A verb is a part of speech that expresses an action, an occurrence, or a state of being and typically functions as the predicate in a clause. In many languages the verb is the central word that carries tense, aspect, mood, and agreement information. For a basic description of sentence structure and the verb’s role, see sentence. In English, verbs change form to signal time relations such as past and present; for a general introduction to English grammar see English.

Core characteristics and common categories

Verbs can be classified by how they relate to their arguments and by their grammatical behavior. Common distinctions include:

  • Transitive vs. intransitive: transitive verbs take a direct object (eat an apple), intransitive ones do not (sleep).
  • Finite vs. non‑finite: finite verbs are marked for tense/subject agreement; non‑finite forms (infinitives, participles, gerunds) do not show full tense or agreement.
  • Auxiliary and modal verbs: auxiliaries (be, have, do) help form compound tenses and voices; modals (can, must, should) express possibility, necessity, or permission.
  • Regular vs. irregular: regular verbs form past/past participles by predictable endings (walk → walked); irregular verbs have unpredictable or suppletive forms (go → went).

Grammar: tense, aspect, mood, and voice

Verbs encode several grammatical categories. Tense locates an event in time (past, present, future); aspect shows internal temporal structure (progressive, perfect); mood conveys modality (indicative, subjunctive, imperative); and voice distinguishes active from passive. English expresses many of these categories with auxiliary combinations (e.g., "has been running"). For the simple notion of past vs. present forms, see past and present.

Cross‑linguistic variation

All spoken languages have ways to describe events and states, but not all treat verbs the same. Some languages have rich verb morphology that marks subject agreement, object agreement, evidentiality, or elaborate tense systems; others use separate words, particles, or context to express time and aspect. For a reminder that languages differ widely, consult a general overview of language typology. For example, languages such as Chinese and Indonesian typically do not inflect verbs for past vs. present the way English does; instead they rely on aspect markers, adverbs, or context.

History, terminology, and teaching

The English word "verb" derives from Latin verbum, meaning "word." Historically, grammar traditions have centered verbs as the predicate around which subjects and objects are organized. In language teaching, verbs are often introduced early because they allow learners to form basic sentences and express actions or states. For a concise definition used in some educational contexts, see verb definition.

Examples and commonly referenced lists

Verbs appear in nearly every sentence and can be simple or compound. A few typical English verbs are: run, speak, be, have, do. Simplified or restricted vocabularies for teaching sometimes emphasize a small core of verbs. For instance, Basic English lists sixteen verbs intended to cover many everyday needs; that list includes:

  • be, do, have, come, go, see, seem, give, take, keep, make, put, send, say, let, get

Some educational resources highlight individual verbs as auxiliaries (be, have, do) because they are essential to forming questions, negatives, progressive and perfect aspects. See an example usage note at go.

Understanding verbs is central to grasping how languages encode time, agency, and perspective. While the specifics vary by language, verbs remain the primary grammatical means to describe what happens, what is, and what might be.