Verbs

Definition & Meaning of a Verb

A verb is a word which implies action or the doing of something, or it may be defined as a word which affirms, commands or asks a question. The simple form of the verb without inflection is called the root of the verb; e. g. love is the root of the verb "To Love."

Definition & Meaning of a Verb

Examples Help! Types of Verbs - regular or irregular, transitive or intransitive verbs
There are four different types of Verbs - see below for the definition, meaning and a list of examples of the many different types of Verbs:

Types of Verbs
Regular verbs	Irregular	Transitive
	Intransitive
Types of Verbs

Find out the meaning an definition of the different types of Verbs including regular or irregular, transitive or intransitive with clear examples with the following information.

Definition and Examples of Regular Verbs
A verb is said to be regular when it forms the past tense by adding 'ed' to the present or 'd' if the verb ends in 'e'.

Definition and Examples of Irregular Verbs
A verb is said to be irregular when its past tense does not end in 'ed'

Definition and Examples of Transitive Verbs
A transitive verb is one the action of which passes over to or affects some object; as "I struck the table." Here the action of striking affected the object table, hence struck is a transitive verb.

Definition and Examples of Intransitive Verbs
An intransitive verb is one in which the action remains with the subject; as "I walk," "I sit" or "I run". Many intransitive verbs, however, can be used transitively; thus, "I walk the horse;" walk is here transitive.

Verbs are inflected by number, person, tense and mood
Number and person as applied to the verb really belong to the subject; they are used with the verb to denote whether the assertion is made regarding one or more than one and whether it is made in reference to the person speaking, the person spoken to or the person or thing spoken about.

Verbs inflected by tense
In their tenses verbs follow the divisions of time. They have present tense, past tense and future tense with their variations to express the exact time of action as to an event happening, having happened or yet to happen.

Verbs inflected by mood
There are four simple moods — the Infinitive, the Indicative, the Imperative and the Subjunctive.

The Mood of a verb denotes the mode or manner in which it is used. Thus if it is used in its widest sense without reference to person or number, time or place, it is in the Infinitive Mood; as "To run." Here we are not told who does the running, when it is done, where it is done or anything about it.

The Indicative Mood
When a verb is used to indicate or declare or ask a simple question or make any direct statement, it is in the Indicative Mood. "The boy loves his book." Here a direct statement is made concerning the boy. "Have you a pin?" Here a simple question is asked which calls for an answer.

The Imperative Mood
When the verb is used to express a command or entreaty it is in the Imperative Mood as, "Go away." "Give me a penny."

The Subjunctive Mood
When the verb is used to express doubt, supposition or uncertainty or when some future action depends upon a contingency, it is in the subjunctive mood; as, "If I come, he shall remain."

The Participles
Verbs have two participles, the present or imperfect, sometimes called the active ending in ing and the past or perfect, often called the passive, ending in ed or d. The infinitive expresses the sense of the verb in a substantive form, the participles in an adjective form; as "To rise early is healthful." "An early rising man." "The newly risen sun." The participle in ing is frequently used as a substantive and consequently is equivalent to an infinitive; thus, "To rise early is healthful" and "Rising early is healthful" are the same.

Present Indicative, Past Indicative and Past Participle
The principal parts of a verb are the Present Indicative, Past Indicative and Past Participle as in:

Parts of Verbs
Present Indicative	Past Indicative	Past Participle
Love	Loved	Loved

Examples Help! Helping Verbs - the Definition and Meaning of a Helping Verb

What is a verb? The meaning or definition of a Verb is as follows "A verb is a word which implies action or the doing of something, or it may be defined as a word which affirms, commands or asks a question". But what is a helping verb? 'Helping verbs' work with the main verb to give the reader a better idea of when the action takes place - in he present, past or in the future e.g. have, had and shall.

Helping Verbs

Verbs may also be divided into principal and auxiliary. Auxiliary verbs are called helping verbs, because it is by their aid that the compound tenses are formed. A principal verb is that without which a sentence or clause can contain no assertion or affirmation. An auxiliary is a verb joined to the root or participles of a principal verb to express time and manner with greater precision than can be done by the tenses and moods in their simple form. Thus, the sentence, "I am writing an exercise; when I shall have finished it I shall read it to the class." has no meaning without the principal verbs writing, finished read; but the meaning is rendered more definite, especially with regard to time, by the auxiliary ( or helping) verbs am, have, shall.

Helping Verbs
There are many auxiliary or helping verbs: Be, have, am, are, is, was, were, has, had, do, shall, will, may, can, ought, and must. They are called helping verbs, because it is by their aid the compound tenses are formed.

List of Helping Verbs
The following table details a list of helping verbs:

List of Helping Verbs
am	is	are
was	were	be
being	been	have
has	had	do
does	did	can
could	may	might
must	will	should
would	ought to	used to
List of Helping Verbs

The helping verb "To Be"
The verb 'To Be' is the most important of the auxiliary or helping verbs. It originally had eleven parts: am, art, is, are, was, wast, were, wert; be, being and been although some are no longer used in the modern English language.

Examples Help! Linking Verbs - the Definition and Meaning of a Linking Verb
What is a verb? The meaning or definition of a Verb is as follows "A verb is a word which implies action or the doing of something, or it may be defined as a word which affirms, commands or asks a question". But what is a Linking verb? Linking verbs do not express action - they connect the subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. They are sometimes called copula or copular verbs. An example of a linking verb is 'This drink tastes good' - Tastes is the linking verb which connects the subject (drink) to the adjective which describes it (good). A linking verb may connect the subject with a noun (cat, dog etc.), a pronoun (his, him etc.) or an adjective. Most linking verbs can also be used as action verbs.

List of Linking Verbs
The following table details a list of Linking verbs:

List of Linking Verbs
Be	Look	Feel
Taste	Smell	Sound
Seem	Appear	Get
Become	Grow	Stay
Keep	Turn	Prove
Go	Remain	Resemble
Run		Lie

Verb Tense Chart

Verb Tense Chart
Tense	Person	Singular	Plural
Present Tense	1st Person	I play	We play
	2nd Person	You play	You play
	3rd Person	He plays	They play
Past Tense	1st Person	I played	We played
	2nd Person	You played	You played
	3rd Person	He played	They played
Future Tense	1st Person	I shall play	We will play
	2nd Person	You will play	You will play
	3rd Person	He will plays	They shall play
Present Perfect Tense	1st Person	I have played	We have played
	2nd Person	You have played	You have played
	3rd Person	He has played	They have played
Past Perfect Tense	1st Person	I had played	We had played
	2nd Person	You had played	You had played
	3rd Person	He had played	They had played
Future Perfect Tense	1st Person	I shall have played	We shall have played
	2nd Person	You will have played	You will have played
	3rd Person	He will have played	They will have played

There are six common types of Verb Tenses: past, present, future, past perfect, present perfect and future perfect tenses.

Six Verb Tenses
Past Tense	Present Tense	Future Tense
Past Perfect Tense	Present Perfect Tense	Future Perfect Tense
Six Verb Tenses

All of the six verb tenses are individually detailed below. Click the following link for a comprehensive

Verb Tense Chart

Examples Help! Conjugation
The conjugation of a verb is its orderly arrangement in voices, moods, tenses, persons and numbers. The following charts detail the different tenses of the verb 'to love'.

Present Tense Chart
The following chart details the present tense of the English verb 'to love'.

Present Tense
	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I love	We love
2nd Person	You love	You love
3rd Person	He loves	They love

Past Tense Chart
The following chart details the past tense of the English verb 'to love'.

Past Tense
	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I loved	We loved
2nd Person	You loved	You loved
3rd Person	He loved	They loved

Future Tense Chart
The following chart details the future tense of the English verb 'to love'.

Future Tense
	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I shall love	We will love
2nd Person	You will love	You will love
3rd Person	He will loves	They shall love

Present Perfect Tense Chart
The following chart details the present perfect tense of the English verb 'to love'.

Present Perfect Tense
	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I have loved	We have loved
2nd Person	You have loved	You have loved
3rd Person	He has loved	They have loved

Past Perfect Tense Chart
The following chart details the past perfect tense of the English verb 'to love'.

Past Perfect Tense
	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I had loved	We had loved
2nd Person	You had loved	You had loved
3rd Person	He had loved	They had loved

Future Perfect Tense Chart
The following chart details the future perfect tense of the English verb 'to love'.

Future Perfect Tense
	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I shall have loved	We shall have loved
2nd Person	You will have loved	You will have loved
3rd Person	He will have loved	They will have loved