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.

Phrasal Verbs

In English, a phrasal verb is a phrase such as turn down or ran into which combines two or three words from different grammatical categories: a verb and a particle and/or a preposition together form a single semantic unit. This semantic unit cannot be understood based upon the meanings of the individual parts, but must be taken as a whole. In other words, the meaning is non-compositional and thus unpredictable. Phrasal verbs that include a preposition are known as prepositional verbs and phrasal verbs that include a particle are also known as particle verbs. Additional alternative terms for phrasal verb are compound verb, verb-adverb combination, verb-particle construction, two-part word/verb, and three-part word/verb (depending on the number of particles), and multi-word verb.

Examples

There are at least three main types of phrasal verb constructions depending on whether the verb combines with a preposition, a particle, or both. The phrasal verb constructions in the following examples are in bold:

Verb + preposition (prepositional phrasal verbs)

When the element is a preposition, it is the head) of a full prepositional phrase and the phrasal verb is thus a prepositional phrasal verb. These phrasal verbs can also be thought of as transitive and non-separable; the complement follows the phrasal verb.

• Who is looking after the kids? – after is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase after the kids.
• They picked on nobody. – on is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase on nobody.
• I ran into an old friend. – into is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase into an old friend.
• She takes after her mother. – after is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase after her mother.
• Sam passes for a linguist. – for is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase for a linguist.
• You should stand by your friend. – by is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase by your friend.

Verb + particle (particle phrasal verbs)

When the element is a particle, it can not (or no longer) be construed as a preposition, but rather is a particle because it does not take a complement. These verbs can be transitive or intransitive. If they are transitive, they are separable.

• They brought that up twice. – up is a particle, not a preposition.
• You should think it over. – over is a particle, not a preposition.
• Why does he always dress down? – down is a particle, not a preposition.
• You should not give in so quickly. – in is a particle, not a preposition.
• Where do they want to hang out? – out is a particle, not a preposition.
• She handed it in. – in is a particle, not a preposition. *

Verb + particle + preposition (particle-prepositional phrasal verbs)

Finally, many phrasal verbs are combined with both a preposition and a particle.

• Who can put up with that? – up is a particle and with is a preposition.
• She is looking forward to a rest. – forward is a particle and to is a preposition.
• The other tanks were bearing down on my panther. – down is a particle and on is a preposition.
• They were really teeing off on me. – off is a particle and on is a preposition.
• We loaded up on Mountain Dew and Doritos. – up is a particle and on is a preposition
• Susan has been sitting in for me. – in is a particle and for is a preposition.The aspect of these types of verbs that unifies them under the single banner phrasal verb is the fact that their meaning cannot be understood based upon the meaning of their parts taken in isolation: the meaning of pick up is distinct from pick; the meaning of hang out is not obviously related to hang.

Collocations

Collocations are combinations of words that are frequently used together in a particular order, forming a natural-sounding expression. These word pairs or groups often sound more natural to native speakers than other possible combinations of the same words. Understanding collocations is important for language learners because they help you sound more fluent and natural when speaking or writing.

Vocabulary for Intermediate/B1 English level

Vocabulary for Intermediate/B1 English level refers to the set of words and phrases that learners at this level are expected to know and use in the language. These learners have a good foundation of vocabulary, but they are still working on expanding it in order to communicate effectively. At the B1 level, learners are expected to have a good command of common vocabulary, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and basic grammar structures. They are also expected to have a general understanding of vocabulary related to everyday topics such as family, work, and leisure. Additionally, learners at this level are expected to be able to understand and use more complex vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, such as phrasal verbs and collocations, to communicate more nuanced ideas and express themselves in a more detailed way.

B1 | Intermediate

B1 is the intermediate level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It marks the point where you move beyond survival English and start expressing yourself with real independence — describing experiences, explaining opinions, and handling everyday situations without a script.

What a B1 user can do

At this level, you're expected to:

• Understand the main points of clear, standard speech and writing on familiar topics — work, school, travel, hobbies.
• Handle most travel situations in English-speaking environments.
• Produce simple connected text on topics you know or care about.
• Describe experiences, events, hopes, and plans, and give brief reasons and explanations for your opinions.
• Communicate in routine tasks that require a straightforward exchange of information.

What B1 grammar looks like

B1 is where grammar starts to get more layered. You're not just forming basic sentences anymore — you're combining ideas, using different tenses with more precision, and starting to handle structures like the passive voice, modal verbs for necessity and possibility, and gerunds vs. infinitives. You're also expected to build complex sentences with linking words and dependent clauses.

Typical B1 grammar areas include:

• Future tenses — distinguishing will, going to, and the present continuous for future plans
• Passive voice — The report was written yesterday.
• Modal verbs — You should apply early. / She might be late.
• Used to — I used to live in Berlin.
• Verb patterns — knowing whether a verb takes a gerund, an infinitive, or both (I enjoy reading vs. I decided to leave)

What B1 doesn't mean

B1 speakers still hesitate, make grammatical errors, and sometimes struggle with less familiar topics. That's normal. The key difference from A2 is that you can keep a conversation going and get your point across even when things aren't perfect. The step up to B2 involves handling more abstract topics, understanding nuance, and producing more complex, accurate language.

Self-check: Can you tell a friend about a recent trip — what happened, what you liked, and what you'd do differently — without switching to your native language? If yes, you're likely operating at B1 or above.

Ready to find out where you stand? Try Are you B1/Intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level to figure out!, then build your skills with challenges like Basics. Passive Voice, Basics. Modal verbs, and Used to.

Difficulty: Easy

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