verbe

A verb (verbe in French) is a word class that expresses actions, events, or states and functions as the predicate of a sentence. Verbs are typically marked for subject agreement and can encode tense, aspect, mood, voice, and modality.

Most languages distinguish finite verb forms, which show agreement and locate the time of the action, from non-finite forms such as infinitives, participles, and gerunds. Finite forms are used to predicate with a subject; non-finite forms are used in verbal periphrases or subordinate clauses.

Verbs can be main verbs or auxiliary verbs; auxiliaries help construct compound tenses, aspects, or voices (for example, have eaten, is going). Verbs may be transitive, intransitive, ditransitive, or copular, and may occur in active or passive voice.

Morphology varies: some languages have highly inflected verb systems with many tenses and moods; others rely on word order, particles, or helper words. Cross-linguistic differences mean that verb behavior and classification can differ substantially.

Etymology: the term verbe derives from the Latin verbum, meaning “word.” In many languages, the concept parallels the English term “verb,” while the forms and usage patterns differ across families such as the Romance, Germanic, Slavic, and Sino-Tibetan languages. See also verb and verbal.