Verbs

Action Verbs often show physical or mental/abstract action. They describe what the subject of a sentence is doing or experiencing.

• Examples of physical action verbs: move, smile, jump, talk, leave, hold, create 
• Examples of abstract action verbs: learn, think, wonder, imagine, crave, study

Linking Verbs do not show action. Instead, they connect the subject of a sentence with information about the subject. Linking verbs are also called “state-of-being” verbs, and you can think of them like an equal sign that connects one part of the sentence to the rest.  

Some verbs are ALWAYS linking verbs:

• become
• seem

Some verbs can be either linking or action verbs. 

• all the sense verbs: look, smell, touch, appear, sound, taste, and feel
• verbs like turn, remain, prove, fell, stay, and grow

Here is an example of how the same verb can function as either an action or a linking verb. If you can experience it with one of your five senses or it answers the question “What is happening?”, it’s an action verb. If it gives more information about the subject of the sentence, it is a linking verb.

Helping Verbs work with a main verb to show additional meaning or tense. These also are known as Auxiliary Verbs.  

There are 3 primary helping verbs. 

• be (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been)
• have (has/have, had)
• do (do/does, did)

There are 10 modal helping verbs that “modify” (change) the main verb in some way.

• can, could
• may, might
• will, would
• shall, should
• must, has/have/had to
• ought to

Helping verbs allow us to show ongoing action, to express passive voice (when subjects experience actions as opposed to doing them), to ask questions, to form negative statements, to emphasize an idea; and as modals to suggest ability, intention, or necessity.

Here are some examples of how helping verbs pair with main verbs to create many layers of meaning: