English Verbs: An Introduction for English Language Learners

This course is designed to be simple to learn English for Chinese students.

It includes 10 articles that explain the parts of speech in English such as nouns, verbs, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections and determiners.

The use of verbs is the focus of this article.

verb worksheet 1: past tense listening exercise (You Needed Me by Anne Murray), conversation exercise

Listening Exercises

verbs – 3rd person singular (just the way you are)
present perfect ( U2 – I still haven’t found what I am looking for)

Verbs Explained

All sentences contain verbs. verbs often show action:

  • The bear growls
  • The bear runs
  • The bear sleeps

A verb is a word used to express an action, a feeling or a state of being.

  • She is riding a bike
  • He kicks the ball
  • We learn English

Top 50 verbs

  • ask
  • be
  • become
  • begin
  • call
  • can
  • come
  • could
  • do
  • feel

 

  • find
  • get
  • give
  • go
  • have
  • hear
  • help
  • keep
  • know
  • leave
  • let
  • like
  • live
  • look
  • make
  • may
  • mean
  • might
  • move
  • need
  • play
  • put
  • run
  • say
  • see
  • seem
  • should
  • show
  • start
  • take
  • talk
  • tell
  • think
  • try
  • turn
  • use
  • want
  • will
  • work
  • would

 

Introduction to Verb Tense

  • past – present -future
    • past simple 
    • present simple
    • future simple
  • examples
    • worked– past simple
    • work – present simple
    • will work – future simple
  • example sentences
    • I worked yesterday- past simple
    • I work today – present simple
    • I will work tomorrow- future simple
  • past – I talked – I liked – I helped
  • present- I talk – I like – I help
  • future – I will talk – I will like – I will help
action verbs images
verb tense

English Verb Use for a Student

past – present – future

  • I was born in China
  • I was a child
  • I had fun
  • I played
  • I ate food
  • I loved school
  • I liked it
  • I loved it
  • I am a student
  • I am from China
  • I eat food
  • I love food
  • I love Chinese food
  • I love my mother
  • I love my father
  • I have one sister
  • I will live in China
  • I will study in Chiang Mai
  • I will have fun
  • I will study
  • I will eat Thai food
  • I will love Thai food
  • I will like it
  • I will love it

Choose past, present or future

  1. Family
  2. Friends
  3. Work
  4. Study
  5. Fun
  6. Travel
  7. Weather
  8. Food
  9. Life
  1. I love my family
  2. I have many friends
  3. I will work later
  4. I like to study
  5. This was fun
  6. I want to travel
  7. It is sunny
  8. I am hungry
  9. I watched TV
  1. past, present or future
  2. past, present or future
  3. past, present or future
  4. past, present or future
  5. past, present or future
  6. past, present or future
  7. past, present or future
  8. past, present or future
  9. past, present or future

Regular and Irregular Verbs

regular verbs: past – present – future

  • The bear growled
  • The bear walked
  • The bear hunted
  • The bear growls
  • The bear walks
  • The bear hunts

 

  • The bear will growl
  • The bear will walk
  • The bear will hunt

irregular verbs:   verb – past – present – future

  • run
  • be
  • have
  • do
  • say
  • sleep
  • ran
  • was
  • had
  • did
  • said
  • slept
  • run
  • is
  • have
  • do
  • say
  • sleep
  • will run
  • will be
  • will have
  • will do
  • will say
  • will sleep

verb

  1. be
  2. have
  3. do
  4. say

1st person

  1. I am
  2. I have
  3. I do
  4. I say

3rd person

  1. He/She is
  2. He/She has
  3. He/She does
  4. He/She says

plural

  1. we are
  2. we have
  3. we do
  4. we say

1st person past

  1. I was
  2. I had
  3. I did
  4. I said

plural

  1. we were
  2. we had
  3. we did
  4. we said

present

  1. Win 
  2. Find 
  3. Sit 
  4. Sing
  5. Drink
  6. Ring
  7. Run

past

  1. won
  2. found
  3. sat 
  4. sang
  5. drank
  6. rang
  7. ran

Verb Agreement

Correct:

  • the dog barks 
  • the dogs bark

Incorrect:

  • X – the dog bark
  • X – the dogs barks

Correct:

  • Jake bakes a cake
  • we bake a cake

Incorrect:

  • X – Jake bake a cake
  • X – we bakes a cake

Linked Verbs

The verb to BE:

  • am  I am here 
  • is  she is here
  • are  you are here
  • being  thank you for being here
  • was  she was here
  • were  they were here
  • been  they have been here
  • be  can you be here

to be:

  • Brain is eating a pizza  (he is eating now)
  • Brain was eating a pizza    (he was eating before)

to have 

  • Brain has eaten a pizza    (he has eaten the whole pizza)
  • Brain had been eating a pizza  (he was eating but has stopped

action – something does

  • am  … am eating
  • are  … are eating
  • was  … was eating

… been eating

to be – something is

  • is  … is hungry
  • be  … to be hungry
  • been  … been hungry
  • were  … were hungry

… being funny

Modal Verbs - to agree

  1. I can do it
  2. He can do it
  3. She can do it
  4. You can do it
  5. We can do it
  6. They can do it
  7. Everyone can do it
  1. I will do it
  2. He will do it
  3. She will do it
  4. You will do it
  5. We will do it
  6. They will do it
  7. Everyone will do it
  1. I should do it
  2. He should do it
  3. She should do it
  4. You should do it
  5. We should do it
  6. They should do it
  7. Everyone should do it

Modal Verbs - to need

Need

  • You must be home on time
  • You must take off your shoes

Likelihood

  •   You must have known

Modal Verbs - various

  • Chance  It may rain
  • Permission  you may enter
  • Ability  you can carry a lot.
  • Possibility  I would do it, but I’m too lazy
  • Advice  you shouldn’t
  • Future  he will win

More practice? Return to the main page of parts of speech to find out about other exercises and worksheets.

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