verb
Syllabification: (verb)
Pronunciation: /vərb/
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Definition of verb
noun
GrammarOrigin:
late Middle English: from Old French verbe or Latin verbum 'word, verb'
Grammar
In grammar this word is used in two separate but linked ways: It describes a particular word class in the same way that ‘noun,’ ‘preposition,’ and ‘adjective’ do. It describes a part of a clause in the same way that ‘subject,’ ‘object,’ and ‘complement’ do. In this sense, it is also sometimes called the verb phrase.As a word class, verbs are used for three main purposes: to express an action:She fled upstairs to the bathroom. to express a state:She slept noiselessly. to link the subject with its complement:She was alone. Verbs can be regular or irregular and have the following forms:
| stem | walk | swim | be |
| infinitive | to walk | to swim | to be |
| present tense | walk/walks | swim/swims | am/is/are |
| present participle | walking | swimming | being |
| past tense | walked | swam | was/were |
| past participle | walked | swum | been |