Verb in English Grammar – Definition, Types, Rules and Examples

- September 30, 2026

Verb in English Grammar – Definition, Types, Rules and Examples

A verb is one of the most important parts of English grammar. We use verbs in almost every sentence. A verb tells us what a person, animal or thing does. It can also tell us about a state, condition, feeling or possession.

What is a Verb?

A verb is a word that shows an action, state, condition or possession.

In simple words, a verb tells us what someone or something does or what someone or something is.

Examples:

Riya reads a book.
Rahul plays cricket.
The baby sleeps.
Birds fly in the sky.
She is happy.
They are students.
I have a new pen.

In these sentences, reads, plays, sleeps, fly, is, are and have are verbs.

Why are Verbs Important?

A sentence usually needs a verb to express a complete idea. Without a verb, the sentence may not tell us what is happening.

For example:

Rohan cricket. ❌

This sentence is incomplete.

Rohan plays cricket. ✅

Here, plays tells us what Rohan does. Therefore, plays is the verb.

Types of Verbs

Verbs can be divided into different types according to their use in a sentence.

Main Verb
Helping Verb
Action Verb
Transitive Verb
Intransitive Verb
Linking Verb
Finite Verb
Non-finite Verb
Regular Verb
Irregular Verb
Modal Verb
Stative Verb

1. Main Verb

A main verb gives the main meaning to a sentence. It tells us what the subject does or what happens.

Examples:

She reads a book.
Rahul plays football.
They visited Mumbai.
My mother cooks food.
The children laughed.

In these sentences, reads, plays, visited, cooks and laughed are main verbs.

2. Helping Verb

A helping verb helps the main verb in a sentence. Helping verbs are also called auxiliary verbs.

Some common helping verbs are:

am, is, are, was, were, has, have, had, do, does, did

Examples:

She is reading a book.
They are playing cricket.
I am writing a letter.
He has completed his homework.
We were watching television.

In the sentence She is reading a book, is is the helping verb and reading is the main verb.

3. Action Verb

An action verb shows an action. The action may be physical or mental.

Examples:

The boy runs fast.
She dances beautifully.
He writes a letter.
Mother cooks food.
They opened the door.
I remember his name.

4. Transitive Verb

A transitive verb is a verb that usually needs an object to complete its meaning.

Examples:

She reads a book.
Rohan bought a pen.
Mother cooked food.
The boy kicked the ball.
She opened the window.

In the sentence She reads a book, the verb is reads and the object is book.

5. Intransitive Verb

An intransitive verb does not need an object to complete its meaning.

Examples:

The baby cried.
Birds fly.
The boy laughed.
The baby slept.
The sun shines.

These sentences are complete without an object.

6. Linking Verb

A linking verb connects the subject with a word or phrase that gives more information about the subject.

Common linking verbs include am, is, are, was, were, seem, become, feel, look and appear.

Examples:

She is happy.
He became a doctor.
The flower looks beautiful.
I feel tired.
The sky looks clear.

7. Finite Verb

A finite verb changes according to the subject, number or tense of the sentence.

Examples:

I play cricket.
He plays cricket.
They played cricket yesterday.

Here, the form of the verb changes according to the subject or tense.

8. Non-finite Verb

A non-finite verb does not change according to the subject or tense. Infinitives, gerunds and participles are common forms of non-finite verbs.

Examples:

To read is a good habit.
I like reading books.
Swimming is good exercise.
The crying baby needs milk.

9. Regular Verb

A regular verb generally forms its past tense by adding -ed or -d to the base form.

Present	Past
play	played
walk	walked
work	worked
clean	cleaned
dance	danced
help	helped

10. Irregular Verb

An irregular verb does not form its past tense simply by adding -ed.

Present	Past	Past Participle
go	went	gone
eat	ate	eaten
write	wrote	written
see	saw	seen
take	took	taken
come	came	come
drink	drank	drunk

11. Modal Verb

Modal verbs are helping verbs that express ability, possibility, permission, advice, necessity or intention.

Common modal verbs are:

can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must

Examples:

I can swim.
She can speak English.
You should study regularly.
We must obey the rules.
May I come in?
It might rain today.
He will help you.

12. Stative Verb

A stative verb describes a state rather than a physical action. It can describe feelings, thoughts, opinions, possession or knowledge.

Examples:

I know the answer.
She likes mangoes.
He believes me.
They own a house.
I understand the question.

Verb Forms

A verb can have different forms. The five commonly taught forms are:

Form	Example
V1 – Base Form	go
V2 – Past Form	went
V3 – Past Participle	gone
V4 – -ing Form	going
V5 – s/es Form	goes

Some Common Verb Forms

V1	V2	V3	V4	V5
go	went	gone	going	goes
eat	ate	eaten	eating	eats
write	wrote	written	writing	writes
read	read	read	reading	reads
play	played	played	playing	plays

How to Identify a Verb?

Finding the verb in a sentence is easy if you ask a simple question:

What is the subject doing?

Example 1:

Riya reads a book.

What is Riya doing? → Reading.

Therefore, reads is the verb.

Example 2:

The dog runs in the garden.

What does the dog do? → Runs.

Therefore, runs is the verb.

Example 3:

They are playing cricket.

Here, are is the helping verb and playing is the main verb.

100 Common Verbs in English

Here are some common verbs that are useful in everyday English:

be, have, do, go, come, eat, drink, read, write, speak, listen, walk, run, jump, sit, stand, sleep, wake, play, work, study, learn, teach, help, make, take, give, get, bring, buy, sell, open, close, start, finish, stop, look, see, watch, hear, say, tell, ask, answer, call, meet, live, love, like, want, need, know, think, understand, remember, forget, believe, feel, use, keep, put, hold, carry, wash, clean, cook, cut, draw, sing, dance, drive, ride, swim, fly, build, break, choose, find, lose, win, send, receive, show, move, wait, stay, visit, travel, teach, practice, try, decide, explain, change, grow, laugh, cry, smile, work, study, enjoy

Examples of Verbs in Sentences

I go to school every day.
She reads English books.
Rahul plays cricket.
They watch television.
We study together.
Mother cooks delicious food.
Father drives a car.
The baby is sleeping.
The children are playing.
He writes neatly.
Birds fly in the sky.
The teacher teaches English.
She sings a song.
He opened the door.
I drink water.
We help our friends.
They visited the museum.
She looks happy.
He knows the answer.
The students completed their homework.

Verb and Tense

Verbs also help us understand the time of an action. English has three main tenses:

Present Tense – I play cricket.
Past Tense – I played cricket.
Future Tense – I will play cricket.

The verb changes its form according to the tense.

Verb and Subject Agreement

A verb should agree with its subject in number and person.

For example:

He plays cricket.
They play cricket.
She reads a book.
They read books.

With he, she and it in the simple present tense, we generally add -s or -es to the verb.

Conclusion

A verb is an important part of English grammar. It tells us about an action, state, condition or possession. Learning verbs and their different forms helps us make correct English sentences. Students should practise common verbs regularly and learn how verbs change according to tense and subject.

Remember: A sentence without the correct verb may be incomplete or grammatically incorrect. So, learning verbs is very important for improving English grammar and writing skills.