Verb Types

1. Action Verbs

Action verbs express what the subject does — physically, mentally, or emotionally. They are the most powerful verbs in writing because they create movement, clarity, and energy.

Why Action Verbs Matter

• They make writing more vivid and engaging.
• They strengthen SEO by clearly signaling what’s happening.
• They support active voice, which improves readability.
• They help writers avoid weak, filler phrases.

Examples of Action Verbs

Type	Examples
Physical Actions	run, jump, write, build, throw, update
Mental Actions	think, analyze, decide, imagine, understand
Communication Actions	explain, announce, report, confirm, reveal

In Real Article Writing

Weak:

The company made an announcement about the update.

Strong:

The company announced the update.

Action verbs eliminate fluff and sharpen the sentence.

2. Linking Verbs

Linking verbs connect the subject to more information about itself. They do not show action. Instead, they describe a state, condition, or identity.

Common Linking Verbs

• is
• are
• was
• were
• seem
• become
• appear
• feel (when describing a state, not an action)

Why Linking Verbs Matter

• They help writers describe conditions or characteristics.
• They allow writers to connect subjects to adjectives or nouns.
• They are essential in factual reporting (e.g., “The cause is unknown.”)

Examples

• The results are surprising.
• The player seems confident.
• The issue became more serious overnight.

Pro Tip

Overusing linking verbs can make writing flat.

Replacing them with action verbs often improves clarity.

Weak: The article is about a new trend.  

Strong: The article explores a new trend.

3. Helping Verbs

Helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs) support the main verb by showing time, possibility, necessity, or emphasis.

Common Helping Verbs

• Be verbs: am, is, are, was, were
• Have verbs: have, has, had
• Modal verbs: can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must

Why Helping Verbs Matter

• They create different tenses.
• They express mood or intention.
• They help writers clarify timelines in news and explainers.

Examples

• The team has won three games in a row.
• The update will launch next week.
• Users should check their settings.

Pro Tip

Avoid stacking too many helping verbs — it slows the sentence.

Weak: The feature will be getting released soon.  

Strong: The feature will launch soon.

4. Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs require a direct object — something that receives the action.

Why Transitive Verbs Matter

• They create clear, complete sentences.
• They help writers specify what is being acted upon.
• They support SEO by adding detail.

Examples

Verb	Direct Object	Sentence
write	article	She wrote the article.
fix	bug	The developer fixed the bug.
watch	video	Millions watched the video.
release	update	The company released the update.

Pro Tip

If a verb needs an object but doesn’t have one, the sentence feels incomplete.

Incomplete: The reporter confirmed.  

Complete: The reporter confirmed the details.

5. Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs do not require a direct object. The action stands alone.

Why Intransitive Verbs Matter

• They help writers vary sentence structure.
• They allow for clean, concise statements.
• They are common in sports, news, and live coverage.

Examples

• The crowd cheered.
• The player arrived late.
• The system crashed unexpectedly.
• The story spread quickly.

Pro Tip

Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive depending on context.

• Transitive: He ran the company.
• Intransitive: He ran.

6. Regular Verbs

Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern when forming the past tense and past participle:

add –ed or –d

Examples

Base Form	Past Tense	Past Participle
walk	walked	walked
jump	jumped	jumped
update	updated	updated
call	called	called

Why Regular Verbs Matter

• They are easy for writers to use correctly.
• They reduce grammatical errors in fast-paced publishing.
• They help maintain consistency across articles.

In Real Writing

• The team celebrated the win.
• The company launched a new feature.

7. Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs do not follow standard –ed rules. Their past forms must be memorized.

Examples

Base Form	Past Tense	Past Participle
go	went	gone
write	wrote	written
eat	ate	eaten
take	took	taken
see	saw	seen
break	broke	broken

Why Irregular Verbs Matter

• They are common in news, sports, and storytelling.
• Incorrect forms can damage credibility.
• Writers must know them to maintain a professional tone.

In Real Writing

Incorrect: The team had went home.  

Correct: The team had gone home.

Incorrect: He has wrote a guide.  

Correct: He has written a guide.

8. Final Takeaway for Total Apex Writers

Verbs determine:

• Clarity
• Pacing
• Tone
• SEO strength
• Professionalism

Mastering all seven categories — Action, Linking, Helping, Transitive, Intransitive, Regular, and Irregular — gives writers the tools to produce clean, powerful, high-performing content across every Total Apex vertical.