Verb

Verb

A verb is a word that in syntax conveys an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle "to", is the infinitive. In many languages, verbs are inflected to encode tense, aspect, mood, and voice.

Conjugation

Conjugation of verbs in Spanish.

Conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection. It is a common feature of languages, including Spanish, French, and Latin. Conjugation involves changing the form of a verb to provide information about the action being performed, such as the person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, or voice.

Examples

In English, verbs are conjugated to indicate tense, such as "walk" (present), "walked" (past), and "will walk" (future). In Spanish, verbs are conjugated to indicate not only tense but also the subject of the verb, such as "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks).

Types of Verbs

Verbs can be classified into several types based on their function and form:

• Transitive verbs: These verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning. For example, "She reads a book."
• Intransitive verbs: These verbs do not require a direct object. For example, "He sleeps."
• Auxiliary verbs: Also known as helping verbs, these are used with a main verb to form a verb phrase. Examples include "is," "have," and "will."
• Modal verbs: These verbs express necessity or possibility, such as "can," "may," "must," and "should."

Related Pages

• Noun
• Adjective
• Adverb
• Syntax

References

• Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
• Pinker, Steven. The Language Instinct. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2007.