Types of Verbs

Before you begin the verb tense lessons, it is extremely important to understand that
NOT all English verbs are the same. English verbs are divided into three groups: Normal Verbs,
Non-Continuous Verbs, and Mixed Verbs.

Group I Normal Verbs

Most verbs are "Normal Verbs." These verbs are usually physical actions which you can see
somebody doing. These verbs can be used in all tenses.

Normal Verbs

to run, to walk, to eat, to fly, to go, to say, to touch, etc.

Examples:

• I eat dinner every day.

• I am eating dinner now.

Group II Non-Continuous Verbs

The second group, called "Non-Continuous Verbs," is smaller. These verbs are usually things
you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses. They include:

Abstract Verbs

to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist...

Possession Verbs

to possess, to own, to belong...

Emotion Verbs

to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind...

Examples:

• He is needing help now. Not Correct

• He needs help now. Correct

• He is wanting a drink now. Not Correct

• He wants a drink now. Correct
Group III Mixed Verbs

The third group, called "Mixed Verbs," is the smallest group. These verbs have more than one
meaning. In a way, each meaning is a unique verb. Some meanings behave like "Non-
Continuous Verbs," while other meanings behave like "Normal Verbs."

Mixed Verbs

to appear, to feel, to have, to hear, to look, to see, to weigh...

List of Mixed Verbs with Examples and Definitions:

to appear:

• Donna appears confused. Non-Continuous Verb

Donna seems confused.
• My favorite singer is appearing at the jazz club tonight. Normal Verb
My favorite singer is giving a performance at the jazz club tonight.

to have:

• I have a dollar now. Non-Continuous Verb

I possess a dollar.
• I am having fun now. Normal Verb
I am experiencing fun now.

to hear:

• She hears the music. Non-Continuous Verb

She hears the music with her ears.
• She is hearing voices. Normal Verb
She hears something others cannot hear. She is hearing voices in her mind.

to look:

• Nancy looks tired. Non-Continuous Verb

She seems tired.
• Farah is looking at the pictures. Normal Verb
She is looking with her eyes.

to miss:

• John misses Sally. Non-Continuous Verb

He is sad because she is not there.
• Debbie is missing her favorite TV program. Normal Verb
She is not there to see her favorite program.

to see:
 • I see her. Non-Continuous Verb
I see her with my eyes.
• I am seeing the doctor. Normal Verb
I am visiting or consulting with a doctor. (Also used with dentist and lawyer.)
• I am seeing her. Normal Verb
I am having a relationship with her.
• He is seeing ghosts at night. Normal Verb
He sees something others cannot see. For example ghosts, aura, a vision of
the future, etc.

to smell:

• The coffee smells good. Non-Continuous Verb

The coffee has a good smell.
• I am smelling the flowers. Normal Verb
I am sniffing the flowers to see what their smell is like.

to taste:

• The coffee tastes good. Non-Continuous Verb

The coffee has a good taste.
• I am tasting the cake. Normal Verb
I am trying the cake to see what it tastes like.

to think:

• He thinks the test is easy. Non-Continuous Verb

He considers the test to be easy.
• She is thinking about the question. Normal Verb
She is pondering the question, going over it in her mind.

to weigh:

• The table weighs a lot. Non-Continuous Verb

The table is heavy.
• She is weighing herself. Normal Verb
She is determining her weight.

Some Verbs Can Be Especially Confusing:

to be:

• Joe is American. Non-Continuous Verb

Joe is an American citizen.
• Joe is being very American. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving like a stereotypical American.
• Joe is being very rude. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving very rudely. Usually he is not rude.
• Joe is being very formal. Normal Verb
Joe is behaving very formally. Usually he is not formal.
NOTICE: Only rarely is "to be" used in a continuous form. This is most commonly done when a
person is temporarily behaving badly or stereotypically. It can also be used when someone's
behavior is noticeably different.

to feel:

• The massage feels great. Non-Continuous Verb

The massage has a pleasing feeling.
• I don't feel well today. Sometimes used as Non-Continuous Verb
I am a little sick.
I am not feeling well today. Sometimes used as Normal Verb
I am a little sick.

NOTICE: The second meaning of "feel" is very flexible and there is no real difference in
meaning between "I don't feel well today" and "I am not feeling well today."

Forms of Main Verbs

Main verbs (except the verb "be") have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. "Be" has 9 forms.

V1 V2 V3

past past present present simple, 3rd

infinitive base
simple participle participle person singular

regular (to) work work worked worked working works

(to) sing sing sang sung singing sings

(to) make make made made making makes
(to) cut cut cut cut cutting cuts

(to) do*
do did done doing does
(to)
have had had having has
irregular have*

past past present

infinitive base present simple
simple participle participle

was,
(to) be* be been being am, are, is
were

In the above examples:

 • to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts
• to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works
• to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings
• to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are

At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle (sometimes
called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the irregular verbs. They may spend
many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc. They do not learn
these for the regular verbs because the past simple and past participle are always the same: they
are formed by adding "-ed" to the base. They do not learn the present participle and 3rd person
singular present simple by heart - for another very simple reason: they never change. The
present participle is always made by adding "-ing" to the base, and the 3rd person singular
present simple is always made by adding "s" to the base (though there are some variations in
spelling).

* Note that "do", "have" and "be" also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the
same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).

Example Sentences

These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.

Infinitive

• I want to work
• He has to sing.
• This exercise is easy to do.
• Let him have one.
• To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Base - Imperative

• Work well!
• Make this.
• Have a nice day.
• Be quiet!

Base - Present simple

(except 3rd person singular)

• I work in London.
• You sing well.
• They have a lot of money.
Base - After modal auxiliary verbs

• I can work tomorrow.

• You must sing louder.
• They might do it.
• You could be right.

Past simple

• I worked yesterday.
• She cut his hair last week.
• They had a good time.
• They were surprised, but I was not.

Past participle

• I have worked here for five years.

• He needs a folder made of plastic.
• It is done like this.
• I have never been so happy.

Present participle

• I am working.
• Singing well is not easy.
• Having finished, he went home.
• You are being silly!

3rd person singular, present simple

• He works in London.
• She sings well.
• She has a lot of money.
• It is Vietnamese.

Forms of Helping Verbs

All helping verbs are used with a main verb (either expressed or understood*). There are 2
groups of helping verbs:

• Primary helping verbs, used mainly to change the tense or voice of the main verb, and
in making questions and negatives.
• Modal helping verbs, used to change the "mood" of the main verb.

Study the table below. It shows the prinicipal forms and uses of helping verbs, and explains the
differences between primary and modal helping verbs.
* Sometimes we make a sentence that has a helping verb and seems to have no main verb. In
fact, the main verb is "understood". Look at the following examples:

• Question: Can you speak English? (The main verb speak is "expressed".)
• Answer: Yes, I can. (The main verb speak is not expressed. It is "understood" from the
context. We understand: Yes, I can speak English.

But if somebody walked into the room and said "Hello. I can", we would understand nothing!

Helping Verbs

Primary Modal

(to make simple tenses, and questions

do can could
and negatives)

(to make continuous tenses, and the

be may might
passive voice)

have (to make perfect tenses) will would

shall should

must

ought (to)

"Do", "be" and "have" as helping verbs have

exactly the same forms as when they are main Modal helping verbs are invariable. They
verbs (except that as helping verbs they are never always have the same form.
used in infinitive forms).

"Ought" is followed by the main verb in

Primary helping verbs are followed by the main
infinitive form. Other modal helping verbs
verb in a particular form:
are followed by the main verb in its base
form (V1).
• do + V1 (base verb)
• be + -ing (present participle)
• ought + to... (infinitive)
• have + V3 (past participle)
• other modals + V1 (base verb)

"Do", "be" and "have" can also function as main Modal helping verbs cannot function as
verbs. main verbs.
Active / Passive Verb Forms
Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and "passive
forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English.

Active Form

In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing
receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Examples:

Passive Form

In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing
doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive
form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized.
You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not
want to mention who is doing the action.

[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing action]

Examples:

Active / Passive Overview

Active Passive
Simple Once a week, Tom cleans the Once a week, the house is
Present house. cleaned by Tom.

Present Right now, Sarah is writing Right now, the letter is being
Continuous the letter. written by Sarah.

Simple Past Sam repaired the car. The car was repaired by Sam.

The salesman was helping the The customer was being helped
Past
customer when the thief came by the salesman when the thief
Continuous
into the store. came into the store.

Present Many tourists have visited That castle has been visited by
Perfect that castle. many tourists.

Present
Recently, John has been Recently, the work has been
Perfect
doing the work. being done by John.
Continuous

George had repaired many Many cars had been repaired by

Past Perfect cars before he received his George before he received his
mechanic's license. mechanic's license.

Chef Jones had been The restaurant's fantastic dinners

Past Perfect preparing the restaurant's had been being prepared by
Continuous fantastic dinners for two years Chef Jones for two years before he
before he moved to Paris. moved to Paris.

Simple
Someone will finish the work The work will be finished by
Future
by 5:00 PM. 5:00 PM.
will

Simple
Sally is going to make a A beautiful dinner is going to be
Future
beautiful dinner tonight. made by Sally tonight.
be going to
Future
At 8:00 PM tonight, John will At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will
Continuous
be washing the dishes. be being washed by John.
will

Future At 8:00 PM tonight, John is At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are

Continuous going to be washing the going to be being washed by
be going to dishes. John.

Future
They will have completed the The project will have been
Perfect
project before the deadline. completed before the deadline.
will

Future They are going to have The project is going to have

Perfect completed the project before been completed before the
be going to the deadline. deadline.

Future The famous artist will have The mural will have been being
Perfect been painting the mural for painted by the famous artist for
Continuous over six months by the time it over six months by the time it is
will is finished. finished.

Future The famous artist is going to The mural is going to have

Perfect have been painting the mural been being painted by the
Continuous for over six months by the time famous artist for over six months
be going to it is finished. by the time it is finished.

The bills used to be paid by

Used to Jerry used to pay the bills.
Jerry.

Would My mother would always The pies would always be made

Always make the pies. by my mother.

Future in the
I knew John would finish the I knew the work would be
Past
work by 5:00 PM. finished by 5:00 PM.
Would

Future in the I thought Sally was going to I thought a beautiful dinner was
Past make a beautiful dinner going to be made by Sally
Was Going
tonight. tonight.
to