Introduction to Verbs

In the table below, we can see the common verb forms we use when constructing sentences in English. We shall discuss the uses of these forms throughout this article.

Introduction to verb categories

Verbs are divided into three categories: main verbs, main auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliary verbs.

The first category of verbs is main verbs, also called doing verbs or lexical verbs. These can be preceded by the word to in their basic infinitive form, for example, to walk, to trip, to fall. They can refer to actions e.g. crawl, habits e.g. smoke, and states of mind e.g. believe.

The second category of verbs is main auxiliary verbs. The most common verbs in this category are be, do, and have. These verbs are used in conjunction with a main verb.

Be is commonly used with the present participle form of a main verb. The present participle is also called the –ing form or the gerund. For example, living, loving, leaving. We can construct sentences with be such as: I’m not enjoying this; Where is she going? Nothing is happening today. Be is also used with the past participle of a main verb in passive sentences. For example: They were beaten; He was robbed.

The verb have, as a main auxiliary verb, is commonly used in conjunction with the past participle of a main verb. We can this make sentences with have such as: More than once he has forgotten to bring the condoms; They haven’t eaten yet; What have you done?

You should note however, that be, do, and have can act as main verbs or main auxiliary verbs, as exemplified in the table below.

The third category of verbs is modal auxiliary verbs. These include verbs such as: can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, would, need. They are used to modify main verbs as in the following examples: I could swallow all those eggs. You ought to see the doctor about that rash. I shouldn’t have to clean up this mess. He can’t sleep without heavy metal music.

Some modal auxiliary verbs can also act as main verbs, for example need and will
.

Verb tenses

In this section we shall scrutinize the present, past, and perfect tenses and the grammatical forms we can use to talk about the future.

Present tenses

The two present tenses are called the Present Simple and the Present Continuous.

The Present Simple has three different forms depending on whether it is a positive sentence e.g. I love cookies; a negative sentence e.g. Your mother isn’t very attractive; or an interrogative sentence e.g. Do you like monster trucks? When we make affirmative sentences we use the infinitive without to e.g. fly, flow, fart, and add s or es ¹ if the subject of the sentence third person singular i.e. he, she, or it, or can be logically substituted with one of these words without changing the meaning of the sentence.

A conjugation table of the verb eat

To make negative sentences in the Present Simple, we use the main auxiliary verb do in the forms of don’t or doesn’t before the infinitive without to, for example: He doesn’t speak much. I don’t know my father.

To make interrogative sentences (questions) we use do or does at the beginning of the sentence followed by the subject and the infinitive without to. The third person singular verb does not change in negative or interrogative sentences.

The present continuous is formed with the verb to be as main auxiliary verb followed by the present participle of a main verb. We get such sentences as: We are going a-maying tomorrow. She is sleeping at the moment. I’m reading a book.

The present continuous has a variety of uses. It is used to describe uncompleted actions that are happening right now, for example: He’s having a heart attack! Go away, I’m sleeping. Secondly, it is used to describe an action happening around now but not at the moment of speaking, for example a girl on the playground might brag, “I’m writing an opera at the moment” though she is not composing at that precise moment. Also, the Present Continuous is used to describe frequently repeated actions as in the following examples: Your cat is always defecating in my shoes. That no-good boy-o is always spray-painting obscene graffiti on the walls. Lastly, the Present Continuous is used to talk about an action or event arranged to take place in the near future, for example: I’m having pizza delivered. They’re arriving tomorrow.

There are some verbs which can be used in two different ways depending on whether they are being used to refer to a state: I think you are stupid; or an action: I am thinking of you. When we use a verb to refer to a state, we call this the stative use of the verb. When we use a verb to describe an action, we call it the dynamic use of the verb. When we use a verb in its stative sense we never use a continuous form—past continuous, present continuous, or any other form of the continuous. We can only use a continuous form with the dynamic sense of a verb.

Verbs that can be used statively fall into certain categories. Firstly there are verbs which describe the senses, e.g. taste, smell, hear, feel. We do not use the continuous form in combination with the stative use of these verbs, therefore we do not usually say, for example: I am hearing a strange noise. I am smelling your armpits. Instead, we use the Present Simple: I hear a strange noise. I smell your armpits.

If we use these verbs dynamically, however, to describe an action we can use the present continuous. He is hearing her plea. We are tasting the soup.

Verbs that describe emotions are usually used statively and take the Simple form of the verb, for example: I hate monkeys. Do you like liver? Some of these verbs, however, can be used dynamically, for example: I am enjoying your mother’s company.

In addition, some main verbs that are used to link to other main verbs are not usually used dynamically, for example we do not normally say: She’s appearing to have had a nose job. I am seeming to have misplaced my tampons. Instead, we use these verbs statively and use the simple form: She appears to have had a nose job. I seem to have misplaced my tampons.

Another category of verbs which we do no normally use dynamically—and therefore do not often occur in the Present Continuous form—are verbs that describe possession. We do not say, for example: He’s having twelve concubines. They’re owning a Ferrari. We’re possessing knowledge of enemy spy activity. We use, rather, these verbs in the present simple because they are being used statively: He has twelve concubines. They own a Ferrari. We possess knowledge of enemy spy activity.

Lastly, the Present Continuous is not usually used in the dynamic sense with verbs that describe mental activity. We do not say, for example: I’m not believing you. Are you remembering the last time I vomited? She is agreeing with him. Instead, we use the Present Simple because these verbs are used in their stative sense. We say therefore: I don’t believe you. Do you remember the last time I vomited? She agrees with him.

In conclusion, remember: verbs used statively are rarely used in any progressive form.

Past tenses

The two most common past tenses in English are the Past Simple and the Past continuous.

Past Simple

The past simple is formed with regular verbs by adding –d² or –ed to the infinitive without to. In words that end in a consonant preceded by a vowel, the final consonant is doubled and –ed is added. Words that end in –y preceded by a consonant lose the -y and take –ied. Examples: Jumped, loved, popped, studied, played. Unfortunately, there are no rules governing irregular verbs in the English language and they must simply be learned. In this way, we can make positive sentences: I hated his tight pants. It hailed yesterday.

In negative sentences we use did not or its contracted form, didn’t, followed by the infinitive without to. Examples: They didn’t eat their beans. I didn’t know you were a man!

Interrogative sentences are formed in the past simple with did or didn’t, followed by the subject, followed by the infinitive without to. For example: Did you win anything in Las Vegas? Didn’t you find the note I left for you?

There are three main uses of the Past Simple. Firstly, it is used to describe an action that was completed at a definite time in the past, for example: I went to the brothel last night. She came at 5PM. Secondly, it is used to talk about past habits, for example: She ate Thai food as a teenager. We rode our motorcycles and wreaked havoc when we were younger. Lastly, we use the Past simple in second conditional structures. We shall look at these in detail further on, but here are some examples: If I had a hammer, I’d beat your head in. You’d be more successful at parties if you wore trousers.

Past Continuous

The Past Continuous is formed with the past simple forms of the verb to be (was or were) and the present participle (the –ing form). The past continuous is usually used to describe completed actions that continued for a period of time in the past, for example: They were sleeping when the burglar broke in. I was waiting for the bus when the hurricane arrived.

Perfect Tenses

There are four main perfect tenses: the Present Perfect, the Present Perfect Continuous, the Past Perfect, and the Past Perfect Continuous.

Present Perfect

The Present Perfect is formed with the main auxiliary verb to have (has in the third person singular) and the Past Participle, e.g. loathed, cherished, held.

The Present Perfect is used:

• to describe actions or habits which were completed at an unspecified time in the past, for example: I have been to a Kiss concert. I have eaten sushi.
• to talk about completed action which were performed in the past but in an incomplete period of time, for example: I have eaten breakfast today. I have loved only eight women in my life.
• to describe actions, states, or habits, which began in the distant past and continue to the present time, for example: I have lived in the dungeon for ten years. I have smoked since I was a child.
• for recently completed actions which have results or consequences which exist in the present time, for example: Look! His head’s exploded! I can’t go out because I’ve caught the Ebola virus.

Present Perfect Continuous

The Present Perfect Continuous is formed with the main auxiliary verb to have (has in the third person singular) followed by been (the past participle of to be) and a present participle, e.g. lifting, launching, sleeping.

The main use of the Past Perfect Continuous is to describe an action which began before a time in the past and continues up to that point or past it, for example: We had been making love when her husband walked in.

Future Time

There are many different to about the future in English. The seven most common forms are described below.

The present simple is used to describe planned and scheduled future actions, for example: Prisoners are executed on Wednesdays. The bus leaves in ten minutes.

We can use the present continuous to refer to the future in two different ways. Firstly, it can refer to a definite arrangement in the near future, for example: We’re going out tomorrow night. It can also refer to a plan without a definite time arrangement: She’s leaving later.

We can also use the words be going to followed by the infinitive without to, to talk about premeditated intentions, for example: I’m going to skin it correctly next time. We can also use this structure to make predictions based on evidence, for example: That volcano is going to erupt.

Another way we can refer to the future is with the Future Simple, formed by will followed by the infinitive without to. This form is used mainly to describe spontaneous actions in the future, for example: The phone’s ringing. I’ll get it.

The future continuous is used to talk about an action that will continue for some time in the future. ... etc.