Verb Definition, Types & Examples

What Is a Verb? | Definition, Types & Examples

A verb is the most important component of a sentence. It functions as the engine, providing the power that drives meaning and action. 

A verb can express a 

1. Physical action (e.g., run, write), 
2. Mental action (e.g., think, believe), 
3. State of being (e.g., is, seems). 

Without a verb, a group of words remains a static fragment, incapable of conveying a complete thought.

A single error in verb tense, form, or agreement can alter the entire meaning of a sentence, leading to significant mark deductions.

Consider the following:

• Without a verb: The Pakistan cricket team… the match. (Incomplete)
• With a verb: The Pakistan cricket team won the match. (Complete and meaningful)

Main and Auxiliary Verbs

At the most fundamental level, verbs are classified into two functional categories: main verbs and auxiliary verbs..

Main (Lexical) Verbs

Main verbs, also known as lexical verbs, carry the primary semantic weight of a sentence. They express a distinct action, event, or state and can often stand alone in a simple sentence to convey a complete meaning.

• The student writes an essay.
• Babar Azam plays a cover drive.
• Rain fell heavily in Islamabad.

In each case, the main verb provides the core meaning—the what of the sentence.

Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs

Auxiliary verbs, or helping verbs, support the main verb. They do not carry the primary meaning but provide essential grammatical information about tense, mood, and voice. They help construct questions, negative statements, and complex verb tenses. The three primary auxiliary verbs are be, do, and have.

• He is playing cricket. (‘Is’ helps ‘playing’ to form the present continuous tense).
• She has completed her assignment. (‘Has’ helps ‘completed’ to form the present perfect tense).
• Do you understand the instructions? (‘Do’ helps to form a question).

Auxiliary verbs provide the grammatical framework—the how and when—that shapes the main verb’s meaning.

Ali: “Do you understand the KPPSC syllabus for the post of SST?”

• Do → auxiliary verb (used to form a question).
• you → subject (pronoun).
• understand → main verb (action).
• the KPPSC syllabus for the post of SST → object (noun phrase).

Sardar: “I have studied it thoroughly. It is quite detailed.”

• It → subject
• is → linking verb
• quite detailed → predicate adjective (adjective phrase describing it).
• detailed → adjective (quality).
• quite → adverb (degree).

Classification of Verbs

Transitive, Intransitive, and Linking

Verbs can be further classified based on their relationship with other words in a sentence, specifically whether they require an object to complete their meaning.

Transitive Verbs

A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object—a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. The action “transits” or passes from the subject to the object. To identify a transitive verb, ask “what?” or “whom?” after the verb.

• Structure: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object
• Example: The student wrote an essay. (Wrote what? An essay).
• Example: The selection committee interviewed the candidate. (Interviewed whom? The candidate).

Some verbs are ditransitive, meaning they can take both a direct object and an indirect object.

• Example: He gave her (indirect object) a book (direct object).

Intransitive Verbs

An intransitive verb does not require an object to complete its meaning. The action is self-contained and does not pass to a receiver.

• Structure: Subject + Intransitive Verb
• Example: The sun rose.
• Example: The baby cried loudly.

It is crucial to understand that many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive depending on their context in a sentence. This contextual function, rather than a fixed property of the verb itself, is what determines its classification. For instance, in “Ahmed reads a book,” the verb reads is transitive. However, in “Ahmed reads every night,” the same verb is intransitive because there is no direct object receiving the action. Success in sentence analysis on competitive exams requires recognizing this flexibility.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect or “link” the subject of a sentence to a subject complement—a noun or adjective that renames or describes the subject. Think of a linking verb as a mathematical equals sign (=).

The most common linking verbs are forms of to be (is, am, are, was, were), become, and seem. Other verbs related to the senses (look, feel, smell, sound, taste) can also function as linking verbs.

• Example: The biryani tastes delicious. (Biryani = delicious).
• Example: He is a CSS officer. (He = a CSS officer).
• Example: She appeared calm during the interview. (She = calm).

Verb Type	Function	Sentence Structure	Pakistani Example
Transitive	Action passes to an object.	Subject + Verb + Object	The government launched a new project.
Intransitive	Action is complete in itself.	Subject + Verb	The train arrived on time.
Linking	Connects subject to its description.	Subject + Verb + Subject Complement	The weather in Karachi is humid.

• Finite, Non-Finite, 
• Regular, and Irregular

Verbs are also categorized by their form and how they change to show tense and agreement.

Finite Verbs

A finite verb is a verb form that is “limited” or bound by tense, person, and number. It has a subject and can serve as the main verb of an independent clause. Every complete sentence must contain at least one finite verb.

• Example: She goes to LUMS. (Goes is finite; it agrees with the third-person singular subject ‘she’ and is in the present tense).
• Example: They were studying for the exam. (Were studying is a finite verb phrase).

The finite verb acts as the grammatical anchor of a clause. Identifying it is the key to distinguishing a complete clause from a phrase, a skill essential for sentence structure analysis in exams. A group of words without a finite verb, such as “the man sitting on the bench,” is a phrase. Adding a finite verb, “the man is sitting on the bench,” transforms it into a clause.

Non-Finite Verbs

A non-finite verb is a verb form that does not show tense and is not limited by a subject. It cannot stand alone as the main verb of a clause. There are three types of non-finite verbs: infinitives, gerunds, and participles.

• Example:Goingto LUMS is her dream. 
  • (Going is a non-finite verb, a gerund, acting as the subject).
  • Going → gerund (verb form ending in -ing functioning as a noun).
  • to LUMS → prepositional phrase modifying going.
  • Together, “Going to LUMS” acts as a noun phrase.

• Example: She wants to become a civil servant. (to become is a non-finite verb, an infinitive).
  • wants → main finite verb (shows tense/person/number).
  • to become → non-finite verb (infinitive form), because it does not change with the subject or tense.
  • a civil servant → object complement (what she wants to become).

Regular and Irregular Verbs

This classification relates to how verbs form their past tense and past participle.

• Regular Verbs: These verbs follow a predictable pattern, forming their past tense (V2) and past participle (V3) by adding “-d” or “-ed” to the base form.

• Example: walk → walked → walked
• Example: decide → decided → decided
• Irregular Verbs: These verbs do not follow a standard pattern and must be memorized. Their past tense and past participle forms are often unpredictable. Many of the most common verbs in English are irregular.

• Example: go → went → gone
• Example: eat → ate → eaten
• Example: put → put → put

A strong command of irregular verb forms is fundamental for constructing correct tenses and is frequently tested in sentence correction exercises.

Irregular verb: Go

• V1 → Base Form / Present Form
  (e.g., go, play, eat, write)
• V2 → Past Simple Form
  (e.g., went, played, ate, wrote)
• V3 → Past Participle Form
  (e.g., gone, played, eaten, written)
• V4 → Present Participle / -ing Form / Continuous Form
  (e.g., going, playing, eating, writing)
  V5 → Third Person Singular Present (s/es Form)
  (e.g., goes, plays, eats, writes)
  

Base Form (V1)	Simple Past (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
be (is/am/are)	was/were	been
begin	began	begun
break	broke	broken
bring	brought	brought
choose	chose	chosen
come	came	come
do	did	done
drink	drank	drunk
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
find	found	found
fly	flew	flown
forget	forgot	forgotten
get	got	gotten/got
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
have	had	had
know	knew	known
make	made	made
ride	rode	ridden
run	ran	run
say	said	said
see	saw	seen
speak	spoke	spoken
take	took	taken
tell	told	told
think	thought	thought
write	wrote	written

Stative and Dynamic (Action) Verbs

Dynamic Verbs

Dynamic verbs (or action verbs) describe an action, process, or event that has a beginning and an end. They can be used in all tenses, including the continuous (progressive) forms.

• Example: The children are playing in the garden.
• Example: He wrote the letter yesterday.

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs describe a state, condition, or perception rather than an action. These states are seen as static or unchanging and relate to thoughts, emotions, senses, possession, and measurement.

• Common Stative Verbs: know, believe, understand, love, hate, want, need, seem, have (own), belong to, consist of.

The most critical rule associated with stative verbs is that they are not normally used in continuous (-ing) tenses. This rule is a common pitfall for English learners and a frequent subject of sentence correction questions in competitive exams.

• Correct: I understand the problem.
• Incorrect: I am understanding the problem.
• Correct: This house belongs to my uncle.
• Incorrect: This house is belonging to my uncle.

Some verbs can be both stative and dynamic, with a change in meaning. For example, the verb have is stative when it means ‘to possess’ (“I have a car”) but dynamic when it is part of an expression denoting an action (“I am having lunch”). 

Similarly, think is stative for an opinion (“I think he is right”) but dynamic for the mental process (“What are you thinking about?”). 

Therefore, aspirants must analyze the verb’s meaning in its specific context, not just memorize lists.

Verb Tenses

The concept of “tense” combines two elements: time and aspect. Time refers to when an action occurs (past, present, or future), while aspect describes how the action is viewed in relation to time—whether it is complete, ongoing, or habitual. 

Time tells us when an action happens—past, present, or future.
Aspect tells us how that action is seen in relation to time—for example:

• whether it is completed (perfect aspect),
• in progress/ongoing (progressive/continuous aspect),
• habitual or repeated (simple aspect).

The combination of three time frames and four aspects (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect) results in the 12 primary verb tenses.

Tense	Formula (Structure)	Usage	Example
Simple Present	Subject + V1 (+s/es)	Habits, universal truths, facts	The River Indus flows into the Arabian Sea.
Present Continuous	Subject + is/am/are + V1-ing	Actions happening now, temporary situations	The government is implementing a new policy.
Present Perfect	Subject + has/have + V3	Past actions with present results, life experiences	I have visited the Badshahi Mosque twice.
Present Perfect Continuous	Subject + has/have + been + V1-ing	Actions that started in the past and continue now	She has been preparing for the CSS exam for two years.
Simple Past	Subject + V2	Completed actions at a specific past time	Pakistan won the T20 World Cup in 2009.
Past Continuous	Subject + was/were + V1-ing	Ongoing actions in the past, interrupted actions	He was driving to Lahore when his car broke down.
Past Perfect	Subject + had + V3	An action that happened before another past action	The train had already left when we reached the station.
Past Perfect Continuous	Subject + had + been + V1-ing	Ongoing past action that continued up to another past action	They had been waiting for an hour before the bus arrived.
Simple Future	Subject + will/shall + V1	Actions that will happen in the future, predictions	The Prime Minister will address the nation tomorrow.
Future Continuous	Subject + will/shall + be + V1-ing	Ongoing actions at a specific time in the future	This time next week, I will be taking my final exam.
Future Perfect	Subject + will/shall + have + V3	Actions that will be completed by a certain future time	By 2025, they will have completed the CPEC project.
Future Perfect Continuous	Subject + will/shall + have + been + V1-ing	Ongoing future action up to a specific future time	By next month, he will have been working here for ten years.

Tenses Chart (Time + Aspect)

Time	Simple	Continuous (Progressive)	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	I eat / He eats(habitual, fact, general truth)	I am eating(action happening now)	I have eaten(completed action with present relevance)	I have been eating(action started earlier and is still continuing)
Past	I ate(finished action in the past)	I was eating(ongoing action in the past)	I had eaten(completed before another past action)	I had been eating(continuous action before another past event)
Future	I will eat(action that will happen)	I will be eating(ongoing action at a future time)	I will have eaten(action completed before a specific future time)	I will have been eating(continuous action up to a future point)

• Simple → habitual, repeated, or general facts.
• Continuous → ongoing / in-progress actions.
• Perfect → completed actions connected to another time.
• Perfect Continuous → ongoing actions emphasizing duration.

Voice  

Active vs. Passive

Voice indicates the relationship between the subject and the verb’s action.

Active Voice

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. This structure is generally more direct, concise, and forceful.

• Structure: Subject + Verb + Object
• Example: The committee approved the proposal.

Passive Voice

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The focus shifts to the action itself or the object of the action. The performer of the action (the agent) may be introduced with the preposition “by” or omitted entirely if unknown or unimportant.

• The subject receives the action instead of doing it.
• The focus shifts from the doer (the agent) to the action itself or the object.
• The agent (the one who performs the action) is often introduced with “by”, but it can be omitted if it’s unknown, obvious, or unimportant.

• Structure: Subject (Receiver) + Form of ‘be’ + V3 (Past Participle) + (by + Agent)
• Example: The proposal was approved by the committee.
• Active: The teacher explains the lesson.
  Passive: The lesson is explained (by the teacher).
  
• Active: The police arrested the thief.
  Passive: The thief was arrested (by the police).
  
• Active: They will announce the results tomorrow.
  Passive: The results will be announced tomorrow.

Transformation Rules (Active to Passive):

1. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
2. The main verb is changed to its past participle form (V3).
3. An appropriate form of the auxiliary verb ‘to be’ is added before the main verb, matching the tense of the original active sentence.
4. The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence, preceded by ‘by’.

While active voice is often preferred for clarity, particularly in précis writing, the passive voice has strategic importance in formal and academic contexts. 

It is useful when

• The agent is unknown (“My car was stolen“), 
• Unimportant (“The law was passed in 1973″), or 
• When the writer wishes to create a more objective, impersonal tone by emphasizing the action rather than the actor (“It is believed that…”). 
•  In news reports, formal writing, and scientific reports.

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Present Simple	She writes a letter.	A letter is written (by her).
Present Continuous	She is writing a letter.	A letter is being written (by her).
Present Perfect	She has written a letter.	A letter has been written (by her).
Present Perfect Continuous	She has been writing a letter.	Rarely used in passive.
Past Simple	She wrote a letter.	A letter was written (by her).
Past Continuous	She was writing a letter.	A letter was being written (by her).
Past Perfect	She had written a letter.	A letter had been written (by her).
Past Perfect Continuous	She had been writing a letter.	Rarely used in passive.
Future Simple (will)	She will write a letter.	A letter will be written (by her).
Future Continuous	She will be writing a letter.	Rarely used in passive.
Future Perfect	She will have written a letter.	A letter will have been written (by her).
Future Perfect Continuous	She will have been writing a letter.	Not used in passive.

• Mostly Simple, Continuous, Perfect forms are possible in passive.
•  Perfect Continuous tenses are almost never used in passive (they sound unnatural).
• Passive emphasizes the action or receiver of the action, not the doer.
  

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement is a foundational rule of grammar: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. However, several cases are frequently tested in exams because they are not straightforward.

• Collective Nouns: Nouns like committee, team, jury, family, government can be singular or plural.
• Singular: When the group acts as a single unit.

• The jury has reached its verdict. 
• The WAPDA team is playing well today.
• Plural: When the members of the group act as individuals.

• The jury are debating among themselves. 
• The family have different opinions on the matter.
• Indefinite Pronouns: Pronouns like each, every, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, either, neither, no one, nobody are always singular and take a singular verb.

• Each of the candidates has to pass the screening test.
• Everybody wants to succeed.
• Sentences Beginning with ‘There is’ / ‘There are’: In these constructions, ‘there’ is not the subject. The true subject follows the verb, and the verb must agree with it.

• There is a serious issue to discuss. (Subject: issue)
• There are several issues to discuss. (Subject: issues)
• Intervening Phrases: Prepositional phrases or other clauses that come between the subject and the verb do not affect agreement. It is essential to identify the true subject.

• The quality of the mangoes was not good. (The subject is quality, not mangoes).
• The officer, along with his subordinates, is inspecting the site. (The subject is officer).

Modals and Semi-Modals

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that express modality—concepts like ability, possibility, permission, and obligation. They are followed by the base form of the main verb (bare infinitive) and do not change form for person or number.

• Modals: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.
• Semi-modals (or modal phrases): ought to, have to, need to, be able to. These often behave like modals but may change form (has to, am able to).
• Ability: He can speak four languages. He is able to solve the problem.
• Permission: May I come in? You can leave early.
• Possibility: It might rain today. That could be the reason.
• Obligation/Necessity: You must submit the report by Friday. I have to attend the meeting.
• Advice: You should prepare thoroughly for the interview.

Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a particle (a preposition or an adverb) that creates a meaning different from the original verb.

• Example: look after (to take care of), give up (to quit), call off (to cancel).

Phrasal verbs can be:

• Inseparable: The verb and particle must stay together.

• I will look after the children. (Correct)
• I will look the children after. (Incorrect)
• Separable: The object can come between the verb and the particle. If the object is a pronoun (it, them, him, her), it must come in the middle.

• Please turn off the light. / Please turn the light off. (Both correct)
• Please turn it off. (Correct)
• Please turn off it. (Incorrect)

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Type	Example Sentence	Urdu Context/Equivalent
call off	Cancel	Separable	They had to call off the meeting.	Mansookh karna (منسوخ کرنا)
look into	Investigate	Inseparable	The committee will look into the matter.	Tehqeeq karna (تحقیق کرنا)
give up	Quit; surrender	Separable	He gave up smoking last year.	Haar man’na / Chhor dena (ہار ماننا / چھوڑ دینا)
bring up	Raise a topic; raise a child	Separable	Please don’t bring up that issue again.	Zikr karna (ذکر کرنا)
put up with	Tolerate	Inseparable	I cannot put up with this behavior.	Bardasht karna (برداشت کرنا)
get over	Recover from	Inseparable	It took him a long time to get over the illness.	Sehatyaab hona (صحیاب ہونا)
run out of	Exhaust the supply of	Inseparable	We have run out of sugar.	Khatam ho jana (ختم ہو جانا)

Non-Finite Forms 

1. Infinitives

The infinitive is the base form of a verb.

• It is usually written as to + verb → to eat, to run, to study.
• Sometimes the bare infinitive (without “to”) is used → after modal verbs (can eat, will study).
  

1. Infinitive as a Noun

 Works as the subject or object of a sentence.

• To learn English is important. (Subject)
  
• She wants to study abroad. (Object)

2. Infinitive as an Adjective

Describes or modifies a noun by showing purpose or characteristic.

• This is the best place to live.
• He gave me a book to read.

3. Infinitive as an Adverb

Explains why or for what purpose an action happens.

• She studies hard to pass the exam. (Purpose = Why does she study?)
• He went to the library to borrow books.

Function	Example	Question it answers
Noun	To travel is my dream.	What is my dream? → To travel
Adjective	I need a pen to write.	What kind of pen? → To write
Adverb	She speaks loudly to be heard.	Why does she speak loudly? → To be heard

Gerunds 

A gerund is the “-ing” form of a verb (e.g., reading, playing, writing) that functions as a noun in a sentence.

1️⃣ Gerund as a Subject

When the gerund is the doer of the action.

• Driving is a stressful job.
• Swimming is a good exercise.

2️⃣ Gerund as an Object

When the gerund receives the action of the verb.

• She enjoys reading historical novels.
• They love traveling.
  

3️⃣ Gerund as the Object of a Preposition

After a preposition, we always use a gerund (not an infinitive).

• He is fond of playing cards.
• She is interested in learning English.

Gerund vs. Infinitive

Function	Gerund (-ing)	Infinitive (to + verb)
Subject	Reading is fun.	To read is fun.
Object	She enjoys reading.	She wants to read.
Object of Preposition	He is good at reading.	❌ Infinitives not used here.

Practice 

Part A: Identify the Gerund

Underline the gerund and state its function (Subject, Object, or Object of Preposition).

1. Writing letters is becoming rare.
2. He admitted stealing the money.
3. She is afraid of losing her keys.
4. Jogging keeps me healthy.
5. They suggested going to the park.
   

Part B: Fill in the Blanks

Choose the correct gerund form.

1. He denied ______ (cheat) in the exam.
2. ______ (swim) in the sea can be dangerous.
3. I am tired of ______ (wait) for the bus.
4. She avoids ______ (talk) to strangers.
5. ______ (read) before bed helps me sleep.

Part C: Transform Sentences

Rewrite using gerunds.

1. It is fun to travel. → ________________________
2. She likes to cook. → ________________________
3. To play football is good exercise. → ________________________

3. Participles 

A verb form that functions as an adjective (also used in verb phrases).

1️⃣ Types of Participles

🔸 Present Participle (-ing)

• Expresses ongoing/active action.
• As Adjective: The barking dog woke the neighborhood.
• In Continuous Tenses: She is reading a novel.
• In Participle Phrase: Running fast, he caught the bus.
  

🔸 Past Participle (-ed / -en / irregular)

• Expresses completed/passive action.
• As Adjective: The broken chair was replaced.
• In Perfect Tenses: He has written a letter.
• In Passive Voice: The book was published in 2020.
• In Participle Phrase: Confused by the question, she asked again.

• He has written a letter.
• He has a written letter
  

🔸 Perfect Participle (having + V3)

• Expresses action completed before another action.
• Example: Having finished homework, he went out to play.
  

2️⃣ Functions of Participles

1️⃣ Present Participle (-ing form)

• As Adjectives → The shining stars lit the sky.
• Present Continuous: She is going to school.
• Past Continuous: They were playing football.
• Future Continuous: I will be working tomorrow.

2️⃣ Past Participle (V3 form)
Used with have verbs to form Perfect Tenses

• Present Perfect: He has gone home.
• Past Perfect: She had written the letter before dinner.
• Future Perfect: By tomorrow, they will have completed the project.

• In Passive Voice → The house was built in 1990
• In Participle Phrases → Add detail/condition (Tired of waiting, he left.).

Examples

• Present Participle: The crying baby needed care.
• Past Participle: The leaked paper was cancelled. / A written statement was submitted to the court.
• Perfect Participle: Having studied all night, she felt exhausted.
  

4️⃣ Common Errors

Dangling Participle → Subject unclear

• Running quickly, the gate was reached. ❌
• Running quickly, he reached the gate. ✅

Causative Verbs

Causative verbs indicate that one person or thing causes another to do something. The main causative verbs are 

• Have
• Get
• make, and 
• let. 
• have + person + base verb: To arrange for someone to do something (usually a service).
• I had the mechanic fix my car. 
• get + person + to-infinitive: To persuade or convince someone to do something.
• She got her friend to help with the project. 
• make + person + base verb: To force or compel someone to do something.
• The officer made the driver show his license. 
• let + person + base verb: To allow or permit someone to do something.
• The manager let me leave early. 

Practice Section

A. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Instructions: Choose the best option to complete the sentence.

1. The committee insists that every member _____ present at the next meeting.
   a) is
   b) are
   c) be
   d) was

After verbs like insist, demand, recommend, suggest, etc., we use the base form of the verb (without -s) to express necessity or importance.

2. If I _____ you, I would not accept that offer.
   a) was
   b) am
   c) were
   d) have been

After If I… when imagining something contrary to fact, English uses were for all subjects (I, he, she, it, etc.).

3. By the time the chief guest arrived, the ceremony _____.
   a) already began
   b) had already begun
   c) has already begun
   d) was already beginning

This sentence refers to two actions in the past:

1. The ceremony began (earlier action).
2. The chief guest arrived (later action).

When one past action happens before another past action, we use the Past Perfect tense (had + past participle).

4. He is one of those people who _____ always on time.
   a) is
   b) are
   c) has been
   d) have been

He is one of those people | who (Those people) are always on time.

5. She avoids _____ about her promotion.
   a) to talk
   b) talking
   c) talk
   d) to be talking
6. The news from the northern areas _____ not encouraging.
   a) are
   b) is
   c) have been
   d) were
7. I had my assistant _____ the documents.
   a) to prepare
   b) preparing
   c) prepare
   d) prepared
8. This perfume _____ wonderful.
   a) is smelling
   b) smells
   c) has been smelling
   d) smell
9. A new policy _____ by the State Bank last week.
   a) was announced
   b) has been announced
   c) announced
   d) is announced
10. Neither the manager nor his employees _____ satisfied with the results.
    a) is
    b) was
    c) are
    d) has been
11. The quality of the products they sell _____ declined over the years.
    a) have
    b) has
    c) are
    d) were
12. The manager made him _____ the entire report.
    a) to rewrite
    b) rewriting
    c) rewrite
    d) rewritten
13. I cannot _____ this noise any longer.
    a) put up with
    b) put on
    c) put off
    d) put out
14. He has been working on this project _____ the last six months.
    a) since
    b) from
    c) for
    d) by
15. It is imperative that the government _____ immediate action.
    a) takes
    b) took
    c) take
    d) will take

Answers 

1. c (be – subjunctive mood)
2. c (were – subjunctive mood)
3. b (had already begun – past perfect)
4. b (are – the antecedent of ‘who’ is ‘people’, which is plural)
5. b (talking – gerund after ‘avoids’)
6. b (is – ‘news’ is an uncountable noun)
7. c (prepare – causative ‘have’)
8. b (smells – stative verb)
9. a (was announced – simple past passive)
10. c (are – verb agrees with the nearer subject ’employees’)
11. b (has – subject is ‘quality’, which is singular)
12. c (rewrite – causative ‘make’)
13. a (put up with – correct phrasal verb for ‘tolerate’)
14. c (for – duration of time)
15. c (take – subjunctive mood)

B. Fill in the Blanks

Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb given in parentheses.

1. Each of the students _____ given a certificate. (was/were)
2. The team, despite the initial setbacks, _____ now playing with confidence. (is/are)
3. He acted as if he _____ the owner of the company. (was/were)
4. They had been _____ for hours when they finally found the solution. (work)
5. If you _____ harder, you would have passed the exam. (study)
6. There _____ a number of unresolved issues in the report. (is/are)
7. The Prime Minister, together with his cabinet members, _____ scheduled to visit China. (is/are)
8. I look forward to _____ from you soon. (hear)
9. He denied _____ the confidential information. (leak)
10. By next year, I _____ my degree. (complete)

Answer Keys

1. was
2. is
3. were
4. working
5. had studied
6. are
7. is
8. hearing
9. leaking
10. will have completed

C. Identify the Verb

Identify the main verb in each sentence and classify it as Transitive, Intransitive, or Linking.

1. The witness appeared nervous in court.
2. The company manufactures high-quality textiles.
3. The child slept soundly through the night.
4. The soup tastes a bit salty.
5. The earth revolves around the sun.
6. She felt the fabric before buying the dress.
7. The audience applauded enthusiastically.
8. He became a renowned scholar.
9. The courier delivered the package this morning.
10. The old building collapsed suddenly.

Answers

1. appeared – Linking
2. manufactures – Transitive
3. slept – Intransitive
4. tastes – Linking
5. revolves – Intransitive
6. felt – Transitive (felt what? the fabric)
7. applauded – Intransitive
8. became – Linking
9. delivered – Transitive
10. collapsed – Intransitive

D. Sentence Transformation

Convert the following sentences as directed.

1. The government is building new dams. (Change to Passive Voice)
2. The report was submitted by the junior officer. (Change to Active Voice)
3. Who taught you English grammar? (Change to Passive Voice)
4. They have cancelled the flight due to bad weather. (Change to Passive Voice)
5. The problem was being discussed by the experts. (Change to Active Voice)
6. He will finish the project by tomorrow. (Change to Passive Voice)
7. Let the door be shut. (Change to Active Voice)
8. The police caught the thief. (Change to Passive Voice)
9. Someone has stolen my wallet. (Change to Passive Voice)
10. The national anthem is sung by the students every morning. (Change to Active Voice)

Answers

1. New dams are being built by the government.
2. The junior officer submitted the report.
3. By whom were you taught English grammar?
4. The flight has been cancelled due to bad weather.
5. The experts were discussing the problem.
6. The project will be finished by him by tomorrow.
7. Shut the door.
8. The thief was caught by the police.
9. My wallet has been stolen.
10. The students sing the national anthem every morning.

Key Concepts

• Verbs are words that show action or a state of being.
• Main Verbs carry meaning; Auxiliary Verbs (be, do, have) provide grammatical structure.
• Transitive Verbs need an object; Intransitive Verbs do not; Linking Verbs connect the subject to a description.
• Finite Verbs show tense and have a subject; Non-Finite Verbs (infinitives, gerunds, participles) do not.
• Regular Verbs add ‘-ed’ for the past tense; Irregular Verbs have unique forms that must be memorized.
• Dynamic Verbs show action and can be used in continuous tenses; Stative Verbs show states and generally cannot.
• Active Voice (Subject does action) is direct; Passive Voice (Subject receives action) is formal or indirect.
• Subject-Verb Agreement: The verb must always agree with its true subject in number.

Grammatical Terms

• Aspect: A grammatical category that expresses how an action relates to the flow of time (e.g., as completed, ongoing, or habitual).
• Auxiliary Verb: A helping verb (like be, do, have) used with a main verb to show tense, mood, or voice.
• Direct Object: A noun or pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb.
• Finite Verb: A verb form that shows tense and agreement with a subject.
• Gerund: A verb form ending in ‘-ing’ that functions as a noun.
• Infinitive: The base form of a verb, often preceded by ‘to’.
• Mood: A verb form that indicates the writer’s attitude (e.g., indicative, imperative, subjunctive).
• Participle: A verb form (ending in ‘-ing’ or ‘-ed’/’en’) that functions as an adjective.
• Subject Complement: A noun or adjective that follows a linking verb and describes or renames the subject.
• Tense: A verb form that indicates the time of an action (past, present, future).
• Transitive Verb: A verb that requires a direct object to complete its meaning.
• Voice: The quality of a verb that indicates whether the subject 

Verbs Always Followed by a Gerund ( Not Infinitive)

Category	Verb	Example Sentence
Liking / Disliking	enjoy	She enjoys reading novels.
	like	I like swimming in the evening.
	dislike	He dislikes waiting for people.
	love	They love playing cricket.
	hate	I hate being late.
	prefer	She prefers walking to driving.
	can’t stand	I can’t stand waiting in long lines.
Avoiding / Stopping	avoid	He avoids talking too much.
	escape	She escaped being punished.
	delay	He delayed replying to the email.
	postpone	They postponed going to the park.
	resist	She can’t resist eating chocolates.
	risk	They risked losing everything.
	miss	I miss meeting my old friends.
	finish	He finished doing his homework.
	complete	She completed writing her report.
	give up	She gave up trying to solve the puzzle.
	quit	He quit smoking last year.
	stop	They stopped talking when the teacher arrived.
Admitting / Denying / Considering	admit	He admitted cheating in the exam.
	deny	She denied breaking the vase.
	suggest	I suggest going home early.
	recommend	The doctor recommended resting.
	consider	They are considering moving abroad.
	imagine	Can you imagine living in space?
	anticipate	We anticipate winning the match.
	appreciate	I appreciate getting help from you.
	mention	She mentioned seeing him at the mall.
	practice	He practices speaking English daily.
	discuss	We discussed changing the plan.
	advise*	I advise taking a break. (When used without object)
	propose	They proposed going on a trip.
	acknowledge	She acknowledged breaking the rule.
	confess	He confessed cheating in the exam.
	justify	He couldn’t justify spending so much money.
	deny	She denied lying to her teacher.
	recollect	I don’t recollect meeting him.
	suggest	I suggest starting early.
Continuing / Repeating	keep (on)	She keeps complaining about the weather.
	continue	He continued working despite the noise.
	practice	He practices playing the piano daily.
	endure	She endured waiting for hours.
	tolerate	She can’t tolerate being interrupted.
	fancy (UK)	Do you fancy going out tonight?
	mind	Do you mind opening the window?
	can’t help	I can’t help laughing at that joke.
Reporting / Communication	report	He reported seeing a UFO.
	explain	She explained working with the new system.
	deny	He denied stealing the wallet.
	describe	He described seeing the thief.
	suggest	She suggested meeting earlier.
	recommend	He recommended taking notes.
	advocate	They advocate teaching critical thinking.
	involve	This job involves working with children.

Verbs Always Followed by Infinitives ( Not Gerunds)

Category	Verb	Example Sentence
Desire / Intention	want	She wants to study medicine.
	wish	I wish to speak with the manager.
	would like	I’d like to order some tea.
	would love	He would love to visit Paris.
	hope	They hope to win the match.
	plan	She plans to travel next summer.
	aim	He aims to become a pilot.
	intend	They intend to open a new shop.
	expect	I expect to hear from you soon.
	promise	He promised to call me back.
	agree	She agreed to help us.
	refuse	He refused to cooperate.
	decide	They decided to leave early.
	demand	He demanded to see the report.
	choose	She chose to stay home.
	offer	He offered to carry the bag.
	learn	She learned to swim when she was six.
Future / Potential	hope	I hope to meet you again.
	expect	They expect to graduate next year.
	plan	She plans to join the course.
	intend	We intend to buy a new house.
	prepare	He is preparing to leave soon.
Failure / Success	fail	He failed to pass the test.
	manage	She managed to solve the problem.
	afford	We can’t afford to buy a new car.
	appear	He appears to be upset.
	pretend	She pretended to sleep.
	arrange	They arranged to meet at noon.
Necessity / Obligation	need	You need to work harder.
	have	I have to leave now.
	ought (to)	You ought to respect your parents.
	dare	He didn’t dare to speak in class.
Special Expressions	be able (to)	She is able to drive.
	be about (to)	He is about to leave.
	be likely (to)	She is likely to win the award.

• want, hope, plan, decide, agree, promise, refuse, expect, intend, choose, need, manage, fail, pretend → always take to + verb.
• enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest, admit, deny, keep, miss → always take -ing form (gerund).
• acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice).