All about types of verbs

Auxiliary or Helping Verbs Auxiliary or Helping verbs are used together with a main verbto show the verb’s tense or to form a negative or question..  Adds emphasis to a sentence Auxilia

Verbs

What is a verb?

A verb is one of the main parts of a sentence or question in English

In fact, you can’t have a sentence or a question without a verb! That’s how important these

“action” parts of speech are

The verb signals an action, an occurrence, or a state of being Whether mental, physical, or mechanical, verbs always express activity

Physical Verbs – Definition and Examples

Physical verbs are action verbs They describe specific physical actions If you can create a motion with your body or use a tool to complete an action, the word you use to describe it is most likely a physical verb

Physical Verb Examples

The physical verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification

 Let’s run to the corner and back

 I hear the train coming

 Call me when you’re finished with class

Mental Verbs – Definition and Examples

Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as discovering,

understanding, thinking, or planning In general, a mental verb refers to a cognitive state

Examples

The mental verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification

 I know the answer

 She recognized me from across the room

 Do you believe everything people tell you?

States of Being Verbs – Definition and Examples

Also known as linking verbs, state of being verbs describe conditions or situations that exist State of being verbs are inactive since no action is being performed These verbs are usually complemented by adjectives

States of Being Verb Examples

The state of being verbs in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification

Action Verbs

Action Verbs are verbs that express verbs express specific actions, and are used any time you want to show action or discuss someone doing something Ex: run, walk, do, drive

I’ll do my homework when I get home

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Most action verbs are defined as transitive or intransitive This means that some are used with a direct object (the person or thing that receives the action of the subject) and others don’t need a direct object Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive depending on their meaning

1 Transitive Verb – Joe will send the price quote as soon as he can

2 Intransitive Verb – Many of the students are not well They coughed throughout the lesson

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs always receive a direct object:

1 Richard annoys his boss so much that he’ll never get a promotion

(His boss is the direct object of annoys and a promotion is the direct object of get)

2 Jenna brings Mrs Smith lunch every day

(Mrs Smith is the direct object of brings Jenna is the subject

Here’s a list of some common transitive verbs that must be followed by a direct object:

1 If Cathy continues to be late for work, the boss will fire her

(Continues is followed by an infinitive (to be), with no direct object.)

2 The bomb exploded in the city center

(Exploded is followed by a preposition of place with no direct object.)

Many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive depending on their meanings

Examples

1 Jamie set the documents down on the CEO’s desk

(Transitive: The documents are the direct object to the verb: set.)

2 The sun set low over the Pacific Ocean

(Intransitive: Low is an adverb Set doesn’t need a direct object.)

3 Ms Tyson manages the accounting department

(Transitive: The accounting department is thedirect object to the verb: manage.)

4 John has had difficulty managing since his wife’s death

(Intransitive: Since is a preposition of time.Managing doesn’t need a direct object)

Note: Transitive and intransitive verbs can appear in any tense

Here is a list of several verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive depending on their meanings:

Exercises – Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Decide whether the following verbs are transitive, intransitive or both:

1 The workmen have been painting for hours

2 When they call from the charity, Mrs Alpert always gives generously

3 Before you send the proposal, make sure you edit it carefully

4 That perfume smells nice

5 My new car cost me a small fortune

6 Jim owed his landlord $450

7 Pete emigrated from Australia in 1998

8 The customer was tired of waiting, so he got up and left

9 Are you sure you want to paint the ceiling too?

10 Please take the documents over to Mrs Samuels’ office

Auxiliary (or Helping) Verbs

Auxiliary (or Helping) verbs are used together with a main verbto show the verb’s tense or

to form a negative or question The most common auxiliary verbs are have, be, and do

1 Does Sam write all his own reports?

2 The secretaries haven’t written all the letters yet

3 Terry is writing an e-mail to a client at the moment

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, add functional or grammatical meaning to the clauses in which they appear They perform their functions in several different ways:

 By expressing tense ( providing a time reference, i.e past, present, or future)

 Grammatical aspect (expresses how verb relates to the flow of time)

 Modality (quantifies verbs)

 Voice (describes the relationship between the action expressed by the verb and the

participants identified by the verb’s subject, object, etc.)

 Adds emphasis to a sentence

Auxiliary verbs almost always appear together with a main verb, and though there are only

a few of them, they are among the most frequently occurring verbs in the English language

How to Identify an Auxiliary Verb

You probably know that every sentence has at least one verb in it There are two main types of verbs Action verbs are used to depict activities that are doable, and linking verbs are used to describe conditions Both action verbs and linking verbs can accompany

auxiliary verbs including the three main ones: do,be, and have

Sometimes actions or conditions occur only one time and then they’re over It’s at times like these that some of the same verbs that are used as auxiliary verbs are instead used as action or linking verbs In this example, we see the word “is” This is one of the most

common auxiliary verbs, but because it stands alone here, it is not functioning as an

auxiliary verb

Jerry slammed the car door on his thumb He is in horrible pain

“Is” is a linking verb in this sentence Because it stands alone, it is not an auxiliary verb

At other times, an action or condition is ongoing, happening predictably, or occurring in relationship to another event or set of events In these cases, single-word verbs like is are not accurately capable of describing what happened, so phrases that include auxiliary verbs are used instead These can be made up of anywhere from two to four words

A main verb, also known as a base verb, indicates the kind of action or condition taking place An auxiliary or helping verb accompanies the main verb and conveys other nuances that help the reader gain specific insight into the event that is taking place

Read the following sentences and explanations to gain greater insight into how auxiliary verbs work

1 Jerry caught his thumb in the car door as coffee spilled from his cup onto his favorite

shirt

2 Jerry is always spilling things

3 Since Jerry is also accident prone, he should have been drinking coffee from a mug with a lid, which would not have spilled on his favorite shirt

In sentence one, caught and spilled, single-word verbs, describe quick, one-time actions

of both Jerry and his messy coffee This sentence does not contain an auxiliary verb

Since Jerry often has unfortunate accidents, is spillingcommunicates the frequency of his clumsy actions in sentence two In sentence three, the auxiliary verbs that make upshould

have been drinking and would have stainedexpress time relationships as well as an

evaluation of Jerry’s actions

Three Common Auxiliary Verbs

There are just three common auxiliary verbs:

In this section, we’ll take a closer look at how these common verbs work, plus you’ll see some examples

Have

“Have” is a very important verb that can stand alone in all its tenses, including has, have,

having, had, and hadn’t or had not It is usually used to denote ownership, and it can also

be used to discuss ability or describe appearance “Have” is also a very popular substitute for the verbs “eat” and “drink.” For example: “Let’s have dinner.”

When used as an auxiliary verb, have is always teamed up with another verb to create a

complete verb phrase, making it easy to differentiate between uses You can see the difference in the sentences below:

 Jerry has a large coffee stain on his shirt → Has = action verb

 Jerry has bought a new shirt to replace the one that was ruined earlier → Has = auxiliary

verb; bought is a past participle that competes the verb phrase

 Jerry should have been more careful! → Have = auxiliary verb; phrase “should have been”

expresses time and evaluates Jerry’s actions

“Do” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses, including to

do, do, does, done, did and didn’t,doesn’t or did not

When used as an auxiliary verb, do is always paired up with another verb to create a

complete verb phrase In some cases, it is used to add emphasis: “I did put the garbage out!” Do is often used to form questions and negated clauses It is also used in elliptical

sentences, where the main verb is understood and is omitted as a result For example: “He plays piano well, doesn’t he?” or “They all had dinner, but I didn’t.”

 Because he spills things so often, Jerry does more laundry than most people  Does = action verb

 Jerry didn’t put his coffee in a cup with a lid  Didn’t = auxiliary verb

 Jerry doesn’t always spill things, but it happens a lot  Doesn’t = auxiliary verb

Be

“Be” or “to be” is an important verb that has a multitude of uses in English It can be used

as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses including be, to be, been, am, are, is,

was, were, wasn’t, was not aren’t, are not, weren’t and were not

When used as an auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another verb to create a complete

verb phrase It can be singular or plural, present or past Negative sentences are formed by adding the word “not”

 Jerry is messy  Is = action verb

 Although he is always complaining about his accidents, Jerry fails to pay attention  is = auxiliary verb

 Jerry is going to be doing extra laundry for the rest of his life  to be = auxiliary verb

Modal Auxiliary Verbs

In addition to the three main auxiliary verbs, have, do, and be, there are additional auxiliary

verbs These are called modal auxiliary verbs, and they never change form A complete list of modal auxiliary verbs follows:

Auxiliary Verb Examples

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs and verb phrases In the examples below, the verb phrase is italicized and the auxiliary verb is in bold

1 Jessica is taking John to the airport

2 If he doesn’t arrive on time, he’ll have to take a later flight

3 Unfortunately, our dinner has been eaten by the dog

4 I have purchased a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that were lost in my luggage

5 We hope you don’t have an accident on your way to school

6 She was baking a pie for dessert

7 Dad has been working hard all day

8 The bed was made as soon as I got up

9 Sarah doesn’t ski or roller skate

10 Did Matthew bring coffee?

Auxiliary Verb Exercises

Fill in the blank with the correct auxiliary verb from the choices presented:

1 What the kids doing when you last saw them? (was, were, are, did, been)

2 Carla always wanted to try skydiving (was, doesn’t, has, is, have)

3 Where you go on your summer vacation? (were, been, are, did, does)

4 Why do you think she call you like she said she would? (didn’t, is, hasn’t, has been, have)

5 Mary _ going to be upset when she hears what happened (will, don’t, is, didn’t, has)

6 Jeremy _ want to go to the movies; he wants to stay home instead (doesn’t, isn’t, wasn’t, hasn’t, was not)

7 I _ appreciate his jokes They weren’t funny (did, have, been, didn’t, haven’t)

8 I really like fish but I _ care for meat (weren’t, been, don’t, is, was)

9 Where _ you going when I saw you last night? (were, was, is, do, did)

10 Tara called yet; she’s late as usual (are, were, has, hasn’t,

wouldn’t)

Answers: 1 – were, 2 – has, 3 – did, 4 – didn’t, 5 – is, 6 –doesn’t, 7 – didn’t, 8 – don’t, 9

– were, 10 – hasn’t

Stative Verbs

What are Stative Verbs?

Stative verbs are verbs that express a state rather than an action They usually relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being and measurements These verbs are not usually used with ing in progressive (continuous) tenses even though they may take

on time expressions such as now and at the moment We use the simple tenses for them

1 Paul feels rotten today He has a bad cold

2 Do you recognize him? He is a famous rock star

3 Our client appreciated all the work we did for him

 Incorrect: I’m smelling your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce

 Correct: I smell your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce

However, there are some verbs that look like they should be stative, but may appear in the ing form These verbs differ in meaning to the stative verbs

Stative Verb Examples:

see

1 I see Michael, but he can’t see me I’m too far away (I see him with my eyes.)

2 James is seeing Marsha They’ve been together for a month (He’s dating her.)

1 Jeremy has a Mercedes (He owns it.)

2 Sara is having lunch with her editor (She’s eating lunch)

List of Stative Verbs

Stative Verb Exercises

Complete each sentence using the stative verb from the parenthesis:

1 Do you _ the answer? (depend on, know, include)

2 Jim _ dessert every day (has, eats, possesses)

3 I _ good about the race’s outcome (am, were, feel)

4 She _ her mother (imagines, resembles, walks with)

5 Do you _ they will win? (think, involve, promise)

6 They really _ everything you did for them (include, appreciate, dislike)

7 I think the teacher was _ with my speech (involved, measured, satisfied)

8 Can you _ the coffee brewing? (feel, smell, dislike)

9 I still _ a lot of money on my student loans (deserve, owe, involve)

10 You _ more shoes than anyone else I know! (dislike, suppose, have) Answers: 1 – know, 2 – has, 3 – feel, 4 – resembles, 5 –think, 6 – appreciate, 7

– satisfied, 8 – smell, 9 – owe, 10 –have

Modal Verbs

Modal and Modal Phrases (Semi-Modals)

A modal is a type of auxiliary (helping) verb that is used to express: ability, possibility, permission or obligation Modal phrases (or semi-modals) are used to express the same things as modals, but are a combination of auxiliary verbs and the preposition to The modals and semi-modals in English are:

Can, Could, Be Able To

Can, could and be able to are used to express a variety of ideas in English:

Ability/Lack of Ability

Present and Future:

can/can’t + base form of the verb

1 Tom can write poetry very well

2 I can help you with that next week

3 Lisa can’t speak French

am / is / are / will be + able to + base form of the verb

am not/ isn’t / aren’t/ won’t be + able to + base form of the verb

1 Mike is able to solve complicated math equations

2 The support team will be able to help you in about ten minutes

3 I won’t be able to visit you next summer

Past:

could / couldn’t + base form of the verb

1 When I was a child I could climb trees

was / were + able to + base form of the verb

wasn’t / weren’t + able to + base form of the verb

hasn’t / haven’t + been able to + base form of the verb