47. Verbs Can Show Action or Existence

A verb is a part of speech that shows action or existence.

Action verbs show action.
Run, jump, eat, hit, wear, find, see, hold, imagine, open, make, and love are all action verbs.
Any word for something you can do is an action verb.

Here are some sentences with an action verb:
Mom teaches.
Janet runs.
The baby cries.
The dog barks.
Each of these verbs shows action.

Not all verbs show action.
Some verbs are existence verbs.
An existence verb shows a state of being. There is no action. There is only existence.

Many existence verbs are forms of the verb to be.
I am.
You are.
He is, She is.
We are. They are.
These verbs show that the subject is here,. The subject exists, but the subject is not doing any action.

Every sentence and every independent clause must have a verb.
The subject of the sentence is either doing something active, or the subject of the sentence is existing.
The verb is always in the predicate part of the sentence.

  • It’s your turn. Write a sentence using an action verb. Your subject should be doing something active. Now write a sentence using one of the verbs that show existence – am, are, is, was, were. This time your subject is just existing.