Types of Verbs

Action Verbs

These verbs express physical or mental actions.

Examples:

  • Run – She runs every morning in the park.
  • Jump – He jumps over the hurdle in the race.
  • Think – I think deeply about the problem before solving it.
  • Read – She reads a book every day before going to bed.

Read also: Day 18: What are Verbs?

Read also: Present simple –Do/Does?

Read also: Main Verbs Worksheet

Linking Verbs

Types of Verbs

These verbs connect the subject of a sentence to additional information.

Examples:

  • Feel – I feel sick today.
  • Look – He looks handsome in his new suit.
  • Sound – The music sounds beautiful.
  • Taste – The cake tastes delicious.

Helping Verbs (Auxiliary verbs)

Types of Verbs

These verbs are used to help form the tense, mood, or voice of another verb.

Examples:

  • Will – I will go to the store tomorrow.
  • Would – She would like to go to the movies tonight.
  • Can – He can speak three languages fluently.
  • Shall – We shall meet at 5 pm tomorrow.

Transitive Verbs

Types of Verbs

These verbs take an object directly,

Examples:

  • Throw – She throws the ball to her friend.
  • Buy – He buys a new phone every year.
  • Drink – He drinks water after exercising.
  • Write – I write a letter to my friend.

Intransitive Verbs

Types of Verbs

These verbs do not take an object directly,

Examples:

  • Sleep – She sleeps for 8 hours every night.
  • Laugh – He laughs at the comedy show.
  • Stand – He stands up straight and tall.
  • Dance – They dance at the party every weekend.

Note: Intransitive Verbs are actions that are complete in themselves and do not need an object to receive the action.

Regular verbs

Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern when forming their past tense and past participle (usually by adding -ed).
Example:

Walk → walked → walked

  • Present: She walks to school every day.
  • Past: She walked to school yesterday.
  • Past Participle: She has walked to school many times.

Play → played → played

  • Present: The children play in the park.
  • Past: The children played in the park yesterday.
  • Past Participle: The children have played here many times.

Visit → visited → visited

  • Present: We visit our grandparents every summer.
  • Past: We visited our grandparents last month.
  • Past Participle: We have visited our grandparents twice this year.

Listen → listened→ listened

  • Present: They listen to music every evening.
  • Past: They listened to music last night.
  • Past Participle: They have listened to this song before.

Irregular verbs

Types of Verbs

Irregular verbs do not follow a predictable pattern and must be memorized.
Example:

      Drink → Drank → Drunk

  • Present: They drink coffee every morning.
  • Past: They drank coffee this morning.
  • Past Participle: They have drunk all the coffee.

      Break → Broke → Broken

  • Present: He breaks the rules often.
  • Past: He broke the rules last week.
  • Past Participle: He has broken the rules many times.

     Speak → Spoke → Spoken

  • Present: She speaks English fluently.
  • Past: She spoke to her teacher yesterday.
  • Past Participle: She has spoken at many events.

      Begin → Began → Begun

  • Present: The class begins at 9 AM.
  • Past: The class began at 9 AM yesterday.
  • Past Participle: The class has already begun.

Modal Verbs

Types of Verbs

Modal verbs are a type of helping verb that express necessity, possibility, permission, or ability. They are always followed by the base form of the main verb.

  • Common modal verbs: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.
    Example: You must complete the assignment.
                     She can swim very well.

Phrasal Verbs

Types of Verbs

Phrasal verbs consist of a verb combined with a preposition or adverb, creating a meaning different from the original verb.

  • Some phrasal verbs – look after (take care of), give up (quit), turn on (start).

Example: She looks after her younger brother.

                Can you turn on the lights? It’s getting dark in here.

Finite and Non-Finite Verbs

Types of Verbs

  • Finite Verbs: These verbs change form according to the subject and tense. They are the main verbs in a sentence.
    Example: She writes a letter.
  • Non-Finite Verbs: These verbs do not change form according to the subject or tense. They include infinitives, gerunds, and participles.
    Example: She likes to write letters. (Infinitive)
                     Writing is her hobby. (Gerund)
                     The written letter was posted. (Participle)

Causative Verbs

Types of Verbs

Causative verbs indicate that someone or something causes an action to happen.

  • Common causative verbs: make, let, have, get.
    Example    : She made him clean the room.
                     He had his car repaired.

Reflexive Verbs

Types of Verbs

Reflexive verbs are used when the subject and object of the verb are the same. They are often accompanied by reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, etc.)

Example: She hurt herself while playing.
                 He taught himself to play the guitar.

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