Verbs – Definition, meaning, and 5 types

Verbs are action words and they are a significant part of the English language. Without them, sentences wouldn’t have any activity. Develop a comprehension of what action words truly are and explore the different kinds of action words utilized in the English language alongside sample sentences.

Verbs in English Grammar
Verbs in English grammar

Definition and Examples of a Verb

A verb can be characterized as a word that communicates an activity or a condition. Most action words give key data about the subject of a sentence and are integral to the sentence’s predicate.  Verbs are the part of the sentence that completes the entire sentence by its action being performed.

Verb Examples: Describing Action

Some verbs describe what action is being performed by the subject of the sentence. 

  • She washed her dress. (The action is washing)
  • He climbed to the mountains. (The action is climbing)

Verb Examples: Describing State of Being

  • She feels sad. (The state of being is feeling sad.)
  • He prefers sweet. (The state of preferring sweet.)

5 Types of Verbs

While all action words express activity or describe a condition, there are not only two kinds of action words. Here are five key types of verbs to add to further expand your knowledge of this all-important part of speech.

  • Action verbs
  • Transitive verbs
  • Intransitive Verbs
  • Stative Verbs
  • Connecting or helping verbs

Action Verbs

Most verbs are action verbs. As the name indicates, these verbs describe actions. 

What are Action Verbs image 1 Verbs
Some examples of action verbs
  • to accept – Shila accepted the job offer.
  • to bake – She baked a cake.
  • to dance – He dances very well.

Action verbs can be either transitive or intransitive.

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are essentially express an activity. Appears to be comparable to what an action word is, correct? The main thing to note with this class of action words is that they’re generally trailed by an immediate article, which is a person or thing that is getting the activity of the action word. With transitive action words, an object is required.

  • She wants chocolate.
  • The little boy wrote a poem.
  • Twinkle ate the cake.

Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs are likewise action words that show activity. Dissimilar to transitive action words, they are not trailed by a direct object. Nothing is getting the activity of the verb. The person or the subject of the sentence is performing the activity or action.

  • The train arrives at 5 o’clock.
  • arrived at the office.
  • We went to the cafe.

Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive; the type depends on how the verb is used in a sentence.

Stative Verbs

They are more difficult to identify as verbs. They don’t have any beginning or an end. They’re more tangible than action verbs and don’t perform any action but have some position and a place.

Below are a few examples of Stative Verbs:

  • You deserve this position.
  • Jane dislikes summer.
  • She hates strawberries.

Connecting or helping verbs

Connecting action words don’t communicate activity. Rather, they interface the subject to the extra data that is going to come. As such, they interface the subject to insights concerning the subject. Different types of action words “to be” are connecting action words, including action words like “am,” “is,” “our,” and “were.” There are numerous extra instances of connecting verbs.

  • Albert is an expert chef.
  • I am Chris.
  • The toy was there.
  • We were exhausted after the climbing.

As per the name, it does the same; here we are talking about the helping verbs. They help. 

Below are a few examples of helping verbs:

  • have been there before.
  • am walking to the station.
  • We are going together for dinner.
  • He is sleeping since morning.

Verbs vs. prepositions

Some verbs have become prepositions.

Below are a few examples:

  • They have many helpers, including Mary.
  • According to Google Maps, we are at the right destination.
  • He went to the hospital following the fight.

The main difference between verbs and prepositions is that verbs have a subject. Even if the subject is not written, you can understand what it is. Prepositions do not have a subject. 

Wrapping Up

Now that you know what a verb is, it’s time to show how many you know! 

Was this article helpful?
YesNo

Newsletter Updates

Enter your email address below to subscribe to our newsletter

0 0 votes
Rate this Article
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Advertisements report this ad wpDiscuz
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
| Reply