Types of verbs with examples

Jumping, eating, sneezing, and sleeping are all verbs you likely perform in a single day, though hopefully not at the same time (that could get messy). While most verbs show the action in a sentence, some verbs are a little harder to spot.

However, every sentence needs one — or it’s not a sentence at all.

Verbs are words that show action in a sentence. Just like nouns and adjectives, they’re one of the eight parts of speech.

Verbs also show:

A printable chart of the nine types of verbs can help you keep them and their functions straight.

20 examples of verb in a sentence

Verbs are the first part of a sentence predicate, and often the first word after a noun or pronoun. For example:

• Bob walked down the street.
• I love that movie.
• We sang all night.
• The family drove to the mountains.

With all the jobs verbs have, it’s not surprising that there is more than one type.

In fact, there are nine types of verbs — and understanding them can help you make your writing more interesting.

Action verbs