Level Five

There are certain groups of verbs that are useful when speaking. In this lesson, I’ll show you what those verbs are and how you can use them.

There are four categories:

Certain irregular verbs are used for 80 to 90 percent of normal conversation in English. Here is a list to begin with:

be, do, have, get
go, come, put, see, use, take, give, know, say, tell, keep, cut, feel, run, send, hold

There are over 100 irregulars verb that you need to know, but the ones listed above are the most essential.

The modal verb “could” is the past form of “can.” It’s also used for possibility and speculation.

Knowing how to use these types of verb phrases is essential for good spoken English.

These verbs are used for expressing desire, pleasure, and necessity. What is important to you? What helps you survive? What excites you?

Lesson Thirty-five offers an introduction to the verb “can.”

Gerunds and infinitives look like verbs, but they function like nouns. The sentences that are compared here illustrate the point:

Baseball is fun. (The word “baseball is a noun, and it’s the subject in the sentence.)
Swimming is fun. (The word “swimming” is a gerund. It’s the subject of the sentence.)
I like sports. (The word “sports” is a noun, and it’s the direct object in this sentence.)
I like to play. (The infinitive, “to play,” is an object in this sentence. It is also the direct object.

Gerunds and infinitives are very common in English. Don’t confuse them with verbs.

In the next lesson, you will learn how to use the phrasal modal “have to.”