A simple verb definition: a verb is the word naming what someone or something does, is, or experiences. In The dog barked, the verb is barked. In She seems tired, the verb is seems. Almost every complete English sentence needs at least one.
Verbs carry a lot of information. They show time (walk, walked, will walk), they agree with their subject (he walks, they walk), and they can team up with helpers to show possibility or duty. This guide covers the main kinds, the forms they take, and quick ways to find the verb in any sentence.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
A word for an action, state or occurrencePart of speech
Noun (the word verb names a part of speech)Pronunciation
VURB, one syllableWord forms
verbs, verbal, verballyOrigin
Latin verbum, word; in English from the late 1300sMain types
action, linking, helping (auxiliary), modalExamples
run, think, be, have, become, can, explode
Verb definition and meaning in English
A verb expresses one of three things:
- An action, physical or mental: jump, write, decide, remember.
- A state, a condition that continues: be, own, believe, belong.
- An occurrence, something that happens: become, happen, melt, grow.
The verb is usually the hinge of a sentence. The subject comes before it (Priya cooked), and objects or other details often follow (cooked dinner). If you remove the verb, the sentence falls apart: Priya dinner says nothing.
The main kinds of verbs
| Type | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action verb | Shows something done | The kids painted the fence. |
| Linking verb | Connects the subject to a description | The soup tastes salty. |
| Helping (auxiliary) verb | Supports the main verb for tense, voice or questions | We have finished. |
| Modal verb | Adds ability, permission, possibility or duty | You should rest. |
| Phrasal verb | Verb plus a small word with a new meaning | Please turn off the lights. |
The common helping verbs are forms of be, have and do. The modals are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will and would.
Transitive, intransitive, regular and irregular
Does it need an object
A transitive verb takes a direct object: She opened the window. An intransitive verb does not: The baby slept. Many verbs can work both ways: He reads novels and He reads every night.
How it forms the past
Regular verbs add -ed: clean, cleaned. Irregular verbs change in their own way: go, went, gone; swim, swam, swum; put, put, put. English has a few hundred irregular verbs, and most of the very common ones are irregular, which is why learners practice them early.
The five forms of an English verb
- Base form: eat (I eat, to eat)
- Third person singular: eats (she eats)
- Past simple: ate (they ate)
- Past participle: eaten (we have eaten)
- Present participle or -ing form: eating (he is eating)
With helpers, these five forms build every tense: will eat, had eaten, was eating, will have been eating. The verb be is the great exception, with eight forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being.
How to find the verb in a sentence
Three quick tests help:
- Ask what the subject does or is.
- Change the sentence to the past or future; the word that shifts is the verb.
- Try putting I, you or they in front; verbs fit after a pronoun (pronoun plus verb is the smallest sentence: They left.).
Watch out for words ending in -ing. In Swimming is fun, swimming acts as a noun, and the verb is is.
Where the word verb comes from
English took verb from Old French verbe in the late 1300s, and it goes back to Latin verbum, which simply meant word. Latin grammarians used it for the part of speech they saw as the central word of a sentence. The same ancient root that gave Latin verbum also produced the English word word. Related terms include verbal, which can mean about verbs, but more often means spoken or in words: a verbal agreement.
Verbs beside other parts of speech
Verbs work with the rest of the sentence. Adverbs describe them (ran quickly), nouns and pronouns act as their subjects and objects, and adjectives follow linking verbs (looks happy). English also turns nouns into verbs all the time, a process called conversion: to text a friend, to email a teacher, to chair a meeting. The other parts of speech, and many more grammar terms, each have an entry; see the full list of grammar terms to keep exploring.
Frequently asked questions
What does a verb mean in simple words?
A verb is a doing or being word. It tells you the action, the state or what happens in a sentence, like run, is or became.
What is the meaning of verb, with an example?
A verb is a word for an action or state. In the sentence My brother fixed the bike, fixed is the verb, because it says what the brother did.
Can a sentence have no verb?
A full grammatical sentence needs a verb. Short replies and headlines like Good morning or Fire downtown leave it out, but the verb is understood.
Is be a verb?
Yes. Be is the most common English verb and works as a linking verb (She is kind) and as a helping verb (She is singing).
What are the four main types of verbs?
A common school list is action verbs, linking verbs, helping or auxiliary verbs, and modal verbs. Phrasal verbs are often added as a fifth group.
How do you define verb for a young student?
Say a verb is a word you can do or be. If you can put I or they in front of it and it makes sense, like I jump or they sleep, it is probably a verb.