Verb

A verb is a word that expresses an action, a state, or an occurrence — and it's the engine of every English sentence. Understanding how verbs work is foundational to everything else in English grammar, from forming questions to building complex sentences.

Verb Forms

Most English verbs have five inflected forms:

• Base form (go, write, climb) — used as an infinitive, imperative, present subjunctive, and present indicative in all persons except third-person singular.
• -s form (goes, writes, climbs) — used for the present tense, third-person singular (she writes).
• Past tense (went, wrote, climbed) — also called the preterite.
• Past participle (gone, written, climbed) — identical to the past tense for regular verbs, but often different for irregular verbs.
• -ing form (going, writing, climbing) — serves as the present participle and gerund.

The verb be is a special case with more forms than any other English verb (am, is, are, was, were, been, being). Modal verbs like can, must, and should have fewer forms than typical verbs.

Main Verbs and Auxiliaries

Verbs in English often appear in combinations: one or more auxiliary verbs paired with a main verb.

• The dog was barking very loudly.
• My hat has been cleaned.
• Jane does not really like us.

The first verb in the combination is the finite verb (it carries tense and agrees with the subject). The rest are nonfinite (infinitives or participles). Notice that these verbs don't always sit next to each other — as in does not really like.

Tense, Aspect, and Mood

English expresses tense (time reference), aspect (how an action unfolds over time), and mood (the speaker's attitude toward the action) mostly through verb combinations rather than word endings. That's why you'll encounter labels like "present progressive" or "conditional perfect" — these are specific tense–aspect–mood combinations built with auxiliaries.

Self-check: If you can change the time of a sentence by swapping one word (She runs → She ran), that word is the verb.

Keep Practising

To build your verb skills from the ground up, try these challenges: Basics. "To be" in Present Tense, Basics. Common Uses of Auxiliary Verbs, and Transitive and Intransitive Verbs.

Questions

Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed questions to be formed by inverting the positions of verb and subject. Modern English permits this only in the case of a small class of verbs ("special verbs"), consisting of auxiliaries as well as forms of the copula be. To form a question from a sentence which does not have such an auxiliary or copula present, the auxiliary verb do (does, did) needs to be inserted, along with inversion of the word order, to form a question. For example:

• She can dance. → Can she dance? (inversion of subject she and auxiliary can)
• I am sitting here. → Am I sitting here? (inversion of subject I and copula am)
• The milk goes in the fridge. → Does the milk go in the fridge? (no special verb present; do-support required)

The above concerns yes-no questions, but inversion also takes place in the same way after other questions, formed with interrogative words such as where, what, how, etc. An exception applies when the interrogative word is the subject or part of the subject, in which case there is no inversion. For example:

• I go. → Where do I go? (wh-question formed using inversion, with do-support required in this case)
• He goes. → Who goes? (no inversion, because the question word who is the subject)

Note that inversion does not apply in indirect questions: I wonder where he is (not *... where is he). Indirect yes-no questions can be expressed using if or whether as the interrogative word: *Ask them whether/if they saw him*.

Negative questions are formed similarly; however if the verb undergoing inversion has a contraction with not, then it is possible to invert the subject with this contraction as a whole. For example:

• John is going. (affirmative)
• John is not going. / John isn't going. (negative, with and without contraction)
• Isn't John going? / Is John not going? (negative question, with and without contraction respectively)

Tag questions are formed with a special verb and pronoun subject: isn't it?; were there?; am I not?

Progressive

The progressive or continuous aspect is used to denote a temporary action or state that began at a previous time and continues into the present time (or other time of reference). It is expressed using a form of the auxiliary verb to be (conjugated appropriately for tense etc.) together with the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb: I am reading; Were you shouting?; He will be sitting over there.

Certain stative verbs make limited use of progressive aspect. Their nonprogressive forms (simple or nonprogressive perfect constructions) are used in many situations even when expressing a temporary state.

The main types are described below.

• The copular verb to be does not normally use progressive forms (I am happy, not I am being happy). However its progressive aspect is used in appropriate situations when the verb expresses the passive voice (We are being followed), and when it has the meaning of "behave" or "act as" (You are being very naughty; He's being a pest).
• The verb to have does not use progressive forms when it expresses possession), broadly understood (I have a brother, not I'm having a brother), but it does use them in its active meanings (I'm having a party; She's having a baby; He was having a problem starting his car). Other verbs expressing a state of possession or similar, such as possess, own, belong and owe, also do not normally use progressive forms.
• Verbs of mental state, sense perception and similar (know, believe, want, think, see, hear, need, etc.) are generally used without progressive aspect, although some of them can be used in the progressive to imply an ongoing, often temporary situation (I am feeling lonely), or an activity (I am thinking about a problem).
• Verbs denoting positional state normally do use the progressive if the state is temporary: He is standing in the corner. (Compare permanent state: London stands on the banks of the Thames.)

Perfect Progressive

The perfect and progressive (continuous) aspects can be combined, usually in referring to the completed portion of a continuing action or temporary state: I have been working for eight hours. Here a form of the verb have (denoting the perfect) is used together with been (the past participle of be, denoting the progressive) and the present participle of the main verb.

In the case of the stative verbs, which do not use progressive aspect, the plain perfect form is normally used in place of the perfect progressive: I've been here for half an hour (not I've been being here...).

Simple Future

The term simple future, future simple or future indefinite, as applied to English, generally refers to the combination of the modal auxiliary verb will with the bare infinitive of the main verb.

Sometimes (particularly in more formal or old-fashioned English) shall is preferred to will when the subject is first person (I or we).

The auxiliary is often contracted to _ 'll_.

This construction can be used to indicate what the speaker views as facts about the future, including confident predictions:

• The sun will rise tomorrow at 6:14.
• It will rain later this week.

It may be used to describe future circumstances that are subject to some condition:

• He will go there if he can.

However English also has other ways of referring to future circumstances. For planned or scheduled actions the present progressive or simple present may be used. There is also a going-to future, common in colloquial English, which is often used to express intentions or predictions (I am going to write a book some day; I think that it is going to rain). Use of the will/shall construction when expressing intention often indicates a spontaneous decision:

• I know! I'll use this book as a door stop.

Compare I'm going to use..., which implies that the intention to do so has existed for some time.

Use of present tense rather than future constructions in condition clauses and certain other dependent clauses is described below under and. The modal verbs will and shall also have other uses besides indicating future time reference. For example:

• I will pass this exam. (often expresses determination in addition to futurity)
• You will obey me! (insistence)
• I will not do it! (negative insistence, refusal)
• At this moment I will tolerate no dissent. (strong volition)
• He hasn't eaten all day; he will be hungry now. (confident speculation about the present)
• One of his faults is that he will make trouble unnecessarily. (habit)
• Shall we get to work? (suggestion)

Future Progressive

The future progressive or future continuous combines progressive aspect with future time reference; it is formed with the auxiliary will (or shall in the first person, the bare infinitive be, and the present participle of the main verb.

It is used mainly to indicate that an event will be in progress at a particular point in the future:

• This time tomorrow I will be taking my driving test.
• I imagine we will already be eating when you arrive.

The usual restrictions apply, on the use both of the future and of the progressive: simple rather than progressive aspect is used with some stative verbs, and present rather than future constructions are used in many dependent clauses. The same construction may occur when will or shall is given one of its other uses, for example:

• He will be sitting in his study at this time. (confident speculation about the present)

Future Perfect

The future perfect combines aspect with future time reference.

It consists of the auxiliary will (or sometimes shall in the first person, as above), the bare infinitive have, and the past participle of the main verb.

It indicates an action that is to be completed sometime prior to a future time of perspective, or an ongoing action continuing up to a future time of perspective (compare uses of the present perfect above).

• I shall have finished my essay by Thursday.
• When I finally search him he will have disposed of the evidence.
• By next year we will have lived in this house for half a century.

For the use of the present tense rather than future constructions in certain dependent clauses.

The same construction may occur when will or shall is given one of its other meanings; for example:

• He will have had his tea by now. (confident speculation about the present)
• You will have completed this task by the time I return, is that understood? (giving instruction)

Future Perfect Progressive

The future perfect progressive or future perfect continuous combines perfect progressive aspect with future time reference.

It is formed by combining the auxiliary will (or sometimes shall, as above), the bare infinitive have, the past participle been, and the present participle of the main verb.

Uses of the future perfect progressive are analogous to those of the present perfect progressive, except that the point of reference is in the future. For example:

• He will be very tired because he will have been working all morning.
• By 6 o'clock we will have been drinking for ten hours.

For the use of present tense in place of future constructions in certain dependent clauses.

The same construction may occur when the auxiliary (usually will) has one of its other meanings, particularly expressing a confident assumption about the present:

• No chance of finding him sober now; he*'ll have been drinking* all day.

A2 | Elementary | Pre-intermediate

CEFR A2 is the second level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, often called elementary or pre-intermediate. If you're at this stage, you've moved beyond the basics of A1 and can handle simple, real-life communication — but you're still building the foundations you'll need for B1 and beyond.

What can an A2 learner do?

At A2, you can:

• Understand everyday expressions related to familiar topics — personal details, family, shopping, work, and your local area.
• Communicate in routine situations that involve a simple, direct exchange of information (e.g. ordering food, asking for directions, making small talk).
• Describe your background and immediate environment in simple terms — where you live, what you do, what you need.
• Read and understand short, simple texts like signs, menus, timetables, and brief personal messages.

Key grammar at A2

At this level, you're expected to be comfortable with several core grammar areas:

• Past simple and past continuous — talking about completed actions and actions in progress in the past.
• Present perfect — connecting past events to the present (I've visited London twice).
• Basic modal verbs — expressing ability, permission, necessity, and possibility (can, must, should, have to).
• Common question forms — both simple and slightly more complex (How long have you lived here?).
• Articles and determiners — using a/an/the correctly, along with words like some, any, few, little.
• Basic conditionals — first conditional and simple uses of if and wish.

You're also expanding your vocabulary through collocations (natural word pairings like make a decision or take a break) and learning to use gerunds and infinitives with common verbs.

How A2 differs from A1 and B1

Compared to A1, A2 learners can do more than just produce isolated phrases — you can link simple sentences and participate in short conversations. Compared to B1, you're still relying on familiar contexts and predictable language; handling unexpected topics or expressing opinions in detail comes at the next level.

Self-check: If you can describe your daily routine, talk about past experiences, and handle a basic conversation at a shop or restaurant — but struggle when the topic gets abstract or unfamiliar — you're likely at A2.

Practice at this level

Try these challenges to test and strengthen your A2 skills: Is your English level A2/Pre-intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level!, Basics. Present Perfect., and Basics. Common More Complex Questions..

Difficulty: Easy

Easy difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.