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1 Concept
What Is a Verb?
🧱 Foundation — this lesson applies to every tense in the course

Most people say a verb is "an action word." That's a start — but it's not the full picture. Look at these words:

These words all describe events — but which ones are verbs?

run  ·  decision  ·  eat  ·  action  ·  work  ·  movement

"Decision", "action", and "movement" all name events — but they are nouns, not verbs. So what makes a verb different?

A verb is different because it shows the action happening in time — and it changes form to show "when" and "how" that action happens.

A noun like "decision" never changes to show time. But a verb does. Compare these three forms of the same verb:

2 Verbs Show Time
The Same Verb — Three Different Forms

Look at what happens to the verb "write":

Verb form Example sentence What it tells us
writes She writes a letter every day. A habit — happening regularly now
wrote She wrote a letter every day. The same habit — but in the past
was writing She was writing a letter. One single action in the past, in progress at that time
The same idea — writing a letter — but three completely different verb forms. The form tells you when and how the action happens. A noun cannot do this.

This is why learning English tenses is so important. Every time you choose a verb form, you are telling your listener "when" something happened and what kind of action it was. This course will teach you how to make that choice correctly — every time.

3 Three Things Verbs Do
What Makes a Verb a Verb
⏱
Thing 1
Shows time
The verb changes form to show "when" something happens — now, in the past, or in the future.
🔗
Thing 2
Agrees with the subject
The verb changes depending on "who" does the action. I work — she works. I am — they are.
🏛
Thing 3
Holds the sentence together
The verb connects the subject to everything else. Without it, there is no sentence.
Thing 2 in detail — Agreement

The verb changes depending on "who" does the action. In English grammar this is called agreement. The subject and verb must match.

Subject Verb — work Verb — be
II workI am tired.
YouYou workYou are tired.
He / She / ItShe worksHe is tired.
WeWe workWe are tired.
TheyThey workThey are tired.
The one rule you must know now: When the subject is he, she, or it — add -s or -es to the verb. This applies to every verb in the Present Simple tense. We will practice this in Lesson 7.
Spelling the -s and -es ending
Rule Base Form He/She/It form
Most verbs: add -s work, call, eat, run, give works, calls, eats, runs, gives
Ends in "-o, -ch, -sh, -ss, -x": add -es go, watch, wash, miss, fix goes, watches, washes, misses, fixes
Ends in consonant + "-y": change "y → i", add -es try, carry, study tries, carries, studies
Special — must memorize be, have, do is, has, does
Pronunciation note — when -es sounds like a separate syllable:
When the base verb ends in a hissing or buzzing sound — /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /ʧ/, or /ʤ/ — the -es ending is pronounced as a separate syllable: /ɪz/.

Example: "watch" (1 syllable) → "watches" (2 syllables: /ˈwɑʧ·ɪz/) | "miss" → "misses" (/ˈmɪs·ɪz/) | "use" → "uses" (/ˈjuz·ɪz/)

We will practice this pronunciation in full in Lesson 6.
Thing 3 in detail — The verb holds the sentence together

The verb is the word that connects the subject to everything else in the sentence — objects, descriptions, times, and places. Without the verb, you don't have a sentence.

SubjectShe
Verbworks
Rest of sentenceat 9pm tonight.
SubjectHe
Verbcalled
Rest of sentencehis mother on Sunday.
SubjectThey
Verbeat
Rest of sentencedinner at 7pm in the evening.
Rule: Every complete English sentence needs at least one verb. "She at 9pm" — not a sentence. "He his mother" — not a sentence. Add the verb and the sentence works.
📌 Prepositions of time — notice the highlighted words:

at + a clock time → at 9pm, at midday, at midnight
on + a day or date → on Sunday, on Monday, on the 5th
in + a longer period → in the morning, in January, in 2019

Getting these right matters — "She works in 9pm" is wrong. "She works at 9pm" is correct. We will practice prepositions of time throughout the course.
4 Two Types of Verbs
Action Verbs and State Verbs

English verbs fall into two groups. It's important to know the difference — because the two groups behave differently in some tenses.

✦ Action Verbs

Things you do. These describe activities — things that happen, that you can see or feel happening.


  • run
  • eat
  • call
  • work
  • buy
  • make
  • take
  • give
  • write
  • drive
  • go
  • sit

Example: She is eating right now. I was running at 7am.

◆ State Verbs

Things that are true about you or a situation. These describe conditions — not events that happen.


  • be
  • have
  • know
  • want
  • like
  • love
  • understand
  • remember
  • seem
  • need
  • feel
  • mean

Example: I know the answer. She loves coffee.

Important: State verbs have a special rule — they almost never use the "-ing" form. We will look at this carefully in Lesson 17 (Stative Verbs). For now, just notice that these two groups exist.
5 Helping Verbs
When One Verb Needs Help

Sometimes a verb needs a second verb before it. This second verb is called a helping verb. The helping verb carries the grammar (the time and meaning). The main verb carries the action.

be She is working right now. → "is" = helping verb | "working" = main verb
have I have seen that film. → "have" = helping verb | "seen" = main verb
do He does not know. → "does" = helping verb | "know" = main verb
The three most important helping verbs in English are be, have, and do. These three verbs appear in almost every tense in this course. The next three lessons — Lessons 3, 4, and 5 — cover each one in detail.
6 Practice
Three Exercises
Exercise A FIND THE VERB

Find the verb in each sentence. Type it in the box. There is one verb in each sentence.

  • 1
    She calls her mother every Sunday.
    The verb is:
  • 2
    They work in a big company in the city.
    The verb is:
  • 3
    I know the answer to that question.
    The verb is:
  • 4
    He seems very tired today.
    The verb is:
  • 5
    We bought a new car last week.
    The verb is:
Exercise B SUBJECT–VERB AGREEMENT

Choose the correct form of the verb for each sentence. Remember: he / she / it needs -s or -es.

  • 1
    She in a school. (work)
  • 2
    They dinner at 7pm every day. (eat)
  • 3
    He to the gym three times a week. (go)
  • 4
    I five kilometres every morning. (run)
  • 5
    My sister a lot of films. (watch)
  • 6
    We our food at the market every Saturday. (buy)
  • 7
    He to speak English every day at work. (try)
  • 8
    She her laptop to work every day. (carry)
Exercise C ACTION OR STATE?

Is the underlined verb an action verb or a state verb? Click your answer.

  • 1
    I run five kilometres every morning.
    ✓ Correct — run is an action verb. You can see it happening.
  • 2
    She knows the answer.
    ✓ Correct — know is a state verb. It describes a mental condition, not something that happens.
  • 3
    He called his mother last night.
    ✓ Correct — call is an action verb. It describes something that happens.
  • 4
    I want a cup of coffee.
    ✓ Correct — want is a state verb. It describes a feeling or desire, not an action.
  • 5
    They eat dinner together every evening.
    ✓ Correct — eat is an action verb. It describes an activity you can see.
  • 6
    We love living in this city.
    ✓ Correct — love is a state verb. It describes a feeling, not an activity.
7 Choose the Right Sentence
Apply What You Know

Read each question carefully. Select the sentence that matches the description.

Question 1 of 5
Select the sentence that uses a state verb.
Question 2 of 5
Select the sentence where the verb agrees correctly with the subject.
Question 3 of 5
Select the sentence that uses a helping verb.
Question 4 of 5
Select the sentence that is complete — it has both a subject and a verb.
Question 5 of 5
Select the sentence where the -s or -es ending is spelled correctly.
8 Summary
What is a verb? A verb shows an action or state happening in time. It changes form to show "when" and "how" — and it changes to match "who" does the action.
  • Verbs show time — writes / wrote / was writing. The form tells you when.
  • Verbs agree with the subject — I work / She works. He, she, it always gets -s or -es.
  • Verbs hold the sentence together — every complete sentence needs at least one verb.
  • Action verbs describe things that happen (run, eat, call, work, buy).
  • State verbs describe conditions that are true (know, want, love, seem, understand).
  • Helping verbs come before the main verb — be, have, and do are the three most important.
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