Verbs

A verb is a part of speech that, when used in a sentence, communicates an action, an

occurrence, or a state of being. In sentences, verbs are the most important part of the predicate,
which explains or describes what the subject of the sentence, is doing or how they are being.
And, All sentences contain verbs!

A few common verbs include the words run, sing, cook, talk, and clean. These words are all
verbs because they communicate an action performed by a living being. We’ll look at more
specific examples of verbs as we discuss the subclasses of verbs next!

Subclasses of Verbs

verbs have several subclasses. The subclasses of verbs include linking verbs, intransitive
verbs and transitive verbs, and 

i. Linking Verbs

Linking verbs are verbs that link a subject with its complement in a sentence. The most
familiar linking verb is probably be. Here’s a list of other common linking verbs in English: act,
be, become, feel, grow, seem, smell, and taste. 

, “Tshering is,” and left it at that, it wouldn’t make any sense. “Tshering,” the subject, needs to
be connected to a complement by the copular verb “is.” Instead, we could say,
“Michi is  leaving.” In that instance, is links the subject of the sentence to its complement.  

There are two main types of verbs: action and linking. An action verb shows what a noun is
doing. A linking verb, also known as a helping verb, connects a noun to an adjective but does not
show an action.

There are 23 linking verbs in English:

1. am 7. been 13. does 19. may

2. is 8. be 14. did 20. might
3. was 9. have 15. shall 21. must
4. are 10. has 16. will 22. can
5. were 11. had 17. should 23. could
6. being 12. do 18. would

Types of Helping Verbs

To be: am, is, are, was, were, be, been.
To have: have, has, had.
To do: do, does, did.
Auxiliary verb
1. Can/could
2. May/might
3. Shall/should
4. Must/have
5. Will/would

ii. Transitive Verbs, Intransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that affect or act upon an object. When unattached to an object in
a sentence, a transitive verb does not make sense. Here’s an example of a transitive verb attached
to (and appearing before) an object in a sentence: 

 Please  take the clothes to the dry cleaners.  

In this example, “take” is a transitive verb because it requires an object—”the clothes”—to

make sense. “The clothes” are the objects being taken. “Please take” wouldn’t make sense by
itself, would it? That’s because the transitive verb “take,” like all transitive verbs, transfers its
action onto another being or object. 

Conversely, intransitive verbs don’t require an object to act upon in order to make sense in

a sentence. These verbs make sense all on their own! For instance, “They ran,” “We arrived,”
and, “The car stopped” are all examples of sentences that contain intransitive verbs.