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The verb is the most important word or group of words in the sentence. In fact, a sentence can consist of a verb on its own, though a subject is ‘understood’ – in this case you:

Stop!

There are many ways to classify verbs. Some of the most important are listed below.

Doing or linking: Verbs can be either doing (or action) words, or linking words.

The dog chased the postman. (chased tells what action was going on)

The postman is a middle-aged man. (is links postman and middle-aged man – they are one and the same; this type of sentence is known as ‘equational’)

Transitive or intransitive: Verbs are either transitive or intransitive. Transitive means that action passes across from the subject of the sentence to an object. Intransitive means that there is no action passing across.

The student read her book. (read is transitive – action is passing across from student to her book)

That child grizzles all the time. (grizzles is intransitive – no action is passing across from that child to anything)

Active or passive: Verbs are either active or passive. Active voice means that the agent (the doer of an action) is in the subject position of the sentence, with the recipient of the action in the object position. Passive voice means that the recipient of the action is in the subject position, while the agent (if any) is in the object position.

The committee has rejected your application for membership. (has rejected is active)

Your application for membership has been rejected by the committee. (has been rejected is passive – the agent is in object position)

Your application for membership has been rejected. (has been rejected is passive – in this construction the agent has been omitted – it is known as an agentless passive)

Note that all passive verbs are said to be transitive because action is going on, whether or not an agent appears in the sentence.

Tense: Verbs have tense – that is, they express time. The three main tenses are simple past, present and future, as in:

Yesterday I spoke to my grandmother. (past)

Today I speak to you. (present)

Tomorrow I shall speak to another group. (future)

One word or phrase: Verbs can consist of one or several words; when more than one word is used, the verb is a verb phrase. Verb phrases consist of the main verb plus one or more auxiliaries that help to show tense – for example, past, present, future; voice – whether it is active or passive; and aspect – whether it is still going on or has been completed.

Jan works hard. (works is a one-word verb – the following examples use forms of the main verb work plus auxiliaries)

Jan has worked for several employers.

Jan is working on your report.

Jan has been working for more than an hour.

Jan will have been working for two hours soon.

Participles: Verbs have parts called participles that are used with auxiliaries – often part of the verbs be or have – to form more complex tenses. In the examples above, work is the basic verb, working is its present participle and worked is its past participle. Most verbs follow this ing, -ed (or -t) pattern, but there are many exceptions. Consult a dictionary if you are unsure of the correct spelling of a participle. Here are a few examples, beginning with two regular formations and continuing with some that cause problems because their past tenses and past participles are irregular. Note that the root form of the verb is the infinitive, generally expressed as to + verb:

Verb	Present	Present participle	Past	Past participle
to learn	learn	learning	learnt	learnta
to walk	walk	walking	walked	walked
to run	run	running	ran	run
to bear	bear	bearing	bore	borne
to go	go	going	went	gone
to rise	rise	rising	rose	risen
a Verbs such as ‘learn’ also have an ‘-ed’ form of the past and past participle. The ‘t’ ending is recommended for ‘learn’ as the verb form to avoid possible confusion with the adjective ‘learned’, pronounced [lern-ed], meaning ‘having much knowledge’. There are many more.

Some verbs cause special difficulty. One group is lay/lie:

Verb	Present	Present participle	Past	Past participle
to lay (to put down)	lay	laying	laid	laid
to lie (to recline)	lie	lying	lay	lain
to lie (to tell untruths)	lie	lying	lied	lied

Here are sentences containing all these forms:

I always lay the table for dinner.

The hens are laying well at the moment.

He laid the books on the desk.

The rumour was laid to rest by the principal.

I lie on my couch when I need a nap. (Please, not lay here!)

She is lying on the floor.

He lay in the sun for too long today.

The patient has lain on his back for an hour now.

Some people lie about their ages.

She was lying when she said she hated music.

The witness was charged with perjury because he lied under oath.

He has lied all his life – he is unlikely to start telling the truth now.

There are other problem words, among them sat: often we hear or read:

She sat her parents in the front row or I was sat behind a post at the concert.

Sat is the past tense and past participle of sit – take care! This is not really a transitive verb. We should not say:

She sat the child in the high chair or He sat the heavy book on the table.

Alternatives could be:

She took her parents to seats in the front row.

I was seated behind a post at the concert.

She put the child in the high chair.

He placed the heavy book on the table.

Keep the parts of verb phrases together as far as possible. It is difficult to read a passage in which the verbs are consistently split. It is thus better to write:

The officer was glancing at the clock surreptitiously and rather anxiously every few minutes.

than to write:

The officer was surreptitiously and rather anxiously glancing at the clock every few minutes.

Verbs must agree with their subjects in person (first, second, third) and number (singular or plural).

I am a manager. (am is first person singular, to agree with I, which is the same)

My pony jumps hurdles. (jumps is third person singular, to agree with my pony, which is the same; most third person singular verbs end in s, whereas third person plural verbs do not – for example: Horses jump hurdles.)

A box of books was delivered today. (was is third person singular to agree with a box, which is the same and is the real subject of the sentence)

The news is bad today. (is is singular to agree with news, which is a singular noun despite its final s)

Toast and marmalade is my favourite breakfast. (is is singular, to agree with the singular compound toast and marmalade)

You have given Tommy two books now. (have given is second person singular or plural to agree with you)

Activity 4c

1 Underline the verbs and say whether they are action or linking verbs:

Frank Jones is the Managing Director of the company.

He directs the work of hundreds of people.

I have read your report, and I think it is excellent.

She is leaving next week and her position has been advertised already.

2 Underline the verbs and say whether they are transitive or intransitive:

The supervisor has read your report and thanks you for your promptness.

The old lady smiled as her daughter opened the car door for her.

When the student was praised for her presentation, she blushed profusely.

He melted the butter in the pan while I almost melted in the hot sun.

3 Underline the verbs and say whether they are active or passive:

The director has approved your application but mine has been rejected.

Dogs must be kept on a lead when they are walked on public land.

Keep your dog on a lead when you walk it on public land.

4 Underline the verbs and say what tense each one is:

The baritone sang an aria from the opera in which he will perform next week.

Her writing improves all the time because she uses a dictionary for spelling problems.

This report was written by James who is now head of the section.

5 Fill in the blanks with the correct past participles of the verbs in brackets:

Channel 2 has (broadcast) the news at 7 pm for years.

Shane Gould had (swim) for Australia before she retired.

I have (lay) the book on the table for you.

If I have (lie) to you, it was only to protect you from the truth.

She has (lie) in bed for long enough; tell her to get up.

We will set off on our picnic as soon as the sun has (rise) .

I think you should have (rid) yourself of that mangy animal long ago.

Have you (ride) your horse lately?

6 Correct any errors of agreement between the verb and its subject:

Neither of the trees will shed their leaves until the autumn.

The company moved into their new office last week.

Bacon and eggs are an appealing breakfast for many people.

Keyboarders should proofread everything they write.

Each of the tomatoes in the crates on the shelves have black spots.

Solutions 4c

1 is (linking); directs (action); have read (action), think (action), is (linking); is leaving (action), has been advertised (action).

2 has read (transitive), thanks (transitive); smiled (intransitive), opened (transitive); was praised (transitive), blushed (intransitive); melted (1) (transitive), melted (2) (intransitive).

3 has approved (active), has been rejected (passive); must be kept (passive), are walked (passive); keep (active), walk (active).

4 sang (past), will perform (future); improves (present), uses (present); was written (past), is (present).

5 broadcast, swum, laid, lied, lain, risen, rid, ridden

6 their → its; their → its; are → is; correct; have → has