46c. Verbs
The verb of a sentence usually expresses action (jump, think) or being (is, become). It is composed of a main verb possibly preceded by one or more helping verbs.
Notice that words, usually adverbs, can intervene between the helping verb and the main verb (was not completed). (See 46e.)
Helping verbs
There are twenty-three helping verbs in English: forms of have, do, and be, which may also function as main verbs; and nine modals, which function only as helping verbs. Have, do, and be change form to indicate tense; the nine modals do not.
forms of have, do, and be
have, has, had
do, does, did
be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been
modals
can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would
The verb phrase ought to is often classified as a modal as well.
Main verbs
The main verb of a sentence is always the kind of word that would change form if put into these test sentences:
| base form | Usually I (walk, ride). |
| past tense | Yesterday I (walked, rode). |
| past participle | I have (walked, ridden) many times before. |
| present participle | I am (walking, riding) right now. |
| -s form | Usually he/she/it (walks, rides). |
If a word doesn’t change form when slipped into the test sentences, you can be certain that it is not a main verb. For example, the noun revolution, though it may seem to suggest an action, can never function as a main verb. Just try to make it behave like one (Today I revolution . . . Yesterday I revolutioned . . . ) and you’ll see why.
When both the past-tense and the past-participle forms of a verb end in -ed, the verb is regular (walked, walked). Otherwise, the verb is irregular (rode, ridden). (See 27a.)
The verb be is highly irregular, having eight forms instead of the usual five: the base form be; the present-tense forms am, is, and are; the past-tense forms was and were; the present participle being; and the past participle been. Helping verbs combine with main verbs to create tenses. See 28a.
note: Some verbs are followed by words that look like prepositions but are so closely associated with the verb that they are a part of its meaning. These words are known as particles. Common verb-particle combinations include bring up, call off, drop off, give in, look up, run into, and take off.
tip: For more information about using verbs, see these sections of the handbook: active verbs (8), subject-verb agreement (21), Standard English verb forms (27), verb tense and mood (27f and 27g), and multilingual/ESL challenges with verbs (28).