Verbs

Verbs are words that indicate an action, occurrence, or state of being. This lesson includes some common verbs and discusses how to talk about actions and emotional states that are currently happening.

English Vocabulary

to believe
to close
to come
to do
to find
to give
to go
to help
to lose
to open
to read
to see
to talk
to think
to want

Present Tense

A verb is a word that expresses an action, a condition or a state of being. Verbs have different forms to indicate if the action happened in the past, is currently happening, or will happen in the future. The present tense of a verb is used to indicate that an action, condition or state is:

currently happening
a general fact or truth
habitual, everyday, or expected to continue for an unknown amount of time into the future.

The following table shows the present tense for the regular verb walk. Most verbs follow this pattern.

To Walk

I	walk
you	walk
he	walks
she	walks
it	walks
we	walk
they	walk

Verbs - Present Progressive Tense

In English there is also the present progressive tense, also called the present continuous, to indicate that an action is happening in the present. This is is used to emphasize that an action is happening right at this moment, or is happening now but only for a short amount of time.

The present progressive tense is formed using to be with the verb, and adding ing to the end of the verb. For example I am walking. Contractions are often used in this case. For example I'm walking.

I	am walking
you	are walking
he	is walking
she	is walking
it	is walking
we	are walking
they	are walking

Examples

I see the cup.
She reads the book.
The boy closes the window.
We believe you.
The girl goes to the store.
I'm walking to the store.
He's opening the door.
It's raining.
We're waiting for you.

Continue