main verb
A 'main verb' is crucial in conveying the primary action or state of the subject in a sentence, distinct from auxiliary verbs.
🇺🇸 US Voice:
🇬🇧 UK Voice:
Definition
A2General Grammar
(basic, educational)The primary verb in a sentence that shows the main action or state of the subject.
Example
- In the sentence 'She runs every morning,' 'runs' is the main verb.
B2Linguistics
(technical, academic)The verb in a clause that carries the highest semantic content, as opposed to auxiliary verbs.
Example
- In 'He has finished his homework,' 'finished' is the main verb, while 'has' is an auxiliary verb.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "main verb":
strong verbverb phraseweak verbindeterminate verbactive voice