Practice
Verbs: types, rules, and examples
In The train arrived late, arrived tells you what happened. In The train was late, was connects the train to information about it. Both words are verbs, but they do different jobs.
Find the verb in a sentence and tell whether it is a main verb, a helping verb, or a linking verb.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
main verb /meɪn vɝb/
The short answer
A verb tells you what the subject does, what happens, or what the subject is like. Look for the word or verb group that changes when you change the time of the sentence. In many sentences, that is the verb.
The delivery driver checks the address before leaving.
Why it works: Checks is the main verb because it tells us what the driver does. Leaving is another verb form in the same sentence.
5 more examples
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The manager approved the updated schedule.
Approved is an action verb. It tells us what the manager did.
Not this:The updated schedule
wasacceptable. What changes: Was links schedule to the adjective acceptable. It does not name an action. -
The guests have arrived at the hotel.
Have helps form the present perfect tense. Arrived carries the main event.
Not this:The guests
arrivedat the hotel yesterday. What changes: Without have, arrived alone shows the past event. -
Maya seems confident about the interview.
Seems links Maya to the description confident.
Not this:Maya
answeredthe interview questions confidently. What changes: Answered names an action that Maya performed. -
Can the technician repair the screen today?
Can is a helping verb. It asks about possibility or ability before the main verb repair.
Not this:The technician
repairsscreens every day. What changes: Repairs is the main verb and describes a regular action. -
The children laughed and ran toward the gate.
The subject performs two actions, so this sentence has two main verbs.
Not this:The children
wereexcited near the gate. What changes: Were links children to excited rather than naming either action.
Read the full guide
Start by finding the subject. Then ask what the subject does, what happens to it, or what information the sentence gives about it. The answer usually leads you to the verb. A sentence can have one verb, a verb group, or more than one verb when it describes more than one action.
Find the word that carries the sentence
Most complete English sentences need a verb. First find who or what the sentence is about. Then ask what that person, thing, or group does, what happens, or what it is like.
The new employee learned the safety rules.
Employee is the subject. Learned tells us what the employee did, so it is the verb.
What did the employee do?
The employee learned the safety rules.
Main verbs give the central meaning
A main verb gives the sentence's central action, event, or state. It may be a physical action, a mental action, or an event that happens to something.
Our neighbor remembered the appointment.
Remembered is a main verb. The action happens in the mind, but it still tells us what the neighbor did.
Can a main verb describe a mental action?
Yes. Remember, decide, notice, and imagine can be main verbs.
Helping verbs work with a main verb
Helping verbs come before a main verb and add grammar information. Have can help show a completed action. Be can help form a continuous tense. Do can help make questions and negative sentences. Modal verbs such as can and should add ideas such as ability, possibility, or advice.
The office has changed its opening hours.
Has helps show the present perfect tense. Changed tells us the event that took place.
Which word carries the event in this sentence?
Changed is the main verb. Has is the helping verb.
Linking verbs connect descriptions
A linking verb joins the subject to a word that describes or identifies it. Forms of be often work this way. Some other verbs, including seem, become, look, feel, and sound, can also link a subject to a description.
The instructions seem clear now.
Seem connects instructions to clear. It does not describe something the instructions do.
What word describes the instructions?
Clear describes the instructions after the linking verb seem.
Read the whole verb group
Some sentences contain more than one verb form. Do not stop at the first one. In a verb group, identify the helping verb and the main verb. In a sentence with two actions, each action may have its own main verb.
The volunteers were sorting supplies and packing boxes.
Were helps form the continuous tense. Sorting and packing name the two actions.
How many main actions do the volunteers perform?
They perform two actions: sorting supplies and packing boxes.
Before you go
Remember this
Find the subject, then find the word or words that tell you about its action, state, or connection to other information. Name a verb as main when it carries the central meaning. Name it as helping when it works with another verb. Read the whole sentence when a verb can have more than one job.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Verbs: types, rules, and examples"
What is a verb in English grammar?
A verb tells you what the subject does, what happens, what state the subject is in, or how the subject connects to a description. In The manager approved the schedule, approved is the verb. In The schedule was acceptable, was is also a verb, but it links the schedule to acceptable.
The manager approved the updated schedule.
How can I find the verb in a sentence?
Find the subject first, then ask what the subject does, what happens, or what it is like. Look for a group of words as well as one word. In The guests have arrived, have and arrived form a verb group, but arrived carries the main event.
The updated schedule was acceptable.
What is the difference between a main verb and a helping verb?
A main verb carries the central meaning. A helping verb works with it to show grammar such as tense, a question, a negative, possibility, or advice. In Can the technician repair the screen?, can is the helping verb and repair is the main verb.
The guests have arrived at the hotel.
What is a linking verb?
A linking verb connects the subject to a description or identity instead of naming an action. In Maya seems confident, seems links Maya to confident. Forms of be are common linking verbs, and seem, become, feel, look, smell, sound, and taste can also be linking verbs in the right sentence.
The guests arrived at the hotel yesterday.
Can the same word have different verb jobs?
Yes. Read the full sentence. In I feel the cold air, feel describes an action of sensing. In The room feels cold, feels links room to cold. The words that follow the verb help you decide whether it describes an action or connects the subject to a description.
Maya seems confident about the interview.