Verbs are action words in a sentence that describe what the subject is doing. They are essential for forming a complete thought.
Types of Verbs
Action Verbs:
Describe physical or mental actions.
Examples: run, think, eat, sleep.
Linking Verbs: Connect the subject with a subject complement (a word that describes or identifies the subject).
Examples: am, is, are, was, were, seem, become.
Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs: Used together with a main verb to form different tenses, moods, and voices.
Examples: have, has, had, do, does, did, will, shall, would, should, can, could, may, might, must.
Common Verbs and Their Uses
To Be
Forms: am, is, are, was, were, being, been
Use: Describes the state of being or existence.
Examples:
Present: I am happy.
Past: They were excited.
Continuous: She is being kind.
To Have
Forms: have, has, had, having
Use: Shows possession or an action done by the subject.
Examples:
Possession: I have a book.
Action: She has eaten lunch.
Perfect Tense: They had finished the project by noon.
To Do
Forms: do, does, did, doing
Use: Used to form questions, negatives, or to emphasize an action.
Examples:
Question: Do you like coffee?
Negative: She does not know the answer.
Emphasis: I do understand your point.
Verb Tenses
Verbs change form to indicate the time of action. There are three main tenses:
Present Tense
Describes actions happening now or habitual actions
.Examples: He runs every day. (habitual), She is reading a book. (current)
Past Tense
Describes actions that happened at a specific time in the past.
Examples: They visited the museum last week.
Future Tense
Describes actions that will happen.
Examples: She will travel to Paris next month.
Verb Forms
Based Form:
The simple form of the verb without any endings (e.g., go, eat, speak).
Past Form: Used to describe actions that happened in the past (e.g., went, ate, spoke).
Past Participle: Often used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses (e.g., gone, eaten, spoken).
Present Participle/Gerund: The form ending in -ing, used in continuous tenses and as nouns (e.g., going, eating, speaking).
Modal Verbs
Modals are auxiliary verbs that express necessity, possibility, permission, or ability.
Can/could:
Ability or possibility.
Example: She can swim. / They could come if they wanted.
May/Might:
Permission or possibility.
Example: May I leave early? / It might rain today.
Will/Would:
Future intention or polite requests.
Example: I will call you tomorrow. / Would you like some tea?
Must: Necessity or strong recommendation.
Example: You must wear a seatbelt.
Verb Agreement
Verbs must agree with their subjects in number and person
Singular Subject: He runs every morning.
Plural Subject: They run every morning.
Here is a list of 100 common English verbs, along with their base form, past simple form, and past participle form:
- accept – accepted – accepted
- allow – allowed – allowe
- dask – asked – asked
- be – was/were – been
- become – became – become
- begin – began – begun
- believe – believed – believed
- bring – brought – brought
- build – built – built
- buy – bought – bought
- call – called – called
- can – could – (no past participle)
- choose – chose – chosen
- come – came – come
- consider – considered – considered
- continue – continued – continued
- create – created – created
- decide – decided – decided
- do – did – done
- eat – ate – eaten
- feel – felt – felt
- find – found – found
- get – got – gotten
- give – gave – given
- go – went – gone
- have – had – had
- hear – heard – heard
- help – helped – helped
- keep – kept – kept
- know – knew – known
- learn – learned/learnt – learned/learnt
- leave – left – leftlike – liked – liked
- live – lived – lived
- look – looked – looked
- make – made – made
- means – meant – meant
- meet – met – met
- move – moved – moved
- need – needed – needed
- open – opened – opened
- pay – paid – paid
- play – played – played
- put – put – put
- read – read – read
- run – ran – run
- say – said – said
- see – saw – seen
- seem – seemed – seemed
- send – sent – sent
- set – set – set
- show – showed – shown
- sit – sat – sat
- speak – spoke – spoken
- spend – spent – spent
- stand – stood – stood
- start – started – started
- stay – stayed – stayed
- stop – stopped – stopped
- study – studied – studied
- take – took – taken
- talk – talked – talked
- teach – taught – taught
- tell – told – told
- think – thought – thought
- try – tried – triedturn – turned – turned
- understand – understood – understood
- use – used – used
- wait – waited – waited
- walk – walked – walked
- want – wanted – wanted
- watch – watched – watched
- wear – wore – worn
- win – won – won
- work – worked – worked
- write – wrote – written
- add – added – added
- appear – appeared – appeared
- begin – began – begun
- break – broke – broken
- bring – brought – brought
- build – built – built
- buy – bought – bought
- catch – caught – caught
- choose – chose – chosen
- cut – cut – cutdraw – drew – drawn
- drive – drove – driven
- fall – fell – fallen
- feel – felt – felt
- find – found – found
- fly – flew – flown
- forget – forgot – forgotten
- freeze – froze – frozen
- grow – grew – grown
- hold – held – held
- lead – led – led
- lend – lent – lent
Understanding these common verbs in depth helps form the foundation of English grammar and enhances communication skills. Each verb has different forms and uses, enabling you to express a wide range of actions, states, and processes.
