Grammar · Parts of Speech
Verb Introduction Lesson
A printable grammar worksheet introducing verbs — the words that show action or a state of being in every sentence.
Subject
Grammar
Grade Level
Grades 2–5
Resource Type
Worksheet
Skill Focus
Verbs — Action and Being Verbs
What Is a Verb?
A verb is a word that shows action or a state of being. Every sentence needs a verb. In fact, the verb is probably the most important word in the sentence. The whole meaning of a sentence depends on the action or state of being expressed by the verb.
Words like run, jump, sing, walk, stand, sit, and play are action verbs. You can see that these words describe something you can do. The subject of a sentence performs this action.
Verbs can also show a state of being. In the sentence “I am in third grade,” the verb is am. This is called a being verb. Being verbs include words like is, are, was, were, be, been, and being. These verbs tell us about the condition or state of the subject rather than an action it performs.
Finding Verbs in Sentences
To find the verb in a sentence, ask yourself: what is happening, or what is the subject doing? For example, in the sentence “The dog ran across the yard,” the verb is ran because it tells you what the dog did.
Sometimes a verb is made up of more than one word. These are called verb phrases. In the sentence “She has been reading all afternoon,” the verb phrase is has been reading. The main verb is reading, and has been are helping verbs.
Understanding verbs is a foundational grammar skill. Once students can identify verbs and distinguish action verbs from being verbs, they are better prepared to understand sentence structure, verb tenses, and subject-verb agreement.
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