Verb and Verb Forms

Verb & Verb Forms

A Verb is a word that expresses an action, state, possession, occurrence or condition. A sentence normally requires a verb to convey a complete meaning.

Examples:

• Riya writes neatly.
• The children are playing.
• He has a car.
• She became tired.
• The flowers look beautiful.

In these sentences:

• writes → action
• are playing → action in progress
• has → possession
• became → change of state
• look → state/condition

Verbs are extremely important in English grammar because many other topics depend upon them, including:

• Tense
• Subject–Verb Agreement
• Voice
• Narration
• Non-finite Verbs
• Modals
• Conditionals
• Sentence Correction
• Error Detection

A good command over verbs therefore forms the foundation of correct sentence construction.

Main and Helping Verbs

A verb phrase may contain a Main Verb alone or a combination of a Helping Verb + Main Verb.

Main Verb

A Main Verb carries the principal meaning of the sentence. It tells us what the subject does, experiences, possesses or is.

Examples:

• Rahul plays cricket.
• She writes poems.
• They live in Guwahati.
• He knows the answer.
• We have a house.

Here:

• plays
• writes
• live
• knows
• have

are functioning as main verbs.

Main verbs may express different meanings:

• Physical Action
  • run
  • jump
  • write
  • eat
  • walk
• Mental Action
  • think
  • know
  • understand
  • remember
  • believe
• Possession
  • have
  • own
  • possess
• State or Condition
  • be
  • seem
  • remain
  • appear
• Change
  • become
  • grow
  • turn

Helping Verb

A Helping Verb, also called an Auxiliary Verb, assists the main verb in forming:

• Tenses
• Questions
• Negative Sentences
• Passive Voice
• Emphasis
• Possibility
• Ability
• Permission
• Necessity

Examples:

• She is reading.
• They have completed the work.
• He does not understand.
• Did you call him?
• The letter was written yesterday.
• You must work hard.

In these examples:

• is
• have
• does
• did
• was
• must

are helping verbs.

Primary Helping Verbs

The three primary auxiliary verbs are:

• Be
• Have
• Do

They can function either as main verbs or as helping verbs, depending on the sentence.

Forms of Be

The verb be has several forms:

• am
• is
• are
• was
• were
• be
• being
• been

As a main verb:

• She is intelligent.
• They are happy.
• He was tired.

As a helping verb:

• She is reading.
• They were playing.
• The work was completed.

The auxiliary be is mainly used to form:

• Continuous Tenses
  • is writing
  • was reading
  • are playing
• Passive Voice
  • is written
  • was completed
  • has been done

Forms of Have

The forms are:

• have
• has
• had
• having

As a main verb:

• I have a car.
• She has two brothers.
• They had enough money.

As a helping verb:

• I have completed the work.
• She has written the letter.
• They had left before we arrived.

The auxiliary have is mainly used to form Perfect Tenses.

Forms of Do

The forms are:

• do
• does
• did
• doing
• done

As a main verb:

• I do my work regularly.
• She did the exercise.

As a helping verb:

• Do you know him?
• He does not smoke.
• Did she call you?

The auxiliary do is particularly important in:

• Questions
  • Do you understand?
  • Does she work here?
• Negatives
  • I do not agree.
  • He does not smoke.
• Emphasis
  • I do understand your problem.
  • She did complete the work.

Modal Helping Verbs

The major modal auxiliaries include:

• can
• could
• may
• might
• shall
• should
• will
• would
• must
• ought to
• need
• dare
• used to

Examples:

• She can swim.
• You should study regularly.
• He may come tomorrow.
• We must obey the rules.

Modal verbs will be studied in greater detail in the chapter on Auxiliary and Modal Verbs.

Main Verb vs Helping Verb

Compare:

• She has a car.
  • has = Main Verb
• She has bought a car.
  • has = Helping Verb
  • bought = Main Verb

Similarly:

• He is a teacher.
  • is = Main Verb/Linking Verb
• He is teaching English.
  • is = Helping Verb
  • teaching = Main Verb

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Verbs are also classified according to how they form their Past Tense and Past Participle.

Regular Verbs

A Regular Verb normally forms its past tense and past participle by adding -d or -ed to the base form.

Examples:

Thus:

• work → worked → worked
• play → played → played
• call → called → called

Spelling Rules for Regular Verbs

When adding -ed, certain spelling changes may occur.

Verbs Ending in -e

Add only -d.

• love → loved
• move → moved
• live → lived
• arrive → arrived

Verbs Ending in Consonant + y

Change y → i and add -ed.

• carry → carried
• study → studied
• try → tried
• marry → married

But when y follows a vowel, simply add -ed.

• play → played
• enjoy → enjoyed
• obey → obeyed

Doubling the Final Consonant

In many short verbs ending in:

consonant + vowel + consonant

the final consonant is doubled before adding -ed.

Examples:

• stop → stopped
• plan → planned
• rob → robbed
• beg → begged

But:

• open → opened
• visit → visited

because the stress pattern and syllable structure differ.

Irregular Verbs

An Irregular Verb does not form its past tense and past participle simply by adding -ed.

Examples:

These forms must largely be memorised through practice.

Important Patterns of Irregular Verbs

Some irregular verbs follow recognisable patterns.

All Three Forms Same

Examples:

• cut → cut → cut
• put → put → put
• shut → shut → shut
• hit → hit → hit
• hurt → hurt → hurt
• let → let → let
• set → set → set

Past and Past Participle Same

Examples:

• buy → bought → bought
• bring → brought → brought
• teach → taught → taught
• think → thought → thought
• build → built → built
• send → sent → sent
• keep → kept → kept
• sleep → slept → slept

Base and Past Participle Same

Examples:

• come → came → come
• become → became → become
• run → ran → run

All Three Forms Different

Examples:

• write → wrote → written
• speak → spoke → spoken
• take → took → taken
• begin → began → begun
• drink → drank → drunk
• sing → sang → sung
• swim → swam → swum

Commonly Confused Irregular Verbs

Some verbs are frequently confused in examinations.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Verbs can also be classified according to whether they require an object to complete their meaning.

Transitive Verb

A Transitive Verb is a verb that takes an object.

Example:

Riya reads a book.

Ask:

Riya reads what?

Answer:

a book

Therefore:

• reads → Transitive Verb
• a book → Object

Other examples:

• She opened the door.
• Rahul kicked the ball.
• I bought a car.
• The teacher explained the lesson.

The objects are:

• door
• ball
• car
• lesson

How to Identify a Transitive Verb

After the verb, ask:

• what?
• whom?

If a meaningful object answers the question, the verb is usually transitive.

Example:

She invited Rahul.

Invited whom?

→ Rahul

Therefore, invited is transitive.

Intransitive Verb

An Intransitive Verb does not require an object to complete its meaning.

Examples:

• The baby cried.
• The sun rose.
• He slept.
• The child laughed.
• They arrived.

We cannot meaningfully ask:

• cried what?
• slept what?
• arrived what?

Therefore, these verbs are intransitive in these sentences.

Intransitive Verb with an Adverbial

An intransitive verb may be followed by an adverb or adverbial phrase.

Example:

He slept peacefully.

• slept → Intransitive Verb
• peacefully → Adverb

Example:

They arrived at the station.

• arrived → Intransitive Verb
• at the station → Adverbial of place

The phrase after the verb is not necessarily an object.

Verbs That Can Be Both Transitive and Intransitive

Many English verbs can function as either transitive or intransitive depending on usage.

Example:

The door opened.

• opened → Intransitive

Rahul opened the door.

• opened → Transitive
• door → Object

Similarly:

The bell rang.

• rang → Intransitive

He rang the bell.

• rang → Transitive

Another example:

The glass broke.

• broke → Intransitive

The boy broke the glass.

• broke → Transitive

Important: A verb should not be labelled transitive or intransitive merely by memorising the word. Its use in the sentence must be examined.

Ditransitive Verbs

Some transitive verbs can take two objects:

• Indirect Object
• Direct Object

Example:

She gave me a book.

• gave → Verb
• me → Indirect Object
• book → Direct Object

Other common ditransitive verbs include:

• give
• send
• offer
• teach
• tell
• show
• lend
• bring

Examples:

• He sent me a letter.
• The teacher taught us grammar.
• She offered him tea.

Linking Verbs

A Linking Verb does not usually express an action passing to an object. Instead, it connects the subject with a Subject Complement.

Common linking verbs include:

• be
• become
• seem
• appear
• look
• feel
• smell
• taste
• sound
• remain
• grow
• turn

Example:

She is intelligent.

• she → Subject
• is → Linking Verb
• intelligent → Subject Complement

Example:

The soup tastes delicious.

• soup → Subject
• tastes → Linking Verb
• delicious → Complement

Finite and Non-finite Verbs

One of the most important classifications of verbs is the distinction between Finite and Non-finite Verbs.

Finite Verb

A Finite Verb is a verb that is limited or determined by tense, person and/or number.

A finite verb normally changes according to the subject or tense.

Examples:

• I write every day.
• She writes every day.
• They wrote yesterday.

The verb changes according to:

• subject
• number
• tense

Therefore, these are finite forms.

Characteristics of Finite Verbs

A finite verb:

• normally shows tense
• may agree with the subject
• can function as the central verb of an independent clause
• changes according to person or number in certain forms

Examples:

• He works.
• They work.
• He worked.
• She is ready.
• They are ready.

Non-finite Verb

A Non-finite Verb does not function as the finite verb of a clause and does not itself show tense or subject agreement.

The main types are:

• Infinitive
• Gerund
• Participle

Examples:

• I want to study.
• Swimming is good exercise.
• The broken chair was repaired.

Here:

• to study → Infinitive
• swimming → Gerund
• broken → Participle

Infinitive

The infinitive usually appears as:

to + base form of verb

Examples:

• to read
• to write
• to study
• to work

Examples in sentences:

• I want to learn English.
• She decided to leave.
• He hopes to succeed.

Bare Infinitive

Sometimes the infinitive appears without to. This is called the Bare Infinitive.

Examples:

• You must work hard.
• Let him go.
• I saw him cross the road.

Commonly used after:

• modal verbs
• let
• make
• certain verbs of perception in particular constructions

Gerund

A Gerund is the -ing form of a verb functioning as a noun.

Examples:

Swimming is good exercise.

Here, swimming is the subject.

I enjoy reading.

Here, reading is the object.

Other examples:

• Walking is healthy.
• She enjoys singing.
• He is fond of reading.

Present Participle

The Present Participle also ends in -ing, but it functions as part of a verb phrase or as an adjective rather than as a noun.

Examples:

The crying baby needs milk.

• crying → Present Participle modifying baby

She is crying.

• crying → part of the continuous verb phrase

Compare:

• Swimming is useful. → Gerund
• The swimming boy waved at us. → Participle

Past Participle

The Past Participle is the third form of the verb.

Examples:

• written
• broken
• eaten
• taken
• worked

It is used in:

• Perfect Tenses
  • has written
  • had eaten
• Passive Voice
  • was written
  • has been completed
• Adjectival Use
  • a broken chair
  • a written agreement

Finite and Non-finite in the Same Sentence

Example:

She wants to become a doctor.

• wants → Finite Verb
• to become → Non-finite Verb

Example:

Having completed the work, Rahul went home.

• Having completed → Non-finite construction
• went → Finite Verb

A sentence may contain several verb forms, but each clause normally requires a finite verb.

Forms of Verbs

English verbs are commonly studied through five principal forms.

These are often represented as:

• V1 → Base Form
• V2 → Past Form
• V3 → Past Participle
• V4 → -ing Form / Present Participle
• V5 → -s/-es Form

V1 — Base Form

The base form is the basic form of the verb.

Examples:

• go
• write
• eat
• play
• work

It is used:

• after modal verbs
  • can go
  • must work
  • should study
• with plural subjects in the Simple Present
  • They play.
• with I/you/we
  • I work.
  • You study.
• after do/does/did
  • Does he work?
  • Did she go?

V2 — Past Form

V2 is mainly used in the Simple Past Tense.

Examples:

• go → went
• write → wrote
• eat → ate
• play → played
• work → worked

Examples:

• He went home.
• She wrote a letter.
• They played cricket.

V3 — Past Participle

V3 is primarily used with:

• have/has/had
• forms of be in passive constructions

Examples:

• has written
• had gone
• have eaten
• was completed
• is known

Example:

She has written a letter.

Not:

She has wrote a letter. ✘

V4 — -ing Form

The -ing form is used in:

• continuous tenses
• gerunds
• participial constructions

Examples:

• write → writing
• read → reading
• run → running
• make → making
• lie → lying

Examples:

• She is reading.
• Reading improves vocabulary.
• The crying child needs attention.

V5 — -s/-es Form

V5 is commonly used with a third-person singular subject in the Simple Present Tense.

Examples:

• play → plays
• write → writes
• go → goes
• watch → watches
• study → studies

Examples:

• He plays cricket.
• She writes well.
• Rahul goes to school.

Five Forms at a Glance

Rules for Adding -s/-es

Generally add -s:

• read → reads
• play → plays
• work → works

Add -es to many verbs ending in:

• -s
• -sh
• -ch
• -x
• -o

Examples:

• pass → passes
• wash → washes
• watch → watches
• fix → fixes
• go → goes

Verbs Ending in Consonant + y

Change:

y → ies

Examples:

• study → studies
• carry → carries
• try → tries

But:

• play → plays
• enjoy → enjoys

because the y follows a vowel.

Rules for Adding -ing

Usually add -ing directly:

• work → working
• read → reading
• play → playing

If the verb ends in silent -e, usually drop e:

• make → making
• write → writing
• take → taking

But:

• see → seeing
• agree → agreeing

For verbs ending in -ie, change:

ie → y + ing

Examples:

• lie → lying
• die → dying
• tie → tying

For many short consonant-vowel-consonant verbs, double the final consonant:

• run → running
• sit → sitting
• swim → swimming
• stop → stopping

Correct Verb Usage

Correct verb usage depends on several grammatical factors, including:

• Subject
• Number
• Tense
• Auxiliary Verb
• Sentence Structure
• Transitivity
• Verb Pattern

Use V1 after Modal Verbs

After modal verbs such as:

• can
• could
• may
• might
• shall
• should
• will
• would
• must

use the base form (V1).

Correct:

• He can swim.
• She may come.
• You should study.
• We must work.

Incorrect:

• He can swims. ✘
• She may comes. ✘
• You should studied. ✘

Use V1 after Do, Does and Did

Once do/does/did carries the tense, the main verb remains in V1.

Correct:

• Does he play cricket?
• Did she go there?
• He does not know me.
• They did not come.

Incorrect:

• Does he plays cricket? ✘
• Did she went there? ✘
• He does not knows me. ✘

Important Exam Rule:
Did + V1, never Did + V2.

Use V3 after Have, Has and Had

Correct:

• She has written the letter.
• They have completed the work.
• He had gone before I arrived.

Incorrect:

• She has wrote the letter. ✘
• He had went home. ✘
• They have did the work. ✘

Correct forms:

• has written
• had gone
• have done

Use -ing Form after Continuous Auxiliaries

After forms of be in continuous tenses, use V4.

Correct:

• She is reading.
• They were playing.
• I am working.

Incorrect:

• She is read. ✘
• They were played. ✘

Subject–Verb Agreement in Simple Present

With third-person singular subjects:

He / She / It / Singular Noun + V5

Examples:

• He works.
• She sings.
• Rahul plays cricket.

With:

I / We / You / They / Plural Noun + V1

Examples:

• I work.
• We play.
• They study.

Incorrect:

He play cricket. ✘

Correct:

He plays cricket. ✔

Stative Verbs

Certain verbs generally describe states rather than actions and are not normally used in continuous forms when expressing those meanings.

Common stative verbs include:

• know
• believe
• understand
• remember
• love
• like
• hate
• belong
• own
• possess
• seem
• contain
• resemble

Examples:

Correct:

I know the answer.

Normally not:

I am knowing the answer. ✘

Correct:

This house belongs to me.

Not:

This house is belonging to me. ✘

Correct:

I understand the problem.

Not:

I am understanding the problem. ✘ in the ordinary stative sense

However, some verbs can be stative in one meaning and dynamic in another.

Example:

I think he is right.

• think = believe
• stative

I am thinking about the problem.

• think = consider
• dynamic

Some Verbs Take Gerunds

Certain verbs are commonly followed by -ing forms.

Examples include:

• enjoy
• avoid
• admit
• finish
• mind
• suggest
• consider
• practise
• keep
• deny

Examples:

• I enjoy reading.
• She avoided answering the question.
• He admitted taking the money.
• They finished writing the report.

Incorrect:

I enjoy to read. ✘ in the normal construction

Correct:

I enjoy reading. ✔

Some Verbs Take Infinitives

Certain verbs are commonly followed by to + V1.

Examples:

• want
• decide
• hope
• plan
• agree
• promise
• refuse
• learn
• attempt
• wish

Examples:

• I want to study.
• She decided to leave.
• He promised to help.
• They refused to cooperate.

Some Verbs Can Take Both Gerund and Infinitive

Certain verbs can be followed by both, sometimes with little difference and sometimes with a significant change in meaning.

Examples:

• begin
• start
• continue
• like
• love
• prefer

Example:

• It started raining.
• It started to rain.

Both are possible.

However, with certain verbs, the meaning changes.

Remember + Gerund / Infinitive

Remember doing something

→ remember a past action

Example:

I remember meeting him.

Meaning:

I have a memory of the meeting.

Remember to do something

→ remember a duty or future action

Example:

Remember to call him.

Meaning:

Do not forget to call him.

Stop + Gerund / Infinitive

Stop doing something

→ discontinue an activity

Example:

He stopped smoking.

Meaning:

He no longer smokes.

Stop to do something

→ stop another activity in order to do something

Example:

He stopped to smoke.

Meaning:

He stopped what he was doing in order to smoke.

Try + Gerund / Infinitive

Try doing

→ experiment with a possible solution

Example:

Try restarting the computer.

Try to do

→ make an effort

Example:

Try to finish the work today.

Used to + V1

Used to + V1 refers to a past habit or state that no longer exists.

Examples:

• I used to play cricket.
• She used to live in Delhi.

Not:

I used to played cricket. ✘

Be Used to + Noun/Gerund

Do not confuse:

used to + V1

with:

be used to + noun/gerund

Example:

I used to wake up early.

Meaning:

Past habit.

I am used to waking up early.

Meaning:

I am accustomed to it.

Therefore:

• used to work
• am used to working

Had Better + V1

Use the base verb after had better.

Correct:

You had better leave now.

Incorrect:

You had better to leave now. ✘

Would Rather + V1

Correct:

I would rather stay at home.

Not:

I would rather to stay at home. ✘

Let + Object + V1

Correct:

• Let me go.
• Let him speak.
• Let them enter.

Incorrect:

Let him to go. ✘

Make + Object + V1

In the active voice:

make + object + V1

Example:

The teacher made him rewrite the answer.

Not:

The teacher made him to rewrite the answer. ✘

But in the passive voice:

He was made to rewrite the answer.

Here, to appears.

Causative Have and Get

Have + Object + V3

Example:

I had my car repaired.

Meaning:

Someone repaired the car for me.

Get + Object + V3

Example:

I got my phone repaired.

These constructions describe arranging for another person to perform an action.

Need + Gerund in Certain Constructions

Example:

The car needs repairing.

This means:

The car needs to be repaired.

Both are possible:

• The car needs repairing.
• The car needs to be repaired.

Common Errors in Verb Usage

Incorrect:

He does not knows me. ✘

Correct:

He does not know me. ✔

Reason:

After does, use V1.

Incorrect:

She did not went there. ✘

Correct:

She did not go there. ✔

Reason:

After did, use V1.

Incorrect:

He has went home. ✘

Correct:

He has gone home. ✔

Reason:

After has, use V3.

Incorrect:

I have saw him before. ✘

Correct:

I have seen him before. ✔

Incorrect:

She is knowing the answer. ✘

Correct:

She knows the answer. ✔

Incorrect:

He can sings well. ✘

Correct:

He can sing well. ✔

Incorrect:

You should to study harder. ✘

Correct:

You should study harder. ✔

Incorrect:

I enjoy to read novels. ✘

Correct:

I enjoy reading novels. ✔

Incorrect:

She suggested to go there. ✘

Correct:

She suggested going there. ✔

Incorrect:

He avoided to answer the question. ✘

Correct:

He avoided answering the question. ✔

Incorrect:

Let him to speak. ✘

Correct:

Let him speak. ✔

Incorrect:

They made him to apologise. ✘

Correct:

They made him apologise. ✔

But:

He was made to apologise. ✔

Lie and Lay

These verbs are frequently confused.

Lie means to recline/rest and does not take an object.

Forms:

• lie
• lay
• lain
• lying

Examples:

• I lie down every afternoon.
• Yesterday I lay on the bed.
• I have lain there for an hour.

Lay means to put/place something somewhere and takes an object.

Forms:

• lay
• laid
• laid
• laying

Examples:

• Lay the book on the table.
• She laid the book there.
• She has laid the books on the shelf.

Compare:

• He lay on the bed. → Past of lie
• He laid the book on the bed. → Past of lay

Rise and Raise

Rise means to move upward by oneself and is normally intransitive.

Forms:

• rise
• rose
• risen

Examples:

• The sun rises in the east.
• Prices rose last year.
• The river has risen.

Raise means to lift or increase something and is normally transitive.

Forms:

• raise
• raised
• raised

Examples:

• Please raise your hand.
• They raised the price.
• The government has raised taxes.

Compare:

• The temperature rose.
• They raised the temperature.

Sit and Set

Sit usually means to take or remain in a seated position.

Forms:

• sit
• sat
• sat

Example:

Please sit here.

Set commonly means to put, place or arrange something.

Forms:

• set
• set
• set

Example:

She set the books on the table.

Borrow and Lend

Borrow means to receive something temporarily.

Example:

I borrowed a book from Rahul.

Lend means to give something temporarily.

Example:

Rahul lent me a book.

Therefore:

• borrow from
• lend to

Bring and Take

Bring generally indicates movement towards the speaker/reference point.

Example:

Please bring the file to me.

Take generally indicates movement away from the speaker/reference point.

Example:

Please take this file to the office.

Say and Tell

Say normally focuses on the words spoken.

Common structure:

say something

Example:

He said that he was tired.

With a person:

say something to someone

Example:

He said hello to me.

Tell normally takes a person as an object.

Structure:

tell someone something

Example:

He told me the truth.

Incorrect:

He told that he was tired. ✘

Correct:

He said that he was tired. ✔

Or:

He told me that he was tired. ✔

Speak and Talk

Speak is often used in more formal contexts or for languages.

Examples:

• She speaks English.
• I spoke to the principal.

Talk is often more conversational.

Example:

We talked about the examination.

Common combinations include:

• speak to/with
• talk to/with
• speak about
• talk about

Revision Table

Important Verb Patterns at a Glance

Most Important Rules to Remember

• A verb expresses an action, condition, state, possession or occurrence.
• Main Verbs
  • carry the principal meaning of the sentence.
• Helping Verbs
  • assist in forming tense, voice, questions, negatives and other grammatical constructions.
• The primary auxiliaries are:
  • be
  • have
  • do
• Regular verbs
  • generally form V2 and V3 using -ed/-d.
• Irregular verbs
  • have special past and participle forms that must be learnt.
• A Transitive Verb
  • takes an object.
• An Intransitive Verb
  • does not require an object.
• Many verbs can be transitive or intransitive depending on their use.
• A Finite Verb
  • shows tense and/or agreement with the subject.
• A Non-finite Verb
  • does not independently show tense or subject agreement.
• The three major non-finite forms are:
  • Infinitive
  • Gerund
  • Participle
• Remember the five common verb forms:
  • V1 → go
  • V2 → went
  • V3 → gone
  • V4 → going
  • V5 → goes
• After a modal, always use V1.
  • can go ✔
  • can goes ✘
• After does/did, use V1.
  • does work ✔
  • does works ✘
  • did go ✔
  • did went ✘
• After have/has/had, use V3.
  • has written ✔
  • has wrote ✘
• Continuous forms use:
  • be + V4
  • is reading
  • was working
• Several verbs are followed by gerunds:
  • enjoy reading
  • avoid making
  • suggest going
• Several verbs are followed by infinitives:
  • want to go
  • decide to study
  • hope to succeed
• Pay special attention to frequently confused verb pairs:
  • lie / lay
  • rise / raise
  • sit / set
  • borrow / lend
  • bring / take
  • say / tell

Mastering verb forms and their correct usage is essential because almost every major grammar topic depends upon the correct choice of the verb form, auxiliary and sentence structure.