40 Most Common Verbs in English

Be

Bear

Blow

Break

Bring

Call

Carry

Catch

Come

Cut

Do

Feel

Find

Get

Give

Go

Have

Hold

Keep

Lay

Leave

Look

Make

Move

Pass

Play

Pull

Put

Read

Run

See

Set

Show

Slip

Stand

Strike

Take

Throw

Turn

Work

Verb	Meaning	Usage	Examples
be	To exist, occupy a place or situation	Auxillary verb, linking verb, and main verb	I am happy. He is a doctor. The cat is on the mat.
bear	To carry or support, endure, give birth to	Main verb, irregular verb	The mother bear carried her cubs. I can’t bear the pain. She bore a child.
blow	To move air, make a sound by exhaling air	Main verb, irregular verb	The wind is blowing hard today. She blew out the candles. He blew his nose.
break	To separate into pieces, interrupt, violate	Main verb, irregular verb	The vase broke into a million pieces. Can you break this candy bar in half? He broke the law.
bring	To carry or lead to a place, introduce	Main verb, irregular verb	Can you bring me some water, please? She brought her friend to the party. He brought up an interesting point.
call	To name, contact, shout or speak loudly	Main verb, irregular verb	My name is John, but you can call me Jack. I’ll call you tomorrow. Please don’t call out in the library.
carry	To transport or support something, hold or have something with oneself	Main verb, irregular verb	He carried a heavy load up the stairs. Can you carry this for me? She carries a lot of responsibility at work.
catch	To capture or grasp, intercept, understand	Main verb, irregular verb	She caught the ball with one hand. I’ll catch up with you later. I didn’t catch what he said.
come	To move toward or arrive at a place, happen or occur	Main verb, irregular verb	I’ll come to the party later. He came to my house yesterday. The storm came suddenly.
cut	To separate into pieces with a sharp tool, reduce or decrease, injure	Main verb, irregular verb	She cut the cake into slices. He cut his finger with the knife. The company is cutting jobs.
do	To perform an action, complete a task, create a result	Auxillary verb, main verb	What are you doing? I did my homework. He does not like spiders.
feel	To experience a sensation or emotion, have an opinion or perception	Main verb, irregular verb	She feels tired after the long day. I feel happy today. I feel that this is a good idea.
find	To locate or discover, determine, think or judge	Main verb, irregular verb	I found my keys under the couch. She found the answer to the question. I find that movie boring.
get	To receive or obtain, become, understand	Main verb, irregular verb	Can I get a glass of water? I’m getting better at playing the piano. I don’t get what you’re saying.
give	To provide or offer something, put into the possession of someone else	Main verb, irregular verb	He gave me a present for my birthday. Can you give me a hand? She gave up smoking last year.
go	To move or travel from one place to another, happen or occur, be successful	Main verb, irregular verb	Let’s go to the park. The party is going well. He went to the store.
have	To possess, experience, or hold, auxiliary verb	Auxiliary verb, main verb	I have a car. She has a headache

 

 

Verb	Meaning	Usage	Examples
hold	To have in one’s grasp, keep in position or possession	Main verb, irregular verb	He held her hand as they walked. Can you hold this for me? She holds the world record.
keep	To have or retain possession of, maintain in a particular state or condition	Main verb, irregular verb	I keep my phone in my pocket. She keeps her house clean. Can you keep a secret?
lay	To put something down in a horizontal position, prepare or get something ready	Main verb, irregular verb	She laid the book on the table. Can you lay the table for dinner? He laid out his clothes for the next day.
leave	To go away from a place, abandon or give up, allow or cause to remain	Main verb, irregular verb	I’m leaving the party early. He left his job to travel the world. Please leave the door open.
look	To direct one’s gaze, search or seek, seem or appear	Main verb, irregular verb	She looked at the painting for a long time. Can you look for my keys? It looks like it’s going to rain.
make	To create or produce, cause to be or become, force or compel	Main verb, irregular verb	She made a cake for her friend’s birthday. He made me angry. The noise made it hard to concentrate.
move	To change position, transfer or transport, cause to act or react	Main verb, irregular verb	She moved to a new apartment. Can you help me move this couch? The speech moved the audience.
pass	To move past or go by, transfer or convey, succeed or be approved	Main verb, irregular verb	He passed me on the highway. Can you pass me the salt, please? She passed the test with flying colors.
play	To engage in an activity for enjoyment, perform music or a role, manipulate or toy with something	Main verb, irregular verb	They played soccer in the park. She plays the guitar beautifully. He played with his food during dinner.
pull	To move something towards oneself, remove forcibly, influence or attract	Main verb, irregular verb	Can you pull the door open? He pulled the tooth out of his mouth. The smell of the food pulled her into the restaurant.
put	To place or arrange something in a specific position, express or state something	Main verb, irregular verb	She put the book on the shelf. Can you put on some music? He put his thoughts into words.
read	To look at and comprehend written or printed words, interpret or understand	Main verb, irregular verb	She read the newspaper every morning. Can you read this sentence out loud? I read the situation differently.
run	To move quickly on foot, operate or function, manage or control	Main verb, irregular verb	They ran to catch the bus. Can you run this program on your computer? He runs his own business.
see	To perceive with one’s eyes, understand or become aware of, visit or have an appointment with	Main verb, irregular verb	She saw a bird in the tree. Can you see what I mean? He’s seeing his doctor next week.
set	To put in a particular place or position, adjust or regulate, establish or create	Main verb, irregular verb	She set the vase on the table. Can you set the alarm for 6am? He set up a new company.

Verb	Meaning	Usage	Examples
show	To display or exhibit, indicate or prove, teach or explain	Main verb, irregular verb	She showed me her new dress. Can you show me where to go on the map? He showed his work to the class.
slip	To slide or move smoothly and quietly, make a mistake or error, put on quickly or secretly	Main verb, irregular verb	She slipped on the ice. He slipped up and revealed the surprise. Can you slip into your shoes and meet me outside?
stand	To be on one’s feet, support oneself, tolerate or endure	Main verb, irregular verb	She stood in line for hours. Can you stand on one foot? He can’t stand the heat.
strike	To hit or deliver a blow, affect suddenly or forcefully, stop work in protest	Main verb, irregular verb	He struck the ball with his bat. The news struck her like a ton of bricks. The workers decided to strike for better pay.
take	To get hold of or grab, accept or receive, consume or ingest	Main verb, irregular verb	She took the book from the shelf. Can you take this package to the post office? He took a sip of his coffee.
throw	To project or propel with force, discard or get rid of, hold or host an event	Main verb, irregular verb	She threw the ball across the field. Can you throw away the trash? They’re throwing a party next weekend.
turn	To rotate or revolve, change direction or position, cause to take a different course	Main verb, irregular verb	He turned the key in the lock. Can you turn left at the next intersection? She turned the conversation to a different topic.
work	To exert effort to achieve a goal or task, operate or function, produce a desired result	Main verb, irregular verb	She works at a hospital. Can you work on this problem with me? The machine isn’t working properly.