A verb expresses an action (run, write, think) or a state of being (is, seem, become). Every complete sentence requires a verb, making it the grammatical core around which all other elements are arranged. Verbs change form to reflect tense, number, and person.
Act out action verbs physically, then contrast with linking verbs by describing states (I am tired). Practice conjugating high-frequency verbs across persons and tenses.
A verb is the engine of a sentence. Where nouns name things and adjectives describe them, verbs put the sentence in motion — they tell us what is happening or what state something is in. Every complete sentence must have one, which is why identifying verbs is one of the most fundamental skills in grammar.
There are two main categories to understand. Action verbs describe something the subject does, either physically (run, throw, write) or mentally (think, believe, imagine). These are usually easy to spot because you can picture the activity. Linking verbs are subtler — they do not express an action but instead connect the subject to information *about* the subject. The most common linking verb is *be* in all its forms (am, is, are, was, were), but others include *seem*, *appear*, *become*, *feel*, *look*, *sound*, and *taste*. In "The soup tastes salty," nothing is happening — *tastes* is linking "the soup" to "salty."
A useful test: if you can substitute a form of *be* (is, are, was) and the sentence still makes sense, the verb is probably linking. "She seems tired" → "She is tired" — still logical, so *seems* is linking. "She runs quickly" → "She is quickly" — that breaks down, so *runs* is an action verb.
Verbs also change form to carry important grammatical information. Tense marks time: *she runs* (present), *she ran* (past), *she will run* (future). Number and person agreement tie the verb to its subject: *I am* vs. *she is*, *they were* vs. *he was*. These changes are called conjugations, and learning high-frequency verb conjugations builds the reflexes you need for fluent writing and reading.
Watch out for infinitives: the phrase "to run" or "to write" looks like a verb but functions differently in a sentence. In "I want to go," the main verb is *want* — "to go" is the object of that wanting, not a second verb. Keeping this distinction clear will help you avoid misidentifying the true verbal core of a sentence.
This is a foundational topic with no prerequisites.
No prerequisites — this is a starting point.