What is a Verb
Verbs are the words in a sentence that "describes an action or state of being" which means it tells you about something that happens.
In simple terms, A verb tells you what the subject is doing or state of being.
What is an action?
She ate.
She dances.
She is running.
In both of the sentences, an action (eg. ate, dances) is involved. The subject is doing something.
What does the state of being means?
The "state of being" means the physical condition of a person. This basically shows the nonaction verbs.
For example,
She is tall.
She looks tired.
My mother loves me.
I am a good person.
Here, The subject (She) is not doing any action, The Verb is showing only the physical condition of the person.
Without verbs, no sentence can be formed.
Examples of Verbs
Note: Verbs are underlined.
- Aman walks in the morning. (Action)
- She is going to school. (Action)
- Shweta is a good girl. (A state of being)
- I am reading a book.
- He is playing for the country.
- Rahul plays hockey.
- Ram went to school.
- Virat is the best player in our team. (a state of being).
- They are walking home.
- I have lived here since 2010.
- I will go to London next week.
Form of Verbs
1. Base form
Some of the examples of base forms of verbs are: see, sing, play, eat, run, etc.
- Children play in the field.
- I eat a banana daily.
- I run in the park.
- You play.
- We play cricket on the ground.
- They sing the song.
2. Infinitive
Examples: to play, to sing, to eat, to run, etc.
- I like to play.
- We love to sing.
- We need to eat fruits.
- I have to run every day.
- I played football yesterday.
- I sang a song.
- We ran.
4. Past participle
- I have eaten the food.
- We have talked.
- I have forgotten everything.
- We can not use the broken plate.
- They have been walking.
- He was singing.
- I saw them playing.
- I am working.
- I can smell something burning.
Gerund looks exactly the same as the present participle but there is a difference to understand. Both gerund and present participle verb end with "-ing".
A gerund acts as a noun while a present participle acts as a verb or adjective.
- Running is the best exercise.
- Smoking causes lung cancer.
- Brushing your teeth is important.
Types of verbs
- Action Verbs
- Linking Verbs (state of being or non-action verb)
- Auxiliary Verb (Helping verb)
- Modal Auxiliary Verbs
- Finite Verbs
- Non-Finite Verbs
Action Verbs
The action verbs show some actions performed by the subject.
Examples:
- He is reading the newspaper.
- She is dancing.
- We are eating.
Linking Verb
A linking verb used to describe its subject. It is also called the "state of being" verb.
Examples:
- He is tall.
- She looks tired.
- Aryan is hungry.
- I am the boss.
Auxiliary verbs
The auxiliary verb is used with the main verb to help express the main verb's tense, mood, or voice.
Some of the Auxiliary verbs: am, is, are, was, were, has, had, will have, does, do, etc.
Examples:
- She was waiting for more than an hour.
- He is waiting in the cafeteria.
- They will be waiting outside.
- She has done it already.
- We will have to do it again.
Modal Auxiliary verbs
Modal verbs can not work alone, they must work with the main verb. It is a kind of Auxiliary verb.
Examples:
can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, etc.
- I will give you another opportunity.
- I will play tomorrow.
- You should help others.
- If I were you, I would not do it.
Finite Verbs
A finite verb is a verb that has a subject and shows tense. It is a form of the verb that is performed by or refers to a subject.
Examples:
- Ramesh went to school.
- John Plays the piano.
- John cooks food.
- The thief escaped again.
- She is happy.
Non-Finite Verbs
A nonfinite verb does not show tense, which means you can not tell if a sentence is in past, present, or future tense by looking at the nonfinite verb.
Nonfinite verbs work as adjectives, gerunds, and adverbs in the sentence.
Examples:
- We are ready to play now.
- Sleeping in the afternoon is not healthy.
- I have not completed the given task.
That's it. Hope you liked the article.
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