Verbs express actions, events, or states of being. They form the main part of a predicate and help show what the subject does, experiences, or is.
Start with What Is a Verb? for a clear explanation of verb types, forms, and functions. You can then explore detailed lessons on action, linking, helping, transitive, intransitive, regular, irregular, modal, and other kinds of verbs.
Infinitives can be confusing because they do not all look alike. To leave is an infinitive, but so is leave after a modal in should leave. You may also come across longer forms such as to be invited and to…
Called and bought can both describe something that happened in the past, but the verbs were formed differently. Call becomes called by following the regular -ed pattern. Buy changes to bought, so it is irregular. That basic difference between regular…
Forms of be can do two very different jobs in English. In The room is quiet, is connects the room with a description of it. In The guests are waiting, are helps form the verb phrase are waiting. The first…
A verb does not have to describe running, lifting, or another visible action to be dynamic. The temperature is rising, Nora is thinking about the offer, and The glass cracked all present something happening, developing, or changing. That is the…
Helping verbs do much of the grammatical work inside English verb phrases. They help us form questions and negatives, build continuous, perfect, and passive constructions, and add meanings such as possibility, ability, necessity, and prediction. In Mila has finished the…
Changing one modal verb can change the whole meaning of a sentence. You can leave, you should leave, and you must leave describe the same action, but they express very different ideas about permission, advice, and obligation. Modal verbs also…
Some English verbs can connect a subject with two objects in the same clause. In Lena handed the receptionist her passport, the verb handed is followed by the receptionist and her passport. The first identifies the person receiving something, while…
In Maya knows the answer, knows presents Maya’s knowledge as a state. In This coat belongs to Daniel, belongs expresses a relationship rather than something Daniel or the coat is actively doing. These are stative uses of verbs. Stative verbs…
Words that come after a verb do not automatically form a direct object. In The lantern flickered throughout the storm, the phrase throughout the storm adds information about the flickering, but it is not an object of the verb. The…
In the sentence Lena opened the parcel, the verb opened connects directly to the parcel. That noun phrase tells you what Lena opened and functions as the direct object. This is a transitive use of the verb. Transitive verbs are…
In The garden looks peaceful, looks connects the garden with a description of it. In Megan became a doctor, became connects Megan with the role a doctor. In both sentences, the verb creates a relationship between the subject and information…
In Mason lifted the box, the verb lifted describes a visible action. In Ella considered the proposal, considered describes a mental process. The two activities are very different, but both present something happening rather than simply describing a state. These…