Verb

A general definition of verb is that it is a word that shows an action. It is the most
significant category among words. Verb is the word that makes a sentence complete,
which implies that in absence of verb there can be no sentence. Here are few examples:
 Ali is drinking water.
 The boy plays football.
 Zafar is the tallest boy in the class.
Verbs can be divided into some sub categories.
1. Transitive verbs
2. Intransitive verbs
3. Helping or Auxiliary verbs
4. Linking verbs
Modal verbs

Transitive Verbs

Read the following sentence

A. The batsman hit the ball.

In sentence A, the action denoted by the verb Hit passes over from the doer or subject

Batsman to Object ball. Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an Object to receive

that action. The verb Hit is, therefore, called a Transitive Verb. (Transitive means

passing over). So a proper definition of transitive verb would be a Transitive Verb is a

Verb that denotes an action which passes over from the doer or Subject to an object. It

implies that a transitive verb requires an object for completion of its action. E.g.

 The politicians have damaged the country.

 Lubna raises her hand.

In the above two stated examples, you can see that action is being passed on from subject

to the object of the verb. In first example the verb is ‘damaged’ while its subject is

‘politicians’ and we can observe that action is being passed on from subject’ politicians’

to object ‘country’. In the second example the verb ‘raises’ ‘Her hand’ is the object

receiving the verb’s action. Therefore, ‘damages and ‘raises’ are transitive verbs. 

Intransitive Verb

Read the following sentence.

B. The boy laughs loudly.

In sentence B, the action denoted by the verb ‘laughs’ stops with the doer or Subject boy

and does not pass over to an Object, The verb laughs is, therefore, called an Intransitive

Verb (Intransitive means not passing over). An intransitive verb never has a direct or

indirect object. Although an intransitive verb may be followed by an adverb or adverbial

phrase, there is no object to receive its action. Let us discuss few examples to further

understand the concept of intransitive verb.

 Lubna rises slowly from her seat.

 We play here. In the first example the verb is ‘rises’.

 The phrase, slowly from her seat, modifies the verb, but there is no object to

receive the action. Similarly in second sentence the verb is ‘play’ which is modified

by adverb ‘here’ but again there is no receiver of action therefore, both of the above

mentioned verbs are said to be intransitive verbs. 

Auxiliary and Modal Verbs

The verbs be (am, is, was, etc.), have and do, when used with ordinary verbs to make

tenses, passive forms, questions and negatives, are called auxiliary verbs or auxiliaries.

The verbs can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must and ought are called

modal verbs or modals. They are used before ordinary verbs and express meanings such

as permission, possibility, certainty and necessity. Need and dare can sometimes be used

like modal verbs. Modal verbs are often included in the group of auxiliaries. In some

grammars they are called “modal auxiliaries”.

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, add functional or grammatical meaning to

the clauses in which they appear. They perform their functions in several different ways:

i. By expressing tense ( providing a time reference, i.e. past, present, or future)

ii. Grammatical aspect (expresses how verb relates to the flow of time)

iii. Modality (quantifies verbs)

iv. Voice (describes the relationship between the action expressed by the verb and the

participants identified by the verb’s subject, object, etc.)

v. Adds emphasis to a sentence

vi. Auxiliary verbs almost always appear together with a main verb, and though there

are only a few of them, they are among the most frequently occurring verbs in the

English language.

There are just three common auxiliary verbs:

i. Have

ii. Do

iii. Be

In this section, we’ll take a closer look at how these common verbs work, plus you’ll see

some examples.

Have

“Have” is a very important verb that can stand alone in all its tenses, including has, have,

having, had, and hadn’t or had not. It is usually used to denote ownership, and it can also

be used to discuss ability or describe appearance. “Have” is also a very popular substitute

for the verbs “eat” and “drink.” For example: “Let’s have dinner.”

When used as an auxiliary verb, have always teamed up with another verb to create a

complete verb phrase, making it easy to differentiate between uses. You can see the

difference in the sentences below:

Jamal has a large coffee stain on his shirt. → Has = action verb

Ahmad has bought a new shirt to replace the one that was ruined earlier. → Has =

auxiliary verb; bought is a past participle that competes the verb phrase.

Ahmad should have been more careful! → Have = auxiliary verb; phrase “should have

been” expresses time and evaluates Ahmad’s actions.

Do

“Do” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses, including to

do, do, does, done, did and didn’t, doesn’t or did not .

When used as an auxiliary verb, do is always paired up with another verb to create a

complete verb phrase. In some cases, it is used to add emphasis: “I did put the garbage

out!” Do is often used to form questions and negated clauses. It is also used in elliptical

sentences, where the main verb is understood and is omitted as a result. 

For example:

“He plays piano well, doesn’t he?” or “They all had dinner, but I didn’t.”

Because he spills things so often, Atif does more laundry than most people.

Does = action verb

Adnan didn’t put his coffee in a cup with a lid. Didn’t = auxiliary verb

Zafar doesn’t always spill things, but it happens a lot. Doesn’t = auxiliary verb

Be

“Be” or “to be” is an important verb that has a multitude of uses in English. It can be used

as an action verb that stands alone in all its tenses including be, to be, been, am, are, is,

was, were, wasn’t, was not aren’t, are not, weren’t and were not.

When used as an auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another verb to create a

complete verb phrase. It can be singular or plural, present or past. Negative sentences are

formed by adding the word “not”.

Washal is messy. Is = action verb

Although he is always complaining about his accidents, Zulifiqar fails to pay attention. is

= auxiliary verb

Babar is going to be doing extra laundry for the rest of his life. to be = auxiliary verb

Modal Verbs

A modal verb is a verb that is used before another verb to express meanings such as

ability, permission, possibility, necessity or advice. The modal verbs are can, could, may,

might, must, ought, shall, should, will and would. Need and used to can follow some of

the grammar patterns of modal verbs, but are also used like ordinary verbs. For more

information about any modal verb, look in the dictionary at the entry for the word.

(Note: All model verbs are auxiliary verbs but all auxiliary verbs are not model verbs. A

model verb can also be used as auxiliary, but auxiliary can’t be used as model. A model

can’t stand alone as a main verb, it is used with a main verb)

The modals have corresponding negative forms:

Can can’t/cannot

Couldcouldn’t

May mayn’t (British English – rare)

Mightmightn’t

Must mustn’t

Shall shan’t (British English – rare)

Should shouldn’t

Will won’t

Would wouldn’t

Ought oughtn’t

 They are not followed by to.

INCORRECT: Maria can to speak English.

(Ought is an exception)

 The main verb does not have a final -s.

INCORRECT: Maria can speaks English.

 The main verb is not in a past form.

INCORRCT: Maria can spoke English.

 The main verb is not in its -ing form.

INCORRECT: Maria can speaking English.

 Question, negative and tags are made without do.

INCORRECT: Do you can swim?

The meanings of modal auxiliaries

The modal auxiliary verbs express a very wide range of meanings. The principal

meanings are:

Permission:

You may go in now.

You can have a piece of chocolate.

Obligation:

You must complete both sides of the form.

Ability:

David can play the guitar.

My grandfather could dance the Charleston.

Prediction:

I will be home at seven.

We shall write as soon as possible.

Probability:

This maybe your last chance.

Possibility:

You may be very tired.