Table of Contents
Introduction
Verbs are essential in English because they express actions, states, and occurrences. Below is a categorized list of 100 commonly used English verbs along with their definitions and conjugations in simple present, simple past, past participle, and present participle.
Common English Verbs
This is a list of the most common verbs in English.
Note: These lists of common English verbs are organized according to their shared meanings. Definitions and conjugation are included. The verb conjugation starts with the present simple forms, then the simple past, present participle, and past participle forms. Enjoy learning!
Let’s start our common English verbs with the basic action verbs category!

1. Basic Action Verbs
These verbs describe common everyday actions.
# | Verb | Definition | Conjugation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Go | To move from one place to another | Go/Goes, Went, Gone, Going |
2 | Come | To move towards a place | Come/Comes, Came, Come, Coming |
3 | Take | To grab or carry something | Take/Takes, Took, Taken, Taking |
4 | Give | To hand something to someone | Give/Gives, Gave, Given, Giving |
5 | Make | To create or produce something | Make/Makes, Made, Made, Making |
6 | Do | To perform an action | Do/Does, Did, Done, Doing |
7 | Get | To receive or obtain | Get/Gets, Got, Got/Gotten, Getting |
8 | Put | To place something somewhere | Put/Puts, Put, Put, Putting |
9 | Bring | To carry something towards a place | Bring/Brings, Brought, Brought, Bringing |
10 | Leave | To go away from a place | Leave/Leaves, Left, Left, Leaving |
2. Communication Verbs
The second set of the most common English verbs in English is related to speaking, writing, and conveying messages.
# | Verb | Definition | Conjugation |
---|---|---|---|
11 | Say | To express words verbally | Say/Says, Said, Said, Saying |
12 | Tell | To give information | Tell/Tells, Told, Told, Telling |
13 | Ask | To pose a question | Ask/Asks, Asked, Asked, Asking |
14 | Speak | To talk using words | Speak/Speaks, Spoke, Spoken, Speaking |
15 | Talk | To have a conversation | Talk/Talks, Talked, Talked, Talking |
16 | Call | To communicate via phone or voice | Call/Calls, Called, Called, Calling |
17 | Shout | To say something loudly | Shout/Shouts, Shouted, Shouted, Shouting |
18 | Whisper | To speak softly | Whisper/Whispers, Whispered, Whispered, Whispering |
19 | Explain | To make something clear | Explain/Explains, Explained, Explained, Explaining |
20 | Answer | To respond to a question | Answer/Answers, Answered, Answered, Answering |
3. Thinking and Feeling Verbs
These verbs describe cognitive and emotional states.
# | Verb | Definition | Conjugation |
---|---|---|---|
21 | Know | To have information | Know/Knows, Knew, Known, Knowing |
22 | Think | To use one’s mind | Think/Thinks, Thought, Thought, Thinking |
23 | Believe | To accept as true | Believe/Believes, Believed, Believed, Believing |
24 | Understand | To comprehend something | Understand/Understands, Understood, Understood, Understanding |
25 | Feel | To experience an emotion | Feel/Feels, Felt, Felt, Feeling |
26 | Want | To desire something | Want/Wants, Wanted, Wanted, Wanting |
27 | Need | To require something | Need/Needs, Needed, Needed, Needing |
28 | Love | To have deep affection | Love/Loves, Loved, Loved, Loving |
29 | Like | To enjoy something | Like/Likes, Liked, Liked, Liking |
30 | Hate | To strongly dislike | Hate/Hates, Hated, Hated, Hating |
4. Movement and Position Verbs
These verbs describe actions related to movement and position.
# | Verb | Definition | Conjugation |
---|---|---|---|
31 | Run | To move quickly on foot | Run/Runs, Ran, Run, Running |
32 | Walk | To move on foot at a slow pace | Walk/Walks, Walked, Walked, Walking |
33 | Sit | To be seated | Sit/Sits, Sat, Sat, Sitting |
34 | Stand | To be upright on feet | Stand/Stands, Stood, Stood, Standing |
35 | Lie | To be in a horizontal position | Lie/Lies, Lay, Lain, Lying |
36 | Jump | To push oneself into the air | Jump/Jumps, Jumped, Jumped, Jumping |
37 | Climb | To move upwards | Climb/Climbs, Climbed, Climbed, Climbing |
38 | Fall | To drop downward | Fall/Falls, Fell, Fallen, Falling |
39 | Turn | To change direction | Turn/Turns, Turned, Turned, Turning |
40 | Move | To change position | Move/Moves, Moved, Moved, Moving |
5. Common State and Helping Verbs
These verbs describe states of being or assist other verbs.
# | Verb | Definition | Conjugation |
---|---|---|---|
41 | Be | To exist | Am/Is/Are, Was/Were, Been, Being |
42 | Have | To possess or own | Have/Has, Had, Had, Having |
43 | Can | To be able to | Can, Could, Could, – |
44 | May | To be allowed to | May, Might, Might, – |
45 | Must | To be necessary | Must, Had to, Had to, – |
46 | Should | To indicate obligation | Should, Should have, Should have, – |
47 | Would | To indicate possibility | Would, Would have, Would have, – |
48 | Shall | To indicate future intention | Shall, Should, Should, – |
49 | Will | To indicate future tense | Will, Would, Would, – |
50 | Do | To perform an action | Do/Does, Did, Done, Doing |
6. Additional Verbs
These verbs add variety and richness to English communication.
# | Verb | Definition | Conjugation |
---|---|---|---|
51 | Build | To construct something | Build/Builds – Built – Built – Building |
52 | Break | To separate into parts | Break/Breaks – Broke – Broken – Breaking |
53 | Open | To uncover or unlock | Open/Opens – Opened – Opened – Opening |
54 | Close | To shut something | Close/Closes – Closed – Closed – Closing |
55 | Start | To begin something | Start/Starts – Started – Started – Starting |
56 | Stop | To cease doing something | Stop/Stops – Stopped – Stopped – Stopping |
57 | Try | To attempt something | Try/Tries – Tried – Tried – Trying |
58 | Learn | To acquire knowledge | Learn/Learns – Learned – Learned – Learning |
59 | Teach | To instruct others | Teach/Teaches – Taught – Taught – Teaching |
60 | Study | To spend time learning | Study/Studies – Studied – Studied – Studying |
61 | Write | To produce text | Write/Writes – Wrote – Written – Writing |
62 | Read | To interpret text | Read/Reads – Read – Read – Reading |
63 | Eat | To consume food | Eat/Eats – Ate – Eaten – Eating |
64 | Drink | To consume liquids | Drink/Drinks – Drank – Drunk – Drinking |
65 | Sleep | To rest in a state of inactivity | Sleep/Sleeps – Slept – Slept – Sleeping |
66 | Dream | To experience thoughts during sleep | Dream/Dreams – Dreamed/Dreamt – Dreamed/Dreamt – Dreaming |
67 | Play | To engage in activity for fun | Play/Plays – Played – Played – Playing |
68 | Watch | To look at something attentively | Watch/Watches – Watched – Watched – Watching |
69 | Listen | To give attention to sound | Listen/Listens – Listened – Listened – Listening |
70 | Hear | To perceive sound | Hear/Hears – Heard – Heard – Hearing |
71 | Meet | To encounter someone | Meet/Meets – Met – Met – Meeting |
72 | Help | To assist someone | Help/Helps – Helped – Helped – Helping |
73 | Win | To achieve victory | Win/Wins – Won – Won – Winning |
74 | Lose | To fail to keep something | Lose/Loses – Lost – Lost – Losing |
75 | Show | To display something | Show/Shows – Showed – Shown – Showing |
76 | Buy | To purchase something | Buy/Buys – Bought – Bought – Buying |
77 | Sell | To exchange for money | Sell/Sells – Sold – Sold – Selling |
78 | Drive | To operate a vehicle | Drive/Drives – Drove – Driven – Driving |
79 | Fly | To move through the air | Fly/Flies – Flew – Flown – Flying |
80 | Sing | To produce musical sounds with the voice | Sing/Sings – Sang – Sung – Singing |
81 | Dance | To move rhythmically to music | Dance/Dances – Danced – Danced – Dancing |
82 | Draw | To produce an image with lines | Draw/Draws – Drew – Drawn – Drawing |
83 | Paint | To create an image with color | Paint/Paints – Painted – Painted – Painting |
84 | Cut | To separate using a blade | Cut/Cuts – Cut – Cut – Cutting |
85 | Build | To construct or assemble | Build/Builds – Built – Built – Building |
86 | Grow | To increase in size | Grow/Grows – Grew – Grown – Growing |
87 | Throw | To propel through the air | Throw/Throws – Threw – Thrown – Throwing |
88 | Catch | To grab something in motion | Catch/Catches – Caught – Caught – Catching |
89 | Dig | To break the ground | Dig/Digs – Dug – Dug – Digging |
90 | Bite | To grip with teeth | Bite/Bites – Bit – Bitten – Biting |
91 | Hide | To conceal oneself | Hide/Hides – Hid – Hidden – Hiding |
92 | Ride | To sit and move on an object | Ride/Rides – Rode – Ridden – Riding |
93 | Swim | To move through water | Swim/Swims – Swam – Swum – Swimming |
94 | Fight | To engage in a physical struggle | Fight/Fights – Fought – Fought – Fighting |
95 | Choose | To select from options | Choose/Chooses – Chose – Chosen – Choosing |
96 | Forget | To fail to remember | Forget/Forgets – Forgot – Forgotten – Forgetting |
97 | Remember | To recall something | Remember/Remembers – Remembered – Remembered – Remembering |
98 | Begin | To start something | Begin/Begins – Began – Begun – Beginning |
99 | End | To conclude something | End/Ends – Ended – Ended – Ending |
100 | Keep | To retain or continue | Keep/Keeps – Kept – Kept – Keeping |
Final Thoughts
This list of 100 common English verbs is a great resource for learners. Practice using these verbs in sentences to improve your fluency and confidence in English!