Verbs
Verbs are one of the most necessary elements to make a sentence. In fact, without a verb, we cannot have a meaningful sentence.
What Are Verbs?
Actually, verbs express states of being, actions, or occurrences. The simplest way to define verbs is to say they indicate what the subject is doing.
Types of Verbs
Verbs are categorized into different groups based on their specific characteristics. Here are different groups of them:
Based on Regularity
Based on regularity, verbs are categorized into two groups:
Regular and Irregular Verbs
As their names suggest, 'regular verbs' follow specific rules, whereas 'irregular verbs' do not follow any particular pattern and are best memorized individually. However, it is important to note that 'regular verbs' do follow a consistent pattern.
| Regular Verbs | Irregular Verbs |
|---|---|
| walk | be |
| cook | come |
| talk | do |
| look | get |
| laugh | give |
Based on Transitivity
Based on transitivity, verbs can be categorized into seven groups:
Mono-transitive Verbs
'Mono-transitive' verbs are those that require an object to convey a complete meaning.
He
We
Di-transitive Verbs
Ditransitive verbs are used when someone other than the subject receives something as a result of the verb's action. Check out the examples:
I sent him
They gave Mother
Complex Transitive Verbs
A complex transitive verb (also known as an attributive ditransitive verb or resultative verb) is a verb that needs both a direct object and an object complement.
They called him
I will make her
Ergative Verbs
Ergative verbs (also known as labile verbs or ambi-transitive verbs) are verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive.
I
The bell
Catenative Verbs
Catenative verbs (also known as chain verbs) link with other verbs and form a chain of two or three or more verbs.
I'm coming to
He
Linking Verbs
Linking verbs (also called copula or copular verbs) do not show any specific actions. They just link the subject of a sentence and the subject complement.
Mike
The child will
Intransitive Verbs
'Intransitive verbs' are the ones that do not need an object to make a meaningful sentence. They have a complete meaning on their own.
I
Rivers
Using Verbs to Show the Action in a Sentence
Based on Contribution to Meaning
Based on contribution to meaning, verbs can be categorized into four groups:
- Main verbs
- Auxiliary verbs
- Modal Verbs
- Dummy verbs
Main Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs
'Auxiliary verbs' provide information that main verbs can not. They are sometimes, referred to as helping verbs because they assist main verbs in completing their meaning or expressing different tenses or moods. 'Main verbs' (also known as lexical verbs or principal verbs) are responsible for showing the action or state of the subject, and they hold significant importance. They can stand alone or be used in conjunction with a helping verb to form meaningful statements.
I
These
Modal Verbs
English 'modal verbs' are a subset of auxiliary verbs. They can indicate necessity, probability, requests, and more. So it is good to know them. Modal verbs include Can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must. The point is that they are not used alone and they have to be followed by an infinitive without 'to'.
Do not get angry, but you
We
Dummy Verbs
'Dummy verbs' are verbs that have no special meanings, but they are used in sentences to have a grammatical function.
Jessica
Carlos
Based on Meaning
Based on meaning, verbs can be categorized into two groups:
Action Verbs
'Action verbs' are verbs that indicate an action, and sometimes they can refer to movements or physical activities. Check out the examples for more clarification:
We
Alex
State Verbs
'Stative' verbs often are used to indicate a state, not an action. It is important to know that, these verbs refer to abstract things. Take a look at some examples:
I have
I have been
Based on Formation
Based on formation, verbs can be categorized into two groups:
Phrasal Verbs
'Phrasal verbs' consist of a verb combined with one or more preposition or adverbs or both, creating a new meaning. Sometimes we can put an object between the verb and the preposition, or adverb. While other times they cannot be separated.
I told him to
Reflexive Verbs
'Reflexive verbs' transfer the action of the verb back to the direct object and reflect it back to the subject, reflecting it onto the direct object.
I
They
Review
Verbs are one of the most important participants of sentences. The statements have no meaning when they are used without verbs. There are different types of verbs in English as follows.
- action verbs, state verbs, transitive verbs, intransitive verbs,
- infinitive verbs, auxiliary verbs, main verbs, modals verbs, gerunds
- participles, finite and non-finite(infinite) verbs, phrasal verbs
- regular, irregular verbs, dummy verbs
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Regular and Irregular Verbs
Based on how we conjugate verbs in the past simple and the past participle, they can be divided into two types: Regular verbs and Irregular verbs.
Actions and States
'I'm loving it!' or 'I love it!' Do you want to know which one of these famous advertisement mottos are correct? You got to learn about state and action verbs!
Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs help the main verb to express tense or voice or help make questions and negative sentences. That's why they're also called 'helping verbs'.
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are used very commonly in English, even more so in informal situations. Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and a preposition or a particle.
