What you’ll learn to do: analyze the use of verbs

Verbs are crucial to the functioning of language. Without verbs, language can’t really do anything; after all, verbs are action words: run, jump, work, dance. Verbs can also connect two ideas together (the dog is beautiful) or help other verbs (you can stay).

In this section, we’ll discuss these three main types of verbs: active verbs (action words), linking verbs (connecting two ideas), and helping verbs. We’ll also learn how verbs change form to express action in the far past, the near past, the present, and the future.