive
She writes a novel.	A novel is written by her.
They built the bridge.	The bridge was built by them.
He will complete the project.	The project will be completed by him.

Most Common Irregular Verbs

Base Form	Past Simple	Past Participle
be	was/were	been
begin	began	begun
break	broke	broken
bring	brought	brought
buy	bought	bought
catch	caught	caught
come	came	come
do	did	done
drink	drank	drunk
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
get	got	got/gotten
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
have	had	had
know	knew	known
make	made	made
run	ran	run
see	saw	seen
speak	spoke	spoken
take	took	taken
write	wrote	written

What is a verb? What is an example?

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