Verb

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Verb is defined as a word which is used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and
forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence. Verbs always express activity , whether
mental activity or physical activity .Verbs are a necessary component of all sentences. Verbs
have two important functions: Some verbs put stalled subjects into motion while other verbs
help to clarify the subjects in meaningful ways.
Some examples of Verb are : Hear ,Listen ,Laugh , Speak , Cry , Eat etc.
Examples :
• The lady ate the cake ,Here ate is the verb and the word which shows the action of the
sentence.
• The woman is lying on the bed .even though the action doesn’t show much activity, lying is
the verb of the sentence.
• She is a intelligent girl, there is no action but a state of being expressed by the helping verb
‘is’.
Verbs change their form :
Most of the other parts of speech do not change their time with respect to the tenses,
but verbs change their form. Some verbs are ended by adding ‘ed’ (Talk – talked) and some
verbs end in a completely different way (teach-taught). The different forms of verbs show
different meanings related to such things as tense (past, present, future), person (first person,
second person, third person), number (singular, plural), and voice (active, passive). Verbs are
also often accompanied by verb-like words called modals (may, could, should, etc.)
and auxiliaries(do, have, will, etc.) to give them different meanings

Verbs has a relationship with time :
One of the most important things about verbs is their relationship to time. With the form of
verb , we can know if something has already happened, if it will happen later, or if it is
happening now. For things happening now, we use the present tense of a verb; for something
that has already happened, we use the past tense and for something that will happen later, we
use the future tense. For example :
• She is dancing (This form of verb is telling that action is currently in progress)
• She danced (This form of verb is telling that action was in past)
• She will dance ( (This form of verb is telling that action will happen in future)
Different types of Verb :
Regular Verb and Irregular Verb :
The verbs like’Dance’ used in the sentence ,in which we make past tense by adding –
d or -ed are known as regular verbs. For example :
Present Past Future
Laugh Laughed Laughed
Trust Trusted Trusted
Talk Talked Talked
The verbs , in which we do not add -d or -ed to make Past Tense are known as
Irregular Verbs , For Example :
Present Past Future
Eat Ate Eaten
See Saw Seen
Speak Spoke Spoken
Progressive and Perfect Verb :
Apart from regular and irregular verbs , there are also progressive or continuous forms
which show that the action takes place over a period of time, and perfect forms which
show completion of the action. which are as following :
Present Continuous Present Perfect
is laughing has laughed
is eating has eaten
is sleeping has slept

Usually a subject comes before a verb and an object may come after it. The subject is what
does the action of the verb and the object is what receives the action.
For example ,Riya ate a pizza ,
Here Riya is the subject or the one who did the eating and the pizza is the object or what got
eaten.
Transitive and Intransitive Verb :
A verb which has an object is called a transitive verb Means the verbs which cannot be used
without an object . For example : throw, buy, hit, love.
He throw a stone (Using a stone is a must to define the activity)
A verb which do not require an object are called Intransitive Verbs. For example : go, come,
walk, listen.
He walks (We don’t need an object to define activity)
Modal Verb :
Modal verbs are those verbs which do not change their form (spelling) and they have no
infinitive or participle (past/present). Modal verbs are those verbs which express necessity
,possibility , request etc.
The modal verbs are can,could , must, may, might, will, would, should, ought to . They are
used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on. Below is a list
showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings:
Modal
Verb Meaning Example
can to express ability I can speak a little Russian.
can to request permission/to give permission Can I open the window? /You can
use my car.
could Possibility for something which has already been
done If I had money , I could buy it.
may to express possibility I may be home late.
may to request permission May I sit down, please?
must to express obligation I must go now.
must to express strong belief She must be over 90 years old

should to give advice You should stop smoking.
would to request or offer Would you like a cup of tea?
would in if-sentences If I were you, I would say sorry.
Ought to to denote moral duty We ought o respect our elders.
Used to To denote something that is done in past . but is
no longer done I used to play ludo in my childhood.
Dare To denote Challange Don’t dare to ask favor from me.
Some common rules and mistakes of Verbs:
1) Write
The verb write can take two objects. Sometimes this causes problems.
• Incorrect: He wrote me. (The sense of this sentence is completely incorrect.)
• Correct: He wrote to me. (This sentence is conveying the right sense.)
Look at the below examples to be acquainted with the correct usage of the verb ‘Write’ :
We write something. (He wrote a letter.)
We write something to someone. (He wrote a letter to his mother.) (NOT He wrote a letter his
mother.)
2) Explain
The verb explain can be followed by two objects – a direct object and an indirect object.
Note that we explain something to someone. (NOT We explain someone something.)
• Incorrect: I shall explain them this.
• Correct: I shall explain this to them.
3) Suggest
We suggest something to somebody. We cannot suggest somebody something.
• Incorrect: He suggested me this.
• Correct: He suggested this to me.

The verb oblige takes the preposition to. When you are obliged to do something, you are
forced to do it because it is a law, a rule or a duty.
• I felt obliged to help him.
• I am obliged to you for this good turn. (NOT I am obliged of you for this good turn.)
5) Invite
The verb invite can be followed by to or for.
We invite someone to/for something:
• I have invited my uncle and aunt to dinner.
• He invited me for a drink but I politely refused.
6) Tell
The verb tell does not take a preposition.
• Incorrect: He told to me to go.
• Correct: He told me to go.
7) Ask
When ask is followed by two objects, the indirect object (the person) normally comes first,
without a preposition.
• Incorrect: She did not ask any question to him.
• Correct: She did not ask him any question.
• Incorrect: I will ask the time to that man.
• Correct: I will ask that man the time