A verb is a part of speech that expresses an action, an occurrence, a process, or a state of being.

Examples: go, eat, study, write, think, become, have, be.

The following is a structured syllabus of 50 major topics and their subtopics, covering beginner, intermediate, advanced, academic, TOEFL, and GRE-level English grammar.

Part A: Fundamentals of Verbs

1. Introduction to Verbs

• Definition of a verb

• Functions of verbs in sentences

• Importance of verbs in English grammar

• Identifying verbs in sentences

• Verbs versus other parts of speech

• Verbs as the central element of predicates

• Main verbs and auxiliary verbs

• Verb phrases

2. Classification of Verbs

• Main (lexical) verbs

• Auxiliary (helping) verbs

• Modal auxiliary verbs

• Action verbs

• Stative verbs

• Linking verbs

• Transitive verbs

• Intransitive verbs

• Regular verbs

• Irregular verbs

• Finite verbs

• Non-finite verbs

• Dynamic verbs

• Causative verbs

3. Action Verbs

• Physical action verbs

• Mental action verbs

• Voluntary action verbs

• Involuntary action verbs

• Observable actions

• Abstract actions

• Action verbs in sentences

4. Stative Verbs

• Verbs of possession

• Verbs of emotion

• Verbs of perception

• Verbs of cognition

• Verbs of preference

• Verbs of existence

• Stative verbs and continuous forms

• Verbs with both stative and dynamic meanings

5. Linking Verbs

• Forms of be

• Become, seem, appear

• Look, feel, smell, taste, sound

• Remain, stay, grow, turn

• Subject complements

• Predicate adjectives

• Predicate nouns

• Linking verbs versus action verbs

Part B: Forms and Structures of Verbs

6. Principal Forms of Verbs

• Base form (V1)

• Past simple form (V2)

• Past participle form (V3)

• Present participle (-ing form)

• Third-person singular (-s/-es form)

• Five-form verb paradigms

• Spelling rules for verb forms

• Pronunciation of verb endings

7. Regular Verbs

• Formation of regular past tense

• Formation of past participles

• Adding -ed and -d

• Consonant doubling

• Changing -y to -ied

• Pronunciation of -ed (/t/, /d/, /ɪd/)

• Common regular verbs

8. Irregular Verbs

• Common irregular verbs

• V1–V2–V3 patterns

• Identical verb forms

• Vowel-change patterns

• Irregular past participles

• British and American variations

• Frequently confused irregular verbs

9. Main Verbs and Helping Verbs

• Lexical verbs

• Primary auxiliaries: be, have, do

• Modal auxiliaries

• Auxiliary placement

• Auxiliary verb sequences

• Negative constructions

• Question formation

• Emphasis using auxiliaries

10. Verb Phrases

• Simple verb phrases

• Complex verb phrases

• Auxiliary + main verb

• Modal + base verb

• Perfect verb phrases

• Progressive verb phrases

• Passive verb phrases

• Perfect progressive combinations

• Verb phrase identification

Part C: Verb Tenses and Aspects

11. Introduction to Tense and Aspect

• Past, present, and future time reference

• Tense versus aspect

• Simple aspect

• Progressive (continuous) aspect

• Perfect aspect

• Perfect progressive aspect

• Temporal reference

• Time expressions

• Sequence of events

12. Present Simple Tense

• Affirmative sentences

• Negative sentences

• Interrogative sentences

• Habits and routines

• General truths

• Scientific facts

• Timetables and schedules

• Third-person singular agreement

• Adverbs of frequency

13. Present Continuous Tense

• Formation: am/is/are + V-ing

• Actions happening now

• Temporary situations

• Changing situations

• Future arrangements

• Repeated actions with always

• Restrictions involving stative verbs

14. Present Perfect Tense

• Formation: have/has + V3

• Past experiences

• Recent accomplishments

• Present relevance of past actions

• Unfinished time periods

• Since and for

• Already, yet, just

• Ever and never

• Present perfect versus past simple

15. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

• Formation: have/has been + V-ing

• Actions continuing until the present

• Duration of activities

• Recently completed activities

• Since and for

• Present perfect versus present perfect continuous

16. Past Simple Tense

• Affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms

• Regular and irregular past verbs

• Completed past actions

• Past habits

• Past states

• Sequential events

• Past-time expressions

• Used to and would for past habits

17. Past Continuous Tense

• Formation: was/were + V-ing

• Ongoing past actions

• Interrupted past actions

• Simultaneous past activities

• Background descriptions

• When versus while

• Past continuous versus past simple

18. Past Perfect Tense

• Formation: had + V3

• Earlier past actions

• Sequence of past events

• Before, after, by the time

• Past perfect in narratives

• Past perfect versus past simple

19. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

• Formation: had been + V-ing

• Duration before a past event

• Cause of a past situation

• Emphasis on ongoing past activity

• Past perfect versus past perfect continuous

20. Future Time Expressions

• Will + base verb

• Be going to + base verb

• Present continuous for future arrangements

• Present simple for scheduled future events

• Future continuous: will be + V-ing

• Future perfect: will have + V3

• Future perfect continuous: will have been + V-ing

• Future in the past: would, was/were going to

• Predictions, intentions, and arrangements

• Future time clauses

Note: Traditional teaching commonly presents 12 tense-aspect forms, including future forms. In linguistic analysis, English is generally considered to have two inflectional tenses (present and past), while future time is expressed through several constructions.

Part D: Grammatical Properties of Verbs

21. Subject–Verb Agreement

• Singular subjects and verbs

• Plural subjects and verbs

• Third-person singular endings

• Compound subjects

• Collective nouns

• Indefinite pronouns

• Quantifiers and agreement

• Either/or and neither/nor constructions

• Agreement with intervening phrases

• There is versus there are

• Agreement with relative pronouns

• Common agreement errors

22. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

• Direct objects

• Verbs requiring objects

• Verbs without objects

• Ditransitive verbs

• Direct and indirect objects

• Complex-transitive verbs

• Ambitransitive verbs

• Object complements

• Verb valency

23. Finite and Non-Finite Verbs

• Finite verbs

• Non-finite verbs

• Infinitives

• Gerunds

• Participles

• Tense and agreement in finite clauses

• Non-finite clauses

• Subjects of non-finite clauses

24. Infinitives

• To-infinitives

• Bare infinitives

• Perfect infinitives

• Continuous infinitives

• Passive infinitives

• Infinitives after adjectives

• Infinitives after nouns

• Infinitives after verbs

• Infinitives of purpose

• Split infinitives

25. Gerunds

• Formation of gerunds

• Gerunds as subjects

• Gerunds as objects

• Gerunds after prepositions

• Gerunds after particular verbs

• Possessive forms before gerunds

• Perfect gerunds

• Passive gerunds

• Gerunds versus present participles

26. Participles

• Present participles

• Past participles

• Perfect participles

• Participial phrases

• Participles as modifiers

• Participles in progressive constructions

• Participles in passive constructions

• Dangling participles

• Misplaced participial modifiers

• Reduced participial clauses

Part E: Modal Verbs and Mood

27. Modal Auxiliary Verbs

• Can and could

• May and might

• Will and would

• Shall and should

• Must

• Ought to

• Modal meanings and functions

• Modal verb structures

• Modal negatives

• Modal questions

• Epistemic and deontic modality

28. Semi-Modals and Related Expressions

• Have to

• Have got to

• Need to

• Be able to

• Be allowed to

• Be supposed to

• Be likely to

• Had better

• Would rather

• Used to

• Be about to

29. Functions of Modal Verbs

• Ability

• Possibility

• Probability

• Permission

• Requests

• Advice

• Obligation

• Necessity

• Prohibition

• Deduction

• Expectation

• Willingness

• Offers and suggestions

30. Perfect Modals

• Must have + V3

• May have + V3

• Might have + V3

• Could have + V3

• Should have + V3

• Would have + V3

• Needn't have + V3

• Past deduction

• Regret and criticism

• Unrealized possibilities

• Counterfactual outcomes

31. Verb Mood

• Indicative mood

• Imperative mood

• Subjunctive mood

• Mandative subjunctive

• Counterfactual were

• Wishes and hypothetical situations

• Recommendations and demands

• Mood versus modality

Part F: Voice and Verb Constructions

32. Active Voice

• Subject as agent

• Active sentence structure

• Active voice across tenses

• Active voice in academic writing

• Clear agent identification

• Active versus passive constructions

33. Passive Voice

• Be + past participle

• Passive construction across tenses

• Passive with modal verbs

• Passive infinitives

• Passive gerunds

• Agentive by-phrases

• Agent omission

• Get-passives

• Passive reporting structures

• Passive in scientific writing

34. Causative Verbs

• Make + object + bare infinitive

• Have + object + bare infinitive

• Let + object + bare infinitive

• Get + object + to-infinitive

• Help + object + (to-)infinitive

• Have/get something done

• Direct versus indirect causation

• Causative verbs in passive structures

35. Reporting Verbs

• Say and tell

• Ask and answer

• Explain and describe

• Suggest and recommend

• Admit and deny

• Claim and argue

• Report and announce

• Reporting verb patterns

• Reporting verbs in academic writing

• Hedging with reporting verbs

Part G: Verb Patterns and Complements

36. Verb + Infinitive Patterns

• Agree to do

• Decide to do

• Hope to do

• Plan to do

• Promise to do

• Refuse to do

• Want someone to do

• Ask someone to do

• Verb + object + infinitive

• Verbs with optional objects

37. Verb + Gerund Patterns

• Enjoy doing

• Avoid doing

• Consider doing

• Finish doing

• Suggest doing

• Admit doing

• Deny doing

• Keep doing

• Mind doing

• Practice doing

38. Verbs Followed by Gerunds or Infinitives

• Stop doing versus stop to do

• Remember doing versus remember to do

• Forget doing versus forget to do

• Try doing versus try to do

• Regret doing versus regret to do

• Mean doing versus mean to do

• Go on doing versus go on to do

• Like/love/hate doing versus to do

• Changes of meaning and usage

39. Verb Complementation

• Verb + direct object

• Verb + indirect object

• Verb + object + object

• Verb + subject complement

• Verb + object complement

• Verb + prepositional complement

• Verb + that-clause

• Verb + wh-clause

• Verb + infinitival clause

• Verb + -ing clause

• Complementation restrictions

40. Phrasal Verbs

• Verb + adverb particle

• Verb + preposition

• Phrasal-prepositional verbs

• Separable phrasal verbs

• Inseparable phrasal verbs

• Transitive phrasal verbs

• Intransitive phrasal verbs

• Literal meanings

• Idiomatic meanings

• Academic alternatives to phrasal verbs

Part H: Advanced Verb Grammar

41. Prepositional Verbs

• Depend on

• Rely on

• Consist of

• Belong to

• Refer to

• Account for

• Deal with

• Participate in

• Verb–preposition combinations

• Preposition stranding

42. Conditional Verb Structures

• Zero conditional

• First conditional

• Second conditional

• Third conditional

• Mixed conditionals

• Unless, provided that, as long as

• Conditional inversion

• Modal verbs in conditional sentences

• Real versus unreal conditions

• Counterfactual meaning

43. Sequence of Tenses

• Tense agreement across clauses

• Main and subordinate clauses

• Backshifting in reported speech

• Past reporting verbs

• General truths in reported speech

• Time clauses

• Conditional clauses

• Narrative tense consistency

44. Verb Aspect and Event Structure

• Perfective versus imperfective viewpoints

• Progressive versus non-progressive forms

• Habitual aspect

• Iterative events

• Telic versus atelic events

• States, activities, accomplishments, achievements

• Lexical aspect (Aktionsart)

• Event duration

• Event completion

• Aspectual coercion

45. Multiword and Complex Verbal Constructions

• Light-verb constructions

• Make a decision

• Take a look

• Have a discussion

• Give a presentation

• Do research

• Verb–noun collocations

• Idiomatic verb expressions

• Formulaic verbal expressions

• Complex predicate structures

Part I: Applied Verb Usage

46. Verbs in Academic English

• Academic reporting verbs

• Research-methodology verbs

• Analytical verbs

• Argumentative verbs

• Evaluative verbs

• Cautious and hedging verbs

• Strong versus weak claims

• Verb choice in scientific papers

• Present tense for established knowledge

• Past tense for completed methods and observations

• Present perfect for research developments

• Active and passive voice in research writing

47. Verbs in TOEFL and GRE Preparation

• Subject–verb agreement

• Verb tense consistency

• Irregular verb forms

• Gerund and infinitive selection

• Modal interpretation

• Verb collocations

• Academic verb vocabulary

• Context-sensitive verb meanings

• Verbal logic in passages

• Grammar editing exercises

• Academic writing accuracy

48. Frequently Confused Verbs

• Lie versus lay

• Rise versus raise

• Sit versus set

• Affect versus effect

• Borrow versus lend

• Bring versus take

• Say versus tell

• Speak versus talk

• Look versus see versus watch

• Hear versus listen

• Make versus do

• Learn versus teach

• Discover versus invent

• Imply versus infer

• Ensure versus assure versus insure

49. Common Verb Errors

• Incorrect tense selection

• Incorrect participle forms

• Missing auxiliary verbs

• Incorrect auxiliary order

• Subject–verb disagreement

• Double marking of past tense

• Incorrect modal forms

• Incorrect passive construction

• Incorrect gerund/infinitive selection

• Faulty parallel verb structures

• Incorrect verb–preposition combinations

• Dangling participles

• Inconsistent tense usage

• Unnecessary tense shifts

50. Verb Practice and Mastery

• Identifying verbs

• Classifying verbs

• Completing verb forms

• Converting between tenses

• Active-to-passive transformations

• Direct-to-reported-speech transformations

• Error identification

• Sentence correction

• Gap-filling exercises

• Verb pattern exercises

• Modal interpretation exercises

• Academic paragraph writing

• Speaking fluency exercises

• Reading-based verb analysis

• TOEFL-style integrated exercises

• GRE-style contextual verb practice

Recommended Learning Sequence

Learning level, Recommended topics, Main focus

• Beginner (A1–A2), 1–10, 12, 16, Verb types, forms, basic present and past

• Intermediate (B1–B2), 11–40, Tenses, auxiliaries, modals, voice, and verb patterns

• Advanced (C1–C2), 41–45, 48–49, Complex syntax, aspect, usage, and error analysis

• Academic / TOEFL / GRE, 21, 33, 35, 43, 46–50, Grammatical accuracy, academic writing, and reading comprehension

Total: 50 major topics, with hundreds of associated subtopics covering the major areas of English verb grammar.

For TOEFL iBT and graduate-level academic English, give particular attention to verb tenses and aspects, subject–verb agreement, modal verbs, passive voice, reporting verbs, gerunds and infinitives, and academic verb usage.