English Grammar for Class 8: Verbs
Did you know that you can write the shortest sentence in the English language using just one word? Look at these examples:
Stop!
Go!
Run!
See.
These words are verbs that form a meaningful sentence. Can you make a one-word sentence with words that aren’t verbs? You will find that you cannot.
Verbs convey the action performed by the subject or its state of being. The subject is the person, place, animal, or thing that performs the action.
Verbs are very important in English grammar because no sentence is complete without using them—they help build sentences.
Verbs add logic and meaning to a sentence. Try forming a sentence without a verb. You will notice that the sentences you come up with are incomplete.
This article will help you learn English verbs for Class 8. First, let us look at the definition of a verb.
Verb Definition
In English grammar, verbs are defined as action words.
- Verbs express what things do. For example, words like run, fight, eat, sleep, and sit convey an action.
- Verbs also express a state of being. For example, verbs like feels, prefers, seems, and belongs convey a state of being.
In English grammar, using verbs correctly is essential. Verbs change in form depending upon the sentences. If the correct verb is not chosen, the sentence will not make sense. For example, the English verb eat has five verb forms: eat, eats, eating, ate, and eaten.
If you don’t use the correct form, the sentence will not make sense.
Now, let’s learn verbs of different types.
Types of verbs in English grammar
Verbs are of different kinds depending on what they convey. Below is a list of verbs of different types and the conditions under which they are used.
- Action verbs or main verbs
Action verbs or main verbs are used to express actions. They can refer to a physical or a mental action performed by the subject—a person, animal or thing. Action verbs can be transitive or non-transitive.
Some examples of action verbs in a sentence are:
The sun shines.
We work at the company.
The lions kill the deer.
The basket fell to the ground.
- Stative verbs
Stative verbs express a state of being rather than an action. They describe emotions, qualities, beliefs, states of existence, and thoughts. You can use some action verbs as stative verbs depending on their meaning and how they are used in a sentence.
Some examples of stative verbs in a sentence are:
I love my brother very much.
Harry is seeing Lily.
I’m hearing voices in my head.
- Helping verbs
Helping verbs, as the name suggests, help or support the main verb in the sentence. They are used for different purposes in a sentence. For example, helping verbs can be used to change the tense of the verb. They are also known as auxiliary verbs.
Some examples of helping verbs in a sentence are:
We are eating pizza.
(are: helping verb, eating: main verb)
You must finish your homework quickly.
(must: helping verb, finish: main verb)
Snakes can eat a lot.
(can: helping verb, eat: main verb)
- Modal verbs
Modal verbs are used to provide a certain mood to the sentence. They are a subgroup of helping verbs in English grammar. Modal verbs are used to express concepts like ability, necessity, and permission. Each one is used differently in a sentence to express a certain tone.
Some examples of modal verbs in a sentence are:
You can play only after you finish studying.
We must go to the theatre to watch this movie.
He can’t understand or speak French.
- Phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb is a combination of words that provide a different meaning than the original words used to form them. For example, the phrasal verb ‘shut down’ means to stop operations. But the individual words, shut means close, and down means below.
The words generally used in combination are verb, preposition, and adverb.
Some examples of phrasal verbs in a sentence are:
Lisa tore up the agreement papers angrily.
Mike loves to show off his car collection.
We have to put off our meeting till next Monday.
You’ll have to wake up early tomorrow to catch the train.
- Transitive verbs
Transitive verbs express an action directed towards a person, place, animal, or thing. They are accompanied by a direct object, such as a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. Transitive words require an object to make complete sense in a sentence.
Some examples of transitive verbs in a sentence are:
My daughter hates green vegetables.
Michael ate a burger and fries.
Lily bought a gown for her friend’s wedding.
- Intransitive verbs
These verb forms are the opposite of transitive verbs. Intransitive verbs are not used with direct objects. They express an action without passing it to the object. These verbs can stand alone in a predicate.
Some examples of intransitive verbs in a sentence are:
Birds fly.
The English teacher speaks softly.
The office opens at ten in the morning.
His wife looks beautiful!
The children slept.
- Regular verbs
Regular verbs are easy to understand. We simply add -ed, -d, or -t to create the past simple and the past participle of the verb. And both these forms are the same. For example, the verb laugh is a regular verb. If we add -ed, the simple past and past participle are laughed. However, sometimes the spelling of regular verbs changes. For example, the past participle and past tense of try is tried.
Some examples of regular verbs in a sentence are:
He jumped across the fence.
Jim purchased goods worth thousands of dollars.
Tim noticed Maria at the cafe.
- Irregular verbs
There are many irregular verbs in the English language whose past participle and past tense don’t end in -ed, -d, and -t. The spelling of such irregular verbs changes dramatically.
Some examples of irregular verbs in a sentence are:
John knew the film’s story beforehand.
The smartphone has given me nothing but expenses.
The workers took a day off on Friday.
- Gerunds and infinitives
Gerunds and infinitives aren’t verbs, but they seem to be verbs because they are derived from them. Thus, they are sometimes referred to as verb complements.
Gerunds: In simple words, a gerund is a verb in its present participle form. You need to add ing to the verb to get a gerund. A gerund can be created using any action word.
Some examples of gerunds in a sentence are:
Timothy is crying.
My father quit smoking five years ago.
Jogging is my hobby.
I look forward to meeting you again.
Infinitives: Infinitives are identical to the base form of the verb. We use the word to before the base verb to form an infinitive.
Some examples of infinitives in a sentence are:
He likes to play.
She wants to see this cartoon.
John wants to eat a pizza.
Conclusion
Thus, we can see that verbs are an important part of English grammar. In a sentence, they are the main part describing a story that is taking place. As a student of Class 8, you should learn verbs because, without them, a sentence is incomplete. They are one of the basic requirements of the English language.
FAQ
- What are verbs?
Verbs are words that describe an action or state of being. They show what the subject is doing, feeling or experiencing. Verbs are important as they are required to make a sentence. Moreover, verbs in English grammar make a sentence.
- What are the subject-verb agreement rules?
English verbs need to follow certain rules with the subject. The basic rule is that the subject and verb must agree in number. If the subject is singular, then the verb is singular too and vice versa. For example: They play (Subject: plural; verb: plural) and He plays (Subject: singular; verb: singular).
- What is the difference between gerunds and infinitives?
While both gerunds and infinitives act as the subject of a sentence, how you use them in a sentence differs. A gerund is the present participle of the verb plus (ing), whereas infinitives use ‘to’ plus the base form of the verb. The main verb in the sentence decides whether you will use a gerund or an infinitive.
- How is a noun different from a verb?
A noun is a word that describes a person, place, animal, or thing. A verb, on the other hand, is a word that describes an action or a state of being.
- What is the difference between main verbs and helping verbs?
The main verb can describe an action or a state of being on its own. A helping verb, as the name suggests, helps support the main verb in different ways. Helping verbs add expression to the main verb’s tense, mood, or voice. They add more information to the verb.
- What are helping verb examples?
The three commonly used helping verbs are to be, to do, and to have. For example: he is cooking, she has seen the video, and we can live in a bigger house.
