Here on this page, let’s look at the verbs and their types.

What is verb?

Verbs are the words that indicate the action that the subject is doing.

The verb is the main element of a sentence or phrase, which tells what has taken place. Most of the time, verbs come after the noun or pronoun.
It is a fact, without a verb, a sentence can’t be fulfilled.

Action and non-action verbs

Example
• I drink coffee twice a day.
• She writes a letter to her father.
• You play tennis well.
• They dance well at the concert.
• Rohit works hard in his office.
These are examples of action verbs.

However, it sounds confusing because not all the verbs are action verbs. There are non-action verbs such as know, belief, hope, love.

Physical and mental verbs

There are physical and mental verbs.
Physical verbs are action verbs. If the action is done by the body or any tool it is considered as a physical verb.
Cognitive states such as knowing, perceiving, understanding, and thinking are known as mental verbs.

Example

• I run 10 kilometres every day in the morning.
• They see the picture and admire the beauty of it.
• I know him for 15 years.
• She couldn’t recognize him as she is meeting him after 10 years.

State of being verbs

State of being verbs are also known as linking verbs in a sentence. Be verbs such as am, is, and are examples of the being verbs. These verbs are inactive as they aren’t an action verb. The state of being verbs are used to complement with adjectives.

Example

• I am a doctor.
• Natasha is a good hacker.
• They are intelligent scientists.

Types of verbs

• Verbs are classified into several types. They are action verbs, transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, auxiliary verbs, stative verbs, modal verbs, phrasal verbs, and irregular verbs.

Action verbs

Action verbs refer to the specific actions carried out by the subject in a sentence. These can be physical or mental verbs.

Example

• My mother cooks dinner at 7 pm every day.
• She draws a beautiful picture.
• She eats an apple every day.
• Rat catches the mouse.

Transitive verb

A transitive verb is a verb that gives meaning when it deploys its action on an object. It may be an active or non-active verb. Transitive verb transfers its action to something or someone which is an object. These are the verbs that affect something else.

Example

Dhoni throws the ball.

In the above example, the word ‘throw’ is transitive and the ball is an object. Without the object ‘the ball’, the verb is meaningless.

Example

Dhoni throws

The sentence seems weird. Dhoni throws, what, or who? The object ‘the ball’ answers those questions and complete the sentence.

Example

• She brings a cup of coffee.
• Please, take the pen.
• Natasha sent an email to her friend.
• Please buy a storybook for me.
• Lucy left the car key on the table.

Intransitive verb

An intransitive verb is the opposite of a transitive verb. It doesn’t require an object to function. There is no direct object following an intransitive verb.

Characteristics of the intransitive verb

• It expresses a doable activity.
• It doesn’t have a direct object.

Example

Example

• She arrives at 9 a.m.
• He sings.
• Children play.
• Rahim went.
• They sit and admire the picture.

Some verbs can be transitive and intransitive.

Example

Example

• Leave

Transitive: She leaves early home.

Intransitive: Rohit left the car in the parking area.

• Sing

Transitive: She sings sweetly.

Intransitive: They sang the anthem together.

Auxiliary verbs

These are helping verbs in a sentence. These are used with the base verb to form a sentence and to show the verb’s tense.

Example

• I may go to the party
• Could you open the door, please?
• I will not write a letter.
• I did not talk to him.
• She can draw beautifully.

Stative verbs

Stative verbs express a state of a subject in a sentence. Stative verbs are used to express thoughts, opinions, emotions, state of being, relationships, and senses. These are not action verbs.

Example

• She hopes to get a degree by next year.
• The professor disagrees with the students.
• I believe in him.
• She doubted the report of his auditor.

Modal verbs

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs used to express the abilities, possibilities, permissions, advice, and obligations of the subject.

Example

• Students must wear a uniform to school.
• He can run for 3 hours.
• Employees should attend a meeting every week.
• I would like to have a cup of coffee.

Phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of the main verb together with an adverb or preposition or the combination of both.

Example

• Jane looks after her aunt’s son.

Look after: Look is a verb and after is a preposition. They both combined and form a new phrase ‘look after’. If you separate the words in the phrase, they give different meanings rather than they combined.

Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs are those verbs that do not take the regular form to past tense or past participle. Most of the verbs are considered to be irregular verbs.

Example

Eat

• Eat is a base verb.
• The past tense of eat is ate.
• The past participle of eat is eaten.

Example

• Present tense: I eat an apple.
• Past tense: I ate an apple.
• Past participle: I have eaten an apple.