A verb is a word or more than one word (verb phrase) that is used to express an action or a state of being of the subject. The verb is an essential element in the construction of a sentence as almost every sentence has a verb. Without a verb, a sentence is left incomplete.
Most sentences consist of a noun as the subject and a predicate. The predicate typically includes one or more verbs. The verb follows the subject, to which it must match in number, even if there are words intervening between them (see Lesson 8 - Subject-Verb Agreement). The verb, in turn, is followed by an object or a compliment.
A verb takes the infinitive form which includes the word to (to paint, to walk) or a conjugated regular form (paint/paints, walk/walked) that is used in accordance with a grammatical classification such as a person, tense or voice. The conjugated irregular verb form introduces a change in its spelling (go/went/gone), or a change in its ending (hide/hid/hidden). Such modification of a verb to express a different grammatical category is also called inflexion.
A verb that is used in a sentence is usually an action verb or a linking verb. An action verb describes the physical or mental action of the subject. A linking verb links the subject to the rest of the sentence that provides information about the subject.
A verb can be just a word.
Examples:
- She greets me.
- They left early.
A verb can be more than one word.
Examples:
- He is washing his car.
- You have broken my window.
An action verb takes an object.
Examples:
- Lee drives a car. (Subject: Lee / Object: car)
- Someone has eaten my pizza. (Subject: someone / Object: pizza)
A verb may not have an object.
Examples:
- The sun shines.
- It is raining..
A verb connects the subject to a compliment. The complement or subject complement can be a noun or an adjective.
Examples:
- They are my brothers. (Subject: they / Complement: brothers)
- She is beautiful. (Subject: she / Complement: beautiful)
Position of verbs
A verb usually follows the subject.
Examples:
- She smiles.
- The clown rides on a circus horse.
A word (intervening word) may come between the subject and the verb. It doesn’t affect anything. The usual grammatical rules still apply: the subject and verb must agree with one another in number (singular or plural). If a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is a plural, its verb must also be plural. The intervening words are in bold in these examples.
Examples:
- I accidentally knocked my head on the bookshelf.
- She never talks about God.
A word may come between the verbs that make up a verb phrase. The verb phrase is in bold as shown here.
Examples:
- She had recently come out of prison.
- Her cottage was partially hidden behind some trees.
A verb may come before the subject.
If the word here or there begins a sentence, a verb will come before the subject.
Examples:
- Here comes the king.
(The subject king comes after the verb comes.) - There was an eagle perched on his right shoulder.
(The subject eagle comes after the verb was.)
If a sentence begins with a phrase (underlined), the subject typically follows the verb.
Examples:
- Across the mountain and through the narrow valley was a dried-up stream.
(The subject stream comes after the verb was.) - Waving to passing trains is his hobby.
(The subject eagle comes after the verb was.)
Sometimes a sentence can be reversed without affecting its meaning if the subject and its object are the same.
Examples:
- That monkey was the one that snatched her bag.
The one that snatched her bag was that monkey. - My uncle is the village’s only professional wrestler.
The village’s only professional wrestler is my uncle.
In most questions, the verb comes before the subject.
Examples:
- Is she ready to go?
(The subject she comes after the auxiliary verb is.) - Do you want to come along?
(The subject you comes after the helping verb does.)
