English Grammar: VERBS

A verb is the action or state of being in a sentence. Verbs can be expressed in different tenses, depending on when the action is being performed.

Verb एक शब्द है जिसका प्रयोग कुछ कार्य, भावना या अस्तित्व को व्यक्त करने के लिए किया जाता है. यह हमें एक वाक्य में विषय के बारे में कुछ बताता है. The word which tells something about a person, thing or place is called Verb. जो शब्द किसी व्यक्ति, वस्तु, स्थान इत्यादि के बारे में कुछ बताता है, Verb कहलाता है.

Types of verbs –

Verbs are words that express action or state of being. There are three types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs.

1 Action verb –

An action verb is a verb that describes an action, like running, jumping, kicking, eating, breaking, crying, smiling, or thinking. Action verbs, also called dynamic verbs, express an action whether it be physical or mental. An action verb explains what the subject of the sentence is doing or has done. Looking at action verb examples helps make clear the function of action verbs in sentences and what purpose they serve.

Example of action verbs:

• Anil is throwing the football.
• She accepted the job offer.
• He thought about his stupid mistake in the test.
• Mohan visited his friend for a while and then went home.
• The dog ran across the yard.
• She left in a hurry.

2 Linking verb –

A linking verb is a verb that describes the subject by connecting it to a predicate adjective or predicate noun. Unlike the majority of verbs, they do not describe any direct action taken or controlled by the subject.

The following sentences include linking verbs.

• Roses are red.
• The detective felt sick.
• The soup tasted weird.
• Frankenstein’s monster resembles a zombie.
• He quickly grew tired.
• You are becoming a nuisance.

3 Helping verbs –

Helping verbs are verbs that are used in a verb phrase (meaning, used with a second verb) to show tense, or form a question or a negative. Helping verbs are used to show perfect verb tenses, continuous/progressive verb tenses, and passive voice. Helping verbs are always followed by a second verb.

Helping Verbs in English

• am, is, are.
• was, were.
• be, been, being.
• do, does, did.
• have, has, had.
• may, can, must, might.
• shall, will.
• should, would, could.

2. Types of Verbs (क्रिया के प्रकार)

(A) Transitive Verb (सकर्मक क्रिया)

Definition: A verb that needs an object to complete its meaning.

Hindi: जिस क्रिया के साथ कर्म (Object) आवश्यक हो, उसे सकर्मक क्रिया कहते हैं।

Examples:

• She writes a letter. (वह पत्र लिखती है।)
• He killed a snake. (उसने साँप मारा।)

(B) Intransitive Verb (अकर्मक क्रिया)

Definition: A verb that does not need an object.

Hindi: जिस क्रिया के साथ कर्म की आवश्यकता नहीं होती, उसे अकर्मक क्रिया कहते हैं।

Examples:

• The baby cries. (बच्चा रोता है।)
• He sleeps. (वह सोता है।)

(C) Auxiliary Verbs (सहायक क्रियाएँ)

Auxiliary verbs help the main verb to form tense, voice, mood, etc.

(i) Primary Auxiliaries

Be: is, am, are, was, were

Have: has, have, had

Do: do, does, did

Examples:

• She is reading. (वह पढ़ रही है।)
• They have finished work. (उन्होंने काम पूरा कर लिया है।)

(ii) Modal Auxiliaries

Can, Could, May, Might, Will, Would, Shall, Should, Must, Ought to

Uses: ability, permission, advice, obligation, possibility

Examples:

• You must obey the rules. (तुम्हें नियमों का पालन करना चाहिए।)
• I can swim. (मैं तैर सकता हूँ।)

3. Forms of Verb (क्रिया के रूप)

(A) Base Form (मूल रूप)

Used with present tense and infinitives.

Examples: go, eat, write

(B) Past Simple (भूतकाल)

Shows action in the past.

Examples: went, ate, wrote

(C) Past Participle (भूतकालिक कृदंत)

Used with helping verbs.

Examples: gone, eaten, written

4. Non-Finite Verbs (असमापिका क्रियाएँ)

Non-finite verbs do not change according to subject or tense.

(A) Infinitive (अनन्त क्रिया)

Form: to + base verb

Examples:

• I want to learn English. (मैं अंग्रेज़ी सीखना चाहता हूँ।)

(B) Gerund (क्रिया-संज्ञा)

Form: verb + ing (acts as noun)

Examples:

• Swimming is a good exercise. (तैरना अच्छा व्यायाम है।)

(C) Participle (क्रिया-विशेषण)

Present Participle: verb + ing

• A running boy fell down. (दौड़ता हुआ लड़का गिर पड़ा।)

Past Participle: third form of verb

• A broken chair. (टूटी हुई कुर्सी)

VERBS – 50 MCQs (Exam Oriented)

A. Definition & Identification (Q1–10)

1. Identify the verb in the sentence:
He plays cricket every day.
A. He
B. plays
C. cricket
D. day
✅ Answer: B

2. Which word shows action?
A. Boy
B. Happy
C. Run
D. Blue
✅ Answer: C

3. Which of the following is a verb?
A. Beauty
B. Honest
C. Sleep
D. Clever
✅ Answer: C

4. In the sentence “She is happy”, the verb is —
A. She
B. happy
C. is
D. very
✅ Answer: C

5. Which sentence contains a verb of state (state of being)?
A. He runs fast
B. She writes well
C. I am tired
D. They play football
✅ Answer: C

6. The word which tells something about a person or thing is called —
A. Noun
B. Verb
C. Adjective
D. Adverb
✅ Answer: B

7. Identify the verb:
The baby cries loudly.
A. baby
B. cries
C. loudly
D. the
✅ Answer: B

8. Which one is NOT a verb?
A. Eat
B. Drink
C. Chair
D. Write
✅ Answer: C

9. In “Birds fly in the sky”, the verb is —
A. birds
B. fly
C. sky
D. in
✅ Answer: B

10. Which verb expresses mental action?
A. Kick
B. Run
C. Think
D. Jump
✅ Answer: C

B. Types of Verbs – Action, Linking, Helping (Q11–25)

11. Which is an Action Verb?
A. Is
B. Are
C. Run
D. Was
✅ Answer: C

12. ‘She feels sad.’
The verb ‘feels’ is —
A. Action verb
B. Linking verb
C. Helping verb
D. Transitive verb
✅ Answer: B

13. Which sentence has a Linking Verb?
A. He writes a letter
B. The food tastes good
C. She kicked the ball
D. They played cricket
✅ Answer: B

14. ‘They are playing football.’
The helping verb is —
A. playing
B. football
C. are
D. they
✅ Answer: C

15. Which is a Helping Verb?
A. Eat
B. Sleep
C. Have
D. Jump
✅ Answer: C

16. ‘The flower smells sweet.’
The verb ‘smells’ is —
A. Action
B. Helping
C. Linking
D. Transitive
✅ Answer: C

17. Which sentence contains both helping and main verb?
A. She sings well
B. He is reading
C. They play football
D. I eat rice
✅ Answer: B

18. ‘Do you like tea?’
The verb ‘do’ is —
A. Main verb
B. Action verb
C. Helping verb
D. Linking verb
✅ Answer: C

19. Which is NOT a linking verb?
A. Become
B. Seem
C. Taste
D. Write
✅ Answer: D

20. ‘He has completed the work.’
Main verb is —
A. has
B. completed
C. work
D. he
✅ Answer: B

21. Which verb shows condition, not action?
A. Run
B. Jump
C. Be
D. Hit
✅ Answer: C

22. ‘She was tired.’
The verb ‘was’ is —
A. Action
B. Linking
C. Helping
D. Transitive
✅ Answer: B

23. ‘They have gone home.’
The verb ‘have’ is —
A. Main verb
B. Helping verb
C. Action verb
D. Linking verb
✅ Answer: B

24. Which of the following is a Modal Auxiliary?
A. Is
B. Was
C. Can
D. Have
✅ Answer: C

25. ‘You must obey the rules.’
‘Must’ expresses —
A. Ability
B. Permission
C. Obligation
D. Habit
✅ Answer: C

C. Transitive & Intransitive Verbs (Q26–35)

26. ‘She writes a letter.’
The verb is —
A. Intransitive
B. Linking
C. Transitive
D. Auxiliary
✅ Answer: C

27. Which sentence has an Intransitive Verb?
A. He broke the glass
B. She reads a book
C. The baby sleeps
D. He wrote a letter
✅ Answer: C

28. A Transitive Verb needs —
A. Subject only
B. Object only
C. Subject and object
D. Adverb
✅ Answer: C

29. ‘The sun rises in the east.’
The verb ‘rises’ is —
A. Transitive
B. Intransitive
C. Helping
D. Modal
✅ Answer: B

30. ‘He killed a snake.’
Object is —
A. He
B. killed
C. snake
D. a
✅ Answer: C

31. Which verb does NOT take an object?
A. Eat
B. Write
C. Sleep
D. Break
✅ Answer: C

32. ‘The child laughed loudly.’
The verb is —
A. Transitive
B. Intransitive
C. Auxiliary
D. Modal
✅ Answer: B

33. ‘She opened the door.’
The verb ‘opened’ is —
A. Intransitive
B. Linking
C. Transitive
D. Helping
✅ Answer: C

34. ‘He is sleeping.’
Main verb is —
A. is
B. sleeping
C. he
D. none
✅ Answer: B

35. Which sentence is incorrect?
A. He sleeps
B. She cries
C. He eats
D. He eats food rice
✅ Answer: D

D. Forms of Verb & Non-Finite Verbs (Q36–50)

36. Past tense of ‘drink’ is —
A. drank
B. drunk
C. drinked
D. drinks
✅ Answer: A

37. Past participle of ‘fight’ —
A. fought
B. fighted
C. fights
D. fighting
✅ Answer: A

38. Which is the base form of verb?
A. went
B. going
C. go
D. gone
✅ Answer: C

39. ‘Gone’ is —
A. Present tense
B. Past tense
C. Past participle
D. Base form
✅ Answer: C

40. ‘I want to learn English.’
‘To learn’ is —
A. Gerund
B. Infinitive
C. Participle
D. Finite verb
✅ Answer: B

41. ‘Swimming is a good exercise.’
‘Swimming’ is —
A. Infinitive
B. Participle
C. Gerund
D. Finite verb
✅ Answer: C

42. ‘A broken chair.’
‘Broken’ is —
A. Gerund
B. Present participle
C. Past participle
D. Infinitive
✅ Answer: C

43. ‘Running boy fell down.’
‘Running’ is —
A. Gerund
B. Past participle
C. Present participle
D. Infinitive
✅ Answer: C

44. Non-finite verb does NOT change according to —
A. Subject
B. Tense
C. Both A and B
D. Object
✅ Answer: C

45. Which is a Non-finite Verb?
A. eats
B. ate
C. eating
D. is
✅ Answer: C

46. ‘He has written a letter.’
‘Written’ is —
A. Past tense
B. Present tense
C. Past participle
D. Base form
✅ Answer: C

47. ‘They were playing cricket.’
The tense is —
A. Simple past
B. Past continuous
C. Present continuous
D. Future continuous
✅ Answer: B

48. ‘To err is human.’
‘To err’ is —
A. Gerund
B. Infinitive
C. Participle
D. Finite verb
✅ Answer: B

49. Which verb form is used with helping verbs?
A. Base form
B. Past tense
C. Past participle
D. Gerund
✅ Answer: C

50. Which of the following is a Modal Verb?
A. Have
B. Be
C. Must
D. Do
✅ Answer: C