Uses of Verbs

Verbs tell you what’s actually happening in the sentence, what the subject is doing or having done to it. Of course, when you think about all the things that can happen, and all the things that subjects are capable of doing, you can see the astonishing potential range of “actions”.

There are two specific uses for verbs. The first is to put a motionless noun into motion, or to change its motion.

Annie went to the market.

Went gets Annie moving out the door and doing the shopping.

Annie went to the market, and then she stopped in at the bookstore.

First Annie does the shopping, and then she goes to do more interesting errands.

Mark lifted the rock.

We washed the car.

The girls played games all day.

These kinds of verbs are called action verbs. If you can do it, it’s an action verb.

The second use for a noun is to link the subject of the sentence to something which describes the subject. If you can’t do it, it’s probably a linking verb.

I am tired.

It’s difficult to “am”, so this is likely a linking verb. It’s connecting the subject I to the state of being tired.