Verb
A word or phrase that expresses an action, occurrence, or state and functions as the predicate of a clause.
Predicate: The part of a clause that says something about its subject. A verb typically forms the core of the predicate.
Tense (grammar): A grammatical category that locates a situation in time relative to a reference point. Verb inflection or auxiliaries can locate an event in past, present, or future time.
Copula (linguistics): A linking expression that connects a subject with a predicate, often expressing identity or a property. Copulas can function as verbs while contributing little lexical action meaning.
Lexical category: A class of words grouped by grammatical behavior and distribution. Verbs are one lexical category, distinguished by their clause roles and inflectional patterns.
Subject (grammar): The clause element that a predicate describes or relates to. The subject commonly identifies who or what performs, experiences, or has the verb’s meaning.
Grammatical aspect: A grammatical category describing how an event unfolds or is viewed over time. Verb phrases distinguish ongoing, completed, habitual, and other event perspectives.
Auxiliary verb: A verb that combines with a main verb to express grammatical distinctions such as tense, aspect, mood, or voice. Auxiliaries contribute grammatical meaning, unlike lexical verbs that supply the main event or state.
Morphology (linguistics): The study of the internal structure of words and the formation of word forms. Morphology examines how verbs mark features such as person, number, tense, and agreement.
Verb phrase: A phrase centered on a verb, sometimes including auxiliaries and complements. A verb phrase shows how a verb combines with other words in a predicate.
Grammatical mood: A grammatical category expressing a clause’s status, such as assertion, command, or possibility. Verb forms can mark whether a clause asserts, commands, or presents a possibility.