📖 Notes
LESSON 2 OF 16
Verbs — Action, State & Auxiliaries
The Words That Do the Work
Action verbs, state verbs, linking verbs, and modals each behave differently — mixing up a state verb with continuous tense is one of the most common learner mistakes.
Verb Categories
Action, State, Linking, Modal
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Action Verbs
Physical: run, write, eat, speak. Mental: think, believe, understand.
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State Verbs
Emotion (love, hate, prefer), thinking (know, believe), possession (have, own), senses (see, hear) — not usually continuous.
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Linking Verbs
be (am/is/are/was/were), become, seem, appear, feel, look, sound.
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Modal Auxiliaries
can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might, must, ought to.
Phrasal Verbs
- give up = stop
- look after = care for
- turn on = switch on
- put off = postpone
- run out of = have none left
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The state-verb trap
"I am knowing the answer" is wrong — "know" is a state verb and doesn't take continuous form. Say "I know the answer" instead. The same applies to love, want, believe, own, and other state verbs.