There are three basic types of verbs in the English language, namely the action verb, the linking verb, and the auxiliary verb. In this article, the most common type will be discussed—the action verb.
Definition of Action Verbs
Action verbs can be simply defined as the type of verbs used to express actions instead of states of being. Unlike verbs which describe a particular state, action verbs can be expressed in the progressive tense.
*Note: Progressive tenses of verbs are used to show that an action is in progress. (e.g., playing; writing; dancing; pointing; fighting)
Explanation of Action Verbs
As stated in the definition above, action verbs are used to describe an action or a behavior. They do not only describe physical actions (e.g., walk; punch; run) which can be done by a person, an animal, or a thing, but also those which are classified as mental actions such as: think, ponder, imagine, and wonder.
Another thing that you should know about action verbs is that they can be expressed in different tenses such as the past tense, present tense, progressive tense, and future tense, to show the time when an action occurred or when it was done.
Examples of Action Verbs
Kick
Fly
Shout
The underlined words in the following sentences are some examples of action verbs:
Examples of Action Verbs in Literature
All of the underlined words below are some examples of action verbs from famous literary pieces.
Function of Action Verbs
Basically, the major function of this type of verb is to convey an action (physical or mental) or a specific behavior. If you find it hard to spot the action verb in a sentence, you can just look at each word in the text and ask yourself: “Can a person, animal, or thing do/perform this?”
Sample Sentence:
Pauline marched across the empty hall.
Can you Pauline? No. Can you march? Can you across? No. Can you the? No. Can you empty? No. Can you hall? No.
Therefore, it can be said that there is only one action verb in the sample sentence above: marched.
Always remember that action verbs are not only limited to actions that people do, but also to those things which an animal, a thing, or a force of nature can do.
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