English-Grammar - Verbs (List)

English-Grammar

Verbs (List) 

A verb is a word that shows action, occurrence, or a state of being. When written with the particle ‘to’, the verb is in its infinitive form:

To bake

To clean

To cook

To sing

The above list shows you what a verb looks like in its infinitive form. A verb should show that something is happening, because an action is taking place in some way or another. Verbs are ‘doing words’, because they always show that something has been done, is being done, or will be done in the future.

Examples of the verbs in sentences:

I bake every day.

I baked every day.

I will bake every day.

I was cleaning when you arrived.

I am cleaning right now.

I will be cleaning when you get here.

I had cooked everything when you arrived.

I have cooked everything.

I will have cooked everything when you arrive.

I had been singing for an hour when you arrived.

I have been singing for an hour.

I will have been singing for an hour when you arrive.

List of Verbs

Here is a list of verbs to enrich your vocabulary a little bit.

Accept: I accept your apology.

Accuse: Tom accused me of lying.

Achieve: She achieved remarkable results.

Acknowledge: She acknowledged receiving assistance.

Acquire: Meg acquired many new friends.

Adapt: He adapted himself to his new life.

Add: I added a room to my house.

Adjust: You will soon adjust to living in a dormitory.

Admire: I admire your confidence.

Admit: He was embarrassed to admit making a mistake.

Adopt: I liked your idea and adopted it.

Adore: He adores his grandfather.

Advise: He advised applying at once.

Afford: I can’t afford to spend any more money this week.

Agree: Why did you agree to meet her in the first place?

Aim: We aim to increase the speed of delivery.

Allow: Swimming isn’t allowed here.

Announce: She announced her intention to retire.

Anticipate: I didn’t anticipate having to do the cooking myself!

Apologize: You don’t have to apologize.

Appear: Jack appears to be tired today.

Apply: Tom applied for a leave of absence.

Appreciate: I appreciate having a trouble with his supervisor.

Approach: She approached him with a smile on her face.

Approve: I don’t think Tom would approve.

Argue: I don’t want to argue with you.

Arise: The problem has arisen simply because you didn’t follow my instructions.

Arrange: Have you arranged to meet Mark this weekend?

Arrive: We arrived home late.

Ask: Historians frequently ask to consult the collection.

Assume: I assume Tom didn’t show up.

Assure: I assure you Tom will be perfectly safe.

Astonish: I was astonished by his ignorance.

Attach: You need to attach your photo to the application form.

Attempt: Are you going to attempt to pass the exam?

Attend: She attends school at night.

Attract: Tom certainly attracted a lot of attention.

Avoid: She decided to be a nun in order to avoid meeting him.

Awake: Tom awoke at daybreak.

 

Bake: Tom baked some muffins.

Bathe: I bathe every day.

Be: He is immature.

Bear: I wish she wouldn’t eat so fast. I can’t bear watching her.

Beat: You can’t beat me.

Become: John became very sick.

Beg: I beg to differ with you.

Begin: The leaves begin to fall when autumn comes.

Behave: Tom always behaves himself well. However, Mary does not.

Believe: I believe you’re right.

Belong: This bicycle belongs to me.

Bend:  Lie flat and let your knees bend.

Bet: I bet you know French.

Bind: Do you bind books?

Bite: I got bitten by mosquitoes.

Blow: Tom blew himself up accidentally.

Boil: Please boil an egg for me.

Borrow: I need to borrow your car.

Bounce:  Bounce the ball and try and hit it over the net.

Bow: Every child bowed to the teacher.

Break: We broke up.

Breed: Rabbits breed quickly.

Bring: I brought some dessert.

Broadcast: We broadcast news on the hour.

Build: We need to build a fire.

Burn: The spy burned the papers.

Burst: John burst into the room.

Buy: I’ll buy a lot of candies for you.

 

Calculate: A computer can calculate very rapidly.

Can/Could: Can you give me a ring at about 10?

Care: Would you care to join us for dinner?

Carry: I don’t carry cash anymore.

Catch: Let’s catch a bite.

Celebrate: We’re celebrating Tom’s birthday.

Change: I changed my mind.

Choose: Every day is beautiful if you choose to see it.

Chop: Tom chopped down the tree that was in our front yard.

Claim: This diet claims to eliminate toxins from the body.

Climb: Carlos climbed the mountain.

Cling: The mud clung to his shoes.

Come: I’m coming today.

Commit: David didn’t commit those crimes.

Communicate: I can’t communicate with Anna like I used to.

Compare: They compared the new car with the old one.

Compete: I competed with him for the first prize.

Complain: John complained about the weather.

Complete: He completed drawing his pictures.

Concern: I’m concerned for Anna’s safety.

Confirm: The report has yet to be confirmed.

Consent: We hope you will consent to act in his stead.

Consider: Investors should consider putting some money into an annuity.

Consist: A soccer team consists of eleven players.

Consult: You’d better consult your doctor.

Contain: This box contains five apples.

Continue: The finance minister will continue to mastermind Poland’s economic reform.

Convince: I’m not totally convinced of that.

Cook:  The pizza will then take about twenty minutes to cook.

Cost: It’ll cost about 10,000 yen.

Count: We’re counting on you.

Crawl: Tom crawled into bed just before midnight.

Create: I have to create a new website.

Creep: We crept toward the enemy.

Criticize: Tom criticized Mary for not doing the job correctly.

Cry: The baby is crying.

Cut: John cut his finger.

 

Dance: I want to dance.

Dare: He didn’t dare to speak to her.

Deal: I have to dealt with it.

Decide: He has decided to live in France.

Defer: She deferred writing my thesis.

Delay: Big companies often delay paying their bills.

Deliver: Letters are delivered every day.

Demand: I demand to know what’s going on.

Deny: She denied taking the money.

Depend: I can’t depend on you anymore.

Describe: John can’t describe how painful it was.

Deserve: They didn’t deserve to win.

Desire: We all desire success.

Destroy: John’s house was destroyed by a hurricane.

Determine: I am determined to carry out this plan.

Develop: Swimming develops our muscles.

Differ: My opinion differs from yours.

Disagree: It pains me to disagree with your opinion.

Discover: The miner discovered a valuable pocket of gold.

Discuss: We briefly discussed buying a second car.

Dislike: I dislike being the centre of attention.

Distribute: The teacher distributed the leaflets.

Dive: John learned to dive when he was five.

Do: I don’t know.

Doubt: I doubt if it’ll snow.

Drag: I had to drag him out of bed.

Dream: I dreamt about you.

Drill: They intended to drill for oil.

Drink:  Can I have something to drink?

Drive: He drives a truck.

Drop: I dropped my sandwich.

Dry: Raisins are dried grapes.

 

Earn: He earns three times more than me.

Eat:  You can’t eat your cake and have it.

Emphasize: I want to emphasize this point in particular.

Enable: His wealth enables him to do anything.

Encourage: John encouraged Mary to learn how to speak French.

Engage: We used to be engaged.

Enhance: Can we enhance the image?

Enjoy: I really enjoy talking to you.

Ensure: This medicine will ensure you a good night’s sleep.

Entail: This review procedure entails repeating the test.

Enter: He entered the room.

Establish: The school was established in 1650.

Examine: The doctor examined the patients.

Exist: I don’t believe such things to exist.

Expand: The workers are expanding the road.

Expect: What time do you expect to arrive home?

Experiment: They’re experimenting with a new car.

Explain: I can explain everything.

Explore: He explored the Amazon jungle.

Extend: We extended a hearty welcome to them.

 

Fail: I fail to comprehend their attitude.

Fall: I fell in the pool.

Feed: We just fed the baby.

Feel: I feel that Mr. Peter is a good teacher.

Fight: Don’t fight with me.

Find: I can find them.

Finish: He finished cleaning the kitchen.

Fit: This coat doesn’t fit me.

Fly: Tom wishes he could fly.

Fold: Tom and Mary folded up the flag.

Follow: We must follow the rules of the game.

Forbid: I forbid you to smoke.

Forget: I’ll never forget visiting them.

Forgive: We have already forgiven you.

Freeze: It’s freezing cold in this country.

Fry: She fried fish in salad oil.

 

Generate: This machine generates electricity.

Get: We’ve got to get the economy under control or it will literally eat us up.

Give:  The waiter gives me the menu.

Go: Let’s go eat.

Grind: We grind our coffee by hand.

Grow: Apples grow on trees.

 

Hang: Don’t you hang up on me.

Happen: You made it happen.

Hate: I hate getting to the theatre late.

Have: I have a car.

Hear: I will hear me.

Hesitate: I hesitate to spend so much money on clothes.

Hide: I’m hiding from Tim.

Hit: I hit the jackpot.

Hold:  Hold the knife at an angle.

Hop:  I tried to hop on my good foot while holding onto Jim…

Hope: I hope to see you again soon.

Hug: I really need a hug.

Hurry: It had to hurry to find a home because I was already on to something else.

Hurt: I hurt my elbow.

 

Identify: She identified him as the murderer.

Ignore: He ignored her advice.

Illustrate: The teacher will illustrate how to do it.

Imagine: I can imagine how you felt.

Imply: Silence implies consent.

Impress: We’re not impressed.

Improve: I need to improve my French.

Include: Tom’s lunch includes a sandwich and an apple.

Incorporate: Her business was incorporated.

Indicate: The arrow indicates the way to go.

Inform: I’ll inform John about our decision.

Insist: She insisted on going there.

Install: The man tried to install his own antenna.

Intend: I heard they intend to marry.

Introduce: I’ll introduce you to Tom.

Invest: He invested his money in stocks.

Investigate: I came here to investigate Tom’s death.

Involve: This procedure involves testing each sample twice.

Iron: I iron my clothes almost every day.

 

Jog: I make it a rule to jog every morning.

Jump:  Can you jump over the river?

Justify: My results justify taking drastic action.

 

Keep: I keep thinking about Joe, all alone in that place.

Kick:  The kids love to kick a ball against my wall.

Kiss: Did you kiss anybody?

Kneel:  Do not run, stand, kneel or spin in the slide.

Knit: She knit him a sweater for his birthday.

Know: We know him.

 

Lack: Tom seems to lack energy.

Laugh: Tom is laughing.

Lay: He laid on his back.

Lead: Tom leads a quiet life.

Lean: He leaned on his elbows.

Leap: Ken leapt over the wall.

Learn: Children learn to creep ere they can go.

Leave: Leave me alone!

Lend: Tom lent Mary his camera.

Lie (in bed): Lie back down.

Lift:  He couldn’t lift the table and no more could I.

Light:  Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.

Lie (not to tell the truth): He hated lying.

Like: She likes playing tennis.

Listen: Why won’t you listen?

Look: It looks cold outside.

Lose: She lost a book.

Love: I love going out to restaurants.

 

Maintain: Tom maintained eye contact with Mary.

Make: I’m making tea.

Manage: Did you manage to catch the post?

Matter: It doesn’t matter, Tom.

May: Each nurse may be responsible for up to twenty patients.

Mean: I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.

Measure: The surfboard measures 2 meters by 55 centimeters.

Meet: We’ve never met.

Melt: The snow is melted.

Mention: He mentioned going to that college.

Might: Donna might be able to come tomorrow, but it’s very unlikely.

Mind: Would you mind repeating what you just said?

Miss: He had missed being elected by a single vote.

Mix: If you mix blue and red, you get violet.

Mow: I mowed Tom’s lawn.

Must: I really must get some exercise.

 

Need: You need to change your eating habits.

Neglect: Don’t neglect to lock the door when you leave.

Negotiate: The two countries negotiated a treaty.

 

Observe: You must observe those rules.

Obtain: I obtained the painting at an auction.

Occur: The accident occurred yesterday morning

Offer: She offered to help me move my things to my new house.

Open: Open the windows.

Operate: I can’t figure out how to operate this machine.

Order:  What do you suggest I order?

Organize: They want me to organize the party.

Ought to: You ought to get your watch repaired.

Overcome: We have to overcome many difficulties.

Overtake: Their car overtook ours.

Owe: Tom owes me money.

Own: I own a German car.

 

Paint: She painted the wall pink.

Participate: He participated in the debate.

Pay: Can I pay by installment payment?

Peel: Anna peeled the apple.

Perform: Tom performs in a jazz club three nights a week.

Persuade: I persuaded Tom to help me.

Pinch: He pinched and scraped for many years to save money.

Plan: Next year I plan to travel around the world.

Play: I can play tennis.

Point: Tom pointed to the sky.

Possess: The old man possesses great wealth.

Postpone: He postponed returning to Paris.

Pour: She poured tea for me.

Practice: Today we’re going to practice parking.

Prefer: Chantal prefers travelling by train.

Prepare: The doctor prepared to prescribe a receipt.

Pretend: She was pretending to cry. I knew she was lying.

Prevent: The rain prevented me from coming.

Proceed: They will proceed to build another laboratory building.

Promise: He promised to collect her from the airport.

Propose: We propose to deal with this subject in the following chapter.

Protect: We’re supposed to be protecting John.

Prove: I’ll prove it to you.

Pull: John pulled out a pen.

Punch: You punch like a girl.

Pursue: The police pursued the murderer.

Push: We had to push our way through the crowd.

Put: I put on my shoes.

 

Qualify: He is qualified as an English teacher.

Quit: She quits worrying about the problem.

 

React: Tom reacted appropriately.

Read: I read the book.

Realize: I didn’t realise we were late.

Recall: I don’t recall seeing any cars parked outside.

Receive: We received a warm welcome.

Recollect: I recollect seeing Ryder some years ago in Bonn.

Recommend: I would never recommend using a sunbed on a regular basis.

Reduce: I think we should reduce the price.

Refer: I often refer to the dictionary.

Reflect: She reflected on what she had done.

Refuse: She refused to answer questions about her personal finances.

Regret: I regret leaving school so young.

Relate: She is related to him by marriage.

Relax: We’re supposed to relax.

Relieve: I was relieved to hear that he was alive.

Rely: You can certainly rely on him.

Remain: He remained poor all his life.

Remember: He had remembered to bring a pair of gloves, unlike me.

Remind: It reminds me of the good old days.

Repair: He repaired his watch by himself.

Replace: The car replaced the bicycle.

Represent: He represented the labor union on the committee.

Require: This task requires dexterity.

Resent: Many conscripts resent having to do their military service.

Resist: She can never resist buying new shoes.

Retain: We had to retain a lawyer.

Retire: I have decided to retire.

Rid: You’ve got to get rid of it

Ride:  Life is a horse, and either you ride it or it rides you.

Ring: The phone is ringing.

Rise: The sun is about to rise.

Risk: He risked being caught.

Roast: He is roasting coffee beans.

Run:  Do not run too fast after gain.

 

Sanction: They will not sanction copying without permission.

Satisfy: He satisfied his thirst with a large glass of beer.

Say: No one says that.

Scrub: Tom asked Mary to scrub the toilet.

See: Do you see that bird?

Seem: I always seem to be unlucky at cards.

Sell: I can’t sell you that.

Send: They’re sending help.

Serve: They serve good nosh in the cafeteria.

Set: I’m going to set the table.

Settle: The problem is not settled yet.

Sew: Mary is sewing baby clothes.

Shake: They shook hands when they met at the airport.

Shall: Shall I add your name to the list?

Shed: She tried not to shed a tear.

Shine: Susan shined your father’s shoes.

Shoot: I’ll shoot both of you.

Should: The university should provide more sports facilities.

Show: I’ll show you later.

Shrink: My jeans shrank after I washed them.

Shut: I shut my eyes again.

Sing: Tom loves to sing.

Sink: A ship sank near here yesterday.

Sit:  Sit on the floor, stretching your legs out in front of you.

Ski: I like skiing very much.

Sleep: I slept too much.

Slice:  It’s best to slice into a rich cake from the middle.

Slide: He slid the money into my pocket.

Slip: She slipped into her clothes.

Smell: Something smells bad. What is this?

Snore: Tom snored loudly with his mouth open.

Solve: He solved the difficult problem.

Sow: Farmers sow seeds in the spring.

Speak: He speaks English.

Specify: Tom didn’t specify how many pencils to buy.

Spell: I don’t know how to spell the word.

Spend: I spent some time in Boston.

Spill: I’m afraid I spilled coffee on the tablecloth.

Spit: I can’t put up with the way he spits.

Spread:  He spread some strawberry jam on his toast.

Squat: Tom squatted down next to his dog.

Stack:  They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.

Stand: Can you stand up?

Start: He started tipping the pea pods into a pan.

Steal: My watch was stolen.

Stick: He stuck to his job.

Sting: I was stung by a bee.

Stink: It stinks in here.

Stir: She stirred the soup with a spoon.

Stop: I hoped he would stop asking awkward questions.

Stretch:  Breathe in through your nose as you stretch up.

Strike: Tom struck the wall with his fist.

Struggle: He struggled to keep his footing on the slippery floor.

Study: She studies hard.

Submit: I submitted the application myself.

Succeed: He’ll succeed for sure.

Suffer: We suffered a pretty big loss.

Suggest: Tracey suggested meeting for a drink after work.

Supply: I supplied Tom with everything he needed.

Suppose: I suppose you’re hungry.

Surprise: She surprised him when she arrived early.

Survive: He survived the plane crash.

Swear: Do you swear to tell the whole truth?

Sweep: I will sweep out my room.

Swell: The river swelled rapidly because of the heavy rain.

Swim: She swims well.

Swing: The lamp was swinging back and forth.

 

Take: I took a walk.

Talk: Tom talked a lot.

Taste: The soup tastes salty.

Teach: I’ll teach you how to swim.

Tear: I tore the picture out of the album.

Tell: I told him to come.

Tend: She tends to be late for school.

Think: I think that Mr. Peter is a good teacher.

Threaten: They threatened to ban the book.

Throw: I threw away my shoes.

Tiptoe: Tom quietly tiptoed out of the room.

Tolerate: We don’t tolerate smoking in the library.

Translate: He translated the verse into English.

Try: We tried to confuse the enemy.

 

Understand: I knew you’d understand.

Vacuum: Tom vacuumed his bedroom.

Value: We value our customers.

Vary: The boxes vary in size from small to large.

Volunteer: They volunteer to teach introductory courses.

 

Wait: I can’t wait to see you.

Wake: I have to wake Tom up.

Walk:  Don’t try to walk before you can crawl.

Want: I want to watch TV.

Warn: We’ve got to warn Tom.

Wash: Tom washed his hands.

Watch: We watched a movie.

Wave: She waved her hand to me.

Wear: Tom wore black pants.

Weep: She wept over her child’s death.

Weigh: The suitcase weighs 20 pounds.

Whip: She whipped out her pistol.

Will: I don’t think Emma will get the job.

Win: I can win this time.

Wish: I wish to insert an advertisement in your newspaper.

Would: If I lived on an island, I would know how to swim.

Write:  Write it down on a piece of paper.