How to Use Verbs in English (Explained, Plus Examples)

What is a verb? (explained + examples)

Verbs are action words, and they're a principal part of speech that make up half of each sentence. We could say they're where all the action's at (literally).

Verbs describe what we do, and are debatably the most important words because they tell us what is actually going on in any given sentence. Let's explore the main types of verbs in the sections below.

To learn all about their correct usage, keep reading this guide that details everything you need to know about the inimitable verb (i.e., word).

How we use verbs (usage + examples)

To say it simply, but also at a very broad level: verbs say something about a person or thing. They express what someone or something does, as in:

• Ashley laughs.
• The whistle blows.

What is done to someone or something:

• The window's broken.
• Henry's been suspended.

They quite literally say what something is, or its condition:

• The fish died.
• Babies are delicate.
• I feel grateful.

Sentences often include more than one verb:

• My mother is visiting.
• I've burnt the toast.
• The thief has been caught.

Types of verbs

The main types of verbs fall into the following subtypes:

Action/stative verbs (explained, with examples)

Action or stative verbs describe actions, which can be physical or mental. Thinking, for example, is an action verb, though it may appear action-less from the outside. Likewise, sitting, sleeping, reading, and typing are all actions; and to that extent, they're also action verbs.

Stative verbs depict states of being, thoughts, or conditions:

• Thoughts and opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know.
• Feelings and emotions: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
• Senses and perceptions: appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste
• Possession and measurement: belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh.

Transitive vs. intransitive

Transitives are those with one or more sentence objects:

In both sentences, the subject performs an action that is received by something. Whatever receives the action in a sentence is the sentence object.

In the first sentence, the ball is kicked by Timmy; therefore, the ball is the object: it receives the action of the subject. In the second sentence, the horse is ridden by Ashley. This makes the horse the direct object, and rides a transitive verb (along with kicks).

A way to remember is that transitive verbs are transferring: they move from the doer to the receiver (person or thing), and can use one or more objects.

Intransitive vs. transitive

Verbs used intransitively do not use sentence objects. As the action does not have a receiver, it ends with the doer (it's not done to someone or something, rather it occurs within oneself).

Certain verbs are strictly intransitive (e.g. sleeping, laughing, thinking, falling). Others can be both transitive and intransitive: fighting, riding, reading, and so on.

Linking verbs (or copulas)

Linking verbs, also known as copulas (from the Latin, "uniting, serving to couple") are a kind of stative verb that links subjects with their subject complement. They do not show actions so much as depict their subjects:

Helping verbs (or auxiliary verbs)

Helping verbs, or auxiliaries work with the sentence's main verb to convey time or modes of being. Auxiliaries cannot stand on their own and must be paired with a main verb to make sense. Be and have are the primary auxiliaries:

Modal auxiliary verbs

Modal verbs (also known as modals) are a type of auxiliary or helping verb that show 'possibility, ability, intent, or necessity.' Since modals help, they usually pair with main verbs in sentences and emphasize the meaning. Examples of common modals are can, may, might, could, should, would, will, must.

Regular & irregular

Regular verbs end in -ed when modified to past tense; such as walk/walked, climb/climbed. All other verb endings are irregular in the past tense.

Irregular verbs are the opposite of regular verbs (as you might have guessed) and do not take on the usual –d, -ed, or -ied spelling patterns of the past simple or past participle.

Phrasals & infinitives

A phrasal combines verbs with an adverb or a preposition to create verbal phrases—i.e., the phrasal verb.

Infinitives function in sentences as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Most infinitives are formed by adding the preposition to before the base verb: "I want to go home."

Learn more about verbs

Worksheet: Types of verbs