There are different forms of the verb .
- Tenses: The different forms of verbs show different meanings with respect to time. Such forms are known as tenses and there are three types of tenses: Present, Past, Future.
- Auxiliary Verb: They are also called as helping verbs, auxiliary verbs are used to complete the meaning of other primary or “main” verbs in a sentence. The different tense forms of ‘be’, ‘have’ and ‘do’ verbs form the auxiliary verb.
Examples:
- I am working on the assignment.
- She does not teach anymore.
- Have you seen Gita?
- Maya is singing a song.
- Modal Verbs: It expresses the possibility, likelihood or a future intention. These are can, could, will, would, shall, should, must, may, and might. They are only followed by a verb in its base form.
Examples:
- May I sit down? (Permission)
- I can study the whole night. (Ability)
- I may be late for the party. (Possibility)
- Phrasal Verbs: These are the verbs which pair with prepositions to form unique meanings. Most of the meanings are idiomatic expressions.
Examples:
- Ultimately she gave up.
- I have been looking for my spectacles since an hour.
- He has been looking after his neighbour’s pet.
- Causative Verbs: These are the verbs which are used to indicate that a person or thing is causing another action or an event to happen. They are generally followed by a noun or pronouns and an infinitive verb that is not causative.
Examples:
- She let her hair loose.
- The hearing aid enabled Maya to listen clearly.
Subject-Verb Agreement
For a complete understanding of the Verbs, one needs to get acquainted with the concept of the Subject-Verb Agreement. In any sentence, the use of verb according to the number of subjects or the persons is called verb agreement.
Examples:
- Maya sings a song.
Here Maya is a single person or subject, therefore the singular verb ‘sings’ has to be used.
- The students sing a song.
Here ‘Students’ is a plural noun, therefore, the plural verb ‘sing’ is used.
