List of Verbs

This list of verbs should help you to understand verbs a little better. For a more in-depth look at verbs, see the verb page.

Quick Refresher: Verbs are words that show action or state of being.

There are three main types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs).

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* When you're done with this list of verbs, check out the little lesson in sentence diagramming at the bottom of the page!

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Action Verbs

As their name implies, these verbs show action.

Keep in mind that action doesn't always mean movement.

Example:

Talia thought about bears.

In that example, the verb thought does not show movement, but it is a mental action, and therefore, it is still a verb.

There are many, many action verbs. Here is random assortment of some action verbs.

clean	cut	drive	eat
fly	go	live	make
play	read	run	shower
sleep	smile	stop	sweep
swim	think	throw	trip
walk	wash	work	write

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Linking Verbs

These types of verbs link the subject of a sentence with a noun or adjective.

Example:

Lana became a famous equestrian.

If you count all of the forms of "to be" as one word, there are 13 linking verbs. Memorize these!

Forms of be	be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being
Other Linking Verbs	appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, remain, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn

This video shows you the difference between linking verbs and action verbs. To learn more, see these English grammar lessons.

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Helping Verbs

These do just what their name implies. They help action verbs or linking verbs. There can be more than one of them used in a single verb phrase.

Example: (used with the action verb love)

Greta will love these sausages.

There are only 24 helping verbs. Use this chart and this lovely song to memorize them!

be	am	is	are
was	were	been	being
have	has	had	could
should	would	may	might
must	shall	can	will
do	did	does	having

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How Do You Diagram Verbs?

If you've checked out this site much, you know that I think sentence diagramming rules when it comes to teaching and learning English grammar.

Sentence diagramming is a way to visually show how all of the words in the sentence are related to each other.

All verbs are diagrammed on a horizontal line after the subject.

A vertical line separates the subject from the verb, and the rest of the sentence depends on the type of verb you are diagramming.

Transitive Active

Certain action verbs called transitive action verbs transfer action to something called a direct object.

Transitive Passive (A Type of Action Verb)

This type of action verb does not pass any action to anyone or anything.

Intransitive Linking Verb

These verbs link the subject to another noun, pronoun, or adjective.

Helping Verb

Helping verbs help the main verb. They are used in sentences with either linking verbs or action verbs.

It's easy to see that they help another verb when you see how they are diagrammed.

I hope this little diagramming lesson and list of verbs has helped you in your quest for knowledge.

Keep learning. Keep getting smarter!

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