What are the types of verbs in English?

The useful first cut is four types plus one spelling fact. Main verbs carry the meaning (carry, know, live). Auxiliaries be, have, and do build tenses, questions, and negatives. Modals such as can, must, and will add a judgement and never change form. Linking verbs such as be, seem, and look join a subject to a description. Regular versus irregular only tells you how the past simple and the past participle look.

What is the difference between a main verb and an auxiliary?

A main verb names the action, state, or link: stacked, know, is tired. An auxiliary has little meaning of its own and stands in front to build grammar: is stacking, have packed, do you know. Be, have, and do can do both jobs. Look at what follows: a description or a noun after be is linking; an -ing form or a past participle after be is auxiliary.

Are modal verbs a kind of auxiliary?

Yes. They are a special set of auxiliaries with their own grammar: no -s, no to, no do in questions. Can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, and must are the core nine. They always need a main verb after them: You must keep the aisle clear.

How do I know if a verb is regular or irregular?

Make the past simple. If -ed works for both the past simple and the past participle (sort, sorted, sorted), the verb is regular. If either form is different (go, went, gone; take, took, taken; put, put, put), it is irregular. About two hundred irregular verbs are in everyday use, including the most common verbs in English, so they have to be learned as sets of three.

Why does English need so many helping verbs?

Because tense, aspect, voice, and the speaker's attitude are not all marked on the main verb. Be builds continuous and passive forms, have builds perfect forms, do builds present-simple and past-simple questions and negatives, and modals add meanings such as ability and obligation. The main verb stays in a simple shape (base, -ing, or participle) while the helpers do the grammar.

English grammar · Beginner

Verbs in English: Main, Auxiliary, Modal, and Linking

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

A verb is the word that says what happens or what is. English verbs fall into a few types that behave differently: main verbs carry the meaning, auxiliaries (be, have, do) help build tenses and questions, modals (can, must, will) add a judgement, and linking verbs (be, seem, become) join a subject to a description. Verbs are also regular or irregular in the past, which is a separate fact from their type.

She is writing a letter, and she must post it before five.

is is an auxiliary, writing is a main verb, must is a modal

What it is

Every clause in English needs a verb. The verb can name an action (carry, post, break), a state (know, own, live), or a link between the subject and a description (is tired, became a curator). Around that core, English uses a small set of helping verbs to build tense, aspect, voice, questions, and negatives. Sorting a verb by type tells you what can follow it and how it makes a question. Sorting it as regular or irregular tells you only how its past forms look.

The curator has been sorting the scores. (has and been are auxiliaries; sorting is the main verb) The scores seem complete. (seem is a linking verb)

How to spot it

Find the word that would change if you moved the sentence into the past, or that moves in a question. That is a verb. If another verb sits in front of it (is writing, must post, has sorted), the front one is a helper and the last one is the main verb.

They carried the cello up the stairs. (carried is a main verb, past simple)
Do you know the gate number? (do is an auxiliary; know is the main verb)
You should keep the receipt. (should is a modal; keep is the main verb)
The glaze looks dry. (looks is a linking verb, followed by an adjective)

Be, have, and do can be main verbs or auxiliaries: She is a curator (main, linking) versus She is writing (auxiliary). The word after them tells you which job they are doing.

Verbs in English Quick Reference

Verb types at a glance

Type	What it does	Examples
Main verb	carries the meaning of the clause	carry, sort, know, break, live
Auxiliary	builds tense, aspect, questions, negatives	be, have, do
Modal	adds ability, possibility, obligation, will	can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would
Linking	joins the subject to a noun or adjective	be, seem, become, look, feel, remain
Regular	past simple and participle add -ed	sort, sorted, sorted; look, looked, looked
Irregular	past forms must be learned as a set	go, went, gone; be, was/were, been
Infinitive	the base form, often with to	to post, to be, post after a modal

Common Verbs in English Examples in English

Four groups that cover the types you meet first. Regular versus irregular is shown inside the main-verb group:

Main Verbs

The porter stacked the crates by the lift.: regular main verb in the past simple
She took the scores back to the loft.: irregular main verb: take, took, taken
I know the short way to the quay.: a state verb, still a main verb
They live above the bakery.: another state: live is regular (lived)

Main verbs can be actions or states. State verbs (know, own, seem, want) rarely take a continuous form; that is a later lesson, not a different type.

Auxiliary Verbs

She is tuning the cello.: be as auxiliary for the continuous
They have packed the crates already.: have as auxiliary for the perfect
Do you keep a spare fuse?: do as auxiliary in a present-simple question
The hatch was closed from the inside.: be as auxiliary for the passive

Auxiliaries are a closed set: be, have, do. They invert with the subject to make questions and take not to make negatives.

Modal Verbs

She can sight-read in any key.: can: present ability
You must keep the aisle clear.: must: obligation
The crossing might be cancelled.: might: possibility
Would you hold this lamp?: would: a polite request

Modals have one form, take no to, and never use do. The meaning map belongs on the modal-verbs page; this page only places them on the map.

Linking Verbs

The curator is tired.: be plus an adjective complement
The glaze looks uneven in this light.: a sense verb used as a link, so an adjective follows
She became the chair of the committee.: become plus a noun complement
The glaze remained tacky overnight.: remain plus an adjective

After a linking verb you describe the subject, so you use an adjective (tired, silent), not an adverb (tiredly). Action verbs take adverbs: She stacked the crates carefully.

How English Verbs Are Organised

Type decides what follows the verb. Regular versus irregular decides only the past forms.

The Last Verb Carries the Meaning

In a chain, every verb except the last is a helper. Is writing: is helps, writing means. Has been sorted: has and been help, sorted means. Must post: must helps, post means. To find the type of the clause, look at the last lexical verb; to find the tense, look at the first auxiliary.

The scores have been sorted already.

have and been are auxiliaries; sorted is the main verb

Helpers in front; meaning at the end.

Be, Have, and Do Wear Two Hats

Each of the three primary auxiliaries is also a main verb. Be as a main verb links: She is a curator. Have as a main verb means possess or experience: They have a spare key. Do as a main verb means perform: Do the washing-up. As auxiliaries they have no meaning of their own and only build the grammar.

She is a curator, and she is filing the letters.

first is is linking; second is is an auxiliary

Look at what follows be, have, and do.

Modals Never Change Form

Can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, and must have no -s, no -ed, and no -ing. They are followed by a bare infinitive and they invert on their own: Must we wait? They cannot be main verbs; something always follows them, even if that something is a substitute such as do so.

She must be at the quay by four. Must she be there that early?

same form in the statement and the question

One form, bare verb, no do.

Regular and Irregular Is About the Past Only

A regular verb adds -ed for both the past simple and the past participle: sort, sorted, sorted. An irregular verb has at least one unpredictable past form: go, went, gone; take, took, taken; put, put, put. The -s form, the -ing form, and the infinitive are regular for both groups. Irregularity is not a type like modal or linking; it is a spelling fact about two forms.

She sorted the letters. She took the letters.

sorted is regular; took is irregular

Regular = -ed. Irregular = learn the set.

Common Mistakes with Verbs in English

Incorrect: She cans play the cello.

Correct: She can play the cello.

Modals never take -s. Can, must, will, and the rest have a single form for every subject.

Incorrect: Do she is a curator?

Correct: Is she a curator?

Be makes its own questions by swapping with the subject. Do is only added when the statement has no auxiliary and the main verb is not be.

Incorrect: The glaze looks dryly.

Correct: The glaze looks dry.

Looks here is a linking verb, so it takes an adjective that describes the glaze, not an adverb of manner. Dryly would only fit if looking were an action she performed.

Incorrect: She has took the scores back.

Correct: She has taken the scores back.

Took is the past simple. After the auxiliary have you need the past participle, which for take is taken. Regular verbs hide this trap because both forms end in -ed.

Where to Go Next From This Map

Each type has a full page. Use this list as a route, not as a second lesson.

Forms and helpers

Start with be if you are a beginner, then the infinitive, then irregular verbs once you need past forms.

I am, she is, they are: the present of be, the first verb to master
to post, to be, to have: infinitives after want, need, and many adjectives
go went gone, see saw seen: irregular sets of three

The verb-to-be page stays in the present simple on purpose. The full set of be forms (was, were, been, being) lives on the be-verbs page.

Meaning types

Modals add a speaker's judgement; linking verbs describe rather than act.

You should keep the aisle clear.: a modal of advice
The glaze feels dry.: a linking sense verb plus an adjective
The hatch was closed from the inside.: be as an auxiliary in the passive, not a linking complement

If an adjective follows, you are probably looking at a linking verb. If a past participle follows be, you are looking at a passive.

Quick Check: Verbs in English

Name the type of the underlined idea, or correct the form.

1. They ___ (must / packing) the crates before noon.

Answer: must pack

modal plus a bare infinitive

2. The hall ___ (remain) silent after the last note. (linking verb, past simple)

Answer: remained

regular linking verb plus an adjective

3. ___ you keep a spare fuse? (present simple question)

Answer: Do

do as auxiliary; keep is the main verb

4. She has ___ (take) the scores back to the loft.

Answer: taken

past participle after have, irregular

5. Is writing in She is writing a letter a main verb or an auxiliary?

Answer: is is an auxiliary; writing is the main verb

the last lexical verb carries the meaning

Verbs in English FAQs

What are the types of verbs in English?: The useful first cut is four types plus one spelling fact. Main verbs carry the meaning (carry, know, live). Auxiliaries be, have, and do build tenses, questions, and negatives. Modals such as can, must, and will add a judgement and never change form. Linking verbs such as be, seem, and look join a subject to a description. Regular versus irregular only tells you how the past simple and the past participle look.
What is the difference between a main verb and an auxiliary?: A main verb names the action, state, or link: stacked, know, is tired. An auxiliary has little meaning of its own and stands in front to build grammar: is stacking, have packed, do you know. Be, have, and do can do both jobs. Look at what follows: a description or a noun after be is linking; an -ing form or a past participle after be is auxiliary.
Are modal verbs a kind of auxiliary?: Yes. They are a special set of auxiliaries with their own grammar: no -s, no to, no do in questions. Can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, and must are the core nine. They always need a main verb after them: You must keep the aisle clear.
How do I know if a verb is regular or irregular?: Make the past simple. If -ed works for both the past simple and the past participle (sort, sorted, sorted), the verb is regular. If either form is different (go, went, gone; take, took, taken; put, put, put), it is irregular. About two hundred irregular verbs are in everyday use, including the most common verbs in English, so they have to be learned as sets of three.
Why does English need so many helping verbs?: Because tense, aspect, voice, and the speaker's attitude are not all marked on the main verb. Be builds continuous and passive forms, have builds perfect forms, do builds present-simple and past-simple questions and negatives, and modals add meanings such as ability and obligation. The main verb stays in a simple shape (base, -ing, or participle) while the helpers do the grammar.