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Verbs: Types: English Grammar Today

This document discusses the different types of verbs in English including main verbs, linking verbs, and auxiliary verbs. Main verbs express actions and states, while linking verbs link the subject to additional information about the subject. Common linking verbs include appear, be, feel, look, remain, seem, sound, smell, and taste. There are three auxiliary verbs in English - be, do, and have - which are used before main verbs to indicate things like tense, voice, negation, questions, and emphasis.

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34 views2 pages

Verbs: Types: English Grammar Today

This document discusses the different types of verbs in English including main verbs, linking verbs, and auxiliary verbs. Main verbs express actions and states, while linking verbs link the subject to additional information about the subject. Common linking verbs include appear, be, feel, look, remain, seem, sound, smell, and taste. There are three auxiliary verbs in English - be, do, and have - which are used before main verbs to indicate things like tense, voice, negation, questions, and emphasis.

Uploaded by

Paloma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Verbs: types

de English Grammar Today

Main verbs

Main verbs have meanings related to actions, events and states. Most verbs in
English are main verbs:

We went home straight after the show.

It snowed a lot that winter.

Several different types of volcano exist.

Linking verbs

Some main verbs are called linking verbs (or copular verbs). These verbs are
not followed by objects. Instead, they are followed by phrases which give extra
information about the subject (e.g. noun phrases, adjective phrases, adverb
phrases or prepositional phrases). Linking verbs include:

appear feel look seem sound

be get remain smell taste

become

A face appeared at the window. It was Pauline. (prepositional phrase)

Hes a cousin of mine. (noun phrase)

This coat feels good. (adjective phrase)

She remained outside while her sister went into the hospital. (adverb phrase)

See also:
Linking verbs
Adjective phrases
Nouns

Auxiliary verbs

There are three auxiliary verbs in English: be, do and have. Auxiliary verbs
come before main verbs.

Auxiliary be

Auxiliary be is used to indicate the continuous and the passive voice:

Im waiting for Sally to come home. (continuous)

Her car was stolen from outside her house. (passive)

See also:
Future continuous (I will be working)
Passive
Auxiliary do

Auxiliary do is used in interrogative, negative and emphatic structures:

Does she live locally? (interrogative)

They didnt know which house it was. (negative)

I do like your new laptop! (emphatic, with spoken stress on do)

See also:
Interrogative clauses
Negation
Do as an auxiliary verb
Auxiliary have

Auxiliary have is used to indicate the perfect:

Ive lost my memory stick. Have you seen it anywhere? (present perfect)

She had seen my car outside the shop. (past perfect)

See also:
Present perfect simple (I have worked)
Past perfect simple (I had worked)

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