What Is a Verb?

Roger Fielding Published 18 July 2026 · 8 min read Young Learners

📖 Prefer the grown-up version? Read the adult edition →

Try this. Look up from your screen for a second and describe what's happening near you. Maybe your little brother is running down the hall. The kettle whistles. Your phone buzzes. You feel tired because you stayed up too late finishing a level you'll deny you were playing.

Every one of those sentences leans on one kind of word to work at all. Take it out and the whole thing collapses. "The kettle" — and then what? Nothing. That word doing the heavy lifting is the verb.

Here's the thing: someone probably told you years ago that "a verb is a doing word." That's a decent start, and it works right up until you write a sentence like The sky was blue and seemed peaceful — and get asked to underline the verbs. Was and seemed don't feel much like doing, do they? And yet they're both verbs.

Nobody's born knowing this stuff. You've been using verbs perfectly since you were about two ("Want juice!" — one word, and everyone understood). You just might not have been introduced to them properly yet. So let's do the introductions. We won't get into tense here — how verbs change to show past, present and future is a whole big topic of its own, and I'll point you to it at the end. This article is about what verbs are and the three jobs they do.

Before you read on, here's where we're heading. By the end of this article, you'll be able to: - Explain what a verb is — and why "doing word" isn't quite the full story. - Tell action, linking, and helping (auxiliary) verbs apart. - Spot the main verb and its helpers working together in one verb phrase. - Recognise the common modal helpers like can, should and might. - Know what this article leaves alone (tense) and where to go next.

Beginner (Foundation): the "doing and being" words

Let's start with the version you already half-know: a verb is a doing word.

Run. Jump. Write. Eat. Kick. Laugh.

Say each one and you can almost feel your body wanting to do it. These are the easy verbs to spot, because you can see the action.

The dog barked.
Priya scored.
We laughed.

Barked, scored, laughed — those are the actions. Easy so far.

But "doing word" leaves a gap, and it's exactly where people get stuck. Look at this:

Priya is my sister.

Where's the action? Nobody's running or scoring. And yet is is definitely a verb. So let's widen the definition just a little: a verb is a doing OR a being word. Some verbs show an action; others simply tell you that something exists or is a certain way.

I am hungry.
She is twelve.
They were happy.

Am, is, were — being words. No action at all, but verbs through and through.

And here's the quickest way to prove a sentence needs one. Try taking the verb out:

✗ The cat on the mat. (We never find out what the cat does or is.)
✓ The cat is on the mat.
✓ The cat sleeps on the mat.

No verb, no proper sentence — just a thing left hanging.

A simple test that works most of the time: put the word after she or I and see if the sentence can stand on its own as something happening or something being true.

She sings. ✓ (something happening)
She is tall. ✓ (something being true)
She table. ✗ (nonsense — so table isn't a verb here)

Quick recap: - A verb is a doing word (run, eat, shout) or a being word (is, am, were). - Every proper sentence needs at least one verb. - "The kettle" isn't a sentence; "The kettle whistles" is. - If a word can follow she or I and make sense as an action or a state, it's probably a verb.

Intermediate (Development): the three jobs verbs can do

Now that "doing or being" makes sense, let's sort verbs by the job they do in a sentence. There are three, and once you can name them, you'll stop feeling lost when the sentences get longer.

1. Action verbs

These describe what someone or something does — and they're the ones you've already met.

Marcus threw the ball.
The teacher explained the question.
My phone died in the middle of the lesson.

Here's a small twist worth knowing. Some actions you can see (threw, jumped); some happen quietly inside your head (think, believe, remember, hope). Both count as action verbs. The action just isn't always something you could film.

I remember your birthday.
She considered the problem.

2. Linking verbs

Linking verbs don't show an action. They work like an equals sign, connecting the subject to a word that describes it or renames it.

Marcus is captain. (Marcus = captain)
The soup smells amazing. (soup = amazing-smelling)
You look tired. (you = tired)

See how is, smells and look aren't doing anything? They're joining the subject to a description. The most common linking verb by miles is to be — am, is, are, was, were, been, being. Others include seem, become, appear, feel, look, sound, taste, smell, remain, stay, grow.

Here's a handy test. If you can swap the verb for a form of be and the sentence still makes sense, it's probably a linking verb:

You seem tired. → You are tired. ✓ → linking
The milk smells sour. → The milk is sour. ✓ → linking

3. Helping verbs (auxiliary verbs)

Sometimes a verb needs a helper. That's where helping verbs — also called auxiliary verbs — come in. They team up with another verb to build a fuller meaning.

She is singing.
We have finished.
They did win.

Each of those actually has two verbs. Singing, finished, win are the main verbs — they carry the real meaning. Is, have, did are the helpers. Put a main verb and its helpers together and you've got a verb phrase.

Now here's the catch that trips up even clever people: the same word can do different jobs.

She is happy. → is is a linking verb (standing on its own).
She is running. → is is a helping verb (helping running).

The word didn't change. Its job did. That's the bit worth slowing right down for.

To find the main verb in a verb phrase, ask yourself: what's actually happening? In "They have eaten," the happening is eaten — that's your main verb. Have is just the helper propping it up.

Common Mistake: Thinking a word is "always a verb" or "never a verb." Loads of words switch depending on the sentence. Water is a noun in "drink the water" but a verb in "water the plants." Always look at what the word is doing in that sentence, not at the word on its own.

Pro-Tip: When a sentence has a string of verbs, underline the whole verb phrase, then put a star over the one word carrying the real meaning. Might have been waiting → the waiting is the story; the rest is scaffolding.

Quick recap: - Action verbs = what someone does — physical (throw) or mental (think, remember). - Linking verbs = an equals sign joining the subject to a description (is, seem, smell). - Helping/auxiliary verbs team up with a main verb to make a verb phrase (is singing). - The same word can be linking one moment and a helper the next — job, not spelling, decides.

Advanced (Mastery): modals, tricky doubles, and where tense lives

Still with me? Good — this is where verbs get genuinely interesting.

There's a small, useful group of helping verbs called modal verbs, and they're worth knowing by name: can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must (and ought to).

Modals don't tell you what happens so much as how likely, allowed, or necessary it is.

You must finish your homework. (necessity)
I might come to the party. (possibility)
She can swim. (ability)
You should apologise [US: apologize]. (advice)

Modals are a bit stubborn, and their odd habits are worth learning so you don't second-guess yourself:

They don't add "-s" for he/she/it. We say she can, never she cans.
They always sit in front of the plain form of the main verb — might go, should **wait, must try (never must to try, never must going).

The linking-or-action doubles

We touched on this earlier; now let's use it properly, because it decides something you may have argued about: good versus well.

Some verbs flip between linking and action depending on the sentence. After a linking verb, you use a describing word (an adjective), because you're describing the subject. After an action verb, you describe how with an adverb.

The soup tastes good. → tastes is linking (it describes the soup) → use the adjective good.
The chef tastes the soup carefully. → tastes is an action (the chef is doing something) → describe how with carefully.

This is exactly why "I feel good" is right when you're talking about your mood — feel is linking there, so you want the adjective. (There's a whole article on the good vs well tangle; see the links at the end.)

A quick test again: try swapping the verb for is.

She looked nervous. → She was nervous. ✓ → linking
She looked at me. → She was at me. ✗ (nonsense) → action

Long verb chains — who's the boss?

Sometimes a verb phrase piles up several helpers:

She might have been waiting.

Order matters: the modal comes first (might), then forms of have and be (have, been), then the main verb (waiting). You don't need to name every part right now. The one skill that matters is this:

The whole string is one verb phrase.
Only one word in it — usually the last, meaty one — is the main verb.

That skill becomes really useful later, when you meet tenses and the passive voice.

One last, honest note about tense

You'll have noticed I keep writing is running, have finished, did win — sentences that clearly point to now, the past or the future. That timing is called tense, and it's a huge, brilliant topic all of its own. So I'm deliberately not teaching it here. Think of it like this: right now you're learning what the players on the pitch are. Tense is how they move. Learn the players first; you'll find the movement in the Verbs & Tenses pillar, linked below.

Pro-Tip: When a long sentence confuses you, find the subject first, then ask what about them? The word that pairs up with the helpers is your main verb. Extra clauses can wait their turn.

Common Mistake: Adding "-s" to a modal. It's she can go, never she cans go. Modals never change like ordinary verbs.

Quick recap: - Modal verbs (can, must, might, should…) show possibility, ability, permission or necessity. - Modals don't take "-s" and sit before the plain form of the main verb. - Some verbs are linking or action depending on meaning — and that decides good vs well. - A long chain still has just one main verb; the rest are helpers. - Tense (how verbs show time) is a separate topic — it lives in the Verbs & Tenses pillar.

UK vs US note: Verbs work exactly the same way on both sides of the Atlantic — action, linking and helping/auxiliary verbs behave identically. The only things to watch are small spellings on some verbs — UK practise (verb) [US: practice], UK travelled [US: traveled], UK apologise [US: apologize] — and one term you'll meet elsewhere: full stop [US: period]. British writers also still use shall a fair bit; Americans rarely do. None of this changes the jobs verbs do.

Key Takeaways

A verb is a doing or being word, and every sentence needs at least one.
Verbs do three jobs: action, linking, and helping (auxiliary).
A verb phrase = one or more helpers + a main verb (has been running); the main verb is usually last.
Modal helpers (can, should, might…) add meaning like ability, permission or necessity.
The same word can change job depending on the sentence — look at what it's doing.
Tense — how verbs show time — is a separate, upcoming topic.

Check Your Understanding

In "The band played all night," which word is the verb, and what job does it do?
Is is a linking or a helping verb in "Leo is asleep"? What about in "Leo is sleeping"?
Find the main verb: "We should have practised more."
Name the modal in "You might win the raffle," and say what it adds.
In "The bread smells fresh," is smells action or linking? How do you know?

Answer key

played — an action verb.
"Leo is asleep" → linking (Leo = asleep). "Leo is sleeping" → helping (it helps sleeping).
practised is the main verb (should and have are helpers).
might — it adds possibility.
Linking — swap it for is ("The bread is fresh") and it still works, and it describes the bread rather than an action.

H0 — What grammar really is (start here if the terms feel new).
H3.2 — Transitive and intransitive verbs (does the verb pass action onto an object?).
H3.3 — Regular and irregular verbs.
H3.4 — Stative and dynamic verbs (a closer look at "action" verbs).
H1.6 — What is a clause? (how the verb fits the sentence).
H4.5 — Good vs well (linking vs action verbs in action).
Pillar 1 — Subject–verb agreement (find the real verb first, then make it match).
→ The Verbs & Tenses pillar — where verbs learn to travel through time. Go here next.