Discover the words that bring sentences to life! Learn about action verbs, helping verbs, linking verbs, and verb tenses — then practice finding them yourself.
A verb is a word that shows action or a state of being. Every complete sentence needs at least one verb — it's the engine that makes a sentence go!
Not sure if a word is a verb? Try putting "I", "you", or "they" in front of it. If it sounds like something you can do or be — like "I run" or "they are" — it's probably a verb!
Verbs come in a few different flavors. Here are the three main types:
Show something happening: run, write, think, eat, build, imagine
Connect the subject to a description: is, am, are, was, were, seem, become
Team up with a main verb: has, have, had, will, would, can, could, should
A linking verb doesn't show action — it connects. Compare: "She looked at the map" (action) vs. "She looked tired" (linking — it describes her). The same word can play different roles!
A helping verb works alongside a main verb to form a verb phrase. Together, they show things like time, possibility, or emphasis.
"She is running in the race." The helping verb "is" + main verb "running" = happening right now.
"We might visit the zoo tomorrow." The helping verb "might" shows it could happen.
"Did you finish your homework?" Helping verbs often start questions.
A verb phrase is the full set of verbs working together: "She has been studying all day." That's three verbs — "has" and "been" are helpers, and "studying" is the main verb. They all count!
Verbs change form to show when something happens. The three basic tenses are past, present, and future.
| Tense | Example | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Past | She walked to school. | Already happened |
| Present | She walks to school. | Happening now / regularly |
| Future | She will walk to school. | Hasn't happened yet |
| Present | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| go | went | gone |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| write | wrote | written |
| run | ran | run |
| see | saw | seen |
| take | took | taken |
Regular verbs add -ed for the past tense: walk → walked, play → played. Irregular verbs change in unpredictable ways: go → went, eat → ate. The only way to learn them is practice!
Click or tap every verb in each sentence — including helping verbs! When you've found them all, check your answer.