These are the different types of verbs with meaning.
TYPES OF VERBS – This part of speech is an action word, and here are its different types with meanings and examples.
What is a verb? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, this is “a word or phrase that describes an action, condition, or experience,” while the Collins Dictionary defined it as a word such as ‘sing’, ‘feel’, or ‘die’ that is used with a subject to say what someone or something does or what happens to them, or to give information about them.”
The classifications of verbs based on what they signify:
| Referring to Actions | Referring to Experiences or Feelings | Referring to a State or Condition |
| Sing Drink Teach Present Build Talk Sit Read Write | Like Need Adore Loathe Love Hate Envy Trust Feel | Am Is Are Was Were Have Has Will be Seem |
The different types
| TYPES | DEFINITION | EXAMPLES |
| Helping | used along with the main verb that denotes an action done by a subject | is, has, was, had been, has been, has not, will be, will have, will have been, etc |
| Auxiliary | used as a helping verb to alter the tense, mood, or voice of the sentence. | am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had, will, etc |
| Transitive | needs an object to make complete sense of the action performed by a subject | follows the SVO, SVIODO, SVOC, SVOA, ASVO patterns |
| Intransitive | doesn’t need an object to make complete sense of the action performed by a subject | follows the ASVC, SV, SVC, ASVA, and so on |
| Regular | follows a common pattern of conjugation by adding -ed, -ied, -d | accept-accepted, offend-offended, cry-cried, etc |
| Irregular | does not follow the usual rules of grammar and conjugating is a little tricky | cut-cut, put-put, spread-spread, find-found, eat-ate, buy-bought, catch-caught, understand-understood |
| Modal | used to represent the ability, possibility, and probability of a subject to do an action | can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must, etc |
| Phrasal | a combination of a verb and an adverb, or a preposition | hold on, run into, check out, go through, fall apart, pull off, etc |
| Finite | used to represent tense, person, or number and always agree with the subject performing the action | – Let’s work at the Plaza. – I need some money. – I understand what you are talking about. |
| Non Finite | have no tense and do not agree with the subject in a sentence | – Fed up with the constant fights, I ended our relationship. – Walking slowly to the clinic, I saw a coin on the ground. |
| Linking | used to connect the subject with the adjective or noun that describes it | am, been, being, etc (state of being) look, smell, test, etc (five senses) grow, remain, act, get, etc (shows change, growth, inactivity) |
| Stative | describes the state of being of a subject that can be a noun or pronoun | – I don’t know what to do with her anymore. – I understand what you mean. – I do not feel good. |
| Action | used to denote the action and cannot be used as a linking verb | run, walk, talk, sit, stand, play, try, cook, read, write, dance, teach, etc |