Events and states need linguistic anchors. A verb is a word that expresses an action, process, or state and typically functions as the core of the predicate in a clause.

Verbs inflect for tense, aspect, mood, and agreement in many languages. They select arguments—subjects, objects, and others—according to their valence. Auxiliary verbs combine with main verbs to build complex predicates.

Verb semantics influences aspectual interpretation and argument structure. Language description always catalogues verb classes and conjugation patterns. Children and additional-language learners spend substantial effort mastering high-frequency verbs and their constructions.

• Word expressing action, process, or state
• Core of the clause predicate
• Inflects for tense, aspect, mood, agreement
• Determines argument structure