Short and quick answer by GrammarGramps: A verb is a word that shows an action (e.g., running), state (e.g., feel), or occurrence (e.g., transpire) in a sentence. Verbs explain what the subject does, what happens to it, or what condition it is in, according to GrammarGramps.
Definition and Special Introduction to Verbs by GrammarGramps
Hey there! You’re back. GrammarGramps here, and today, let’s take a look at another important part of speech in English grammar, i.e., verbs.
Here is a definition of verbs by GrammarGramps:
A verb is a word in a sentence that shows the happening of an action or event, an occurence, or a state that is performed, observed, or felt by the subject.
In English, there are various parts of speech that contribute to the formation of a sentence. However, many of them can be skipped. For example, an adverb can be skipped and a sentence will still stand on its own. But, verbs, along with nouns, are essential. Except in a few cases, sentences cannot exist without a verb. Even in a simple sentence like “Sarah was cold and tired,” the word “was” serves as a verb.
In grammar, even if a subject (a person or animal) is doing nothing, their state of inactivity is still regarded as a verb.
Let’s understand that with an example.
Example to Explain Verbs
So, Jack’s mom walked in his room in the basement, where he was sprawled on his couch, eating peanut butter cups. Jack is lazy. He doesn’t work. And he’s 32. Seeing her son, his mom sighed and lamented how he did nothing all day.
Now, mom is right. Jack should do something. He should get his life together. Work out. Stop eating peanut butter cups. Maybe look for a job and help his mother out.
But grammatically, mom is very wrong.
You see, Jack is eating peanut butter cups. “Eating” is a verb, which means that grammatically, we cannot say that Jack is not performing an action at that particular time. He is also “sprawled” on the couch, which is yet another verb (past participle). Even if we just look at him and say that Jack is lazy, the word “is” describes a quality that the man possesses.
Grammatically, Jack is a hive of activity.
The Role of Verbs in Sentence Structure
Verbs determine how sentences are built and interpreted.
They:
- Anchor clauses
- Control tense and agreement
- Determine whether objects are required
- Establish sentence completeness
A sentence without a verb is either a fragment or a stylistic exception.
Can a Sentence Exist Without a Verb?
In standard English grammar, a complete sentence requires a verb. The verb establishes action, state, or existence. Without it, grammatical completeness is lost.
However, English allows certain stylistic expressions that function as sentences in real usage, even though no verb appears on the surface.
Common stylistic expressions without an explicit verb:
- What a week!
- What a mess.
- Such a relief!
- No way!
These type of expressions rely on context, where the verb is understood rather than stated.
For example, What a week! implies What a week this has been.
Verb Forms and Verb Conjugation
Let’s talk about verb forms and verb conjugation. These are two important concepts to understand so that you can properly learn about verbs.
What are Verb Forms?
Verb forms are the different shapes a verb takes to show tense, aspect, voice, mood, or agreement. Common verb forms include the base form (run), past tense (ran), past participle (run), present participle (running), and third-person singular (runs).
What is Verb Conjugation?
Verb conjugation refers to the process of changing a verb’s form to match tense, person, number, mood, or voice. Conjugation shows who performs the action and when it happens, such as I run, she runs, and they ran.
Verb conjugation and verb forms are important because they help to describe when an action takes place and who performs it. Without these, there would be a lot of confusion as people would have to guess everything from the simple base verb forms.
Verb Tense, Aspect, and Interpretation
Beyond verb forms and classifications, verbs also convey time and the nature of an action. This is handled through tense and aspect, which together shape how a situation is interpreted by the reader or listener.
Understanding tenses and aspects is very important for anyone who wants to learn about verbs in detail. Below, we’ve created a short and easy-to-understand table that mentions the descriptions of both along with examples.
| Concept | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb Tense | Indicates when an action or state occurs in time (past, present, or future). | She writes every day. (writes: present tense) |
| Verb Aspect | Describes how an action unfolds over time, such as ongoing, completed, or repeated. | They are studying. (are studying: progressive aspect) |
| Interpretation | The combined meaning created by tense and aspect, shaping how the action is understood. | She has written the report. (completed action with present relevance) |
Main Types of Verbs in English
There are various types of verbs in English. Here on GrammarGramps, we’ve covered them in their own separate guides. Below, you will find brief descriptions of each that are necessary for understanding the concept of verbs.
| Verb Category | Functional Role | Link to GrammarGramps Guide |
| Action (Dynamic) Verbs | Express physical or mental activity | |
| Stative Verbs | Express conditions, states, or possession | |
| Linking Verbs | Connect subjects to descriptions or identities | |
| Auxiliary Verbs | Support main verbs in tense, mood, or voice | |
| Modal Verbs | Express possibility, necessity, or permission | |
| Phrasal Verbs | Combine verbs with particles to form new meanings |
List of Verb Examples by GrammarGramps
Here are some more examples of verbs.
- She runs every morning. (“runs” is the verb here. It is an action verb.)
- They are ready to leave. (“are” is the verb here. It is a linking verb.)
- He wrote the report last night. (“wrote” is the verb here. It is an action verb.)
- The baby slept peacefully. (“slept” is the verb here. It is an action verb.)
- We have finished the task. (“have finished” is the verb here. It is a helping + main verb combination.)
- She is thinking about the problem. (“is thinking” is the verb here. It is a present participle verb form.)
- The engine stalled suddenly. (“stalled” is the verb here. It is an action verb.)
- He became angry. (“became” is the verb here. It is a linking verb.)
- They were waiting outside. (“were waiting” is the verb here. It is a past continuous verb form.)
- You must try again. (“must try” is the verb here. It is a modal verb construction.)
Understanding Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Other than the types of verbs mentioned above, there are a few more verb classifications that you should know about in order to properly understand the concept as a whole.
One of those classification is transitive and intransitive verbs.
Description of Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs are described verbs that need a direct object to complete their meaning. The action of a transitive verb passes from the subject to an object. For example, in “She reads a book,” reads is transitive and a book is the direct object.
Description of Intransitive Verbs
An intransitive verb is described as a verb that does not require a direct object to complete its meaning. The action stays with the subject and does not pass to an object. For example, in “He sleeps,” sleeps is intransitive because no object follows.
Regular and Irregular Verb Behavior
In addition to understanding how verbs function within a sentence, it is also important to recognize how verbs behave when they change form, especially in different tenses. One common way verbs are classified in this regard is by regular and irregular verb behavior.
Description of Regular Verbs
Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern when forming their past tense and past participle. They typically add -ed (or -d) to the base form of the verb. For example, in “She walked to school,” walked is a regular verb formed by adding -ed to walk.
Description of Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs do not follow a consistent rule when forming their past tense and past participle. Their forms may change entirely, change partially, or remain the same. For example, in “He went home,” went is the irregular past tense form of go, which does not use -ed.
Gerunds and Infinitives as Verb Forms
If you’re a beginner, don’t worry if you don’t know about gerunds and infinitives. I’ll link their guides below and you can read about them in detail and come back once you are done.
However, if you are not a beginner and you’re coming back after reading a few guides, this section is worth understanding. Gerunds and infinitives are special cases in the realm of verbs and need to be properly understood.
Gerunds as Verb Forms
A gerund is a verb form that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. Although it looks like a verb, it can act as a subject, object, or complement in a sentence. For example, in “Reading improves vocabulary,” reading is a gerund functioning as the subject of the sentence.
If you’re ever having a discussion with someone and they decide to trip you by asking what the subject is in a sentence that focuses on an activity (like the one mentioned in the example above), you can simply tell them about gerunds and how they act as nouns despite being verb forms.
Description of Infinitives
An infinitive is the base form of a verb, usually preceded by to, and it can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Infinitives are often used to express purpose or intention. For example, in “She wants to learn,” to learn is an infinitive acting as the object of the verb wants.
It’s important to understanding that an infinitive is not classified doubly as a verb form and a noun. It simply acts as the latter while being the former. For example, if the headmaster is out on a field trip and a senior teacher takes their desk for the day, the teacher doesn’t become the headmaster even though they are acting like them.
Understanding Verb Voice with GrammarGramps
Even if you haven’t been into learning grammar and reading about it, you still might have heard a lot about passive and active voice. Those are the two verb voices. Understanding verb voices is quite simple but very important.
Verb voice shows whether the subject performs or receives the action of a verb.
The two verb voices are:
- Active voice, where the subject in the sentence performs the action.
- Passive voice, the subject in the sentence receives the action.
Here on GrammarGramps, you will find detailed and dedicated guides on active and passive voice. However, for a quick skim, you can use the table below. I have provided the essential information.
| Voice | Description | Example | Salient Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Subject performs the action. The agent (doer) occupies the subject position. | The researcher analyzed the data. | • Direct and concise • Subject = agent • Verb acts on object • Standard word order: S + V + O |
| Passive voice | Subject receives the action. The agent may be omitted or moved to a prepositional phrase with “by.” | The data were analyzed (by the researcher). | • Action-focused, not agent-focused • Subject = patient (receiver) • Uses form of “be” + past participle • Agent optional or de-emphasized |
What is the Role of Verb Voice in Grammar?
The role for verb voice is controlling the tone and emphasis of the sentence. It also controls how clear the sentence is to read. For instance, take an active voice sentence like this: The boy read the book. In this sentence, the emphasis is on the boy. The tone is simple and conversational. The sentence is very clear to read.
If this same sentence had to be converted to passive voice, it would appear like this: The book was read by the boy. In this version, the book becomes the point of focus. The tone becomes stiff and formal, and the sentence loses some of its straightforward clarity.
In short, the role of verb voice in grammar is to adjust the following:
- Clarity and coherence
- Tone and manner
- Emphasis and focus
Common Verb Mistakes with Examples and Corrections
Moving on, let’s take a look at some common grammar mistakes and errors that people can make when using verbs. Reading this will be very helpful as a learning experience, as you might come across an error that you may be unknowingly making and you’ll get a chance to fix it.
By the way, Jack is back in the examples. He had gone to Siberia once, and he’s telling us about his misfortunes in third person.
| Verb Mistake | What Goes Wrong (with example) | How to Avoid / Fix It |
|---|---|---|
| Subject–verb disagreement | The verb does not match the subject (The temperature in Siberia were unbearable for Jack). | Identify the true subject and match the verb to it (temperature → was). |
| Incorrect verb tense | The tense shifts without reason (Jack arrived in Siberia and is freezing immediately). | Keep the tense consistent unless the time frame changes. |
| Wrong past participle | The incorrect form follows a helping verb (Jack has froze). | Use the correct past participle (has frozen). |
| Extra helping verb | An unnecessary auxiliary is added (Jack did survived the storm). | Use the base verb after did (did survive). |
| Missing helping verb | A verb phrase is incomplete (Jack not prepared for Siberia). | Add the required auxiliary (Jack was not prepared). |
| Modal verb misuse | A modal is followed by the wrong verb form (Jack must to leave). | Use the base form after modals (must leave). |
| Stative verb in progressive | A stative verb is incorrectly used in -ing form (Jack is knowing he made a mistake). | Use simple tense with stative verbs (Jack knows). |
| Irregular verb error | Regular endings are added to irregular verbs (Jack builded a fire). | Memorize common irregular forms (built). |
| Passive form error | The passive verb is formed incorrectly (Jack was froze overnight). | Use be + past participle (was frozen). |
| Double tense marking | Tense is marked twice (Did Jack survived Siberia?). | Mark tense once (Did Jack survive?). |
How to Learn Verbs and Improve Your Understanding (Advice by GrammarGramps)
Verbs are best learned by observing how they operate in sentences, not by memorizing definitions or lists. I mean, don’t get me wrong. You should still read all the stuff that I mentioned above. But, practically, mastering verbs requires a more hands-on appraoch.
Start by picking something to read. Yes, it can even this guide. Start reading it again. And while you’re doing so, do the following:
a. Observe what the verb expresses
Focus on whether the verb shows an action, a state, or a change.
(e.g. Jack slipped shows an action; Jack was cold shows a state.)
b. Notice what the verb connects to
Pay attention to whether the verb stands alone or links to an object or complement.
(e.g. Jack carried supplies vs. Jack slept.)
c. Watch how verbs change with time
Look at how the same verb form shifts to indicate when something happens.
(e.g. Jack travels to Siberia → Jack traveled to Siberia.)
d. Track verb patterns across sentences
Notice how verbs behave consistently within a passage rather than in isolation.
(e.g. Jack arrived, set up camp, and waited.)
Short Quiz on Verbs by Grammar Gramps
Here is a short quiz that I have put togeter on verbs. It’s a simple MCQ-based test and you’ll find all the answers just below the questions. It’s a quick way to seal everything that you’ve learned in the guide above.
- Which word is the verb in the sentence “The baby cried loudly”?
a) Baby
b) Cried
c) Loudly
d) The - Which sentence has a verb?
a) The red car
b) After the storm
c) She laughed
d) In the morning - Which word is a verb?
a) Table
b) Happy
c) Quickly
d) Write - Which sentence is correct?
a) He eat lunch
b) She eats lunch
c) They eats lunch
d) We eating lunch - Which verb completes the sentence correctly?
They ___ at school.
a) Is
b) Was
c) Are
d) Be - Which sentence uses a past-tense verb?
a) She walks home
b) He will run fast
c) They are playing
d) We finished early - Which sentence contains an action verb?
a) She is tall
b) He seems tired
c) They own a house
d) The dog jumped - Which sentence is missing a verb?
a) The cat slept
b) After the class
c) She smiled
d) We arrived late - Which word is the verb in the sentence “I like coffee”?
a) I
b) Like
c) Coffee
d) None - Which sentence is complete?
a) Because it rained
b) Running quickly
c) The train stopped
d) After the meeting
Answer Key
- B
- C
- D
- B
- C
- D
- D
- B
- B
- C
Resources Used for This Guide
Among others, here are some resources that I used for this guide:
