Verb

What is Verb?

A word that expresses an action in a sentence is called a verb. 
Example : I play football. He writes a letter.
In the above two sentences, Play means playing and write means writing. Similarly, doing something, eating, catching, killing, understanding, thinking, playing or breaking, etc. is work. The word that means these actions is called verb. Verbs are essential parts of sentences. Every English Sentence must have a Verbs.

Different Types of Verb

Verbs are classified in different ways from different perspectives. In brief, various types of Verbs are briefly discussed.

Principal Verb: The Verbs that indicate the main action of the sentence i.e. the Verb capable of expressing the meaning of the sentence by itself is called Principal Verb.

In other words, Verbs that can complete the meaning of the sentence independently without the help of other Verbs are called Principal Verbs or Main verbs. Example : He plays football.

(i) Since no sentence can be formed without Main/Principal Verbs, if there is only one Verb in a sentence it must be Main/Principal Verb. Example : I am a boy. I did the sum. I am in class twelve

(ii) ‘s/es’ is added only to Principal Verbs. So if there is only one Verb with ‘s/es’ in the sentence it must be Main/Principal Verbs. Example: He goes to school regularly.

See More “Right form of verbs”

(iii) Verbs after Auxiliary Verbs are Principal Verbs. Because, while helping Principal Verbs, Auxiliary Verbs sit before it. Example : We should obey our parents.

What is Auxiliary Verbs?

Auxiliary Verbs: All those verbs that help Principal Verbs to express Tense, Voice and Mood are called Auxiliary Verbs. Example: I am waiting here.

Types of Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary Verbs are of four types:

  • Be Verb: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being = basically 1 different form of Verbs.
  • Have Verb: have, has, had = basically 1 different form of Verbs.
  • Modal Verbs: shall, should, will, can, could, may, might, must, dare, need, used to, ought to = Basically 9 Verbs, others are their Forms.
  • Do Verb: do, does, did = basically a different form of 1 Verb.
    So it can be said that there are basically 12 Auxiliary Verbs in English Grammar.

In the absence of Principal Verbs in the sentence, Auxiliary Verbs (Other than Modal Verbs) can do the work of Principal Verbs. Example: I am a boy. am is the Principal Verb here.

  • Transitive Verb: Verbs that can take Object to make the meaning complete/clear/complete are called Transitive Verb. Example:

He writes a letter.

The boy reads a book.

Mother loves me.

He took shelter under a tree.

  • Intransitive Verb: Verbs which cannot accept Object to make the meaning complete/clear/complete i.e. the meaning is complete without Object are called Intransitive Verb. Example:

Fire burns.

She sleeps.

River flows.

The door opened automatically

Mother laughs

He comes here.

Remember

(i) If you find a Noun or Pronoun after Verbs, if you ask those Verbs by ‘what’ or ‘whom’, the answer is Noun or Pronoun, then that Noun or Pronoun is the Object of those Verbs.

Example: He took shelter under the tree. He took shelter under a tree. If the question “took” is taken? – Shelter.

So took a Transitive Verbs. (ii) Verbs that cannot be questioned by ‘what’ or ‘whom’ are intransitive verbs.

Example: Mother laughs. What laughs? – The question is not; Who laughs? It will be like that. She sleeps. he sleeps What sleeps? The question is not; Who sleeps? It will be like that. [Exception: Cognate Verb is always Transitive.]

(iii) No Verbs can be questioned by ‘what’ or ‘whom’ but if the answer is subject local i.e. before the Verbs then the Verbs will be Intransitive.

Example: Fire burns. fire burns What burns? The question is but the answer is fire which comes before the verb.

What are the Direct & Indirect?

Direct & Indirect Object: Direct Object basically means objective Object and Indirect Object is subjective Object.

In other words, if the Verb is asked by ‘What?’, the Direct Object is obtained as the answer and if the question is asked by ‘Whom?’, the Indirect Object is obtained.

  • Whom do you like most?
  • What did you tell her?
  • She presented me a book.

In general sentences: S + V + Subject Object (Indirect Obj.) + Subject Object (Direct Obj.)

Example: I gave him a book.

But if the objective object is first and then the subjective object is followed by to, the indirect object must be preceded by to, i.e. S + V + objective object (direct obj.) + to + subjective object (indirect obj.).

Example: I gave a book to him.

Exception!! S+present / entrust / provide + Indirect Object + with + Direct Object. Example : I presented her with a rose.

Complement: If the Noun/Adjective following the Verb refers to the Subject, then that Noun/Adjective is called Complement. Example:

  • He was called a fool.
  • It is difficult to pass this admission test.
  • Honey tastes sweet.
  • Shakespeare is a playwright.

Stative Verb: The verb which does not mean external action but means the state, is called Stative Verb. Usually these verbs do not have Continuous Tense but can be considered as Gerund (V+ing). Stative Verbs express different states. For example:

State of perceiving : See, hear, feel, smell, taste,
State of mind & emotion : love, like, hate, believe, forget, appear
Linking verbs : to be, remain,
State of event : have, owe, belong, deserve

 

Linking Verbs / Copulative Verbs / Copula: Subject and Object express an opinion about the same person. Example: He has gone mad. (He has gone mad.)- Here, the subject is Mad (crazy). Notice, in this case, Go does not mean ‘to go’.

Common Verbs and Causative Verbs: Verbs by which the Subject completes the work itself, are called Common Verbs. Example: I write a letter.

All verbs by which the subject does the work directly without doing it themselves are called Causative Verbs. For example: My mother feeds me. (My mother fed me.)

Sometimes some Intransitive Verbs are used as Causative Verbs then they become Transitive Verbs. Example: The horse walks. [Common Verb] But he walked the horse. – He walks the horse. (Causative Verb)

How many Verbs have Causative Verbs? For example:

Common Verb Causative Form Common Verb Causative Form
Eat Feed See Show
Learn Teach Rise Raise
Know Inform Suck Suckle
Dive Dip Remember Remind

 

Causative ‘Have’: If the have-verbs used as causative verbs are followed by personal object, then the base form of the following verbs is used. Subject + have (Any Tense) + Personal Object + Base Form of Verbs + Extension.

  • My mother had me drink milk everyday.
  • I have Jerry cook my cuisine.
  • Mary had John wash the car.
  • Ahis had Rafique clean the floor.
  • The Principal had his teachers plan their lessons in advance.

If there is an objective object after the have verb, the past participle of the next verbs is used. That is, Subject +have (Any Tense)+ Object + V3 +….. {(by + extension) may or may not have.

  • They had the house painted.
  • We are going to have our car fixed before we go to New York.
  • Like humans, zoo animals must have a dentist to have their teeth filled.
  • Most presidential candidates have their names printed on the ballot in the New Castle primary election.

In short the rule is: Have + Doer (individual) + VB or……. Have + Receiver (Objective) + V3

Causative ‘Make’: After Make used as Causative Verbs, the Base Form of the following Verbs, regardless of what the Personal Object or Object Object is.

In short the rule is: …….Make + Doer (individual) + VB or …….Make + Receiver (object) + VB

  • He made me laugh.
  • The smell of the food makes my mouth water.
  • An irritation in his throat made him cough.
  • The mother made her baby take the medicine.

Causative ‘Let’: The Base Form of the next Verb sits after Let, regardless of whether there is a personal or substantive Object. However, even if be + V3 is used in Passive Voice, it is only used for Voice Change.

In short the rule is: …….Let + Doer (individual) + VB or…….Let + Receiver (Objective) + VB but in Passive Voice……..Let + (44) + be + V3

  • He did not let me play the guitar.
  • Don’t let that bother you.
  • Let me go home.
  • He did not let us go shopping.

Causative ‘Get’: If Get Verbs used as Causative Verbs are followed by Personal Object then the following Verbs are Infinitive (to + VB).

  • I’ll get an electrician to mend the heating.
  • We got our servants to wash our living room.

But if there is Object after Get Verb, the V3 Form of the next Verbs is there.

  • He got his work done on payment.
  • Masuma got her transcripts sent to the university.
  • My friend gets his car repaired yesterday.
  • I got my bread baked.

Causative ‘Help: Help used as Causative Verbs can be the Base Form of the following Verbs, regardless of what the Personal Object or Objective Object is, To + VB can also be. In short the rule is: Help + Doer (f) + VB/(to +VB) or Help + Receiver (objective)+VB/(to + VB)

  • My teacher helped me to get this job.
  • My teacher helped me get this job.

Factitive Verbs: When a transitive verb cannot express its full meaning without the help of an additional word in addition to its object, then those transitive verbs are called factitive verbs. Factive Object Complement |

Example: Elect, Select, Nominate, Name, Call, Make, Choose ➡ They elected him captain.

Cognate Verbs: When an Intransitive Verb takes its Noun Form as Object then it is called Cognate Verb. Example: He ran a race. Here, run is basically an Intransitive Verb but its Object Position has the Noun Form of run, so Run here is Cognate Verb Ges race is Cognate Object.

  • dreamt a wonderful dream.
  • Rani sang a song.

Group Verbs / Phrasal Verbs: When different prepositions are used as transitive verbs after some verbs, they are called phrasal verbs or prepositional verbs or group verbs. If Noun / Pronoun is placed after Group Verb, it is considered as Transitive Verbs.

Finite Verbs: All the verbs that can complete the Expression of the sentence are called Finite Verbs. In another way, the verbs that change depending on the Number and Person of the Subject and the Tense of the Sentence are called Finite Verbs.

Example: He goes to school. He went to school. They go to school. So we can see that the Go-Verbs are changing depending on the Number and Person of the Subject and the Tense of the Sentence. So Go-Finite Verbs.

Non-finite Verbs/ Verbals: Verbs that cannot complete the Expression of the sentence are called Non-finite Verbs. In other words, those verbs which do not change depending on the number and person of the subject and the tense of the sentence are called non-finite verbs. This part is very important for Right Form of Verb I Sentence Correction. Example: I saw him coming. I see him coming. Notice here, the “see”-Verb is changing depending on the Number and Person of the Subject and the Tense of the Sentence. But “coming”- Verb is not changing. So “see” – Finite Verbs and “coming” – Non-finite Verbs.

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