Verbs

Averbis customarily defined as apart of speech(orword class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. But justwhenis a word a verb?Generally, it makes more sense to define a verb by what itdoesthan by what itis. Just as the "same" word (rainorsnow, for example) can serve as either a noun or a verb, the same verb can play various roles depending on how it's used.Continue Reading BelowPut simply, verbs move our sentences along in many different ways.Here, by identifying 10 types of verbs, we'll briefly consider some of their more common functions. For additional examples and more detailed explanations of these verb forms and functions, follow the links to ourGlossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms. *.Auxiliary VerbsandLexical VerbsAnauxiliary verb(also known as ahelping verb) determines themoodortenseof another verb in a phrase. In the sentence "Itwillrain tonight," for example, the verbwill"helps" the verbrainby pointing to the future. The primary auxiliaries arebe, have,anddo. Themodalauxiliaries includecan, could, may, must, should, will, andwould.Alexical verb(also known as afullormainverb) is any verb in English that isn't an auxiliary verb: it conveys a real meaning anddoesn't depend on another verb: "Itrainedall night."*.Dynamic VerbsandStative VerbsAdynamic verbindicates an action, process, or sensation: "Iboughta new guitar."Astative verb(such asbe, have, know, like, own, andseem) describes a state, situation,or condition: "Now Iowna Gibson Explorer."*.Finite VerbsandNonfinite VerbsAfinite verbexpresses tense and can occuron its own in amain clause: "Shewalkedto school."Anonfinite verb(aninfinitiveorparticiple) doesn't show a distinction in tense and can occur on its own only in adependentphraseor clause: "Whilewalkingto school, she spotted a bluejay."*.Regular VerbsandIrregular VerbsAregular verb(also known as aweak verb) forms its past tense andpast participleby adding-dor-ed(or in some cases-t) to thebase form: "Wefinishedthe project." (SeeForming the Past Tense of Regular Verbs.)Anirregular verb(also known as astrong verb) doesn't form the past tense by adding-dor-ed: "Gusatethe wrapper on his candy bar." (SeeIntroduction to Irregular Verbs in English.)*.Transitive VerbsandIntransitive VerbsAtransitive verbis followed by adirect object: "Shesellsseashells."Anintransitive verbdoesn't take a direct object: "Hesatthere quietly." (This distinction is especially tricky because many verbs have both transitive and intransitive functions.)Continue Reading BelowDoes that covereverythingverbs can do? Farfrom it.Causative verbs, for example, show that some person or thing helps to make something happen.Catenative verbsjoin withother verbs to form a chain or series.Copular verbslink the subject of a sentence to itscomplement.See Also:7 Facts About VerbsThen there areperformative verbs,prepositional verbs,iteratives, andreporting verbs. And we haven't even touched on thepassiveor thesubjunctive.But you get the idea. Though they can get tense and moody, verbs are hard-workingparts of speech, and we can count on them to make things happenin many different ways.* Stephen Pinker,The Stuff of Thought.Viking, 2007