An Overview of Verb

🧠 An Overview of Verb

1. What is a Verb?

A verb is one of the most important parts of speech in English.
It tells us what a subject does (an action), what happens (an event), or what something is (a state of being).

👉 In short:
A verb = an action word or a state of being.

Examples:

·         She runs every morning. → (action)

·         They play football on Sunday. → (action)

·         He is a teacher. → (state of being)

 

2. Types of Verbs

a. Action Verbs

These verbs show physical or mental actions.

·         Physical actions: run, jump, write, sing

·         Mental actions: think, believe, remember, understand

Examples:

·         I write a letter.

·         She believes in herself.

 

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b. Linking Verbs

These verbs connect the subject to more information about it.
They do not show action but describe a state or condition.

Common linking verbs: be, become, seem, appear, feel, look, sound

Examples:

·         She is beautiful.

·         He became a doctor.

·         It looks interesting.

 

c. Helping Verbs (Auxiliary Verbs)

Helping verbs assist the main verb to form tenses, questions, or negatives.

Common helping verbs: am, is, are, was, were, do, does, did, have, has, had, will, shall, can, may, must

Examples:

·         She is reading a book.

·         They have finished their homework.

·         Do you like coffee?

 

3. Verb Forms (Base, Past, Past Participle, -ing)

Base Form	Past Simple	Past Participle	-ing Form
go	went	gone	going
eat	ate	eaten	eating
play	played	played	playing
study	studied	studied	studying

Examples:

·         I go to school every day.

·         I went to school yesterday.

·         I have gone to school already.

·         I am going to school now.

 

4. Regular and Irregular Verbs

·         Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -ed
→ play → played, work → worked

·         Irregular verbs have different forms in the past tense
→ go → went, eat → ate, buy → bought

Tip: There is no fixed rule for irregular verbs — you must memorize them!

 

5. Verb Tenses (Short Overview)

Tense	Example
Simple Present	I play football.
Simple Past	I played football.
Present Continuous	I am playing football.
Present Perfect	I have played football.
Future	I will play football.

 

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid

🚫 He go to school every day.
✅ He goes to school every day.

🚫 I am agree with you.
✅ I agree with you. (Agree is a verb, not used with “am”)

🚫 She is looks tired.
✅ She looks tired.

 

📝 Practice Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the correct verb form:

1.      She ______ (go) to the market every morning.

2.      They ______ (play) football yesterday.

3.      I ______ (be) happy today.

4.      He ______ (not/finish) his homework yet.

5.      We ______ (study) English now.

 

✅ Answer Key

1.      goes

2.      played

3.      am

4.      hasn’t finished

5.      are studying

 

✨ Conclusion

Verbs are the heart of every sentence in English.
By understanding their types, forms, and usage, you can create clear and grammatically correct sentences.
So, keep practicing — because mastering verbs means mastering English!