Verbs

Lesson 1 Verbs

Essential Question

What is the most essential (and sometimes only!) word in every sentence,
and how does it affect the rest of the sentence's purpose?

Grammar in the World

verb comic

It is impossible to write a sentence without using a verb. Even the shortest sentences like, “Go!” or “He ran.” use verbs. Verbs come in so many forms that you could spend weeks studying only this one part of speech. In this module, we’ll cover the main type of verbs you need to know to communicate confidently.

What Do I Know?

What do you already know about the parts of speech? Take this quiz to find out.

Building Blocks

Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time. It is also helpful to see how each skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:

Learn About Common Verb Types

Three common types of verbs are action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs.

Click on the tabs below to learn more about each type:

Action 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

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.

Verb	Action	Linking
look	The sloth looked for food.	The sloth looked hungry.
smell	If you smell their fur, you will be in for a nasty surprise.	Sloths’ fur smells rotten.
taste	It tasted the yummy leaves.	The leaves taste fresh and yummy.
fell	The sloth slowly fell off the branch.	The birds fell silent.
grow	The landowner grew trees in the jungle.	The sloth grew bored with the same old tree.

Helping Verbs

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:

Purpose	Helping and Main Verbs
Show Ongoing Action	The sloth is climbing a tree right now.
Passive Voice	The leaves were eaten by them.
Question	Did they eat all the leaves?
Negative Statement	It did not like to be hugged.
Emphasis	I do think sloths are interesting.
Modals	They might spend days in a tree without touching the ground.

Check out the following tips to help you recognize each type of verb in a sentence:

Tip 1: Recognizing Action Verbs

To find any verb in a sentence, look for the word that shows when something is taking place. If you put the phrase “Next year” or “Last year” in front of a sentence, you often can spot which words will change. Those are the verbs.

I saw a sloth in the jungle.

Next year, I saw a sloth in the jungle. (This doesn't sound right.)
Next year I will see a sloth in the jungle. (This sounds better.)

The verb “saw” changes, depending on time. “Saw” is the verb.

You can recognize physical action verbs because you can experience them with one of your five senses. For instance, you can see someone move or hear them talk.

If you can answer the question What’s happening? with a definite answer, then you probably have an active verb.

Some sloths hang from trees.
What’s happening? Sloths hang.

Hang is an active verb.

Tip 2: Recognizing Linking Verbs

You can think of linking verbs as big, flashing equal signs in a sentence. If two things equal each other, they are connected by a linking verb.

The sloth = slow. The sloth is slow.
They = dangerous. Sloths appear dangerous.

Tip 3: Recognizing Helping Verbs

Helping verbs are always paired with another verb. As such, it's good to think of the end result as a multiword (2-4 word) verb. Each of the verb's words plays a crucial role in describing the verb's action.

Sometimes helping verbs help to show when action is happening (i.e. tense).

Action verb: move. Helping verb: be
- The sloth is moving slowly. (present)
- The sloth will move slowly. (future)
Sometimes helping verbs show possibility or necessity:
- The sloth could travel on the ground if he had to.
- The sloth must stay in the trees to survive longer.

Do I Get It?

Complete the review activity below to check your understanding of verbs.