Discover 25 Common Verbs in English and How To Use Them

Whether you’re learning English for work, school, travel, or to become a polyglot, knowing the most common verbs in English is an important step. When learning English, it’s best to start with the basics of a sentence: nouns and verbs. A noun is the person, place, or thing that performs an action, and the action is called a verb.

Empower yourself to speak English with confidence by learning how English verbs work in different sentences, including English verb conjugation, regular and irregular verb rules, and more.

What is a verb in English?

Verbs are one of the parts of speech in English. Some verbs are the most common English words. Every English sentence must include a verb and a noun.

Verbs show actions that you can see (like read or clean). They can also show actions you can’t see (like feel or understand). Verbs can even connect words in a sentence together (like is or look). It all depends on the type of verb they are.

Common English verbs list

Learning common English verbs will help you talk with colleagues or the waiter at a new restaurant you’re checking out in the US. You’ll hear these 25 verbs in many conversations at work, while traveling in English-speaking countries, and while watching shows or movies in English.

English Verbs	Pronunciation
ask	ahsk
be	bee
clean	kleen
do	doo
feel	feel
give	giv
go	goh
have	hav
help	help
know	noh
let	let
look	look
love	luhv
make	meyk
need	need
read	reed
say	sey
sit	sit
talk	tawk
try	trahy
understand	uhn-der-STAND
use	yooz
walk	wawk
want	wawnt
work	wurk

English verb conjugation

To conjugate verbs in English, you change part of the verb to show that an action is happening now (simple present tense), took place before now (simple past tense), or will happen later (simple future tense).

There are two main categories of English verbs: regular verbs and irregular verbs.

Regular verbs are conjugated the same way in all verb tenses.
Irregular verbs have their own conjugation rules in different tenses.

Conjugating regular verbs in English

Most English verbs are regular. They follow the same rules in the simple present tense, past tense, and future tense.

Those rules are:

present tense: Use the base form of the verb for the pronouns I, you, we, and they, and add “es” (if the verb ends in “ch,” “sh,” “s,” “x,” “z,” or “o”) or “s” to the end of the verb for he, she, and it.
past tense: Add “d” (if the verb ends in “e”) or “ed” to the end of the verb.
future tense: Add “will” before the verb and keep the base verb the same.

love

Subject Pronoun	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
I	love	loved	*will* love
He/She/It	loves	loved	*will* love
You/We/They	love	loved	*will* love

help

Subject Pronoun	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
I	help	helped	*will* help
He/She/It	helps	helped	*will* help
You/We/They	help	helped	*will* help

Conjugating irregular verbs in English

Irregular verbs follow a different set of rules, depending on the verb. Some irregular verbs change form in every tense. Sometimes, they change to a completely different word. The only way to know irregular verb rules in English is to memorize each one.

Here’s how the common irregular verb go is conjugated. Notice how the word changes completely in the past tense and in the present tense for the pronouns he, she, and it.

Subject Pronoun	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
I	go	*went*	will go
He/She/It	*goes*	*went*	will go
You/We/They	go	*went*	will go

Other irregular verbs (like read) don’t change spelling when conjugated, but they do change pronunciation. For example, read is pronounced “reed” in the simple present tense and “red” in the simple past tense.

How to use common verbs in English sentences

Verbs in English usually come after the subject (the noun doing the action) in a sentence. For example:

You go to school.
Jamie loves pizza.
My dad works in a factory.

I, Jamie, and my dad are performing the actions in the sentences, so they are the subjects. The verb comes after them.

English verbs change in a sentence based on if the subject is singular (one) or plural (more than one).

Sentences that use I or you as the subject use the base form of the verb.
- I bake a cake.
Sentences that use he, she, or it as the subject use singular verbs.
- She bakes a cake.
Sentences that use we or they as the subject use plural verbs, which are usually the base forms.
- They bake a cake.

Learn how the most common English verbs look with different subject pronouns in the examples below.

To be

To be is an English verb that describes a state of being. It takes a different form with different subject pronouns. You can use to be to describe many things about a noun.

Subject Pronoun	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
I	am	was	will be
He/She/It	is	was	will be
You/We/They	are	were	will be

Here are some examples of how to use to be in sentences:

He is thirteen years old.
The dog was sick.
I am a student.
We will be friends forever.

To have

To have means that you possess or own something. It can be an actual item that you own, or it can be a feeling or experience.

Subject Pronoun	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
I	have	had	will have
He/She/It	has	had	will have
You/We/They	has	had	will have

For example:

He has a brown cat.
We have a new car.
She had a cold.
I will have ten dollars.

To do

Another common English verb, to do, describes performing an action. You may also use to do in questions with other verbs.

Subject Pronoun	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
I	do	did	will do
He/She/It	does	did	will do
You/We/They	do	did	will do

Learn how to use to do in English sentences with these examples:

I do my homework.
He did the dishes.
Do you like ice cream?
Does she want to sit here?

To say

When you use the English verb to say, it means that someone is speaking or talking. You’ll use it a lot in the past tense form said, especially when you read about something a character has spoken in a story.

Subject Pronoun	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
I	say	said	will say
He/She/It	says	said	will say
You/We/They	say	said	will say

Here are some sentence examples:

He says hello.
I said goodbye to my mom.
“Let’s have lunch,” he said.
They say we should study more.

Types of verbs in English

Different verbs in English have different jobs. Some verbs show action. Others connect parts of the sentence together. Many verbs even fall into more than one category!

Find out more about the types of common English verbs and how they work.

Action verbs

Action verbs show what a noun is doing. These verbs describe physical actions that you can see or hear. Most English verbs are action verbs.

I read a book.
We talk to the teacher.
She works at a store.

Stative verbs

Stative verbs show a noun’s status. You can’t see or hear stative verbs because they describe the noun’s state of being or feelings.

You love pizza.
I don’t understand the question.
He wants to ride the train.

Linking verbs

English verbs that connect two words together are called linking verbs. They appear in different forms and come between a noun and another word (usually a describing word called an adjective).

He is a smart man.
Do you feel happy today?
They look excited to be here.

Transitive verbs

When verbs move their action from one noun to another noun, they’re called transitive verbs. They take action from the main verb (subject) to the second verb (direct object) in the sentence.

He gives her a piece of cake.
I need you to help me.
They used your shovel.

Intransitive verbs

Other verbs don’t transfer their action at all. They can come between a noun and other words, but they also make sense with just a noun.

I go to school.
We sit.
They walk.

Helping verbs

When you conjugate verbs in English, you may use helping verbs to show that an action happened in the past. You can also use helping verbs to describe actions that are happening now or in the future.

I was riding the bus yesterday.
She does like flowers.
They have been to Italy.

Modal verbs join with other verbs in a sentence to show a situation that is possible or needed, or to show an ability to do something. Modal verbs never change form, no matter if the noun is plural or singular.

He can fix the car.
You should study for the test.
We will eat dinner.

Compound verbs

When you put two words together into one action, that’s called a compound verb. Compound verbs can be just one word, or they can be separated with a hyphen (-) or a space ( ).

Did you second-guess yourself?
I work out on Fridays.
They clean up after dinner.

Put some action into your sentences with English verbs

While English has many different types of verbs and ways to use them, it doesn’t mean that learning English has to be difficult. Once you understand the rules of verbs in English and how to conjugate them, you’ll find that the rest of English grammar falls right into place. For more information about verbs and other parts of speech in English, start learning how to speak English with Rosetta Stone today!

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