Classification of English verbs / 英语动词分类
English verbs can be classified in a variety of ways. A verbs can be in multiple classifications depending on how it is used. Verb classification include:
Regular or irregular verbs
Weak or strong verbs
Regular or irregular verbs
Regular verbs e.g. to play, to walk, follow a set of standard conjugation rules. Irregular verbs e.g. to eat, to go, to sleep do not follow the standard conjugation rules when verb action occurs in the past.
Weak or strong verbs
Weak verbs are those verbs which end in 'd' or 't' in the past tense e.g. spent, walked, learnt.. Weak verbs are often regular verbs but not all weak verbs are regular verbs. Strong verbs are those in which the vowels in the verb stem change from 'i' to 'a' or 'u' in the past tense.
Transative or intransative verbs
A transitive verb needs a direct object after the verb e.g. 'She enjoys reading'. An intransative verb does not need a direct object after the verb e.g. 'He arrived late'. Note that some verbs can be either transative or intransative depending on their uses e.g. 'She eats an apple' / 'She is eating now'.
Finite or Non-finite.
Finite verbs specify the action the subject performs or that refers to the subject. Finote verbs indicate a specific tense and the verb changes form on who does the action. e.g.
'She walks in the park every day'
'They walk in the park every day'
'He walked in the park'
Non-finite verbs (aka verbals) are not actual verbs but work as verbs. They act as nouns , adjectives, adverbs, etc in sentences. Non-finite verbs do not have direct relation to the subject. sometimes these verbals are the subject. Infinitives, gerund and participles are types of non-finite verbs e.g.
He went outside to play (Infititive)
Playing tennis is his only pleasure (Present participle)
I have a broken leg (Past participle)
Walking is good for your health (Gerund)
Stative or Dynamic Verbs
A stative verb describes a state of being that is general or unchanging e.g. 'to seem', 'to belong'. Stative verbs can also be used to describe mental, emotional or physical states e.g. 'to believe', 'to hear'.
A dynamic verb describes specific, temporary actions or events that a subject performs e.g. 'to eat', 'to run', 'to sleep', 'to write'. A dynamic verb is also known as an action verb. Dynamic verbs can be either transative or intransative.
Linking (aka Copular Verbs)
A linking verb e.g. to be, to feel, to become, links an adjective or a noun with a subject e.g. He is rich, This seat is hard.
Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs are when the subject and the object are the same e.g. I built it myself, He can only blame himself.
Ergative verbs
Ergative verbs (aka Labile Verbs) are verbs which can use a noun as either a direct object or as a subject with he same meaning. These verbs can be used as both a transative verb and an intransative verb, e.g.
'He dropped the plate'(Transative - the plate is the object)
'The plate dropped' (Intransative - the plate is the subject)
Auxiliary (aka Helping Verbs)
An auxillary verb e.g. to be, to do, to have, are used in combination with another verb to modify the main verbs meaning. They can be used to indicate tense, mood and voice. They are also used to form negative statements when used with words such as 'not' and 'never'.
Modal Verbs.
Modal verbs e.g. can, could, may, might, must, ougth, shall, should, will, would, are a subset of auxillary verbs that are used another verb to express aity, permission, possibility, necessity, or obligation. Modal verbs do not change their form.
Phrasal verbs
A phrasal verb is a phrase made from two or more words that acts as an individual verb. Phrasal verbs usually combine a verb with an adverb or preposition e.g. to break down, to hand over, to get off
Gerund verbs
A gerund is a verb that is formed by adding '-ing' to the end of a noun, e.g. a walking = a walk + ing, swimming = a swim + ing.