What is verb

[Unregistered]

Hello Sir ... plz will you tell me that what is verb ? if verb is an action then what is be ? can we say that be is verb.

[rewboss]

At school, we're usually taught that a verb is an "action" word, or a "doing word", because it describes what someone or something is doing.

That's useful for a class of 10-year-olds learning the very basics of grammar, but it's also not quite the full story.

Some teachers will tell you that verbs can describe actions and states, and that's a bit better, but still not quite there.

A verb, in fact, is a unit of speech which takes a subject, and which often changes in a certain way -- we say it "conjugates".

So, "to be" is a verb because it takes a subject, and it conjugates: in the sentence "I am the walrus", "I" is the subject, and "am" is the conjugated version of "to be" which agrees with the subject.

To be sure, "to be" is a special kind of verb called a "cupola", but it is still a verb.

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

Hello Sir ... plz will you tell me that what is verb ? if verb is an action then what is be ? can we say that be is verb.

1. Most verbs are action (dynamic in nature) verbs. This means they can be used in the simple as well as in the continuous tenses. Such verbs take adverbs not adjectives.

2. Verb to be is a state or a link(ing) verb (also called copular verb because it links the subject with the adjective). It is used in the simple tense and takes an adjective not adverb:
She is happy

Sometimes BE is used in a dynamic sense ie in the continuous tense to refer to a temporary situation:
You are being nasty to me

3. A small group of verbs are link verbs (take adjective) or stative verbs (can only be used in the simple tense). I wrote about link verbs on Englishpage.com if you like).

4. Some verbs have a dual function. They can be link or action, stative or dynamic depending upon the meaning:
I think it is cold. Not I am thinking
I think (I am thinking) when there is a problem.

5. Verbs can be classified according to different principles:
Regular/irregular
Transitive/intransitive
Those which take gerund or infinitive or both
finite or infinite
and so on....