whats a verb

A verb is a word that tells what someone or something does or what state it is in.

Quick Scoop: What’s a Verb?

Think of verbs as the “engine” of a sentence: they show action, events, or states of being.

Without a verb, a sentence can’t really “run” or make sense.

Simple definition

• A verb is a word that shows:
  • An action: run, jump, eat, read.

* An occurrence: happen, become.

* A state of being: am, is, are, exist.

Example sentences:

• “She runs every morning.” → runs = verb (action).

• “They are happy.” → are = verb (state of being).

• “It became cold.” → became = verb (occurrence/change).

Mini Types (Super Quick)

You’ll often see verbs talked about in a few basic ways:

• Action (dynamic) verbs: eat, play, write, sleep.

• Stative verbs: know, believe, love, seem, be.

• Linking verbs: be, seem, become (they “link” the subject to more info: “Garfield is a cat”).

• Helping (auxiliary) verbs: be, have, do, will, can, should, etc., which “help” the main verb ( “She is running,” “They have eaten”).

Quick Test: Spot the Verb

Look at this sentence:

“Yesterday, my friend called me and we laughed.”

• called → verb (action, something happened).

• laughed → verb (action).

If you can ask “What is happening?” or “What is the subject doing/being?” the answer is usually the verb.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.