Demo 11

Verb (Basic)

English – From Plinth to Paramount

Verb

A verb is called a ‘doing word’.

Types of Verbs

• Helping Verb
• Main Verb
• Modals

Main Verbs are those which come in place of the main action in the sentence. (Be, Do, Have). Modals like Can, Could, May, etc. cannot act as main verbs, but can act as helping verbs. For example: Used, Need, Dare to (Marginal Auxiliary Verbs) can work both as modal and main verbs.

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs.

1. Modal Auxiliary Verbs:

Can, Could, May, Might, Shall, Will, Would, Should, Must, Ought to

• (a) She can run fast.
• (b) You should study English.

2. Marginal Auxiliary Verbs:

Used to, Need, Dare

These can function both as modal and main verbs.

Example Table

Verb Type	Examples
Primary Auxiliaries	Be, Do, Have
Modal Auxiliaries	Can, Could, May, Might, Shall, Will, Would, Should, Must, Ought to
Marginal Auxiliaries	Used to, Need, Dare

Source: sscstudy.com