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 a state of being, an action, or an occurrence. 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 require, 'regular verbs' have their own rules, while 'irregular verbs' do not have any special rules and it is better to memorize them. Yet, as you know 'regular verbs' follow a special 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 ones that require an object to have a complete meaning.
He
We
Di-transitive Verbs
Ditransitive verbs are used when someone other than the subject receives something as the result of the action of the verb. Check out the examples:
I sent him
They gave Mother
Complex Transitive Verbs
A complex transitive verb (also called 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 called labile verbs or ambi-transitive verbs) are verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive.
I
The bell
Catenative Verbs
Catenative verbs (also called 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 three groups:
- Main verbs
- Auxiliary verbs
- Modal Verbs
- Dummy verbs
Main Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs
'Auxiliary verbs' give information that main verbs cannot. Sometimes, grammarians call them helping verbs cause somehow they offer help to main verbs. They can complete the meaning or help make different tenses or moods. 'Main verbs' are also called the lexical verbs or the principal verbs. Main verbs show the action or state of the subject and they are really important. They can stand alone, or be used with a helping verb to have meaningful stements.
I
These
Modal Verbs
English 'modal verbs' are one of the subsections for auxiliary verbs. They can indicate necessity, probability, requests, etc. So it is good to know them. Can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must, etc, are considered modal verbs. 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 those kinds of verbs that indicate an action, sometimes they can refer to movements or physical activities. Check out the examples for more clarifications.
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
I have been
Based on Formation
Based on formation, verbs can be categorized into three groups:
Phrasal Verbs
'Phrasal verbs' consist of a verb added to one preposition or adverb or both and it makes new meaning. Sometimes we can put an object between the verbs and prepositions, or adverbs. And sometimes we cannot separate them.
I told him to
Reflexive Verbs
'Reflexive verbs' transfer the action of the verb to the direct object and reflect it back to the subject of the sentence.
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
Comments
