Verbs are categorized into different groups based different criteria, including:

Based on regularity, verbs are categorized into two groups:

As their names suggest, 'regular verbs' follow specific rules when forming past and past participle forms, whereas 'irregular verbs' do not follow any particular pattern and are best memorized individually. Regular verbs generally form their past and past participle forms by adding "-ed" at the end. Irregular verbs, however, have unique forms in the past and past participle.

Based on transitivity, verbs can be categorized into five groups:

'Intransitive verbs' are the ones that do not need a verb complement to make a meaningful sentence. They have a complete meaning on their own. For example:

Linking verbs (also called copula or copular verbs) do not show any specific action. They just link the subject of a sentence to the subject complement.

'Mono-transitive' verbs are those that require an direct object to convey a complete meaning.

A complex transitive verb (also known as an attributive ditransitive verb or resultative verb) is a verb that needs a direct object and an object complement that renames or describes it.

Ditransitive verbs are used when someone other than the subject receives something as a result of the verb's action. These verbs require both direct and indirect objects. Check out the examples:

Four groups of verbs demonstrate special properties with regards to transitivity:

Ergative verbs (also known as labile verbs or ambi-transitive verbs) are verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive, with the condition that the object of the transitive form must be same as the subject of the intransitive form.

Catenative verbs (also known as chain verbs) link with other verbs and form a chain of two or three or more verbs.

Causative verbs show that the subject causes another person or thing to do something. For example:

Reflexive verbs are those that only take reflexive pronouns as their object, or take on an idiomatic meaning when used with these pronouns. Here are some examples:

Based on contribution to meaning, verbs can be categorized into four groups:

'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. Every sentence needs at least one main verb. They can stand alone or be used in combination with a modal or auxiliary verb.

'Auxiliary verbs' provide information that main verbs can not. They are sometimes referred to as helping verbs because they assist main verbs in expressing different tenses and forming questions and negations.

English 'modal verbs' are a subset of auxiliary verbs. They can indicate necessity, probability, requests, and more. Modal verbs include can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must. These verbs are never used alone and have to be followed by a main verb.

'Light verbs' have no special meaning of their own and only reflect the meaning of their following noun. They are only used in sentences to serve a grammatical function by filling the verb position.

Based on meaning, verbs can be categorized into two groups:

'Action verbs' are verbs that indicate different kinds of actions, movements, changes, etc. Check out the examples:

Stative verbs are used to talk about ongoing situations or facts, not an action. These verbs often often refer to things that are generally true or permanent rather than something that changes or happens in a short time. Take a look at some examples:

Based on formation, there is a special group of verbs:

Phrasal verbs consist of a main verb combined with one or more preposition or adverbs, creating a new meaning. Sometimes we can put an object between the verb and the preposition or adverb. While some other verbs cannot be separated.