Action Verbs

Action Verbs

Action verbs are the verbs that keep you interested. They peak your interest. They grasp your attention. They shock you. Action verbs merely show action,( either mentally or physically) and express something a noun (person, place, think or idea) or pronoun(a word that takes the place of a noun) can do. If you are unsure whether a word in an action verb, ask yourself, “Can this be done?” If the answer is yes, more than likely, it is an action verb.

I threw the ball through the window.

·         The verb threw expresses action I can do

Hannah stirred the boiling soup.

·         Stirred expresses something Hannah can do

Peter slept through the ruckus.

·         Slept is an action that Peter is doing.

Two different types of action verbs are transitive and intransitive. Transitive action verbs have a receiver of the action. And, typically, the receiver acts as a direct object of the sentence.

I threw the ball through the window.

·         In this sentence, ball is receiving the action of throwing. Thus, threw is acting as a transitive verb.

Intransitive verbs do not need a receiver because the verb itself completes the action.

Peter slept through the ruckus.

·         The subject(Peter) and the verb (slept) would be sufficient information to have a complete thought, making slept an intransitive verb.