Short verbs in English. Verbs in English

Verbs in English language(verbs) is a part of speech that expresses action, possession or state. Simply put, a verb shows that some object does or is something. Verbs in English, as in Russian, have and.

Structure of English verbs

According to their structure, English verbs are of four types:

1. Simple. These are verbs that consist only of a stem, unencumbered by prefixes and suffixes. These include: make (to do), love (to love), cry (to cry), live (to live), etc.
2. Derivatives. If to simple verb add a suffix and/or preposition, it becomes derivative. For example: rebuild (restore), dislike (dislike).
3. Complex. These are verbs that consist of two words combined into one. For example: underline (emphasize), backbite (slander), etc.
4. Phrasal. Phrasal verbs are used in conjunction with prepositions or adverbs: move in (enter), keep away (stay away), etc.

Types of verbs

In English, verbs are divided into many types, each of which has a specific function. Sometimes they cannot even be translated, as is the case with auxiliary verbs. In total, we have identified seven main types of verbs:

Action verbs

Action verbs are used to show or discuss someone's action:

Mary walked all day – Mary walked all day.
He loves English – He loves English.

Transitive verbs

Transitive verbs are used only in relation to any object:

The speaker discussed the whole plan– The speaker discussed the entire plan.
Donovan gave the gift to his sister – Donovan gave the gift to his sister.

Intransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs, as opposed to transitive ones, are used without a direct object:

Susan laughed– Susan laughed.
The book fell- The book fell.

Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are used in conjunction with action verbs to form the required tense, negative or interrogative form:

Do do you like German language? – Do you like German?
Have did you eat the whole breakfast? -Have you eaten all your breakfast?

Stative verbs

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Irregular English verbs: table, rules and examples

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State verbs, as their name suggests, show the state of the subject. They usually express thoughts, emotions, feelings, relationships:

She believes in God - She believes in God.
I remember that guy - I remember that guy.

Modal verbs

The most common Irregular Verbs in English:

20 most popular verbs in English

Video about verbs in English:

When learning English Special attention need to be given to verbs. Firstly, the more verbs you know, the easier it will be for you to express your thoughts in English. After all, if any noun can be replaced by a pronoun, then the verb as a part of speech denoting an action or state cannot be replaced with anything. Secondly, it is impossible to communicate in English without having an understanding of the English verb tense system.

English verbs can be divided into four main groups:

• Semantic - express an action, a process, therefore they are always translated into Russian.
• Auxiliary - do not express actions and are not translated. Serve to form interrogative and negative sentences and complex verb forms.
• Modal - they express not the action itself, but the attitude towards it (should, can, etc.) They, as a rule, are translated.
• Linking verbs - do not express action, serve to connect the subject and the nominal part of the predicate, show tense, number and person.

In addition, verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Irregular Verbs- these are verbs in which the past tense form (Past tense form), as well as the past participle form (Past participle), is formed differently from regular verbs. Regular verbs form these forms by adding –ed to the first form. Forms of irregular verbs need to be learned by heart, especially since they include the most common verbs of everyday speech. As a rule, these verbs are in English-Russian dictionaries, where they are often presented in the form of special lists.

The initial form of all verbs is infinitive, i.e. indefinite form verb (answers the question “what to do?”, “what to do?”). Before undef. The form of the verb usually includes the particle to, which is not translated in any way. Example: to read - to read.

The peculiarity of an English sentence is that it always contains a verb. Example: He is a student. - He (is) a student. We see that if there is no verb in a Russian sentence, then in it English version there is a verb is - a linking verb.

Linking verb TO BE

The most common copula verb is the verb to be(to be, to be) This verb has several forms that depend on tense, number, person. Forms of the verb to be:

shall, will – auxiliary verbs future tense. The above verb forms must be learned by heart. The linking verb to be means “to be”, “to appear” and is most often not translated. Example: I am a pupil. - I (am) a student. I was a pupil. – I was a student.

Modal verbs (can, may, must)

Modal verbs express not an action, but an attitude towards an action (necessity, probability of some action). These verbs are usually not used independently and are usually placed before the semantic verb. Let's look at three main modal verbs.

Modal verb can(could – past tense form) – be able, be able, can, can, etc.
Examples: He can speak English. - He can (can) speak English.
Modal verb may(might – past tense form) – can, I can, you can, etc.
Examples: You may take the book. – You can take this book.

The verbs can and may should not be confused. The verb can implies the physical ability to do something, the ability to do something. The verb may means possibility, assumption. It is used to ask for permission or to give permission.

Modal verb must (there is no past tense form) – should, should, must, etc.
Examples: I must stop smoking. – I have to stop smoking.

Features of these modal verbs

• The particle to is not placed before modal verbs, and the particle to is not placed after modal verbs before semantic verbs in the indefinite form. Example: We must read. - We must read.
• The modal verb comes before the form of the main verb.
• Modal verbs do not receive the ending -s in the 3rd person singular form of the Present Simple.
• These modal verbs are used without the participation of any auxiliary verbs.
• When forming interrogative and negative sentences, the use of modal verbs has its own characteristics, which I will discuss in the appropriate section.

There are several other modal verbs in English that I am not covering here.

Everyone who studies a foreign language needs to speak quickly and does not want to deal with theory and boring rules. And this is a common mistake that slows down progress in learning and creates a “language barrier.”

A proven fact: without understanding the basic theoretical foundations and elements of the language, learning English is much more difficult, especially if you do it on your own. Choosing words to express your thoughts on foreign language, it is very important to know what part of speech you need, what properties it has, how you can change it, what its function is, and what place in the sentence to put it.

We have already become acquainted with the parts of speech in English and the basic concepts that every student should know in the article. Now it's time to focus on each part of speech.

In English, as in any other language, the central element of a sentence is usually a verb. That is why it has so many forms and times, and special attention is paid to it.

Almost anyone who attended public school should remember the rote definition of what a verb is. The simplest one is: A verb is a word that denotes an action and answers the question “What to do”?.

But in practice it turns out that not every verb answers this question, but still remains a verb. There are many classifications of verbs: by structure, by meaning, but, as I promised, we will not go into unnecessary theoretical details.

We will conditionally divide all the verbs that you will encounter in English into five categories:

1. Semantic verbs.
2. Phrasal verbs.
3. Modal verbs.
4. Auxiliary verbs.

1. Semantic verbs.

Semantic verbs - the most numerous category of verbs. These are exactly the words that answer the question: What to do?

All actions that we perform convey semantic verbs:

Semantic verbs cannot appear before the subject in an affirmative sentence; they can be used with modal verbs and auxiliary verbs to form different tenses:

I can work. - I can work. (modal + semantic)
He is sleeping. - He's sleeping. (auxiliary + semantic)

Semantic verbs cannot independently form negations and questions, so they always need auxiliary verbs, which are placed at the beginning of the sentence in questions and have a negative particle not in negations:

Do you read in English? - Do you read in English?
I do not read in English. - I don't read English.

Semantic verbs can add different endings. In it -s/es when talking about a third person (he reads, she sleeps, it works). The ending is added -ing(sitting, sleeping, working) . In the past tense (), (worked, looked) is added to regular semantic verbs, and irregular ones have three forms that need to be remembered (sit - sat - sat, write - wrote - written). By the way, if you still don’t know how to learn irregular verbs or are constantly confused by them, keep studying them.

2. Phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs differ from semantic ones in that they have two or three parts. First- an ordinary semantic verb, and rest: prepositions or adverbs that give a verb a different meaning.

For example:

Sit - sit
sit down - sit down
get - receive
get up - get out of bed

Often the meaning of a phrasal verb can be determined by the preposition in combination with the context, but in many cases the meaning of a phrasal verb cannot be guessed from these signs, since many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning.

At first, it seems that remembering phrasal verbs is simply unrealistic. But that's not true. Some phrasal verbs are used more often, some less frequently, and some have a narrow scope of use. Textbooks begin to introduce us to the most popular phrasal verbs from the level pre-intermediate. To level upper-intermediate there are many more of them. In colloquial speech it is difficult to do without phrasal verbs, so you will need to learn them one way or another.

If you are already faced with the problem of learning phrasal verbs, then I have something for you, from which you will learn several ways to determine the meaning of a phrasal verb. In addition, on the separate blog pages dedicated to phrasal verbs, you can find many articles in which phrasal verbs are divided into topics to make it easier for you to remember them.

3. Auxiliary verbs.

The essence and function of this linguistic phenomenon is already explained by its name. It serves for education various types statements. In English textbooks it is called auxiliary verb, and in my classes for convenience I use the name helping verb or assistant verb. These are not scientific terms, but you don’t need them, the main thing is to make it clear.

There is more than one auxiliary verb in English. There are three of them: do, be And have. And also their forms, of which there are many more. Verbs and forms vary depending on the tense in which you are speaking and the person you are speaking about. The verb do and its forms does And did- auxiliary in Simple group tenses, verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) used as an auxiliary Continuous tenses, and have (with forms has And had) is a required attribute of tenses of the Perfect group.

Below is a table of auxiliary verbs by tense and person.

Auxiliary verbs are not translated into Russian, but this does not free us from the need to remember and use them. It is with the help of auxiliary verbs that we show the time to which our statement refers.

In all tenses, without exception, negations and questions are formed using auxiliary verbs. In negatives, the particle not is added to the auxiliary verb, and in a question, it is the auxiliary verb that comes first in the sentence.

As for statements, auxiliary verbs are used in all tenses, with the exception of and.

It is important to note that in an English sentence the auxiliary verb has its place, and the place depends on. In an affirmative sentence the verb must be after the subject (actor):

I am reading a book. (Present Continuous)
We have done the task. (Present Perfect)
They will call you. (Future Simple)
She was sleeping. (Past Continuous)

In negation, all verbs are also found after the actor. The particle not is added to the auxiliary and modal verbs, followed by a semantic or phrasal verb:

I am not reading a book. (Present Continuous)
We have not done the task. (Present Perfect)
They will not call you. (Future Simple)
She was not sleeping. (Past Continuous)

In a question, the verb comes in front of the subject (auxiliary verb, modal verb, verb to be), and the semantic and phrasal verbs remain after the subject:

Am I reading a book? (Present Continuous)
Have we done the task? (Present Perfect)
Will they call you? (Future Simple)
Was she sleeping? (Past Continuous)

Auxiliaries are also used to form the passive voice and have shortened forms.

4. Verb to be.

This verb is so unique that I highlight it in separate category. It can be both semantic and auxiliary. By itself, it acts as a semantic one in the present, past and future tense, and means “to be, to appear, to be,” although it is not translated into Russian in the present tense:

I am happy. - I (am) happy.
I was happy. - I was happy.
I will be happy. - I will be happy.

In combination with the ing form of the semantic verb, the verb to be forms group times Continuous, and its future tense form will participates in the formation of all future tenses of the English language.

5. Modal verbs.

Modal verbs - This separate group verbs that are not used by themselves, but only in combination with semantic verbs. Modal verbs add some additional, modal meaning to the semantic verb: I can, I can, I will, I must do something. You probably know examples of modal verbs. Here they are: can, could, must, may, might, will, would, shall, should, ought. Often a modal verb cannot be translated without combining it with a semantic verb.

What do modal verbs have in common? They are all used with the infinitive without a particle to(Bare infinitive). There is one exception: verb ought to .

In addition, characteristic feature of modal verbs- the fact that they independently form interrogative and negative forms; they do not need auxiliary verbs.

The hardest part about learning modal verbs is understanding their meanings and functions. So that you can always accurately express your thought and the interlocutor understands you correctly, the choice of a modal verb plays a big role. Modal verbs usually have several meanings, and it would be very tedious to consider them all in one article, so I recommend that you get acquainted with each modal verb separately, which you can do on the pages of our blog Enginform.

If, after reading this material about verbs, you find gaps in your knowledge, then do not rush to bury yourself in textbooks; you do not need to cram all the rules that you find. It is enough to start classes that will help you understand the intricacies English grammar gradually, in parallel with practice. There is absolutely no need to go somewhere and waste your time. You can study comfortably at home or from the office whenever it suits you. If you want to try, leave it in Enginform.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you once again that the language you are learning is different from the one you are used to speaking, because each language is a unique and original system. Pay attention to the differences, do not forget about a minimum of theory and this will make your process of learning English easier!

Verb in English- this is a part of speech that denotes the action or state of an object or person, and it is also the most terrifying part of speech. When they talk about the difficulties of the English language, they most often mean the terrible one, in which there are (at times) as many as 20 of them.

In fact, everything is much simpler, here 3 facts about the English verb that will cheer you up:

1. The English verb has 3 tenses, not 20: past, present, future.
2. The English verb compares favorably with its French, Spanish, and Russian counterparts in that it has almost no different endings, mandatory for memorization.
3. Having dealt with the verb, you will solve 80% of the “English Grammar” problem for yourself, because speech is based on the verb.

Classification of English verbs

Verbs in English are divided according to structure and meaning.

Classification of verbs

Classification of verbs by structure:

• Simple– consist of a base without prefixes and suffixes: to bake (oven), to leave (leave).
• Derivatives- are formed using prefixes and suffixes (see): to mislead (to mislead), to recharge (recharge).
• Complex- consist of two basics: to proofread (read, check).
• Phrasal– consist of a verb + adverb\preposition: to turn out (to appear), to look up (to find in the dictionary).

There are separate articles about phrasal verbs:

Classification of verbs by meaning:

• Semantic verbs– independent verbs that have eigenvalue, denote an action, a state. The vast majority of verbs in English are semantic.
• Function verbs– non-independent verbs, do not have their own meaning, serve to form various grammatical forms. These include:
  • Linking verbs– used in the formation of complex forms: (to be), to become (to become), etc.
  • Auxiliary verbs– are used when constructing a compound predicate: (to be), (to do), (to have), (used when constructing the future tense), etc.
  • Modal verbs- denote not the action itself, but the speaker’s attitude to the action: can (can), should (should), etc. Read more about modal verbs in this article: .

Note: Some service verbs can be used as semantic verbs, for example to be, to do, to have.

Three main verb forms

The English verb has three main forms. There are some discrepancies in the names of these forms; they are often simply called first, second and third.

• First form: initial form verb, this is exactly how you see the verb in the dictionary: go, sleep, work, love, etc. Other synonymous names: infinitive form of the verb, dictionary form (meaning the infinitive without the particle to).
• Second form: past indefinite tense. Regular verbs are formed using the ending -ed: start ed, hand ed, notic ed. In the wrong ones it is formed in a special way. Other synonymous names: Past Indefinite, past tense form, simple past.
• Third form: past participle. In regular verbs, it is formed using the ending -ed and does not differ in appearance from the Past Simple form. Another synonym name: .

Regular and irregular verbs

Verbs forming the second and third forms according to general rule(using ending -ed), are called correct. Verbs that form these forms in a special way are called wrong– their second and third forms need to be taught separately.

The Russian verb has a lot of endings, foreigners have to learn them all, for example: playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing and so on.

The fact is that in Russian, endings show person, number, tense and gender of the verb. Taking the word “played”, we can easily understand that it is 3rd person, singular, feminine, past tense (she played).

It's different in English. The endings of verbs do not have such broad functions; number, person and tense are indicated partly by their endings, but mainly by other signs. And there is practically no category of gender in English; it only applies to pronouns.

Let's take the example of the regular verb to dance- dance.

U correct verb there may be such endings:

1. Dance (no ending) - this can be either an indefinite form or an imperative form, as well as almost all persons and tenses.
2. Dance ed– past simple tense or Past Simple.
3. Dance ed– past participle or Past Participle (regular verbs have forms 2 and 3 the same, irregular verbs may differ).
4. Dance ing– an action taking place at a certain moment (present participle).
5. Dance s – 3rd person singular form (“She\she\it is dancing”).

There are no other options.

The endings of a regular verb, an irregular one, will have other forms instead of -ed.

Person and number of English verb

An English verb, like a Russian one, can have one of three singular or plural forms:

The peculiarity of the English verb, when compared with Russian, is that it is not conjugated, that is, it does not change in persons and numbers; in all forms it has the same ending (or rather, the absence of any ending). The only exception is the 3rd person singular form, where the ending is added -s\es .

It's important to understand that not all English verbs are the same. The types of verbs in English are discussed below.

Semantic verbs
Auxiliary verbs
Linking verbs

Semantic verbs

Main Verbs– these are verbs that convey meaning and carry a semantic load, for example:

He understands everything.
He's everything understands. (Verb understands is semantic.)

Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary Verbs are used together with semantic verbs and carry grammatical information (for example, they indicate verb tenses, time period, etc.), thus adding some additional meaning to the sentence that is not indicated in the semantic verb.

Examples of auxiliary verbs are to be, to do And to have V various forms. Please note that some auxiliary verbs do not have an independent semantic load, and some can be both auxiliary and semantic, for example:

What have you done?
What have you done? ( In this case the verb have plays the role of an auxiliary, and the verb done– semantic.)

Auxiliary verbs will be discussed in more detail in the sections on English times(cm. ).

Linking verbs

Linking verbs (Copula Verbs or Linking Verbs) are verbs that connect the subject with the nominal part of the predicate or object.

Some linking verbs can only be linking verbs, since they themselves do not describe actions, and some of them can be both linking verbs in some sentences and verbs expressing action in other sentences. Verbs to be, to become And to seem and their forms can be only linking verbs.

For example:
He became very popular among his readers.
He became very popular among its readers. ( Verb became connects the subject with the object.)

Among other things, English verbs can be divided into three groups: normal verbs (Normal Verbs), non-continuous verbs (Non-Continuous Verbs) And Mixed Verbs.

Group I. Normal (dynamic) verbs

Most verbs are “normal verbs” (in grammatical terminology, this group of verbs is also called “ dynamic verbs“). Typically, such verbs are action verbs (typically actions that can be seen when someone performs them). These verbs are used in all tenses. Examples of such verbs are: to run, to walk, to eat, to fly, to go, to say, to touch and etc.

For example:
I eat dinner every day.
I I'm having dinner every day.

I am eating dinner now.
I I'm having dinner Now.

Group II. Non-continuous (statal) verbs

There are fewer verbs included in the second group than verbs in the first group. Usually “non-continuous verbs” (in grammatical terminology this group of verbs is also called “ statal verbs“) denote something that cannot be seen. These verbs are almost never used in the Continuous tenses (which is where they got their name). This includes:

– abstract verbs: to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist and etc.;

– verbs of possession: to possess, to own, to belong and etc.;

– verbs of feelings: to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind and etc.

For example:
He is needing help now. ( Wrong.)
He needs help now. ( Right.)
To him needed help.

He is wanting a drink now. ( Wrong.)
He wants a drink now. ( Right.)
He wants drink.

Group III. Mixed verbs

The third group of verbs, “mixed verbs,” is the smallest of the three. Verbs included in this group have more than one meaning. In a sense, each meaning of such verbs is a kind of unique verb. Some meanings of such verbs may belong to the group of normal verbs, while others may belong to the group of non-continuous verbs.

Below is a table of mixed verbs showing when they are used as normal verbs and when they are used as non-continuous verbs.

At night he see (see, seem) ghosts.I see her.
I'm her I see.to smell I am smelling the flowers.
I I sniff flowers.The coffee smells good.
Coffee is nice smells.to taste I am tasting the cake.
I I try (to taste) cake.The coffee tastes good.
Coffee is nice to taste.to think She is thinking about the question.
She thinks (thinks, ponders) over the question.He thinks the test is easy.
He thinks (thinks, seems to him) that the test is easy. to weigh She is weighing herself.
She weighs himself (determines your weight).The table weighs a lot.
Table a lot weighs (the table is heavy).

Pay special attention to the meanings and usage of the following verbs:

Verb to be It is used very rarely for a long time. Usually long verb tense to be used when someone's behavior is noticeably different from usual, or when someone behaves inappropriately, and in some other cases.
In general, sentences with a verb into Russian to be in the long tense can be translated with words such as: at the moment, behaves, right now etc.Joe is American.
Joe is American. ( Joe's nationality is American.)to feel The massage feels great.
This massage is very pleasant. ( Massage gives a pleasant feeling.)I don't feel well today. = I am not feeling well today.
Today I I feel not very good ( V given value can be used both long-term and short-term).