At a glance
Verbs
- Main verbscarry the meaning
- Transitive: has an objectShe opened the door.
- Intransitive: no objectThe baby slept.
- Linking: joins a descriptionHe seems happy.
- Helping verbshelp the main verb
- Primary: be, have, doShe is sleeping.
- Modal: can, must, will…You must go.
Finite or non-finite?
- Finitechanges with the subject and tense
- She goes. They went.
- Non-finitenever changes
- InfinitiveI want to go.
- GerundSwimming is fun.
- Participlea broken window
Main verbs and helping verbs
She reads books. (main verb)
She is reading a book. (is = helping verb)
She has read the book. (has = helping verb)
Does she read books? (does = helping verb)
| Primary (also main verbs) | Modal (always helping) |
|---|---|
| be: am, is, are, was, were, been | can, could, may, might |
| have: have, has, had | shall, should, will, would |
| do: do, does, did | must, ought to, need, dare |
Transitive and intransitive
She opened the door. (opened what? the door: transitive)
The baby slept. (no object: intransitive)
- These verbs are always intransitive: arrive, come, go, sleep, die, happen, laugh, exist, fall, rise, sit, lie.
- Many verbs can be both: The door opened. She opened the door.
Linking verbs and state verbs
Linking verbs (be, seem, look, become…) are on the page Complements and Linking Verbs. Verbs like know, like, want are on the page Action Verbs and State Verbs.
Regular and irregular
Regular verbs add -ed: work → worked. Irregular verbs change: go → went → gone. See Verb Forms in this chapter.
Practice
Answer the questions. Get 7 out of 10 to finish this lesson.