summary of verb

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Hello, I would like to ask if the following is correct -I would like to ask if you are interested in continuing the math lessons in October (After summer break) Thank you in advance

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Hi Nagie23,

Yes, it is correct!

LearnEnglish team

Hello, I would like to ask what is the difference between the following.When we use Nice to meet you and when Nice to meeting you Thank you in advance

Hello Nagie23,

'Nice to meet you' is correct, but 'Nice to meeting you' is not correct. 'Nice meeting you' is correct (perhaps that's what you meant).

You can say 'Nice to meet you' anytime during your conversation with a new person, e.g. at the beginning after learning their name, or when you are saying goodbye.

As far as I know 'Nice meeting you' is only used at the end of a first conversation with a new person. In other words, you wouldn't say it just after learning their name, but after awhile when it's time for you or the other person to leave.

This is purely a question of usage.

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello, dear teachers and team!

Could you please help me with the following:

Which option (if any) is correct:

1. I have had my nails done. I did it one week ago.

2.I have had my nails done. I had it done one week ago.

Thank you so much for your constant help with confusing issues and I'm very grateful for the answer to this comment beforehand!

Hello howtosay_,

You're welcome!

1 sounds strange because of the incongruence between someone else doing your nails and you doing them. 2 is what I'd recommend, but the pronoun 'them' should be used instead of 'it' since 'nails' is plural. With that small change, it will be correct.

Hello, I would like to ask which of the following is correct 1.I have helped many students make Italian their second language 2.I have helped many students to make Italian their second language Thank you in advance

Both are possible and I don't think there is any difference in meaning or style.

You can read a discussion on this topic and see some information on dialectical variation here:

https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/47221/help-to-do-something-or-help-do-something

Please note that comments are pre-moderated on LearnEnglish. This means that one of the team reads every comment before it is published so we can filter out spam and so on. Please post your comments once only; posting the same comment multiple times only slows the process as we have to delete the duplicate posts.

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello I would like to ask if the following are correct Hello students, Please take your books out of your bag Put your books on the table Put your books back to your bag Thank you in advance

The last one should be 'into your bag' rather than 'to your bag'. Other than that, they are fine.

Hello, I would like to ask if the following is correct If someone got sick unexpectedly can we say He has got really sick and he is at the hospital Thank you in advance

Yes, that's fine. You could also use the past simple 'he got' in this case.

Hello, I would like to ask if the following is correct: -I would like to ask if the buses/transportation to and from school are free Thank you in advance

Yes, that looks fine to me, though if you say 'transportation', the last two words should be 'is free' since 'transportation' is an uncount noun.

Hello team! I have a question. Could you tell me about this? ‘You got a delivery. It’s in the kitchen.’ But i want to say ‘you got a delivery in the kitchen.’ Is it okay to say like this?

Hello englishlearningenglish,

Since it's clear that the speaker wants to tell the other person about a delivery – in other words, the news here is the delivery, not the location – I think the second example would need to change a little. As it is, it sounds like the speaker is more interested in the location than the delivery (You got a delivery in the kitchen instead of in the bathroom!). To make it more natural I think the present perfect should be used, giving you these two options:

You got a delivery. It’s in the kitchen. You've got a delivery in the kitchen.

Hello, I would like to ask if both of the following sentences are correct 1.How the lessons are organised? 2.How are the lessons organized? With this question we mean how for example a math is organised during a session? Thank you in advance

The correct word order here is #2 - How are the lessons organised?

This is a question so we invert the subject ('the lessons') and the verb ('are') after the question word.

For more information on question formation take a look at this page:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/questions-negatives

Hello, I have a question there is this sentence and they ask to correct the mistake, it says: "they lived a poor life and had not any bod to help them". actually I can not find any mistakes so will you help me, please? thanks in advace.

Hello so_haila,

There are two mistakes I can see. First of all, 'any bod' should be ' anybody '. Second, the negative form is incorrect: 'had not' should be ' did not have '.

Hello, I have a question What is the difference between the following 1.Shall we speak at 5 pm?(on the phone) 2.Shall we talk at 5 pm?(on the phone) Furthermore,are both sentences correct and polite? Thank you in advance

Both sentences are grammatically correct and widely appropriate or polite. Both of them sound fine to me, though in general the one with 'speak' sounds a little more formal.

The Cambridge Dictionary has a page on 'speak' vs 'talk' that you might find useful. By the way, when it says we use 'speak' on the phone, it means when we're identifying ourselves as the speaker. But since the sentences you ask about are not about identifying the speaker and instead are about having a conversation, both verbs are correct.

Hello, Could you please help me understand a grammar exercise I recently encountered? He ___ a therapist for several years after he left school. (saw/has been seeing)

While I understand that "has been seeing" is correct, I struggle to understand why "saw" is not. What indicates that the action is still ongoing rather than finished?

Thank you in advance!

Hello KaiMK,

I'm afraid that 'has been seeing' is not correct. The correct answer is 'saw'.

The phrase 'for several years after he left school' makes it clear that his visits with the therapist were in a past time. This past time is not connected to the present and so a present perfect form isn't correct. Instead, a past simple form is the most appropriate.

If he were still seeing the therapist now in the present, we'd have to say 'since he left school' instead of 'for several years after he left school'. Then 'has been seeing' would be correct.

Does that make sense?

Hello, I would like to ask if the following sentences are correct 1.I would like to inform you the math lessons will last until the ...(15th of June) 2. If you want to continue until the 30th, please let me know Thank you in advance

The sentences look pretty good but in sentence 1, I would say "continue" or "go on" instead of "last". I think "last" is normally used for single events (e.g. a lesson, a journey, a subscription, a mood) rather than repeated events (e.g. daily or weekly lessons).

You can also slightly soften sentence 2 by saying "If you would like to continue ....".

Hello, I would like to ask if the following are correct The manager asks if a person will move to Italy anyway , and not only in the case that he or she will be hired in the firm Is it polite and correct to answer 1.I will move to Italy if I will have the opportunity to work at your firm? 2.I think I dont need a visa if I work for less than 6 months as I am an EU citizen Or Do I need a visa even for a short period of time? Are these phrases correct and polite? Thank you in advance

1. It should be "if I have" (not "if I will have"). This is the first conditional structure (see this Conditionals page for more examples and explanation).

The sentence doesn't clearly say what will happen if the person does not get the job. You can say something like "... but otherwise, I won't move." or "... but if the opportunity doesn't happen, I'll still move." to respond to that part of the manager's question.

2. Looks good, but it should be "don't" (with apostrophe). The question is fine.

All the sentences are neutral in style. They are fine for polite communication.

I hope that helps.

Hello, I would like to ask if the following are correct 1.Hope you are having a great time with your friends (I mean during holidays) 2.We will start again lessons next Monday Thank you in advance

The first sentence is fine. It's quite common to miss out the 'I' at the start of 'I hope...' when expressing wishes in an informal context.

The second sentence has a problem with word order. It should be ' ...start lessons again... ' and not ' ...start again lessons... '

Hi Would you please tell me the differences in using of - look, - see and - pay attention"?

Thank you in advance

Hello Enny Kabora,

See (something) is what our eyes do. It's a passive function in the sense that we do not consciously control it - as long as our eyes are open they will see things.

Look (at something) is what we do with out eyes. It's a conscious action. We choose to look in a particular direction or at a particular thing.

Pay attention ( to something) is another way to say focus on something or concentrate on something. It means that we are taking care not to miss something because it is important.

Of course, the context in which the words are used is important too.

Hello, I would like to ask which of the following is correct 1.He makes questions 2.He asks questions 3.I need to practice on how to make/ask questions(is this sentence correct?) If both are correct what is their difference? Thank you in advance

Both 1 and 2 are correct. There is a difference in meaning. To "ask" a question means to say the question to someone else. To "make" a question is the action of forming or constructing a question, and it does not necessarily mean that you ask it to anybody. For example, when a teacher is writing an exam paper, (s)he is making questions.

A small correction in 3: it should be one of these options.

• "I need to practise how to ..." (here, "practise" is a verb)
• "I need practice on how to ..." (here, "practice" is a noun).

Hello, I would like to ask if the following is correct : The lack of some vitamins have caused him dizziness Thank you in advance

I think we'd normally say 'some dizziness' but otherwise that is grammatically correct.

Hello I would like to ask if the following sentence is correct Can you show me please your French book that you have for school?(I mean that I would like to see/read the book that they use for their lesson at school) Thank you in advance

The sentence is grammatically fine but it doesn't quite sound natural to me. I think something like this would be better:

Can you show me the book you have/use for French in school, please? Can you show me your French textbook, please?

Hello I would like to ask if the following is correct In June I will attend the French/Maths/ course which will be intensive(Many hours during the day and will last a month) Thank you in advance

Are you asking about the verb form or the predicate of the sentence? It's difficult to evaluate the verb form without knowing more about why you're saying this. If you look at the Talking about the future page, you'll see what I mean -- we use one verb form or another depending on the purpose of our statement.

Re: the predicate, I'm also a little confused. Is it a French course or a math course? Or both? In any case, I'd probably just say 'intensive maths course' or 'intensive French course'.

Hello, Thank you for the reply. I would like to ask if I have used the correct verb.And also if I can use the verb in order to talk about a course that when it will be completed I will take a certificate,.Finally which preposition is ok.for example : I will attend an Intensive Math course or the Intensive month course? Thank you in advance

Hello Nagie23,

As far as the verb form goes, you have several choices:

> I will attend - this describes a decision you have made and suggests that it's not something you have yet planned

> I'm going to attend - this describes an intention and suggest that it's something you have planned and not simply decided on the spur of the moment

> I'm attending - this describes an arrangement and suggests your plan is organised and already put in place (deposit paid, reservation made etc)

The correct article (not preposition) is probably 'an' since this is likely the first time you are telling the listener about it. Of course, without knowing the context it's impossible to be sure.

Hello, I would like to ask if the following are correct If we don't understand someone who talks can we say 1. Excuse me , can you please repeat ? 2. Could you please speak slower? Thank you in advance

Hi Nagie23,

Yes, right. In 1, it sounds more natural to say "can you please repeat that ?" In 2, you can also say "Could you please speak a bit slower?" to make it sound more polite.

Hello I would like to ask which of the following is correct (IAM happy that they practice) 1.I am happy that they have the opportunity to speak in English with you during the week Or 2.I am happy that they have the opportunity to speak with you in English during the week Thank you in advance

They are both correct :)

Sir, I would like to know about the word in this sentences. (What are the things that can not be -brought- to school.) (Books borrowed from the library are not to be -kept- for more than seven days.) Are these words (brought, kept) past participle or adjective? What grammar point is it? Could you tell me please?

These are past participles. They are part of a passive structure ( be  + past participle). You can have a look at our Passives grammar page (linked) to learn more about it. I hope you find it useful!

Thank you Sir.

Good morning , I would like to ask the following Can we say - The sugar weakens/influences the immune system during an illness-flue -Instead you can have honey Thank you in advance

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A final summary of verbs, this grammar.com article is about a final summary of verbs — enjoy your reading.

To win will be thrilling.

The infinitive phrase to win acts as a noun (as the subject of the sentence). The verb will be serves as the verb. The -ing verb thrilling acts as the predicate adjective. That’s power. With so much versatility inherent in the verb form, one would think that writers would favor verb-based writing. The good writers do just that: They fashion their styles around the verb. But soft, fluffy writers shy away from verbs. Instead, they prefer the noun form. We’ll explore this tension in our language (nouns vs. verbs) in the Grammar eBook Developing a Powerful Writing Style . Hard Copy You may download our entire discussion of the Parts of Speech. Simply download the Grammar eBook Understanding the Parts of Speech .   Previous: Verb Function 5 - Participial Adjectives Next: Adjectives - Definition, Overview, and Lists of Examples

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Definition of summary

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of summary  (Entry 2 of 2)

• apothegmatic
• compendious
• elliptic
• epigrammatic
• monosyllabic
• sententious
• telegraphic
• encapsulation
• recapitulation
• resume
• resumé
• run-through
• summarization

concise , terse , succinct , laconic , summary , pithy , compendious mean very brief in statement or expression.

concise suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative.

terse implies pointed conciseness.

succinct implies the greatest possible compression.

laconic implies brevity to the point of seeming rude, indifferent, or mysterious.

summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation.

pithy adds to succinct or terse the implication of richness of meaning or substance.

compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment.

Example Sentences

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'summary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle English, from Medieval Latin summarius , from Latin summa sum

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

1509, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing summary

• summary proceeding
• summary judgment

Dictionary Entries Near summary

summary court

Cite this Entry

“Summary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/summary. Accessed 28 Aug. 2023.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of summary.

Kids Definition of summary  (Entry 2 of 2)

Legal Definition

Legal definition of summary, more from merriam-webster on summary.

Nglish: Translation of summary for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of summary for Arabic Speakers

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Introduction to Verb Tenses

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This handout explains and describes the sequence of verb tenses in English.

Only two tenses are conveyed through the verb alone: present (“sing") and past (“sang"). Most English tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called auxiliaries. Understanding the six basic tenses allows writers to re-create much of the reality of time in their writing.

Simple Present: They walk.

Present Perfect: They have walk ed .

Simple Past: They walk ed .

Past Perfect: They had walk ed .

Future: They will walk.

Future Perfect: They will have walk ed .

Usually, the perfect tenses are the hardest to remember. Here’s a useful tip: all of the perfect tenses are formed by adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part.

1 st principal part (simple present): ring, walk

2 nd principal part (simple past): rang, walked

3 rd principal part (past participle): rung, walked

In the above examples, will or will have are the auxiliaries. The following are the most common auxiliaries: be, being, been, can, do, may, must, might, could, should, ought, shall, will, would, has, have, had.

Present Perfect

The present perfect consists of a past participle (the third principal part) with "has" or "have." It designates action which began in the past but which continues into the present or the effect of which still continues.

1. Simple Past : “Betty taught for ten years.” This means that Betty taught in the past; she is no longer teaching.

2. Present Perfect : “Betty has taught for ten years.” This means that Betty taught for ten years, and she still teaches today.

1. Simple Past : “John did his homework so he can go to the movies.” In this example, John has already completed his homework.

2. Present Perfect : “If John has done his homework, he can go to the movies.” In this case, John has not yet completed his homework, but he will most likely do so soon.

Present Perfect Infinitives

Infinitives also have perfect tense forms. These occur when the infinitive is combined with the word “have.” Sometimes, problems arise when infinitives are used with verbs of the future, such as “hope,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” or “want.”

I wanted to go to the movies.

Janet meant to see the doctor.

In both of these cases, the action happened in the past. Thus, these would both be simple past verb forms.

Present perfect infinitives, such as the examples below, set up a sequence of events. Usually the action that is represented by the present perfect tense was completed before the action of the main verb.

1. I am happy to have participated in this campaign! The current state of happiness is in the present: “I am happy.” Yet, this happiness comes from having participated in this campaign that most likely happened in the near past. Therefore, the person is saying that he or she is currently happy due to an event that happened in the near past.

2. John had hoped to have won the trophy. The past perfect verbal phrase, “had hoped,” indicates that John hoped in the past, and no longer does. “To have won the trophy” indicates a moment in the near past when the trophy was still able to be won. Thus, John, at the time of possibly winning the trophy, had hoped to do so, but never did.

Thus the action of the main verb points back in time; the action of the perfect infinitive has been completed.

Past Perfect

The past perfect tense designates action in the past just as simple past does, but the past perfect’s action has been completed before another action.

1. Simple Past : “John raised vegetables.” Here, John raised vegetables at an indeterminate time in the past.

2. Past Perfect : “John sold the vegetables that he had raised .” In this sentence, John raised the vegetables before he sold them.

1. Simple Past : “Renee washed the car when George arrived.” In this sentence, Renee waited to wash the car until after George arrived.

2. Past Perfect : “Renee had washed the car when George arrived.” Here, Renee had already finished washing the car by the time George arrived.

In sentences expressing condition and result, the past perfect tense is used in the part that states the condition.

1. If I had done my exercises, I would have passed the test.

2. I think Sven would have been elected if he hadn't sounded so pompous.

Further, in both cases, the word if starts the conditional part of the sentence. Usually, results are marked by an implied then . For example:

If I had done my exercises, then I would have passed the test.

If Sven hadn’t sounded so pompous, then he would have been elected.

Again, the word then is not required, but it is implied.

Future Perfect

The future perfect tense is used for an action that will be completed at a specific time in the future.

1. Simple Future : “On Saturday, I will finish my housework.” In this sentence, the person will finish his or her housework sometime on Saturday.

2. Future Perfect : “By noon on Saturday, I will have finished my housework.” By noon on Saturday, this person will have the housework already done even though right now it is in the future.

1. Simple Future : “You will work fifty hours.” In this example, you will work fifty hours in the future. The implication here is that you will not work more than fifty hours.

2. Future Perfect : “You will have worked fifty hours by the end of this pay period.” By the end of this pay period, you would have already worked fifty hours. However, as of right now, this situation is in the future. The implication here is that you could work more hours.

1. Judy saved thirty dollars. (past—the saving is completed)

2. Judy will save thirty dollars. (future—the saving has not happened yet)

3. Judy has saved thirty dollars. (present perfect—the saving has happened recently)

4. Judy had saved thirty dollars by the end of last month. (past perfect—the saving occurred in the recent past)

5. Judy will have saved thirty dollars by the end of this month. (future perfect—the saving will occur in the near future, by the end of this month)

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Verbs: Types of Verbs, Definition and Examples

Think of all the actions you can perform. You can walk , run , and dance . You can speak , read , and write .

All of these are verbs —words that tell us what the subject of a sentence is doing.

Verbs are one of the most important parts of speech. In fact, they’re the only word that every complete sentence needs to include.

You can build a grammatically complete sentence without any nouns or adjectives , but no matter what, you need a verb.

If you want your writing to be clear and effective, you need to understand the different types of verbs and how they work.

This article will give you a complete guide to verbs to help you improve your writing.

What Is a Verb: A Simple Explanation

A verb is a word that denotes action or a state of being.

As a part of speech in grammar, a verb is the action in the sentence. Along with a noun, the verb is a critical component of a complete sentence. Somebody (noun) does something (verb).

In grammar, the doer is the subject, and the action is the predicate (the part of the sentence containing the verb and describing the subject).

Those two elements form a complete sentence: “Jim grins .”

You may want more information in your sentence, like an object: “Jim grins at Sally .”

You may add subordinate clauses : “Jim grins at Sally when she fumbles the ball .”

However complex your sentence, the verb is the action. It tells you what the subject is doing, feeling, or being.

How to Use Verbs in Writing

You use verbs every day when you talk and write. Because verbs denote action, they move every story forward.

In writing, your verb choice delivers a punch to your prose.

Using the right verb also increases readability for your audience because you don’t need to lengthen the sentence by describing the action with extra modifiers. The verb does all the work.

Here are our three favorite tips for how to use verbs well in your writing.

Tip #1: Don’t Hide Your Verbs

Many writers unintentionally hide their verbs by turning them into nouns accompanied by a weak verb.

Take these two sentences:

• "We will decide tomorrow.”
• “We will make a decision tomorrow.”

The first sentence is shorter and more direct. In the second sentence, the strong verb decide is changed into the weaker make , which dilutes the meaning.

How can you spot hidden verbs? Look for words ending in -ment , -tion , -sion , and -ance .

Also, if you’ve used weak verbs like give , have , make , reach , and take , this could be a sign of a hidden verb.

Reading through your whole document to find weak verbs takes time. ProWritingAid automatically highlights your hidden verbs so you can change them with a single click.

Tip #2: Avoid Passive Verbs

You could say “The ball was thrown by me” or “I threw the ball,” and both sentences mean the same thing.

However, it’s normally better to convey action and grab your reader’s attention, rather than using passive verbs like is , has , and was .

Rewording your sentences to favor active verbs instead of passive verbs will strengthen your writing.

For example, you can use a verb instead of an adjective:

• Original Sentence: He is asleep under the tree.
• Improved Sentence: He sleeps under the tree.

The verb sleeps is more powerful than the passive version is asleep .

Similarly, you can use a verb instead of a noun:

• Original Sentence: She was a good writer .
• Improved Sentence: She wrote well.

Once again, the verb wrote is more powerful than the passive version was a writer , because it conveys movement and action.

Letting active verbs do the heavy lifting in your sentence will help you convey your point in a strong and concise way.

Tip #3: Choose Specific Verbs Instead of Modifying Weak Verbs

Some verbs in the English language are more descriptive and precise than others.

For example, the word whispered conveys more information than the word said , because it implies adverbs like quietly or furtively .

Similarly, the verb sprint conveys more information than move , because it tells the reader the specific type of movement being described.

There’s nothing wrong with using a generic verb like said , but if you want to provide more information, it’s almost always better to use a specific verb instead of modifying a weak verb.

Sometimes, this rule means replacing a generic verb and its adverb with a stronger, more specific verb. Consider the following example:

Original Sentence: She walked slowly up the stairs.

Improved Sentence: She trudged up the stairs.

Trudged is more concise and evocative than walked slowly .

Other times, this rule can also mean replacing a generic verb and a modifying phrase with a stronger verb.

• Original Sentence: He smiled in a mean way at the new kid in class.
• Improved Sentence: He sneered at the new kid in class.

Sneered is a more interesting way to say smiled in a mean way and will make your writing more powerful.

Keep in mind it's okay to use phrasal verbs, which are verbs that consist of multiple words, such as break down and let go .

There's a difference between using a phrasal verb and modifying a generic verb.

Choosing the right verb can help you say a lot more with fewer words.

A grammar guru, style editor, and writing mentor in one package.

Types of Verbs

There are three main types of verbs. Familiarity with verb types will help you understand when to use each type and when to avoid a verb type.

The three verb types are:

• Action verbs (which can be transitive or intransitive )
• Modal or helping verbs
• Linking verbs

Let’s take a closer look at each of these verb types and how they function in a sentence.

Action Verb: Definition & Examples

When a person or thing is doing something, that’s an action verb.

Action verbs are the best ones to use in your writing to move your story forward and create tension .

Action verbs can also clarify articles and papers by indicating direct action.

Action verbs are split into two categories: transitive verbs and intransitive verbs.

1) Transitive Verbs

A transitive verb is always followed by a noun that receives the action, called the direct object.

Consider the sentence “I patted my dog’s head.”

The transitive verb is “patted,” and the noun that’s receiving this action is “my dog’s head,” which is the direct object of the action verb.

Sometimes an object can be indirect, such as when you’re expressing to whom the action is being done.

Consider the sentence “Mary gave Angelina a kiss on the cheek.”

The verb is “gave,” and the direct object was “a kiss.” To whom it happened was Angelina, the indirect object of the sentence.

Transitive verbs act on direct and indirect objects. Something or someone always gets affected by this type of verb.

2) Intransitive Verbs

When an action verb has no direct object, it’s called an intransitive verb. An adverb or adverb phrase can follow intransitive verbs, but there will not be a direct object.

Consider the sentence “Matthew runs away quickly.”

The verb is runs , and the phrase “away quickly” tells us more about the verb, but there is no object in the sentence to receive the action. Therefore, runs is an intransitive verb.

An easy way to tell the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb is to ask the question, “Who or what is receiving the action from this verb?”

• If you can name a noun that’s on the receiving end, it’s a transitive verb.
• If you can’t name a noun, whether a direct or indirect object, then the verb is intransitive.

Either way, transitive or intransitive, active verbs lend immediacy to your sentence, drawing in the reader.

Auxiliary Verb: Definition & Examples

An auxiliary verb, also called a helping verb, modifies the action in the main verb.

Auxiliary verbs help readers to understand the main verb. They typically change the mood or tense of the main verb.

Auxiliary verbs provide hints related to the possibility of something happening (can, should, would, etc.) or time (has, did, was, etc.).

When you add auxiliary verbs to your sentence, you create verb phrases.

Auxiliary verb examples:

• Laura is (helping verb) writing (main action verb) her life story.
• Her story might (helping verb) be (main verb) embarrassing for some of her friends.

The following verbs always function as auxiliary verbs or helping verbs:

In addition, you can have auxiliary verbs comprising the forms of to be , to do , and to have .

Keep in mind that the following words can also serve as linking verbs (which we’ll discuss next):

Examples of be, do, have helping verbs in sentences:

• Juliet is changing trains at the station.
• Daniel had eaten everything on his plate.
• Every cyclist does dismount at the crossing.

Linking Verb: Definition & Examples

A linking verb connects the subject of your sentence to a noun or adjective that describes your subject. The noun or adjective is called the “subject complement.”

Here are some examples:

• My daughter is a marketing major.
• We are your new neighbors.

The most common linking verb can be found in the various forms of to be ( am , are , is , was , were , etc.). These are also called stative verbs, because they describe a state of being.

To become and to seem are always linking verbs. The following verbs, however, can sometimes be linking verbs and other times be action verbs:

• To continue

Here is an example of the difference between a linking verb and an action verb.

Linking: The seafood smelled off. (The linking verb smelled links seafood to off )

Action: I smelled the seafood before eating. (The action verb refers to the action of smelling)

Why Are Verbs Important?

Verbs are action words that engage your reader and help them picture what's happening in your writing.

Choosing the right verb can elicit an emotional response, whether you're writing academic essays or narrative fiction .

Verbs in Academic Writing

Academic writing tends to stick to more formal writing styles than fiction writing, but you still want to keep your reader’s interest and communicate your points clearly.

Whether you’re a student writing essays for class, or a professional researcher trying to publish a paper, using strong action verbs will improve your academic writing.

Look for weak verbs in your writing and try to replace them with precise and dynamic verbs.

Consider the following examples of verb choices in academic writing.

• Original Sentence: “A recent psychological study makes it clear that children are more likely to respond to positive reinforcement than negative reinforcement.”

Improved Sentence: “A recent psychological study demonstrates that children are more likely to respond to positive reinforcement than negative reinforcement.”

Original Sentence: “This result is an example of how a single night of sleep loss can have long-term impacts on the brain.”

Improved Sentence: “This result illustrates how a single night of sleep loss can have long-term impacts on the brain.”

Original Sentence: “Her findings are in agreement with the conclusions I’ve presented in this paper.”

• Improved Sentence: “Her findings support the conclusions I’ve presented in this paper.”

If you are new to thinking about verb use, here’s a list of 100 strong English verbs you can use to improve your essays, papers, and articles:

• Contemplate
• Corroborate
• Demonstrate
• Hypothesize
• Misconstrue
• Substantiate

Verbs in Fiction Writing

Fiction writers use verbs with exactitude to prompt reader engagement, thereby sparking emotions and a desire to keep reading.

Dull verbs make for lackluster reading. Finding the right verb for your character’s action brings your story to life.

You might have heard the classic writing advice “Show, don’t tell.” Using strong verbs is a great way to show the reader what’s happening clearly and concisely.

Consider the following examples of verb choice in fiction writing.

• Original Sentence: “Her long skirt was blown outward as she fell through the air.”
• Improved Sentence: “Her long skirt ballooned outward as she fell through the air.”
• Original Sentence: “The sound of his father’s last words was still running through his mind.”
• Improved Sentence: “The sound of his father’s last words reverberated through his mind.”
• Original Sentence: “The man in the black hat walked into the room.”
• Improved Sentence: “The man in the black hat charged into the room.”

If you want a good starting point for stronger verbs to use, here’s a list of 100 strong verbs in English that you can use for fiction writing:

• Reverberate

Using ProWritingAid to Strengthen Your Verbs

It’s easy to skip over weak verbs in your writing when you’re self-editing.

But, taking time to focus directly on your verbs helps ensure you’re always using the best word for your sentence.

ProWritingAid’s Thesaurus Report highlights all the verbs in your writing so you can get an overview of the strength and specificity of your word choices throughout your document.

Hover over a verb to see synonyms and click to replace weak verbs in your text with more powerful alternatives.

Conclusion on Verbs

There you have it: our complete guide to verbs.

Here’s a quick recap of everything we’ve discussed.

Increase the power of your writing by following these three tips:

• Don’t hide your verbs
• Avoid passive verbs
• Choose specific verbs instead of modifying weak verbs

Action verbs (such as run, jump, and dance)

Modal or helping verbs (such as can, was, and has)

Linking verbs (such as to look, to feel, and to taste)

Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, specific verbs spark emotions in your readers and keep them engrossed in your writing.

We hope this article helps you choose strong verbs to create powerful, professional prose.

Take your writing to the next level:

20 Editing Tips From Professional Writers

Whether you are writing a novel, essay, article, or email, good writing is an essential part of communicating your ideas., this guide contains the 20 most important writing tips and techniques from a wide range of professional writers., common questions about verbs: types of verbs, definition and examples, can i use a gerund after "allows", which version of the verb should be used with "every", what verb form should you use after "consider" and "imagine" infinitive or gerund, do you need to include "started to" in a sentence, should you use "going to" or "will", why should you not overuse words like "believe" and "think", why is "do + verb" not a great construct, what is a split infinitive and when should you avoid using one, why should you not overuse "knew", why should you not overuse "feel", why should you not overuse "could", why shouldn't i write "start to" or "begin to", what are modal verbs how do you use them, why should i use "went" instead of "decided to go", when can you omit "in order" in a sentence, what is correct subject–verb agreement, do we need "manage to" in a sentence, "was/were able to" vs "could", "(am/are/is/was/were) not going to" vs "will not", "indicate" vs "show", what form of verb should be used after "been" or "was", should i use "conduct an interrogation of" or "interrogate" in my work, "participate" vs "take part", when should you use "choose/decide" before an infinitive, should i use "demonstrate" or "show" in my work, subject–verb agreement, what form of verb should you use after modal verbs, what forms should you use after "have", incorrect verb form, watch out for hidden verbs in your writing—set them free (video available), obtain vs get, learn more about grammar:, your personal writing coach.

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Definition of summarize verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

• contain, give, offer, present, provide
• brief, concise, succinct
• descriptive, detailed
• ~ of findings
• briefly, concisely, succinctly
• data, finding, result
• recommendation
• In conclusion , the study has provided useful insights into the issues relating to people's perception of crime.
• Based on this study, it can be concluded that the introduction of new street lighting did not reduce reported crime.
• To sum up , no evidence can be found to support the view that improved street lighting reduces reported crime.
• The available evidence clearly leads to the conclusion that the media do have an influence on the public perception of crime.
• The main conclusion to be drawn from this study is that the public perception of crime is significantly influenced by crime news reporting.
• This study has shown that people's fear of crime is out of all proportion to crime itself.
• Fear of crime is out of all proportion to the actual level of crime, and the reasons for this can be summarized as follows . First…
• Overall / In general , women are more likely than men to feel insecure walking alone after dark.

Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!

Nearby words

Table of Verb Tenses in English Grammar

Overview of all english tenses.

English has a grand total of 12 different verb tenses.

Check out the table below for a full summary of all the different tenses complete with examples and signal words.

How good is your English?

Find out with Lingolia’s free grammar test

Take the test!

Maybe later

English verb tenses

Why do we need tenses.

Imagine the verb doesn't have a tense and only has the infinitive form (to walk, to speak, to read). What kind of information can you get from the infinitive? You can only learn what the action is. Did it happen in the past, is it happening now, or maybe it will happen in the future? Is the action complete or not?

Can we specify all that without any additional words, but with the help of verbs themselves? Yes, and the verb tenses make it possible. "I learn", "I learnt", "I will learn" are three different verb tenses, but of course, there are many more.

How do we get 12 tenses?

In English, all tenses have two characteristics:

• Where on a time scale is the tense? So, we get the  present, the past, and the  future
• Do we want to stress the regularity, the process or the result of the action? Depending on that, we choose between  simple, continuous, perfect and  perfect continuous

As 3 * 4 = 12, we have 12 tenses. Some of them are widely used and some, like future perfect continuous, are used relatively rarely because of their complexity.

Simple tense is often called "indefinite", and continuous can also be called "progressive".

Table of verb tenses

Click on the tense in the table to view its basic characteristics.

Present Simple (Present Indefinite)

Present continuous (present progressive), present perfect, present perfect continuous, past simple (past indefinite), past continuous (past progressive), past perfect, past perfect continuous (past perfect progressive), future simple (future indefinite), future continuous (future progressive), future perfect, future perfect continuous (future perfect progressive).

You can read more on how to form and how to use each tense in the related topics.

• English Grammar
• Parts of Speech

Verbs - Definition, Types, Uses and Examples

I that. You this? Not able to figure out what it means?

I did that. Did you do this?

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you could not do anything or could not speak about anything you did just because you do not have the words to represent those actions? Well, that would never happen because that is what verbs are for. Learn everything you should know about verbs, the types of verbs and how to use them in everyday communication by going through the following topics.

Table of Contents

Definition of a verb, verbs referring to actions, verbs referring to experiences or feelings, verbs referring to a state or condition, the various types of verbs with examples, different categories of verbs, conjugating verbs in the english language – tense forms, points to remember.

• Frequently Asked Questions on Verbs

Verbs in English Grammar

In the English language  or any language for that matter, verbs happen to be an essential part of speech , without which it would be impossible to indicate what the subject is doing. It refers to all actions, including those related to feelings and emotions. Verbs come in different types and forms so that they can perform differently in order to provide complete meaning. Before we look into the types of verbs and the verb forms , let us look at how various dictionaries define the term ‘verb’.

The Oxford Learners’ Dictionary defines a ‘verb’ as “a word or group of words that express an action (such as eat ), an event (such as happen ) or a state (such as exist )”. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a ‘verb’ is defined as “a word or phrase that describes an action, condition, or experience”. The Collins Dictionary provides a much more elaborate definition of a verb. According to them, “A verb is a word such as ‘ sing’, ‘ feel’, or ‘ die’ which is used with a subject to say what someone or something does or what happens to them, or to give information about them”.

General Classification of Verbs according to What They Signify

Before we get into a broad classification, let us first have a look at how verbs can be classified generally according to what kind of action they signify.

Verbs referring to action ( action verbs ) are those that involve the movement of one’s body in one way or the other. Some examples of verbs referring to actions are as follows:

These are verbs that refer to something that you can feel or experience and do not necessarily involve a movement of any kind. Some examples of verbs referring to feelings and experiences are as follows:

These verbs are those that refer to situations or the state of being. All forms of ‘to be’ verbs belong to this category. Some examples of verbs referring to a state or condition are as follows:

Verbs can be classified into numerous types according to their function or role in a sentence or context. Let us look into the various types of verbs and some examples of each type of verb.

Auxiliary Verbs/Helping Verbs

Auxiliary verbs or helping verbs , as the name suggests, is a verb that is used to help another verb sound sensible and meaningful. It is used to change the other verb’s tense, mood or voice. So, every time an auxiliary verb is used, you always have one more verb, which acts as the main verb in a sentence.

Examples of auxiliary verbs are as follows:

One point you have to take care of when you use auxiliary verbs is that you should conjugate the auxiliary verb correctly according to the tense form of a sentence. Another specific fact about auxiliary verbs is that they can also be used as a main verb. Also, there are verbs called modal verbs that can be used as a helping verb.

Work out exercises on auxiliary verbs to practise.

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are those verbs that are used to denote the possibility, probability, capability or necessity of something happening. Modal verbs, unlike other auxiliary verbs, cannot be used as a main verb in a sentence.

Examples of modal verbs are as follows:

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs include phrases that are formed by combining two or more parts of speech that performs the same function as a verb in a sentence. In most cases, a phrasal verb results from a combination of a verb and a preposition .

Some examples of phrasal verbs are as follows:

• Think through
• Taken aback

Check out the list of phrasal verbs and exercise on phrasal verbs .

Linking Verbs

A linking verb , just like the name suggests, is a type of verb that is used to link the subjects in a sentence to the other parts of the sentence so that it is meaningful. It connects the subject to the object , an adjective and even a prepositional phrase . All ‘to be’ forms of verbs and verbs like ‘seem’ and ‘become’ can act as linking verbs.

Have a look at the following examples to understand how verbs perform the role of a linking verb in sentences.

Example 1: Connecting Nouns to Other Nouns in a Sentence

Danny is my brother.

In the above example, the verb ‘is’ is used to connect the subject ‘Danny’ as the ‘brother’ of the speaker. In this sentence, the words ‘Danny’ and ‘brother’ are used to refer to the same person.

Example 2: Connecting a Noun to a Prepositional Phrase in a Sentence

The children were in the park.

In Example 2, the verb ‘were’ is used to connect the subject ‘the children’ to the prepositional phrase ‘in the park’.

Example 3: Connecting a Noun/Subject to an Adjective

Your presentation of the life cycle of the silkworm was excellent.

In the above example, the verb ‘was’ is used to link the subject ‘Your presentation of the life cycle of a silkworm’ to the adjective ‘excellent’.

Example 4: Connecting the Subject/Noun to the Predicate using Seem/Become

This book on a treasure hunt seems interesting.

In this sentence, the subject ‘This book on a treasure hunt’ is connected to the adjective ‘interesting’ with the linking verb ‘seem’.

The students became bored after two continuous hours of classes and were not ready to take another hour of class without a break in between.

In the above sentence, the subject ‘The students’ has been linked to the rest of the sentence with the linking verb ‘became’.

Verbs can be divided into different categories according to their behaviour when used in a context. Let us look at the categories explained below.

Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs

As you can see, verbs are used to denote actions, and they can be used in different forms to indicate when the subject in a sentence is carrying out an action. A regular verb can be conjugated to show if the action takes place in the past or if the action is taking place continuously.

In most cases, the past form of the verb is formed by adding an ‘ed’ to the root verb for regular verbs. On the other hand, there are other verbs that do not follow this rule. They are called irregular verbs . These verbs have their own unique forms. If you are wondering how to learn these irregular verbs, read the article on irregular verbs to find out how.

Have a look at the examples given below.

• Dileep searched for his white shirt in his cupboard, but he did not find it. (Root verb – search)
• Did you find the book you were looking for?

In the above examples, the verb ‘searched’ is the past form of the regular verb ‘search’ by adding an ‘ed’ and the verb form ‘looking’ indicates the continuous form of the regular verb ‘look’ by adding an ‘ing’ to the end of the root verb.

• Selena read the book on the evolution of life on earth.
• Vineeth found the keys that went missing yesterday.

In the above examples, the verb ‘read’ stays the same in the past form and when used as a past participle. ‘Found’ is the past form of the root verb ‘find’.

Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive and intransitive forms of verbs are used to denote how a verb acts when used with a direct object and an indirect object . Let us look at a few examples.

• Vincent gave a box of chocolates to his brother. (Indirect object – his brother, Direct object – a box of chocolates)
• Garry passed the water bottle to Kevin, who was sitting in the first row. (Indirect object – Kevin, Direct object – the water bottle)
• The little girl ran around the park for two hours.
• Francey walked to school every day.
• My mom cleaned the house today. (Direct object – the house)
• Seena did not like the movie. (Direct object – the movie)

In the above examples, the verbs ‘gave’ and ‘passed’ in the first two sentences are seen to take a direct object and an indirect object, whereas the verbs ‘ran’ and ‘walked’ take no object at all. In the last two sentences, the verbs ‘cleaned’ and ‘did not like’ take a direct object and no indirect object.

Verbs that take a direct object alone are called transitive verbs, and those verbs that do not take either a direct object or an indirect object are called intransitive verbs . There is yet another category of verbs that take both the direct object and the indirect object, and they are called ditransitive verbs .

Also explore: Difference between singular and plural verbs ┃ Finite verbs ┃ Non-finite verbs ┃ Stative verbs ┃ Verbs exercises ┃ Subject-verb agreement exercises for class 9

A verb is used in different ways to indicate the time in which the subject is performing an action. There are various verb forms that are used to do the same. Let us look at the different verb forms explained below.

The raw or original form of the verb, how it originally exists in the English language, without any inflexions or conjugations, is called the root verb.

Some examples of root verbs are as follows:

Simple Present – Third Person Singular

The third person singular form of the verb in the present tense is mostly the verb in the singular form. When using the third person singular pronouns such as he, she and it, and the nouns that can be substituted by the third person singular pronouns, the verb is singular (mostly done just by adding an ‘s’ to the root verb) so that it agrees with the subject in the sentence.

For example:

Kenny likes to have mangoes after every meal. (The noun ‘Kenny’ can be substituted with the third person singular pronoun ‘he’)

The cat chases every rat it catches sight of. (The noun ‘The cat’ can be substituted with the third person singular pronoun ‘it’)

She hates going to work on Saturdays and Mondays.

Present Participle

The present participle is used in the continuous form of tenses to indicate an action that is continuing or in progress at that particular moment or sometime in the past or in the future . These words are formed just by adding an ‘ing’ to the root verb. For verbs ending with an ‘e’, in most cases, the present participle is formed by removing the ‘e’ and then adding ‘ing’ to the remaining portion of the verb.

Jhanvi is watching a movie along with her cousin. (Present Continuous Tense)

My mother is baking cakes (Present Continuous Tense)

All my brothers were playing dodgeball in the evening. (Past Continuous Tense)

Simple Past

There is a change in the spelling of the root verb when it is used to indicate the simple past tense form of the verb. There is no one rule to write a verb in the simple past tense; it changes for each verb – some verbs like ‘give’ and ‘bring’ take a different spelling, and some verbs like ‘cut’ and ‘put’ remain the same when used in the past tense. However, most verbs can be made into the past tense by adding an ‘ed’ at the end of the root verb.

• The doctor asked me to take tablets for ten days. (The rook verb here is ‘ask’)
• Nelson bought the car he checked out last week. (The root verbs here are ‘buy’ and ‘check’)
• The baby drank the milk completely. (The root verb here is ‘drink’)

Past participle

The past participle form of the verb is used to denote the perfect tense forms in a sentence. In some cases, the past tense and the past participle remain the same, but there are a number of verbs that have different spellings when used as a simple past tense verb and a past participle.

• I have searched the entire loft for that box, but I did not find it. (The root verb here is ‘search’, ‘have searched’ is the verb in the sentence that indicates the perfect tense and ‘searched’ is the past participle)
• Dylan had read the book already.

In the above example, the root verb here is ‘read’, ‘have read’ is the verb in the sentence that indicates the perfect tense and ‘read’ is the past participle. In this case, all forms of the verb take the same spelling but have a different pronunciation.

Any verb can be transformed into a gerund by adding ‘ing’ to the root verb. Gerunds, when it stands by themselves, can be used as nouns. A gerund can be used as a verb when used with an auxiliary verb to indicate an action that is continuing at a particular period of time.

• He is eating an apple.
• Joy will be coming home next week.
• Walking every day is good exercise.
• Drinking and driving is dangerous.

Infinitives

Infinitives, like gerunds, can be used to turn verbs into nouns by adding a preposition ‘to’ in front of the root verb.

• Would you like to have something?
• I like to dance in my free time.
• I am going to talk to my friend.

Active Voice and Passive Voice

According to the position of the subject and object in a sentence, the voice of the verb can be determined. A sentence in which the subject does the action is called the active voice, and a sentence in which the indirect object or the direct object is switched to make it the subject is called the passive voice.

• Active Voice – The doctor checked the patient.
• Passive Voice – The patient was checked by the doctor.

Verbs can be conjugated to denote the tense you need. There are four tense forms , namely the simple tense, the continuous tense, the perfect tense and the perfect continuous tense. These tense forms are used to represent three time periods such as the present, past and future, thereby forming twelve main tense forms in total.

You can learn more about tenses and how to conjugate them in detail by reading the article on tenses.

Here are some points for you to keep in mind when using verbs in your speech or writing.

• Always try to use an active voice in your speech and writing as it is preferred widely and conveys the message in a quick and simple manner. Do not use the passive voice unless it is absolutely necessary.
• When you conjugate verbs to indicate different tense forms, see to it that the subject and the verb agree with each other.
• Improve your vocabulary. Try to learn the specific verbs for every action instead of modifying other verbs to convey the same. For example, stroll means a leisurely walk, and jabber means to talk in a very excited, rapid and incomprehensible manner, yelp means a short and sharp cry to indicate pain or an alarm.

Frequently Asked Questions on Verbs in English Grammar

What is a verb.

Verbs happen to be an essential part of speech, without which it would be impossible to indicate what the subject is doing. It refers to all actions, including those related to feelings and emotions. Verbs come in different types and forms so that they can perform differently in order to provide complete meaning.

What is the definition of a verb?

The Oxford Learners’ Dictionary defines a ‘verb’ as “a word or group of words that express an action (such as eat), an event (such as happen) or a state (such as exist)”. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a ‘verb’ is defined as “a word or phrase that describes an action, condition, or experience”. The Collins Dictionary provides a much more elaborate definition of a verb. According to them, “A verb is a word such as ‘ sing’, ‘ feel’, or ‘ die’ which is used with a subject to say what someone or something does or what happens to them, or to give information about them”.

What are the types of verbs?

Verbs can be generally classified into three main categories with reference to what they signify, such as verbs referring to actions, verbs referring to experiences or feelings and verbs referring to a state or condition. Furthermore, it can be classified into auxiliary verbs (otherwise called helping verbs), modal verbs, phrasal verbs and linking verbs.

What are the different verb forms in the English language?

In the English language, there are eight to nine verb forms which include the root verb, the third person singular present form of the verb, the present participle, the simple past, the past participle, the gerunds, the infinitives, the active voice and the passive voice.

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When you underline and annotate a text, when you ask yourself questions about its contents, when you work out an outline of its structure, you are establishing your understanding of what you are reading. When you write a summary, you are demonstrating your understanding of the text and communicating it to your reader.

To summarize is to condense a text to its main points and to do so in your own words. To include every detail is neither necessary nor desirable. Instead, you should extract only those elements that you think are most important—the main idea (or thesis) and its essential supporting points, which in the original passage may have been interwoven with less important material.

Many students make the mistake of confusing summary with analysis. They are not the same thing. An analysis is a discussion of ideas, techniques, and/or meaning in a text. A summary, on the other hand, does not require you to critique or respond to the ideas in a text. When you analyze a piece of writing, you generally summarize the contents briefly in order to establish for the reader the ideas that your essay will then go on to analyze, but a summary is not a substitute for the analysis itself.

If you are writing a literature paper, for example, your teacher probably does not want you to simply write a plot summary. You may include some very brief summary within a literature paper, but only as much as necessary to make your own interpretation, your thesis, clear.

It is important to remember that a summary is not an outline or synopsis of the points that the author makes in the order that the author gives them. Instead, a summary is a distillation of the ideas or argument of the text. It is a reconstruction of the major point or points of development of a text, beginning with the thesis or main idea, followed by the points or details that support or elaborate on that idea.

If a text is organized in a linear fashion, you may be able to write a summary simply by paraphrasing the major points from the beginning of the text to the end. However, you should not assume that this will always be the case. Not all writers use such a straightforward structure. They may not state the thesis or main idea immediately at the beginning, but rather build up to it slowly, and they may introduce a point of development in one place and then return to it later in the text.

However, for the sake of clarity, a summary should present the author’s points in a straightforward structure. In order to write a good summary, you may have to gather minor points or components of an argument from different places in the text in order to summarize the text in an organized way. A point made in the beginning of an essay and then one made toward the end may need to be grouped together in your summary to concisely convey the argument that the author is making. In the end, you will have read, digested, and reconstructed the text in a shorter, more concise form.

WHEN AND HOW TO SUMMARIZE

There are many instances in which you will have to write a summary. You may be assigned to write a one or two page summary of an article or reading, or you may be asked to include a brief summary of a text as part of a response paper or critique. Also, you may write summaries of articles as part of the note-taking and planning process for a research paper, and you may want to include these summaries, or at least parts of them, in your paper. The writer of a research paper is especially dependent upon summary as a means of referring to source materials. Through the use of summary in a research paper, you can condense a broad range of information, and you can present and explain the relevance of a number of sources all dealing with the same subject.

You may also summarize your own paper in an introduction in order to present a brief overview of the ideas you will discuss throughout the rest of the paper.

Depending on the length and complexity of the original text as well as your purpose in using summary, a summary can be relatively brief—a short paragraph or even a single sentence—or quite lengthy—several paragraphs or even an entire paper.

QUALITIES OF A SUMMARY

A good summary should be comprehensive, concise, coherent, and independent . These qualities are explained below:

• A summary must be comprehensive: You should isolate all the important points in the original passage and note them down in a list. Review all the ideas on your list, and include in your summary all the ones that are indispensable to the author's development of her/his thesis or main idea.
• A summary must be concise: Eliminate repetitions in your list, even if the author restates the same points. Your summary should be considerably shorter than the source. You are hoping to create an overview; therefore, you need not include every repetition of a point or every supporting detail.
• A summary must be coherent: It should make sense as a piece of writing in its own right; it should not merely be taken directly from your list of notes or sound like a disjointed collection of points.
• A summary must be independent: You are not being asked to imitate the author of the text you are writing about. On the contrary, you are expected to maintain your own voice throughout the summary. Don't simply quote the author; instead use your own words to express your understanding of what you have read. After all, your summary is based on your interpretation of the writer's points or ideas. However, you should be careful not to create any misrepresentation or distortion by introducing comments or criticisms of your own.

TWO TECHNIQUES FOR WRITING SUMMARIES

Summarizing shorter texts (ten pages or fewer).

• Write a one-sentence summary of each paragraph.
• Formulate a single sentence that summarizes the whole text.
• Write a paragraph (or more): begin with the overall summary sentence and follow it with the paragraph summary sentences.
• Rearrange and rewrite the paragraph to make it clear and concise, to eliminate repetition and relatively minor points, and to provide transitions. The final version should be a complete, unified, and coherent.

Summarizing Longer Texts (more than ten pages)

• Outline the text. Break it down into its major sections—groups of paragraphs focused on a common topic—and list the main supporting points for each section.
• Write a one or two sentence summary of each section.
• Formulate a single sentence to summarize the whole text, looking at the author's thesis or topic sentences as a guide.
• Write a paragraph (or more): begin with the overall summary sentence and follow it with the section summary sentences.
• Rewrite and rearrange your paragraph(s) as needed to make your writing clear and concise, to eliminate relatively minor or repetitious points, and to provide transitions. Make sure your summary includes all the major supporting points of each idea. The final version should be a complete, unified, and coherent.

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• How to Write a Summary | Guide & Examples

How to Write a Summary | Guide & Examples

Published on November 23, 2020 by Shona McCombes . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Summarizing , or writing a summary, means giving a concise overview of a text’s main points in your own words. A summary is always much shorter than the original text.

There are five key steps that can help you to write a summary:

• Read the text
• Break it down into sections
• Identify the key points in each section
• Write the summary
• Check the summary against the article

Writing a summary does not involve critiquing or evaluating the source . You should simply provide an accurate account of the most important information and ideas (without copying any text from the original).

Table of contents

When to write a summary, step 1: read the text, step 2: break the text down into sections, step 3: identify the key points in each section, step 4: write the summary, step 5: check the summary against the article, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about summarizing.

There are many situations in which you might have to summarize an article or other source:

• As a stand-alone assignment to show you’ve understood the material
• To keep notes that will help you remember what you’ve read
• To give an overview of other researchers’ work in a literature review

When you’re writing an academic text like an essay , research paper , or dissertation , you’ll integrate sources in a variety of ways. You might use a brief quote to support your point, or paraphrase a few sentences or paragraphs.

But it’s often appropriate to summarize a whole article or chapter if it is especially relevant to your own research, or to provide an overview of a source before you analyze or critique it.

In any case, the goal of summarizing is to give your reader a clear understanding of the original source. Follow the five steps outlined below to write a good summary.

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The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

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• Missing reference entries

You should read the article more than once to make sure you’ve thoroughly understood it. It’s often effective to read in three stages:

• Scan the article quickly to get a sense of its topic and overall shape.
• Read the article carefully, highlighting important points and taking notes as you read.
• Skim the article again to confirm you’ve understood the key points, and reread any particularly important or difficult passages.

There are some tricks you can use to identify the key points as you read:

• Start by reading the abstract . This already contains the author’s own summary of their work, and it tells you what to expect from the article.
• Pay attention to headings and subheadings . These should give you a good sense of what each part is about.
• Read the introduction and the conclusion together and compare them: What did the author set out to do, and what was the outcome?

To make the text more manageable and understand its sub-points, break it down into smaller sections.

If the text is a scientific paper that follows a standard empirical structure, it is probably already organized into clearly marked sections, usually including an introduction , methods , results , and discussion .

Other types of articles may not be explicitly divided into sections. But most articles and essays will be structured around a series of sub-points or themes.

Now it’s time go through each section and pick out its most important points. What does your reader need to know to understand the overall argument or conclusion of the article?

Keep in mind that a summary does not involve paraphrasing every single paragraph of the article. Your goal is to extract the essential points, leaving out anything that can be considered background information or supplementary detail.

In a scientific article, there are some easy questions you can ask to identify the key points in each part.

If the article takes a different form, you might have to think more carefully about what points are most important for the reader to understand its argument.

In that case, pay particular attention to the thesis statement —the central claim that the author wants us to accept, which usually appears in the introduction—and the topic sentences that signal the main idea of each paragraph.

Now that you know the key points that the article aims to communicate, you need to put them in your own words.

To avoid plagiarism and show you’ve understood the article, it’s essential to properly paraphrase the author’s ideas. Do not copy and paste parts of the article, not even just a sentence or two.

The best way to do this is to put the article aside and write out your own understanding of the author’s key points.

Examples of article summaries

Let’s take a look at an example. Below, we summarize this article , which scientifically investigates the old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Davis et al. (2015) set out to empirically test the popular saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Apples are often used to represent a healthy lifestyle, and research has shown their nutritional properties could be beneficial for various aspects of health. The authors’ unique approach is to take the saying literally and ask: do people who eat apples use healthcare services less frequently? If there is indeed such a relationship, they suggest, promoting apple consumption could help reduce healthcare costs.

The study used publicly available cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants were categorized as either apple eaters or non-apple eaters based on their self-reported apple consumption in an average 24-hour period. They were also categorized as either avoiding or not avoiding the use of healthcare services in the past year. The data was statistically analyzed to test whether there was an association between apple consumption and several dependent variables: physician visits, hospital stays, use of mental health services, and use of prescription medication.

Although apple eaters were slightly more likely to have avoided physician visits, this relationship was not statistically significant after adjusting for various relevant factors. No association was found between apple consumption and hospital stays or mental health service use. However, apple eaters were found to be slightly more likely to have avoided using prescription medication. Based on these results, the authors conclude that an apple a day does not keep the doctor away, but it may keep the pharmacist away. They suggest that this finding could have implications for reducing healthcare costs, considering the high annual costs of prescription medication and the inexpensiveness of apples.

However, the authors also note several limitations of the study: most importantly, that apple eaters are likely to differ from non-apple eaters in ways that may have confounded the results (for example, apple eaters may be more likely to be health-conscious). To establish any causal relationship between apple consumption and avoidance of medication, they recommend experimental research.

An article summary like the above would be appropriate for a stand-alone summary assignment. However, you’ll often want to give an even more concise summary of an article.

For example, in a literature review or meta analysis you may want to briefly summarize this study as part of a wider discussion of various sources. In this case, we can boil our summary down even further to include only the most relevant information.

Using national survey data, Davis et al. (2015) tested the assertion that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” and did not find statistically significant evidence to support this hypothesis. While people who consumed apples were slightly less likely to use prescription medications, the study was unable to demonstrate a causal relationship between these variables.

Citing the source you’re summarizing

When including a summary as part of a larger text, it’s essential to properly cite the source you’re summarizing. The exact format depends on your citation style , but it usually includes an in-text citation and a full reference at the end of your paper.

You can easily create your citations and references in APA or MLA using our free citation generators.

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Finally, read through the article once more to ensure that:

• You’ve accurately represented the author’s work
• You haven’t missed any essential information
• The phrasing is not too similar to any sentences in the original.

If you’re summarizing many articles as part of your own work, it may be a good idea to use a plagiarism checker to double-check that your text is completely original and properly cited. Just be sure to use one that’s safe and reliable.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

A summary is a short overview of the main points of an article or other source, written entirely in your own words. Want to make your life super easy? Try our free text summarizer today!

A summary is always much shorter than the original text. The length of a summary can range from just a few sentences to several paragraphs; it depends on the length of the article you’re summarizing, and on the purpose of the summary.

You might have to write a summary of a source:

• As a stand-alone assignment to prove you understand the material
• For your own use, to keep notes on your reading
• To provide an overview of other researchers’ work in a literature review
• In a paper , to summarize or introduce a relevant study

To avoid plagiarism when summarizing an article or other source, follow these two rules:

• Write the summary entirely in your own words by paraphrasing the author’s ideas.
• Cite the source with an in-text citation and a full reference so your reader can easily find the original text.

An abstract concisely explains all the key points of an academic text such as a thesis , dissertation or journal article. It should summarize the whole text, not just introduce it.

An abstract is a type of summary , but summaries are also written elsewhere in academic writing . For example, you might summarize a source in a paper , in a literature review , or as a standalone assignment.

All can be done within seconds with our free text summarizer .

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McCombes, S. (2023, May 31). How to Write a Summary | Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-summarize/

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Inspirassion

54 verbs to use for the word summary.

Night once more threw its mantle over the scene , and under the cover of the darkness Donovan and Plyley , two of the best scouts , stealthily made their way out of the camp , and started for Fort Wallace with a dispatch from General Forsyth , who gave a brief summary of the situation , and stated that if necessary he could hold out for six days longer .

It was the morning after Crewe 's visit to Riversbrook , and the detective sat in his private office glancing through a note - book which contained a summary of the Hampstead mystery .

Crewe , after carefully reading his summary of the murder of Sir Horace Fewbanks , and making a few alterations in the text , drew from his pocket the glove which Inspector Chippenfield had handed him as a clue , took it to the window , and carefully examined it through a large magnifying glass .

In these events , General Lee bore no part , and we need not speak of them further than to present a summary of the results .

Carl Schurz , in his admirable life of Clay , makes a pertinent summary : " The slaveholders watched with apprehension the steady growth of the Free States in population , wealth , and power ....

In the absence of interesting facts apropos of the arrest of the distinguished K.C. , some of the papers published summaries of his legal career , and the more famous cases with which he had been connected .

Recapitulation charts , question and answer summaries and sight - reading exercises : excerpts from The Fundamentals of Music .

I therefore hasten to lay before you a summary of the transactions connected with this subject as they are gathered from Mr. Greely 's communications to this department .

A consideration and an analysis of these five classes of objections will constitute a summary of the relations of woman to the community , and may also serve as a guide or suggestion to the possibility of a legitimate development , in the near future , of her rights as a citizen .

Doomed to drudgery and hardships from infancy ... without either mental resources or personal beautywhat can be said in favor of the Indian women ? " A French author , Eugene A. Vail , writes an interesting summary ( 207 - 14 ) of the realistic descriptions given by older writers of the brutal treatment to which the women of the Northern Indians were subjected .

That all the love my passions crave will soon a full fruition find ; Fast my passion stronger grows , and if of love there measure be , Believe it , dearest , that the whole can find its summary in me !

These outlines embody brief summaries in chronological order of the leading facts and events , and throughout ease of reference has been considered of prime importance .

The comparatively small influence exerted by the French pastoral of the renaissance on that of England must excuse the scanty summary given in the preceding paragraphs .

So also at the beginning of Cursor Mundi ( c. 1320 ) we read : Men yernen jestis for to here And romaunce rede in diverse manere , and then follows a summary of the great cycles of romance , which we are considering .

Perhaps it may occur to some readers , that PART V. the last in order of the general heads of our plan , ought to have formed PART I. as partaking of the nature of an introduction to the subject , and forming a summary of the whole work .

The present section will , therefore , furnish a summary of these regulations as they are generally observed in this country .

No Tahitian was better informed than she upon the former status of her sex in Tahiti , and from her I gained a lively summary .

These commissioners , after a careful examination , made an official report , from which may be gleaned an interesting summary in numbers and values of the harvest of crime and destruction which the Kansas contest produced , and which report can be relied upon , since eye - witnesses and participants of both parties freely contributed their testimony at the invitation of the commissioners .

" Concluded not completed , " is the verdict of Carlyle upon one of his earlier studies , and " concluded not completed , " conscience is certainly apt to mutter at the close of so necessarily inadequate a summary as this .

Professor Bühler 's long note on the authenticity of the Jaina tradition I have transferred to an appendix ( p. 48 ) incorporating with it a summary of what he subsequently expanded in proof of his thesis .

Our contemporary biography sadly lacks vigorous and plain - speaking summaries of character .

If we call to mind a summary of the general divisions of human beings throughout the world , we shall find little room to doubt of the identity of their genus , and shall , without much trouble of reflection , class them as different species of that genus : Facies non omnibus una , Nec diversa , tamen .

He saw it all , before he was half done ; he did not need Torrey 's ejaculated summary : " The swindling scoundrel ! " to confirm him .

To which is prefixed a summary of all the necessary algebraical operations , arranged in order of difficulty .

Crewe was a painstaking detective as well as a brilliant one , and it was his custom to prepare several critical summaries of any important case on which he was engaged , writing and rewriting the facts and his comments , until he was satisfied that he had a perfect outline to work upon , with the details and clues of the crime in consecutive order and relation to one another .