A verb is a word such as 'sing', 'feel', or 'die' which is used with a subject to say what someone or something does or what happens to them, or to give information about them.
2. See also phrasal verb
English Easy Learning GrammarThe forms of main verbsEnglish verbs have up to five different forms. These are: 1 the base form, e.g. pull 2 the 3rd person singular, present simple tense, e.g. pulls 3 the ... Read more
English Easy Learning GrammarTypes of main verbVerbs of action Most verbs describe an action such as walking, running, or reading. John is running for the train. Sophie has just bought a new camera. She ... Read more
English Easy Learning GrammarVerbsVerbs are words that allow us to talk about activities, processes, states of being,and states of mind. This basket holds quite a lot. John was reading ... Read more
verb in British English
(vɜːb)
noun
1.
(in traditional grammar) any of a large class of words in a language that serve to indicate the occurrence or performance of an action, the existence of a state or condition, etc. In English, such words as run, make, do, and the like are verbs
2. (in modern descriptive linguistic analysis)
a.
a word or group of words that functions as the predicate of a sentence or introduces the predicate
b.
(as modifier)
a verb phrase
Abbreviation: vb, v
Derived forms
verbless (ˈverbless)
adjective
Word origin
C14: from Latin verbum a word
verb in American English
(vɜrb)
noun
any of a class of words expressing action, existence, or occurrence, or used as an auxiliary or copula, and usually constituting the main element of a predicate (Ex.: give, build, run, be, happen, do, have, would, seem)
Word origin
ME verbe < OFr < L verbum, word (used as transl. of Gr rhēma, verb, orig., word)
Examples of 'verb' in a sentence
verb
Anyone learning a language needs to take care with irregular verbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
And the verb phrase at the end makes no sense at all.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Make your subject and your verb agree.
Marius, Richard A Short Guide to Writing About History (1995)
Both subject and verb should be singular or both should be plural.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
She continued with the irregular verbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But chutney isn't a verb or an adjective.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
When the subject receives the action, the verb is in the passive voice.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
The structure of the English finite verb phrase is really rather beautiful.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
She'll soon learn how irregular verbs go too.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A noun that receives the action of the verb is called a direct object.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
A verb and its subject must agree in number.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The dictionary defines the verb abuse as 'to use something to a bad effect or for a bad purpose.
Christianity Today (2000)
He uses many adjective complements, adding to the description of the subject by placing an adjective modifying the subject after the verb.
Marius, Richard A Short Guide to Writing About History (1995)
The verb 'to pour' means to emit something in a stream.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The verb 'to lay' means to set down.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Is there truly a verb 'to herb '?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
First, it didn't seem to have any irregular verbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
An example is the verb 'to buy '.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
verb
British English: verb /vɜːb/ NOUN
A verb is a word such as `sing' or `feel' which is used to say what someone or something does or what happens to them, or to give information about them.
American English: verb
Arabic: فِعْل
Brazilian Portuguese: verbo
Chinese: 动词
Croatian: glagol
Czech: sloveso
Danish: verbum
Dutch: werkwoord
European Spanish: verbo
Finnish: verbi
French: verbe
German: Verb
Greek: ρήμα
Italian: verbo
Japanese: 動詞
Korean: 동사 문법
Norwegian: verb
Polish: czasownik
European Portuguese: verbo
Romanian: verb
Russian: глагол
Latin American Spanish: verbo
Swedish: verb
Thai: คำกริยา
Turkish: fiil
Ukrainian: дієслово
Vietnamese: động từ
All related terms of 'verb'
main verb
a word used as the final verb in a verb phrase, expressing the lexical meaning of the verb phrase, as drink in I don't drink, going in I am going , or spoken in We have spoken
weak verb
a regular verb
verb group
A verb group or verbal group consists of a verb, or of a main verb following a modal or one or more auxiliaries . Examples are 'walked', 'can see', and 'had been waiting '.
verb phrase
a constituent of a sentence that contains the verb and any direct and indirect objects but not the subject. It is a controversial question in grammatical theory whether or not this constituent is to be identified with the predicate of the sentence
verb. sap.
verbum sapienti sat est
helping verb
→ auxiliary verb
linking verb
A linking verb is a verb which links the subject of a clause and a complement . 'Be', ' seem ', and 'become' are linking verbs.
phrasal verb
A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and an adverb or preposition , for example ' shut up' or ' look after', which together have a particular meaning.
auxiliary verb
a verb used to indicate the tense , voice , mood , etc, of another verb where this is not indicated by inflection , such as English will in he will go , was in he was eating and he was eaten, do in I do like you, etc
reflexive verb
A reflexive verb is a transitive verb whose subject and object always refer to the same person or thing, so the object is always a reflexive pronoun. An example is 'to enjoy yourself', as in 'Did you enjoy yourself?'.
transitive verb
a verb accompanied by a direct object and from which a passive can be formed, as deny , rectify , elect
intransitive verb
a verb that indicates a complete action without being accompanied by a direct object , as sit or lie , and, in English , that does not form a passive