TYPES OF ENGLISH VERBS

ome people get confused with all the different types of Englis
erbs. Verbs and nouns are the two most important
gredients in any language. Nouns tell us what is involved in
tuation and verbs tell us what happens in a situation.
o, what is a verb?
his class will tell you:

A) The names of different

kinds of verbs
B) Their relationship
to each other.

1) THE VERBS ROLE IN A SENTENCE

erbs can be divided according to the job they do in a sentenc

xperts in grammar say that we can divide verbs syntacticall
hese are the divisions and sub-divisions according to SYNTA
FINITE
VERBS
Transitive
Verbs
Intransitive
Verbs
Linking Verbs
(Copulas)

NONFINITE
VERBS

AUXILIARY
VERBS

Infinitive

Primary
Verbs

Gerunds

Modal Verbs

Participles

2) FORMATION OF THE VERB WORD

e know that verbs are words, just like any other part of speec
e words that represent the verbs follow different patterns of
elling or sound.
rbs can, therefore, be divided into various kinds depending
on how they are formed. Grammarians would call this a
orphological division.

REGULAR
VERBS

IRREGULAR
VERBS

3) VERBS ACCORDING TO MEANING

Those who know grammar well call this division of verbsa

semantic classification.
BEING
ACTION
WORDS
(Action
Verbs)

DOING

HAVING

UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS ABOUT THEM

1SYNTACTICALLY

(The function /work it does in a sentence)

FINITE VERBS:

Transitive Verbs: Are the verbs followed by an object; Object = noun or pronou
Only Transitive verbs can be used in both active and passive voices.
Ex.:
Active: Bob mailed the letter.
Passive: The letter was mailed by Bob.

Intransitive Verbs: Are NOT followed by an object, and they cannot

be used in passive voice.
Ex.: Active: An accident happened.
Passive: (Not possible)

Linking Verbs (copulas): They connect a subject to a subject complement whi

identifies or describes the subject.
Ex.:
The play is waiting for Godot.
noun phrase

L.V.

Identifying phrase

B) NON-FINITE VERBS (or Verbals):

Infinitive Verbs: Some verbs are followed by an infinitive.

nfinitive = to + simple form of a verb/ Negative = not + infinitive.
x.: To be / To do / To fly / To take
Common verbs followed by infinitives: want/need/hope/expect/decide.)
I need to see her now. / I want to eat outside.

Gerunds: It is the ing form of a verb. Often referred as a verbal noun.

x.: I enjoy walking in the park. (Walking=gerund/noun; enjoy=verb)
Some verbs are followed by gerunds: enjoy/finish/consider/stop/quit/min
ostpone/consider/discuss).
considered not going to class.

Participles: It is a verbal adjective. Is a verb by birth, but mostly serves

ouns and pronouns as an adjective.
here are 2 types: Present Participle / Past Participle.
* Understanding them you will be able to recognize what is a participle *

AUXILIARY VERBS:

rimary Verbs: One of the three verbs (be/do/have) that can function
ither as a main verb or an auxiliary verb. Used mainly to change the tens
r voice of the main verb and in making questions and negatives.

Modal Verbs: They are helping verbs. Used to change the mood of the
main verb. Can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, ought to,
ave to, must). They are invariable, always have the same form.
ligation: Must, must not
ssibility: May, might, could
rtainty-negative: Cant
ggestion-followed by want to: May, might, should
rmission-ask for and give: Can (+ informal), could, may (+ formal)
quests: Can, could, will, would
ilities: Can, could

MORPHOLOGICALLY (Formation)

REGULAR
VERBS

Simple
Form

Simple
Past

Past
Participle

Present
Participle

Finish

Finished

Finished

Finishing

Made

Made

Making

IRREGULA Make
R
VERBS

Simple form: It is the base form of a verb., with no endings on it.

Simple Past: Ends in ed for regular verbs. Most verbs are regular.
Past Participle: Also ends in ed for regular verbs. Some verbs are irregular and
change the form. It is used in perfect tenses and the passive.
Present Participle: Ends in ing for both regular and irregular verbs. It is used
in present and past progressive tenses.

3 SEMANTICALLY

(According to meaning)

-Action words: A verb that tell us what action someone or

something is performing. Sometimes the action is something you
can see and sometimes the verbs express mental actions (forget,
believe, think).
Ex.: Hank painted the tool shed. / He thought about the problem.
Lets think about 3 families for these actions:
Doing: Large family. All action words live in this house. The head of
the family is To Do and all other members (action verbs) of the
family are to play, to open, to shut, to write, to sleep Some of
them are regular and some are irregular verbs. They can also be
called as strong and week verbs.
Being: Dominated by To Be. Small family. It has 8 different forms:
am, is, are, was, were, be, being and been. They are used in
different occasions , like uniforms. Become, seem, appear also live
in this house, they wear the same uniform, they dont express
action but follow the rules of the house by behaving like them in
their forms (appearance).
Having: To Have. Is the lone resident here. It describes the act or
state of possessing, besides the many other useful jobs it does.

Now you know the names of

different
verbs and how they are
classified,
RIGHT? Lets see
Classifying the verbs according
to their role in a sentence is
___.

a) Morphologically

According to their formation is

___.

c) Syntactically

b) Semantically

According to their meaning is

Lets do some exercises!
___.

REFERENCES:
E-book: Fundamentals of English Grammar Betty Azar
Globetrotter Teachers Book Marcelo B. Costa
http: //esl.about.com
http: //english-language-grammar-guide.com
http: //englishpage.com

Rosenheime Mouro CPD: 522480