How to Use Verbs in English: An Ultimate Guide

What are Verbs in English Grammar?

Verbs are words in English that are used to describe action or state or being in the sentence. Without verbs a sentence is incomplete because verbs shows how an action or thing happens.

In this article, you will learn what the verbs are in English grammar, how to conjugate them in different tense, types of verbs in English, and examples of sentences using verbs.

Verbs in English

Verbs describe actions in the sentence and tell us how an action happened. What subject did or what object received. Verbs also show the state of being in the sentence.

Why We Use Verbs?

Verbs are used to show how an action happens in a sentence. In addition, they also tell us the state of being in the sentence. Verbs are essential in the English language because without using verbs, our sentences will be incomplete and will not convey any meaning of the sentence to our readers or listeners. With the help of verbs, we know what the subject is doing in the sentence or what is happening in the sentence. We also know about the object and what an object is receiving.

Why Learning Verbs is Important in English

• Verb are absolutely necessary to make a sentence complete because without a verb, a sentence is incomplete.
• Every sentence needs at least one verb.
• Verbs tell us what is going on in the sentence.

Types of Verbs in English

There are different types of verbs used in English. These types are;

• Dynamic (action) verbs
• Stative (state-of-being) verbs
• Verbs that can be dynamic of stative
• Auxiliary (helping) verbs
• Modal Auxiliary verbs
• Phrasal verbs

Verb Categories

Verbs can also be categorized into different groups based on their functions that they perform in the sentence. Here are the categories of verbs in English:

• Transitive, intransitive, and ditransitive
• Regular and Irregular Verbs
• Active and Passive Voices
• Linking (Copular) Verbs

Transitive, intransitive, and ditransitive refer to how a verb acts with direct and indirect objects. A direct object is the person of thing that the action happens to, while an indirect object is the person or thing that receives the direct object.

Examples:

• Londor threw the ball to deGram.

Intransitive Verbs

In this example, the subject is Lindor and the verb is threw. The direct object is the ball because that is what was thrown – Lindor did the action to the ball. The indirect object id deGram because he received the direct object, the ball.

Verbs that don’t use either a direct or indirect object are called intransitive. These verbs are complete actions by themselves.

Examples: go, walk, run, talk, sit, sleep, work

Transitive Verbs

Verbs that use a direct object, but not an indirect object, are called transitive. They don’t lawasy need a direct object, but they have the options.

Examples: clean, like, love, dislike, hate, want, learn, deserve, say

Distributive Verbs

Verbs that use both direct and indirect objects are called ditransitive. They don’t always need an indirect object, but they have the option.

Examples: throw, make, buy, sell, read, give, lend, bring

Ambitransitive Verbs

Just as a verb can be either dynamic or stative depending on the meaning, aver can sometimes act transitive while at other times act intransitive. These are know as ambitransitive. For examples, if you ask someone if they’re hungry, they might respond:

• No, I already ate. (intransitive)
• No, I already ate a sandwich. (transitive)

Verb Forms in English

Before we explain how to conjugate verbs in English, you need to understand the different forms a verb takes. This helps immeasurably when you conjugate on your own – you just need to use the right form at the right time. Keep in mind that these forms work mostly for regular verbs; irregular verbs each have their own special forms.

If you want to learn more, we have a more details guide on verb form here.

Forms of verbs

• Root form
• 3rd person singular 
• Simple Past
• Present Participle
• Past Participle

Root

The root is the basic form of the verb with no changes. It’s also the simple present tense for everything except the third-person singular.

Third-Person Singular Present

Used with subjects like he, she, the singular they, or it, the third-person singular in the present tense just adds an -s to the end of the root form most of the time.

For verbs that end in a consonant and -y (try, carry), you remove the ye and add -ies (tries, carries). If the verb ends in a vowel and -y (say, buy), you just add an -s like normal (says, buys).

Verbs that end in -ch, -sh, -x, -z, or -s add -es to the end instead of just -s. for example, watch becomes watches and kiss becomes kisses.

How to Conjugate Verbs in English

Using verbs is not easy as just tossing them in a sentence. They need to represent the tense you want, as well as match the subject (subject-verb agreement). This is called verb conjugation, or changing the verb to fit the sentenc.e.

In English, there are four main tense, eachdivided into three time periods, totalling twelve tenses. 

Main tenses:

• Simple 
• Continuous
• Perfect
• Perfect Continuous

Time periods:

• Present
• Past
• Future

Subject-verb agreement

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How to conjugate simple tenses

Simple Present:

Use the base verb for all subjects except third-person singular, which adds -s or -es.

• • I/We/You/They eat.
  • He/She/It eats.

Simple Past:

• Regular Verbs: Add -ed to the base verb.
• I/We/You/They/He/She/It walked.
• Irregular Verbs: Use the verb’s unique past form.
• I/We/You/They/He/She/It went.

Simple Future:

• Use will + base verb.
• I/We/You/They/He/She/It will eat.

How to conjugate continuous tenses

Present Continuous:

• Use am/is/are + base verb + -ing.
• I am eating, He/She/It is eating, We/You/They are eating.

Past Continuous:

• Use was/were + base verb + -ing.
• I/He/She/It was eating, We/You/They were eating.

Future Continuous:

• Use will be + base verb + -ing.
• I/We/You/They/He/She/It will be eating.

How to conjugate the perfect tenses

Present Perfect:

• Use has/have + past participle.
• I/We/You/They have eaten, He/She/It has eaten.

Past Perfect:

• Use had + past participle.
• I/We/You/They/He/She/It had eaten.

Future Perfect:

• Use will have + past participle.
• I/We/You/They/He/She/It will have eaten.

How to conjugate perfect continous tenses

Present Perfect Continuous:

Use has/have been + base verb + -ing.

• • I/We/You/They have been eating, He/She/It has been eating.

Past Perfect Continuous:

Use had been + base verb + -ing.

• • I/We/You/They/He/She/It had been eating.

Future Perfect Continuous:

Use will have been + base verb + -ing.

• • I/We/You/They/He/She/It will have been eating.

Conjugation Tips

• Learn the auxiliary verbs (be, have, will) for continuous, perfect, and future tenses.
• Know the base form, past simple, and past participle for regular and irregular verbs.
• Use -ing for continuous tenses and -ed or irregular past forms for perfect tenses.

Tips for Using Verbs Effectively

Verbs are the backbone of sentences, providing action or state of being. Mastering their use can significantly improve your writing and speaking skills. Here are some essential tips for using verbs effectively:

Understand the Types of Verbs

• Action Verbs: Show physical or mental actions (e.g., run, think).
• Linking Verbs: Connect the subject to additional information (e.g., is, seem).
• Auxiliary Verbs: Help main verbs form tenses, voices, or moods (e.g., have, will, can).

Knowing the type of verb helps you use it correctly in sentences.

Match the Verb to the Subject

Ensure subject-verb agreement in number and person.

• • Correct: She runs every day.
  • Incorrect: She run every day.

For compound subjects, use plural verbs:

• The cat and the dog are playing.

Use the Correct Verb Tense

Identify when the action happens (past, present, future).

• • Present: She studies English.
  • Past: She studied English last year.
  • Future: She will study English tomorrow.

Choose the appropriate tense for clarity and accuracy.

I hope this article helped you learn what are verbs in English grammar and how to properly them in your English writing and speaking.

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