10 Kinds of Verbs in English with Examples and Exercises for Class 7: This comprehensive guide explores the eight types of verbs, including action, linking, auxiliary, modal, transitive, intransitive, regular, and irregular verbs. Each section provides clear explanations, examples, and engaging exercises tailored for Class 7 students to reinforce their understanding. Perfect for mastering verb usage and enhancing grammatical skills.
1. Principal verb:
When a verb is used independently it is called a principal verb.
For example – call, go, read, work, walk, sing, play on
2. Auxiliary verb:
The verb that helps another verb to form Tense, Mood, and Voice is called an Auxiliary verb or Helping verb.
For example – be, have, do, can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must, ought, to, need, dare, used (to).
Study the following table:
| A | B |
| I play football. He reads a book. The man met me yesterday. | I am playing football. He is reading a book. The man will meet me tomorrow, |
In column ‘A’ the verbs ‘play’, ‘reads’, ‘met’ are used independently. They are the principal verb. In ‘B’ column ‘am’, ‘is’, ‘will’ verbs sit before the main verbs ‘play’, ‘read’, ‘meet’ and convey different meanings and tenses of these verbs. They help the main verb. So they are called Auxiliary verbs.
Most Auxiliary verbs are used as Principal verbs. For example-
| Auxiliary | Principal |
| I am going to school. He has broken the glass. He was punished by his father. | I am a student. He has a doll. He was a teacher |
Kinds of Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs are two types
(A) Primary Auxiliary or Tense Auxiliary,
(B) Modal Auxiliary or Defective Verb.
(A) List of primary Auxiliaries Total 11 in numbers.
- Present Tense: am, is, are, do, does, have, has
- Past Tense: was, were, did, had
(B) List of Modal Auxiliaries Total 13 in numbers
- Present/Future: Can, May, Shall, Will, Could
- Past Tense: Might, Should, Would, Must, Could
- Semi-Modals: Used to, Ought to, Dare, Need
3. Transitive Verb
Any action of the verb that is not completed by the subject or doer but is carried out by another word (Noun or Pronoun) is called Transitive Verb.
The word in which the work is done is the object of the verb.
A verb that has an object or action is called a transitive verb.
Object: The person or object to which the action of the verb is directed is called the object of the verb. The object of a transitive verb comes immediately after the verb. If you ask the principal or main verb with ‘what’ or ‘what’, whom’, or ‘which’, the answer can be found in the object or action of the verb.
Examples:
(a) The fox killed a hen.
Here ‘Killed’ is the Transitive verb, and ‘hen’ is the object of the verb.
(b) I gave him a ball.
Here ‘gave’ is a transitive verb, and ‘a ball’ is the object of this sentence There are two objects. One is ‘him’ and the other is ‘a ball’.
4. Intransitive Verb :
A verb whose action is performed by a subject or doer and does not require an object is an intransitive verb Intransitive verbs do not have an object.
A verb that does not have an object or action is called an intransitive verb.
Examples:
(a) The old man is walking on the road.
(b) Boys are playing in the playground.
There is no object or action in the above sentences.
If you ask questions with what, who, and which, they will not get any answer.
Cognate Object: Intransitive verb is used as Transitive verb in some cases. In these cases, the noun formed from the verb is used as the object. This is called cognate object or cognate action.
Examples:
(a) Thy boy runs a race.
(b) He fought a good fight.
5. Finite Verb
The verb that forms the Predicate is called the Finite verb. Finite means limited. The verb that completes the meaning or action of the sentence is called a Finite verb.
Examples:
(a) The girl reads a book.
(b) He saw a snake in the garden.
6. Non-Finite Verb
The verb that does not end the meaning or action of the sentence is called Non-finite Verb
The non-finite verb has three forms. Namely—
(A) To-form,
(B) ing-form
(C) Present Participle.
(A) To-form Verbs or Infinitives:
Any verb that can not form the predicate of a sentence and is not governed by a subject, that verb is called an Infinitive or Verb Infinitive. Since there is no subject of this verb, there is no control over the subject. That’s why sentence structure is not completed only by infinitives.
Note:
(a) The Infinitive is formed by adding to before the verb to express the purpose of an action. Like – to eat, to go, to do, etc.
(b) Non-finite verb is not related to subject or any other word.
(c) Infinitive has the characteristics of both Verb and Noun i.e. refers to both, hence these two are abbreviated as Verb Noun.
Examples:
(1) Ranjan likes to play football.
(2) We eat to live.
(3) To err is human.
Types of Infinitives
(1) Simple or Noun Infinitives
(2) Gerundial or Qualifying Infinitives.
(1) Simple or Noun Infinitives:
An Infinitive that acts like a Noun is called a Noun Infinitive.
Form – to + present form of the main verb.
Examples:
(1) To swim is a good exercise.
(2) To write such an essay takes work.
Uses of Simple or Noun Infinitives
| Uses | Examples |
| 1. As the subject of a verb. 2. As the object of a verb. 3. As a complement to a verb. 4. As the object of a preposition | (1) To lie is a sin. (2) He likes to eat mangoes. (3) His habit is to drive carefully. (4) The train is about to start. |
(2) Gerundial or Qualifying Infinitives:
Infinitives that act like adjectives or adverbs are called Gerundial or Qualifying Infinitives.
Uses of Gerundial or Qualifying infinitives
| Uses | Examples |
| 1. As Adjective to qualify a noun 2. As an adverb to qualify a verb 3. As an Adverb to qualify an adjective | (a) There is a better time to play. (a) We eat to live (purpose). (b) The patient is too weak to walk. |
Two separate sentences are joined by using Infinitive.
Separate: Soma had no money. She could not purchase the book.
Combined: Soma had no money to purchase the book,
Separate: Debu reads very hard. He aims to stand first in the annual examination.
Combined: Debu reads very hard to stand first in the annual examination.
Although to is used with the infinitive, it is not used in the following cases:
(1) Active voice – let, see, make, bid, need, feel, hear, watch, behold, dare, know
(a) Let him (to) go.
(2) Shall, will, do, did, can, should, would, may, might auxiliary defective verb-
(a) I can drive (able to drive).
(B) Verbing form/Gerunds:
Words formed by adding ing to the end of verbs act as nouns. Their English name is Gerund which means Verb or Verbal Noun. Another name for them is Double Parts of Speech because they work as Verb + Noun.
Examples:
(1) Walking is a good exercise.
(2) Dancing is an art.
(C) Present Participle-ing-Adjective:
(C) Present Participle-ing-Adjective:
The present participle word is formed by adding ing to the end of the verb. They are sometimes used as adjectives of nouns or pronouns. That is why they are called ing-adjectives. Gerund and present participle have the same form, but Gerund is an active noun. And Present Participle is an active adjective.
Examples:
(1) I saw the girl singing in the room.
Here the word singing expresses the quality of a girl and is used as an adjective.
(2) I saw him walking on the road.
Here the word walking expresses the quality of the pronoun him and is used as an adjective. These are verb-present participle forms.
7. Regular Verb
Regular verbs are verbs that form their past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” or “-d” to the base form.
Examples:
Walk – walked (past tense), walked (past participle)
Play – played (past tense), played (past participle)
Love – loved (past tense), loved (past participle)
Talk – talked (past tense), talked (past participle)
Jump – jumped (past tense), jumped (past participle)
8. Irregular Verb
Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the standard rules for forming their past tense and past participle. Instead of adding “-ed” or “-d,” these verbs undergo changes in their spelling.
Examples:
Go – went (past tense), gone (past participle)
Eat – ate (past tense), eaten (past participle)
See – saw (past tense), seen (past participle)
Take – took (past tense), taken (past participle)
Write – wrote (past tense), written (past participle)
9. Event Verb:
For all the real events or actions that are visible to us, the verb used is called an event verb.
Examples :
(a) The moon gives light at night.
(b) The child drinks milk.
10. State verb
A mental feeling, idea, feeling, or sense occurs, but is not visually visible—the verb used in such cases is called a state verb or conceptual verb.
Examples :
(a) The mother loves her child.
(b) I dreamt a pleasant dream.
