List of Grammatical Verb Types in English

1. Main Verbs (Lexical Verbs)

These verbs express the main action or state in a sentence.

Examples:

• run
• eat
• play
• sleep
• know
• believe

2. Auxiliary Verbs (Helping Verbs)

Used with main verbs to form tenses, voices, or moods.

Primary Auxiliaries:

• be (am, is, are, was, were, being, been)
• have (have, has, had)
• do (do, does, did)

Modal Auxiliaries:

• can
• could
• may
• might
• shall
• should
• will
• would
• must
• ought to

3. Linking Verbs

Connect the subject to a subject complement (not an action).

Common linking verbs:

• be
• become
• seem
• appear
• feel
• look
• sound
• remain
• taste
• stay

4. Modal Verbs

Express possibility, necessity, permission, or ability.

List of modal verbs:

• can
• could
• may
• might
• must
• shall
• should
• will
• would
• ought to
• need (sometimes modal)
• dare (sometimes modal)
• used to

5. Transitive Verbs

Take a direct object (something or someone receives the action).

Examples:

• eat (I eat an apple.)
• watch (She watches TV.)
• buy, love, make, know

6. Intransitive Verbs

Do not take a direct object.

Examples:

• sleep (He sleeps.)
• go (We went.)
• arrive, cry, sit, fall

7. Ditransitive Verbs

Take two objects: a direct and an indirect object.

Examples:

• give (She gave me a gift.)
• send, tell, offer, show

8. Stative Verbs

Describe a state or condition (not an action); not usually used in continuous tenses.

Examples:

• be
• know
• like
• love
• own
• seem
• believe
• belong

9. Dynamic Verbs

Express an action or process; can be used in continuous tenses.

Examples:

• run
• write
• jump
• build
• dance

10. Regular Verbs

Form past tense by adding -ed.

Examples:

• walk → walked
  
• jump → jumped
  
• clean → cleaned

11. Irregular Verbs

Have non-standard past tense forms.

Examples:

• go → went
  
• eat → ate
  
• see → saw
  
• bring → brought
  
• take → took

12. Phrasal Verbs

A combination of a verb + preposition/adverb with a specific meaning.

Examples:

• look up (search)
• give up (quit)
• take off (remove or depart)
• run into (encounter)

13. Causative Verbs

Show that someone causes something to happen.

Examples:

• make
  
• have
  
• let
  
• get
  
• cause
  
• allow
  
• force
  
• enable

Example: "She made him cry."

14. Impersonal Verbs

Used without a clear subject (often "it").

Examples:

• It seems...
• It appears...
• It rains.
• It snowed.

15. Finite Verbs

Verbs that show tense, person, and number.

Examples:

• She walks to school. (present, third person)
• They played football. (past)

16. Non-Finite Verbs

Do not show tense or agreement.

Types:

• Infinitives: to go, to eat
• Participles: walking, eaten
• Gerunds: eating, sleeping

17. Infinitive Verbs

Base form of the verb, often with "to".

Examples:

• to read
• to sing
• to be

18. Gerunds

Verb + -ing used as a noun.

Examples:

• Reading is fun.
• I enjoy swimming.

19. Participles

Verb forms used as adjectives or for forming tenses.

Present participle:

• walking, going

Past participle:

• walked, gone, eaten