Verbs

1. Introduction to Verbs :

These are the words which describe an action, event or state of being in a sentence. It is derived from the Latin ‘verbum’ which means ‘a word’. If it is proper to compare different parts of speech according to their relative importance, then verbs can be considered as the most important part of speech. You can form a sentence without any of the other parts of speech, but you cannot make a sentence without a verb.

For example: Run! Jump! Fight! Eat! Drink! Sing!

All these can be regarded as sentences as they contain the most important part of a sentence—verb. However, the following don’t:

This not a sentence. Why this not a sentence?

In both these cases, the verbs are absent. Hence, they cannot be called sentences. Let us study verbs in detail.
Properties of verbs
As mentioned before, verbs are used for describing an action, event or state of being. The same verb can be used differently in different sentences. Let us study the properties of a verb that undergo changes.
These properties are as follows:
1. Person and Number
2. Tense
3. Voice
4. Mood

2. Person and Number :

A verb changes according to the number and the person of its subject.
Singular and plural are the two numbers. Singular means one, while plural means more than one.
The persons in English language are classified as first person, second person and third person. The first person refers to the person or persons speaking. The second person refers to the person or persons being spoken to. The third person refers to the person or persons being spoken of.
The following table lists the singular and plural forms of the persons:

	First Person	Second Person	Third Person
Singular	I	You	He, She, Noun, It
Plural	We	You	They

Using the verb ‘do’, let us see how a verb changes its form according to the number and person of it subject.

	Present	Past	Future
First Person Singular (I)	do am doing have done have been doing	did was doing had done had been doing	will do will be doing will have done will have been doing
First Person Plural (We)	do are doing have done have been doing	did were doing had done had been doing	will do will be doing will have done will have been doing
Second Person Singular (You)	do are doing have done have been doing	did were doing had done had been doing	will do will be doing will have done will have been doing
Second Person Plural (You)	do are doing have done have been doing	did were doing had done had been doing	will do will be doing will have done will have been doing
Third Person Singular (He/She/Noun/It)	does is doing has done has been doing	did was doing had done had been doing	will do will be doing will have done will have been doing
Third Person Plural (They)	do are doing have done have been doing	did were doing had done had been doing	will do will be doing will have done will have been doing

3. Tense :

The word ‘tense’ is derived from the Latin word ‘tempus’. It indicates the time of the occurrence of an action or an event. In any sentence, an action or a state of being is denoted by the verb. Hence, tenses are directly related to verbs. The form of a verb used in a sentence depends on the tense. In English grammar, there are twelve tenses. The following table lists these tense forms.

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous

According to the tense, a verb can be used in its:
Root form or base form: This is the simplest form of a verb.
For example:

Sing, Dance, Play, Break, Kick, Sleep, Eat They sing on the roof every afternoon.

Past form: This is the form of a verb in the simple past tense. It represents an action completed in the past; here, the emphasis is on the time of completion of action.
For example:

Sang, Danced, Played, Broke, Kicked, Slept, Ate They sang on the roof yesterday.

Present participle form: In this form, the base form of a verb is joined with ‘−ing’. It represents an action in progress.
For example:

Singing, Dancing, Playing, Breaking, Kicking, Sleeping, Eating They are singing on the roof.

Past participle form: This form usually ends in ‘−ed’, ‘−d’, ‘−t’, ‘−en’ or ‘−n’.
It is the form of a verb in the perfect tense. It represents a completed action; here, the emphasis is on the completion of the action.
For example:

Sung, Danced, Played, Broken, Kicked, Slept, Eaten They have sung on the roof.

The following table lists the different forms of a verb according to the twelve tenses. The verb ‘do’ has been used for this purpose.

	PRESENT	PAST	FUTURE
Simple	do / does (Base form)	did (Past form)	will do (Base form)
Continuous	am doing / is doing / are doing (Present participle)	was doing / were doing (Present participle)	will be doing (Present participle)
Perfect	have done / has done (Past participle)	had done (Past participle)	will have done (Past participle)
Perfect Continuous	have been doing (Present participle)	had been doing (Present participle)	will have been doing (Present participle)

4. Voice :

Active and Passive Voices
The voice of a verb represents the relationship between the action being described by it on the one hand and the subject and the object on the other.
Active Voice

Subject (doer of the action) + Verb (action) + Object (receiver of the action)

If the subject is the doer of the action (i.e., the subject is active), then the verb is in the active voice. This voice is used when the doer of the action is to be emphasised.
For example:

Pankaj found the treasure. Here, ‘Pankaj’ is the subject, while ‘the treasure’ is the object. The doer of the action (‘to find’) is the subject. Hence, the verb is used in the active voice.

Passive Voice

Subject (receiver of the action) + Verb (action) + Object (doer of the action)

If the subject is the receiver of the action (i.e., the subject is passive), then the verb is in the passive voice. In other words, the object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice. This voice is used when the receiver of the action is to be emphasised.
For example:

The treasure was found by Pankaj. Here, ‘the treasure’ is the subject, while ‘Pankaj’ is the object. The receiver of the action (‘to find’) is the subject. Hence, the verb is used in the passive voice.

If the subject in the active voice is unknown or indefinite (for example: anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, people), then the passive voice is favoured.
For example:

Anyone can do this work. (Here, the subject ‘anyone’ is indefinite.) This work can be done. (Here, the emphasis is on ‘the work’)

Changes in the verb form from the active voice to the passive voice

When the verb is in the simple present tense Gagan throws the stone. The stone is thrown by Gagan. When the verb is in the present continuous tense Gagan is throwing the stone. The stone is being thrown by Gagan. When the verb is in the present perfect tense Gagan has thrown the stone. The stone has been thrown by Gagan.

When the verb is in the simple past tense Gagan threw the stone. The stone was thrown by Gagan. When the verb is in the past continuous tense Gagan was throwing the stone. The stone was being thrown by Gagan. When the verb is in the past perfect tense Gagan had thrown the stone. The stone had been thrown by Gagan.

When the verb is in the simple future tense Gagan will throw the stone. The stone will be thrown by Gagan.

5. Mood :

This property shows the manner in which a verb describes the action or state of being in a sentence. There are three moods in English—Imperative, Indicative and Subjunctive.
Imperative Mood
This mood is used for expressing a command or a request.
For example:

Jump! (Command) Go there. (Command) Please sit down. (Request)

[Note: The subject in an imperative mood is always ‘you’ and it is usually not expressed.]

Indicative Mood
This mood is used for stating facts and asking questions.
For example:

The soldier is fighting his brother. (Stating a fact) Do you want to come with me? (Asking a question)

Subjunctive Mood
This mood is used for expressing a wish, doubt/uncertainty or something opposed to fact.
For example:

If I were the king of this land, then I would free all the prisoners. (Expressing a wish; the wish is ‘to be the king of this land’) I wish I had said something to her. (Expressing a wish; the wish is ‘to say something to her’) I cannot say for sure if they know me. (Expressing a doubt; the doubt is ‘they know me or not?’) If he does not come to office tomorrow, then you shall complete the pending work. (Expressing something uncertain; the uncertainty is ‘will he come to office tomorrow or not?’) They continued with their work as if I was not there. (Expressing something opposed to fact; the fact is ‘I am there’)

6. Subject-Verb Agreement Rules :

A verb describes an action or a state of being. This action is performed by a subject or the state of being is that of a subject. Hence, a verb must always agree with its subject, in person and in number. As already mentioned, in English there are two numbers (Singular and Plural) and three persons (First, Second and Third persons).

7. Action and Linking Verbs :

Action Verbs
An action verb describes some action on the part of its subject, (i.e., the doer of the action). In other words, what the subject of a sentence ‘does’ is described by an action verb. For example, words such as ‘take’, ‘bring’, ‘cry’, ‘laugh’, ‘think’, ‘imagine’ and ‘worry’ are all action verbs. Among these words such as ‘take’, ‘bring’, ‘cry’ and ‘laugh’ are verbs that describe physical actions, while words such as ‘think’, ‘imagine’ and ‘worry’ describe mental actions.



Linking Verbs
A linking verb describes the condition or the state of being of its subject (i.e., the person, place, thing or idea described). It does not describe any action (either physical or mental). It serves as the equal to (‘=’) sign in a sentence. The different forms of the verbs ‘be’ (e.g., ‘am’, ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’, ‘were’) and ‘become’ are used as linking verbs.

[I] = [the greatest fool] ↓ I am the greatest fool. (Here, ‘am’ links the subject ‘I’ with the condition ‘the greatest fool’.)

[Yuvika] = [a brave girl] ↓ Yuvika is a brave girl. (Here, ‘is’ links the subject ‘Yuvika’ with the condition ‘a brave girl’.)

[They] = [angry with him] ↓ They are angry with him. (Here, ‘are’ links the subject ‘they’ with the condition ‘angry with him’.)

[The teacher] = [extremely intelligent] ↓ The teacher was extremely intelligent. (Here, ‘was’ links the subject ‘the teacher’ with the condition ‘extremely intelligent’.)

[The batsmen] = [unhappy with the sightscreen] ↓ The batsmen were unhappy with the sightscreen. (Here, ‘were’ links the subject ‘the batsmen’ with the condition ‘unhappy with the sightscreen’.)

[He] = [famous after that song] ↓ He became famous after that song. (Here, ‘became’ links the subject ‘he’ with the condition ‘famous after that song’.)

Action Verbs as Linking Verbs
Sometimes action verbs can also perform the role of linking verbs.
For example, words like ‘look’, ‘feel’, ‘taste’ and ‘smell’ are all classified as action verbs. However, in the following sentences, they act as linking verbs.

[The joker] = [crazy] ↓ The joker looked crazy. (Here, ‘looked’ links the subject ‘the joker’ with the condition ‘crazy’.) As opposed to, say: The thief looked through the window. (Here, ‘looked’ is the specific action performed by the subject ‘the thief’.)

[I] = [really happy] ↓ I feel really happy. (Here, ‘feel’ links the subject ‘I’ with the condition ‘really happy’.) As opposed to, say: The doctor felt my pulse. (Here, ‘felt’ is the specific action performed by the subject ‘the doctor’.)

[The food] = [good] ↓ The food tastes good. (Here, ‘tastes’ links the subject ‘the food’ with the condition ‘good’.) As opposed to, say: The chef tasted the soup made by the new recruit. (Here, ‘tasted’ is the specific action performed by the subject ‘the chef’.)

[The house] = [like a bakery] ↓ The house smells like a bakery. (Here, ‘smells’ links the subject ‘the house’ with the condition ‘like a bakery’.) As opposed to, say: Omkar smelt the kitchen to see if the gas was leaking. (Here, ‘smelt’ is the specific action performed by the subject ‘Omkar’.)

[Note: When an action verb acts as a linking verb in a sentence, it does not describe an action anymore. It does what a linking verb would do in its place, i.e., describe a state or condition.]

8. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs :

Transitive Verbs
The word ‘transitive’ means ‘passing over to something else’ or ‘affecting something else’, while the word ‘intransitive’ means ‘not passing over to something else’.
When a verb is used transitively (i.e., in the transitive manner), the verb requires a direct object, (i.e., the noun or pronoun that receives the action, and answers the questions ‘what?’ or ‘whom?’). In this case, the action is passed on from the doer or subject to the receiver of the action or the direct object.
For example:

Intransitive Verbs
When a verb is used intransitively (i.e., in the intransitive manner), the verb is not followed by an object. The action stays with the subject. It is not passed on to any object.
For example:

9. Main and Helping Verbs :

Main Verbs
The main verb is the most important verb of a sentence. A sentence is not possible in the absence of the main verb. The main verb describes the action or the state of being of the subject.

Helping Verbs

Helping verbs are of two types: PRIMARY HELPING VERBS and MODAL HELPING VERBS.

10. Primary Helping Verbs - BE

BE — It can also function as the main verb of a sentence. Its forms are: AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE, BEEN and BEING. It is used for making the continuous tense and passive voice. It is also used for making questions and negatives.
For making the continuous tense; for making questions; for making negatives

I am drinking lemon tea. (Here, ‘am’ is helping the main verb ‘drinking’.) Am I drinking lemon tea? I am not drinking lemon tea.

She is jumping on the bed. (Here, ‘is’ is helping the main verb ‘jumping’.) Is she jumping on the bed? She is not jumping on the bed.

They are playing with the toys. (Here, ‘are’ is helping the main verb ‘playing’.) Are they playing with the toys? They are not playing with the toys.

Kishen was troubling Upendra. (Here, ‘was’ is helping the main verb ‘troubling’.) Was Kishen troubling Upendra? Kishen was not troubling Upendra.

The children were screaming loudly. (Here, ‘were’ is helping the main verb ‘screaming’.) Were the children screaming loudly? The children were not screaming loudly.

You have been waiting since morning. (Here, both ‘have’ and ‘been’ are helping the main verb ‘waiting’.) Have you been waiting since morning? You have not been waiting since morning.

The dog has been playing with the cat. (Here, both ‘has’ and ‘been’ are helping the main verb ‘playing’.) Has the dog been playing with the cat? The dog has not been playing with the cat.

It had been raining for five hours. (Here, both ‘had’ and ‘been’ are helping the main verb ‘raining’.) Had it been raining for five hours? It had not been raining for five hours.

For making passives

The box is opened by the little girl. (Here, ‘is’ is helping the main verb ‘opened’.)

The crowd was stopped by the police personnel. (Here, ‘was’ is helping the main verb ‘stopped’.)

The boys were punished by the teacher. (Here, ‘were’ is helping the main verb ‘punished’.)

The gate is being closed by the gatekeeper. (Here, both ‘is’ and ‘being’ are helping the main verb ‘closed’.)

The envelope was being held by the waiter. (Here, both ‘was’ and ‘being’ are helping the main verb ‘held’.)

The thieves were being chased by the watchman. (Here, both ‘were’ and ‘being’ are helping the main verb ‘chased’.)

The bus has been stopped by the angry crowd. (Here, both ‘has’ and ‘been’ are helping the main verb ‘stopped’.)

The brothers had been asked to keep quiet by their parents. (Here, both ‘had’ and ‘been’ are helping the main verb ‘asked’.)

11. Primary Helping Verbs - DO and HAVE

DO — It can also function as the main verb of a sentence. Its forms are: DO, DOES and DID. It is used for emphasising the action of the main verb. It is also used for making questions and negatives.
For emphasising the action of the main verb; for making questions; for making negatives

I do realise the complexity of the issue. (Here, ‘do’ emphasises the main verb ‘realise’.) Do I realise the complexity of the issue? I do not realise the complexity of the issue.

He does wish to go to the park. (Here, ‘does’ emphasises the main verb ‘wish’.) Does he wish to go to the park? He does not wish to go to the park.

They did find the joke to be funny. (Here, ‘did’ emphasises the main verb ‘find’.) Did they find the joke to be funny? They did not find the joke to be funny.

HAVE — It can also function as the main verb of a sentence. Its forms are: HAVE, HAS and HAD. It is used for making the perfect tense. It is also used for making questions and negatives.
For making the perfect tense; for making questions; for making negatives

She has made the cake. (Here, ‘has’ is helping the main verb ‘made’.) Has she made the cake? She has not made the cake.

You have taken the DVD. (Here, ‘have’ is helping the main verb ‘taken’.) Have you taken the DVD? You have not taken the DVD.

They had run in the race. (Here, ‘had’ is helping the main verb ‘run’.) Had they run in the race? They had not run in the race.

12. Modal Helping Verbs

The following are the most common modals:

CAN

To show ability	To give permission	To make a request	To show possibility
I can bowl real fast.	You can have dinner in your room.	Can you tell me where Rahul lives?	Sometimes a little appreciation can help a person achieve a lot of self confidence.

COULD

To show past ability	To make a suggestion	To make a request	To show possibility	In a conditional
I could bowl at 90 miles an hour when I was in my teens.	We could go to Simla for the office trip.	Could you please tell my mother that I will have dinner outside?	In the coming general elections, the voters could choose to vote one of the major parties into power.	If I had saved some money, then we could have gone to London for the vacation.

MAY

To seek permission	To give permission	To show possibility
May I sit down please?	You may leave the house after you have done your home work.	The postman may come with the parcel tomorrow.

MIGHT

To make a suggestion	To make a request	To show possibility	In a conditional
You might like to go through my article in the Indian Express.	Might I get some breakfast for myself?	The Damodars might be vacating their flat by the end of this month.	If I had known that you were in a fix, then I might have helped you get out of it.

WILL

To show future voluntary action	To make a promise	To make a prediction
I will see to it that the work is completed on time.	I promise that I will call you on reaching Canada.	Both the teams have remained unbeaten in the tournament. It will be a closely contested final.

WOULD

To show regularity or repetition	As the past form of will	In a conditional
They would regularly meet in the canteen during recess.	They knew that it would be difficult to enter the party.	If I were you, then I would never do this.

SHALL

(commonly used with I and We)

To make a suggestion	To make a promise	To show an unavoidable future action or event
You must be really tired. Shall I help you carry your luggage? Shall we take the children along with us?	I shall always remember the kindness you showed towards me.	They shall be here at precisely 6 P.M.

SHOULD

To make a suggestion or recommendation; To give advice	To show some obligation	To show an expectation
When you go to Kerala for the vacations, you should make it a point to visit the Guruvayoor temple. You should pay more attention in class.	This file should be on my table first thing tomorrow morning.	At this very minute, they should be boarding their plane for New Delhi.

MUST

To show certainty	To show a necessary condition	To make a strong recommendation
Mother said that she would be back by six. She must be the one knocking on the door.	You must study really hard to clear the entrance exams.	You must try on this new shirt. It is the new look of generation next.

OUGHT TO

To give advice	To show probability	To show an expectation
You are out of shape. You ought to start exercising regularly.	The sky looks black. It ought to rain heavily today.	He has worked so hard. He ought to get the due recognition.

[Note: Apart from the verbs ‘be’, ‘do’ and ‘have’, no other helping verb can act as the main verb in a sentence.]

13. Regular and Irregular Verbs

On the basis of how a verb forms its past tense form and its past participle form, it can be classified as either regular or irregular.
Regular verbs
In the case of regular verbs, the past tense and the past participle are formed by adding ‘−ed’ to the root form of the verbs.
For example:

Root form	Past tense form	Past participle form
Accept	Accepted	Accepted
Complain	Complained	Complained
Rescue	Rescued	Rescued
Work	Worked	Worked
Visit	Visited	Visited
Taste	Tasted	Tasted
Fool	Fooled	Fooled
Increase	Increased	Increased
Decrease	Decreased	Decreased
Order	Ordered	Ordered

Irregular verbs
In the case of irregular verbs, three variations exist:
(i) When the root form, past tense form and past participle form are the same
For example:

Root form	Past tense form	Past participle form
Cut	Cut	Cut
Read	Read	Read
Hit	Hit	Hit
Shut	Shut	Shut
Hurt	Hurt	Hurt

(ii) When the root form, past tense form and past participle form are all different
For example:

Root form	Past tense form	Past participle form
Go	Went	Gone
Be	Was/Were	Been
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten
Sing	Sang	Sung
See	Saw	Seen

(iii) When two of the three forms are the same
For example:

Root form	Past tense form	Past participle form
Run	Ran	Run
Become	Became	Become
Beat	Beat	Beaten
Teach	Taught	Taught
Lose	Lost	Lost

14. Participle, Gerund and Infinitive

In English language, there are verb forms that perform the role of other parts of speech. These are:
(i) Present Participle: In this form, the root form of a verb is joined with ‘−ing’. It acts as both a verb and an adjective.
As a verb, it represents an action in progress or incomplete action.
For example:

They are playing scrabble. (Here, the present participle form of the verb ‘play’ indicates that the game of scrabble is in progress.)

It also acts as an adjective, and like any adjective, it modifies a noun or a pronoun.
For example:

Fatima was fighting a losing cause. (Here, the present participle of the verb ‘lose’ is modifying the noun ‘cause’. Ask the question ‘what kind of cause?’ and you get the answer ‘losing cause’. Hence, ‘losing’ is working as an adjective.)

(ii) Past Participle: This form usually ends in ‘−ed’, ‘−d’, ‘−t’, ‘−en’ or ‘−n’. It acts as both a verb and an adjective.
As a verb it represents a completed action, with the emphasis on the completion of the action.
For example:

I have eaten my lunch. (Here, the past participle form of the verb ‘eat’ indicates the completion of action.)

It also acts as an adjective, and like any adjective, it modifies a noun or a pronoun.
For example:

His polished look gave him an edge over his competitors. (Here, the past participle form of the verb ‘polish’ is modifying the noun ‘look’. Ask the question ‘what kind of look?’ and you get the answer ‘polished look’. Hence, ‘polished’ is working as an adjective.)

(iii) Perfect Participle:This form is used for simply referring to an action completed at some time in the past.
For example:

Having sized up the problem at hand, Ravi went forward and took hold of the situation. (Here, the entire phrase containing the perfect participle form of the verb ‘size up’ is modifying the noun ‘Ravi’, thereby acting as an adjective phrase.)

(iv) Gerund: In this form, the root form of a verb is joined with ‘−ing’. However, unlike present participle, a gerund acts as a noun. Hence, like a noun, it can be the subject or the object of a sentence.
For example:

Playing cricket is not allowed here. (Here, the gerund ‘playing’ is working as a noun. Ask the question ‘what is not allowed?’ and you get the answer ‘playing cricket’.)

You can see here that ‘playing’ (like a noun) is the subject of the sentence, but at the same time it also has an object (like a verb), and this object is ‘cricket’. This is why a gerund is called a verbal noun, or a noun that has the qualities of a verb.
(v) Infinitive: In this form, the root form of a verb is preceded by the preposition ‘to’. Like a gerund, it acts as a noun. Hence, like a noun, it can be the subject or the object of a sentence.
For example:

Yash likes to play cricket. (Here, the infinitive ‘to play’ is working as a noun. Ask the question ‘likes what?’ and you get the answer ‘to play cricket’.)

You can see here that ‘to play’ (like a noun) is the object of the sentence, but at the same time it also has an object (like a verb), and this object is ‘cricket’. This is why an infinitive is called a verbal noun, or a noun that has the qualities of a verb.
Sometimes, the infinitive form of a verb functions as an adverb.
For example:

Nidhi has gone to see her friend. (Here, the infinitive ‘to see’ is modifying the verb ‘gone’. Hence, it is acting as an adverb.) The mangoes of this tree are good to eat. (Here, the infinitive ‘to eat’ is modifying the adjective ‘good’. Hence, it is acting as an adverb.)

Sometimes, the infinitive form of a verb functions as an adjective.
For example:

I have no time to listen to your cock-eyed theories. (Here, the infinitive ‘to listen’ is modifying the noun ‘time’. Hence, it is acting as an adjective.)

15. Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are an important part of the everyday English language— both spoken and written. They are also known as multi-word verbs. These are the verbs that contain a verb and another word(s). Very often, the meanings of these verbs are different from the meanings of the verbs with which they are made.
For example:

After long discussions, we finally arrived at a solution that pleased all. Here, the phrasal verb ‘arrived at’ is made up of the verb ‘arrive’ and the word ‘at’. The phrasal verb means ‘to reach an agreement’. My boss asked me to do away with my glasses as she said I look better without them. Here, the phrasal verb ‘do away with’ is made up of the verb ‘do’ and the words ‘away’ and ‘with’. The phrasal verb means ‘to get rid of something’. He brought about a great many changes during his tenure as the prime minister. Here, the phrasal verb ‘brought about’ is made up of the verb ‘bring’ and the word ‘about’. The phrasal verb means ‘to make something happen’. I counted on you and you did not disappoint me. Here, the phrasal verb ‘counted on’ is made up of the verb ‘count’ and the word ‘on’. The phrasal verb means ‘to rely on someone for help or support’.