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.

Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request.

An example of a verb used in the imperative mood is the English sentence Please be quiet. Such imperatives imply a second-person subject (you), but some other languages also have first- and third-person imperatives, with the meaning of let's (do something) or let him/her/them (do something) (the forms may alternatively be called cohortative and jussive.

Imperative mood can be denoted by the glossing abbreviation. It is one of the irrealis moods.

Formation

Imperative mood is often expressed using special conjugated verb forms. Like other finite verb forms, imperatives often inflect for person and number. Second-person imperatives (used for ordering or requesting performance directly from the person being addressed) are most common, but some languages also have imperative forms for the first and third persons (alternatively called cohortative and jussive respectively).

In English, the imperative is formed using the bare infinitive form of the verb (see verbs for more details). This is usually also the same as the second-person present indicative form, except in the case of the verb to be, where the imperative is be while the indicative is are. (The present subjunctive always has the same form as the imperative, although it is negated differently – the imperative is negated using do not, as in Don't touch me!) The imperative form is understood as being in the second person (the subject pronoun you is usually omitted, although it can be included for emphasis), with no explicit indication of singular or plural.

First and third person imperatives are expressed periphrastically, using a construction with the imperative of the verb let:

• Let us (Let's) have a drink! (equivalent to a first person plural imperative)
• Let him/her/them be happy! (equivalent to a third person imperative; constructions with may are also used)

Usage

Imperatives are used principally for ordering, requesting or advising the listener to do (or not to do) something: Put down the gun!; Pass me the sauce; Don't go too near the tiger. They are also often used for giving instructions as to how to perform a task (Install the file, then restart your computer). They can sometimes be seen on signs giving orders or warnings (Stop; Give way; Do not enter).

The use of the imperative mood may be seen as impolite, inappropriate or even offensive in certain circumstances. In polite speech, orders or requests are often phrased instead as questions or statements, rather than as imperatives:

• Could you come here for a moment? (more polite than Come here!)
• It would be great if you made us a drink. (for Make us a drink!)
• I have to ask you to stop. (for Stop!)

Politeness strategies (for instance, indirect speech acts) can seem more appropriate in order not to threaten a conversational partner in their needs of self-determination and territory: the partner's negative face should not appear threatened. As well as the replacement of imperatives with other sentence types as discussed above, there also often exist methods of phrasing an imperative in a more polite manner, such as the addition of a word like please or a phrase like if you could. Imperatives are also used for speech acts whose function is essentially not to make an order or request, but to give an invitation, give permission, express a wish, make an apology, etc.:

• Come to the party tomorrow! (invitation)
• Eat the apple if you want. (permission)
• Have a nice trip! (wish)
• Pardon me. (apology)
• Visit Estonia and Armenia! (advertisement)

When written, imperative sentences are often, but not always, terminated with an exclamation mark. First person plural imperatives (cohortatives) are used mainly for suggesting an action to be performed together by the speaker and the addressee (and possibly other people): Let's go to Barbados this year; Let us pray. Third person imperatives (jussives) are used to suggest or order that a third party or parties be permitted or made to do something: Let them eat cake; Let him be executed. There is an additional imperative form that is used for general prohibitions, consisting of the word no followed by the gerund form. The best known examples are No Smoking and No Parking. This form does not have a positive form; that is, Parking by itself has no meaning unless used as a noun when it tells that parking is permitted.

English usually omits the subject pronoun in imperative sentences:

• You work hard. (indicative)
• Work hard! (imperative; subject pronoun you omitted)

However, it is possible to include the you in imperative sentences for emphasis.

English imperatives are negated using don't (as in Don't work!) This is a case of do-support as found in indicative clauses; however in the imperative it applies even in the case of the verb be (which does not use do-support in the indicative):

• You are not late. (indicative)
• Don't be late! (imperative)

It is also possible to use do-support in affirmative imperatives, for emphasis or (sometimes) politeness: Do be quiet!; Do help yourself!.

The subject you may be included for emphasis in negated imperatives as well, following don't: Don't you dare do that again!

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.

Directions

Quiz and questions related to giving and receiving directions.

Vocabulary for A2/Elementary/Pre-Intermediate English Level

Vocabulary for A2/Elementary/Pre-Intermediate 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 basic foundation of vocabulary and grammar but are still working on expanding it in order to communicate more effectively. At this level, learners are expected to have a good command of basic vocabulary and grammar structures, and to be able to use them to express themselves in simple and routine tasks. They are also expected to understand and use vocabulary related to everyday topics such as work, school, and leisure. Additionally, learners at this level are expected to have a basic understanding of more complex vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, such as phrasal verbs and collocations. This level is considered a bridge between A1 and B1, learners are expected to have a more extensive vocabulary, but still need to improve their language skills in order to reach the next level B1.

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.