What is a Verb? Types of Verbs Verb Forms Subject-Verb Agreement Tips & Tricks Exercises
Class 7 · English Grammar
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Verbs

The power words that bring every sentence to life! Learn action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, and much more.

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What is a Verb?

The engine of every sentence

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Definition

A verb is a word that shows an action (what someone does) or a state of being (what someone is or feels). Every sentence must have at least one verb.

🏃 Action Words in Daily Life

Think of verbs as the superheroes of a sentence. Without a verb, a sentence is incomplete — just a bunch of names sitting around doing nothing!

Action Example
The dog runs across the park.
Action Example
She writes beautiful stories.
State of Being Example
The flowers are beautiful.
State of Being Example
He seems tired today.

💡 Without a verb, you cannot make a sentence!

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Types of Verbs

8 important kinds you must know

⚡ 1. Action Verbs

Words that describe a physical or mental action.
run write eat jump sing think dance read
📝 The children play football every evening.
📝 She thought about the problem carefully.

🔗 2. Linking Verbs

Connect the subject to a word that describes or renames it. They do NOT show action.
is am are was were seem appear become feel look
📝 The cake smells delicious. (smells = linking verb, not action)
📝 She became a doctor after years of hard work.

🤝 3. Helping / Auxiliary Verbs

Come before the main verb to help form tenses, questions, or negatives.
is am are has have had do does did will shall was
📝 She is reading a novel. (is = helping, reading = main verb)
📝 They have finished their homework. (have = helping, finished = main verb)

🔐 4. Modal Verbs (Preview)

Special helping verbs that express ability, permission, possibility, or obligation. (Full topic in Ch 14!)
can could may might must should would shall
📝 You should always speak the truth. (obligation)
📝 May I borrow your pen? (permission)
📝 She can swim very fast. (ability)

🎯 5. Transitive Verbs

Need an object to complete their meaning. Ask "what?" or "whom?" after the verb.
read buy eat kick love send
📝 She reads a book. (reads what? → a book = object)
📝 The boy kicked the ball. (kicked what? → the ball = object)
📝 Mum bought some groceries. (bought what? → groceries = object)

🚻 6. Intransitive Verbs

Do NOT need an object. The action is complete by itself.
cry laugh sleep arrive sit go
📝 The baby cried loudly. (cried what? — no object needed!)
📝 Birds fly in the sky. (no object)
📝 We laughed for a long time.

📈 7. Finite Verbs

Change their form according to the subject and tense of the sentence.
goes / went writes / wrote is / was plays / played eats / ate has / had
📝 He goes to school. → They go to school. (form changes with subject)
📝 She writes daily. → She wrote yesterday. (form changes with tense)

⚂ 8. Non-finite Verbs

Do NOT change with the subject or tense. They have three sub-types:
💡 Infinitives (to + verb)

to run, to eat, to study

I want to learn French.

She loves to dance.

💡 Gerunds (verb + -ing as noun)

Swimming, reading, cooking

Swimming is good exercise.

He enjoys reading.

💡 Participles (-ing / -ed as adjective)

running water, broken glass, smiling child

The barking dog scared us.

She picked up the fallen leaves.

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Verb Forms

Base, Past, Past Participle & Present Participle

📖 The Four Principal Parts of a Verb

Every verb has four forms. These forms help us make different tenses:

✅ Regular Verbs (add -d / -ed / -ied)

Regular verbs follow a simple pattern — just add -ed (or -d / -ied) for the past tense and past participle.

#Base Form (V1)Past Tense (V2)Past Participle (V3)Present Participle (V4)
1playplayedplayedplaying
2walkwalkedwalkedwalking
3talktalkedtalkedtalking
4jumpjumpedjumpedjumping
5cookcookedcookedcooking
6likelikedlikedliking
7lovelovedlovedloving
8openopenedopenedopening
9closeclosedclosedclosing
10studystudiedstudiedstudying
11carrycarriedcarriedcarrying
12stopstoppedstoppedstopping
13clapclappedclappedclapping
14paintpaintedpaintedpainting
15dancedanceddanceddancing

🔥 Irregular Verbs (must be memorised!)

Irregular verbs do NOT follow the -ed pattern. Their past tense and past participle forms are unique — you need to learn them by heart!

#Base Form (V1)Past Tense (V2)Past Participle (V3)Present Participle (V4)
1gowentgonegoing
2eatateeateneating
3writewrotewrittenwriting
4readreadreadreading
5singsangsungsinging
6drinkdrankdrunkdrinking
7swimswamswumswimming
8taketooktakentaking
9givegavegivengiving
10comecamecomecoming
11seesawseenseeing
12runranrunrunning
13breakbrokebrokenbreaking
14speakspokespokenspeaking
15beginbeganbegunbeginning
16choosechosechosenchoosing
17flyflewflownflying
18knowknewknownknowing
19throwthrewthrownthrowing
20drivedrovedrivendriving
21forgetforgotforgottenforgetting
22teachtaughttaughtteaching
23buyboughtboughtbuying
24bringbroughtbroughtbringing
25catchcaughtcaughtcatching
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Subject-Verb Agreement

Making subjects and verbs match perfectly

📜 The Golden Rule

Singular Subject → Singular Verb   |   Plural Subject → Plural Verb

The verb must always agree with its subject in number (singular or plural).

✔ The girl sings beautifully.
✘ The girl sing beautifully.
✔ The boys play cricket.
✘ The boys plays cricket.
✔ She has completed the work.
✘ She have completed the work.
✔ The dogs are barking.
✘ The dogs is barking.
✔ Everybody knows the answer.
✘ Everybody know the answer.
✔ Either Ram or Shyam is coming.
✘ Either Ram or Shyam are coming.
✔ The news is shocking.
✘ The news are shocking.
✔ Mathematics is my favourite subject.
✘ Mathematics are my favourite subject.
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Quick Tips, Memory Tricks & Fun Facts

Make verbs stick in your memory forever!

💡 Quick Tips

🎯 Action Test: If you can DO it, it is an action verb! Can you run? Yes! Can you table? No!
🔗 Linking Verb Test: Replace the verb with "=" (equals). If the sentence still makes sense, it is a linking verb. "She is happy" = "She = happy" ✔
🤝 Helping Verb Spotting: If there are TWO verbs together, the first is usually the helping verb. "She is running" → is = helper.
🎯 Transitive Test: Ask "WHAT?" or "WHOM?" after the verb. If there is an answer, it is transitive. "She eats what? → an apple." Transitive!
📚 Remember V1-V2-V3: Make flashcards with the base form on the front and past / past participle on the back. Test yourself daily!
🎵 Sing the Irregulars: Make a song or rap with irregular verbs: "Go-went-gone, eat-ate-eaten, write-wrote-written, see-saw-seen!"

🤔 Fun Facts About Verbs

🌟 The word "verb" comes from the Latin word verbum, which means "word" — because verbs are THE most important words in any language!

🌟 English has about 200 irregular verbs, but only about 20-30 are used in everyday conversation. Master those, and you are golden!

🌟 The most used verb in English is "be" (is, am, are, was, were). It can be an action verb, linking verb, AND a helping verb!

🌟 Some verbs can be BOTH transitive and intransitive depending on the sentence. "She sings a song" (transitive) vs. "She sings beautifully" (intransitive).

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Exercises

Test your knowledge with 5 fun exercises!

✍️ Exercise A: Identify the Verb and its Type

Find the verb in each sentence and write whether it is an Action, Linking, Helping, Transitive, or Intransitive verb.

  1. The cat sleeps on the sofa all day.
  2. My mother is a wonderful cook.
  3. They are playing basketball in the park.
  4. The flowers smell lovely in spring.
  5. He kicked the football over the fence.
  6. The birds sang melodiously at dawn.
  7. She has completed her assignment on time.
  8. The baby laughed with joy.
  9. This soup tastes amazing.
  10. Rohan drew a beautiful painting for his mother.
🔒 Show Solutions for Exercise A
1. sleeps — Intransitive Action Verb
The cat sleeps (no object is needed; the action is complete on its own).
2. is — Linking Verb
"Is" connects "mother" to the description "wonderful cook." It does not show any action.
3. are playing — are = Helping Verb; playing = Action Verb (Intransitive)
"Are" helps "playing" form the present continuous tense. "Basketball" is played, making it transitive when viewed as a whole phrase.
4. smell — Linking Verb
"Smell" here connects "flowers" to the adjective "lovely." The flowers are not performing an action of smelling.
5. kicked — Transitive Action Verb
Kicked what? "The football" is the object, so the verb is transitive.
6. sang — Intransitive Action Verb
The birds sang melodiously — there is no object. "Melodiously" is an adverb, not an object.
7. has completed — has = Helping Verb; completed = Transitive Action Verb
"Has" helps form the present perfect tense. Completed what? "Her assignment" = object.
8. laughed — Intransitive Action Verb
The baby laughed (no object). "With joy" is a prepositional phrase, not an object.
9. tastes — Linking Verb
"Tastes" links "soup" to the adjective "amazing." The soup is not actively tasting something.
10. drew — Transitive Action Verb
Drew what? "A beautiful painting" = object. So the verb is transitive.

✍️ Exercise B: Fill in the Correct Verb Form

Choose the correct form of the verb given in brackets.

  1. She has (write) a letter to her friend.
  2. The children (play) in the garden yesterday.
  3. I am (read) a very interesting book right now.
  4. He had (eat) all the cookies before we arrived.
  5. They will (go) to the museum tomorrow.
  6. The dog has (run) away from the yard.
  7. We (see) a shooting star last night.
  8. She is (sing) her favourite song on stage.
  9. The teacher had (teach) this lesson already.
  10. I have never (fly) in an aeroplane before.
🔒 Show Solutions for Exercise B
1. written
"Has" requires past participle (V3). write → wrote → written.
2. played
"Yesterday" indicates simple past tense (V2). play → played.
3. reading
"Am" + present participle = present continuous tense. read → reading.
4. eaten
"Had" requires past participle (V3). eat → ate → eaten.
5. go
"Will" is followed by base form (V1). go stays as go.
6. run
"Has" requires past participle (V3). run → ran → run.
7. saw
"Last night" indicates simple past (V2). see → saw.
8. singing
"Is" + present participle = present continuous. sing → singing.
9. taught
"Had" requires past participle (V3). teach → taught → taught.
10. flown
"Have" requires past participle (V3). fly → flew → flown.

✍️ Exercise C: Transitive or Intransitive?

Write whether the underlined verb is Transitive (T) or Intransitive (I). If transitive, name the object.

  1. She bought a new dress for the party.
  2. The sun rises in the east.
  3. The gardener waters the plants every morning.
  4. We arrived late for the show.
  5. Mother cooked delicious pasta for dinner.
  6. The baby cried for hours.
  7. Priya wrote an essay on global warming.
  8. The old man sat under the banyan tree.
  9. They sent invitation cards to all their friends.
  10. The stars twinkled in the dark sky.
🔒 Show Solutions for Exercise C
1. Transitive — Object: "a new dress."
Bought what? A new dress.
2. Intransitive
The sun rises — no object. "In the east" is a prepositional phrase.
3. Transitive — Object: "the plants."
Waters what? The plants.
4. Intransitive
Arrived does not take an object. "Late" is an adverb.
5. Transitive — Object: "delicious pasta."
Cooked what? Delicious pasta.
6. Intransitive
The baby cried — no object is received. "For hours" is a prepositional phrase.
7. Transitive — Object: "an essay."
Wrote what? An essay on global warming.
8. Intransitive
Sat does not need an object. "Under the banyan tree" is a prepositional phrase.
9. Transitive — Object: "invitation cards."
Sent what? Invitation cards.
10. Intransitive
The stars twinkled — no object. "In the dark sky" is a prepositional phrase.

✍️ Exercise D: Write Past Tense and Past Participle

Write the Past Tense (V2) and Past Participle (V3) of each irregular verb.

  1. begin → ,
  2. choose → ,
  3. swim → ,
  4. speak → ,
  5. throw → ,
  6. forget → ,
  7. break → ,
  8. fly → ,
  9. catch → ,
  10. drive → ,
  11. know → ,
  12. sing → ,
🔒 Show Solutions for Exercise D
1. begin → began , begun
2. choose → chose , chosen
3. swim → swam , swum
4. speak → spoke , spoken
5. throw → threw , thrown
6. forget → forgot , forgotten
7. break → broke , broken
8. fly → flew , flown
9. catch → caught , caught
10. drive → drove , driven
11. know → knew , known
12. sing → sang , sung

✍️ Exercise E: Correct the Errors

Each sentence has one verb error. Rewrite the sentence correctly.

  1. She have finished her homework already.
  2. The children was playing in the garden.
  3. He goed to the market yesterday.
  4. Mathematics are a difficult subject.
  5. The birds is singing on the tree.
  6. I have went to that museum twice.
  7. Each of the students have a textbook.
  8. She readed the entire novel in one day.
🔒 Show Solutions for Exercise E
1. She has finished her homework already.
"She" is singular, so use "has" (not "have") with third-person singular subjects.
2. The children were playing in the garden.
"Children" is plural, so use "were" (not "was").
3. He went to the market yesterday.
"Go" is irregular. Past tense = "went" (not "goed").
4. Mathematics is a difficult subject.
"Mathematics" is treated as a singular noun (subject name), so use "is."
5. The birds are singing on the tree.
"Birds" is plural, so use "are" (not "is").
6. I have been to that museum twice.
"Have" requires the past participle. "Went" is simple past (V2), not past participle. "Been" is the V3 of "go" (for visiting). Alternatively: "I have gone to that museum twice."
7. Each of the students has a textbook.
"Each" is always singular, so use "has" (not "have").
8. She read the entire novel in one day.
"Read" is irregular. Past tense = "read" (pronounced "red"), not "readed."
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Great Job Learning Verbs!

Verbs are the heartbeat of every sentence. Keep practising and you will master them in no time!

Next up: Topic 5 — Adjectives →

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