Verbs are one of the most important parts of speech in English. They are used to describe actions (run, eat), states (be, have), and processes (grow, change). Every English sentence needs a verb to be complete, which makes learning common verbs essential for building correct and meaningful sentences.
This list includes 100 of the most frequently used English verbs, based on how often they appear in everyday conversation, writing, and media. Learning these verbs will help you understand native speakers better, improve your vocabulary, and use English more naturally.
100 Most Common Verbs in English
Below is a list of the 100 most common English verbs. Each verb includes a simple meaning and an example sentence to help you understand how it is used in real life.
1. To Be
Meaning: To exist; to describe a person or thing
Example: She is a teacher.
2. To Have
Meaning: To own or possess something
Example: They have two children.
3. To Do
Meaning: To perform an action or task
Example: I do my homework every night.
4. To Say
Meaning: To express something with words
Example: He said he would come.
5. To Go
Meaning: To move from one place to another
Example: We go to school by bus.
6. To Drive
Meaning: To control and operate a vehicle
Example: I drive to work every day.
7. To Get
Meaning: To receive, obtain, or become
Example: I got a gift for my birthday.
8. To Make
Meaning: To create or produce something
Example: He made a cake for her.
9. To Know
Meaning: To have knowledge or information
Example: I know the answer.
10. To Think
Meaning: To have an idea or opinion
Example: I think this is a great plan.
11. To Take
Meaning: To grab or carry something
Example: Please take your bag with you.
12. To See
Meaning: To use your eyes to look at something
Example: Did you see the sunset?
13. To Come
Meaning: To move toward someone or something
Example: She comes to work at 9 a.m.
14. To Want
Meaning: To wish for something
Example: I want a new phone.
15. To Look
Meaning: To direct your eyes at something
Example: Look at this beautiful painting.
16. To Use
Meaning: To do something with a tool or object
Example: I use a laptop for work.
17. To Find
Meaning: To discover something
Example: I found my keys under the bed.
18. To Give
Meaning: To hand something to someone
Example: She gave me a gift.
19. To Tell
Meaning: To say something to someone
Example: Please tell me the truth.
20. To Work
Meaning: To do a job or task
Example: I work at a hospital.
21. To Call
Meaning: To speak to someone on the phone or to shout to them
Example: I’ll call you later tonight.
22. To Try
Meaning: To attempt something
Example: He tried to fix the car himself.
23. To Ask
Meaning: To request information or help
Example: Can I ask you a question?
24. To Need
Meaning: To require something
Example: I need some water, please.
25. To Feel
Meaning: To experience an emotion or physical sensation
Example: I feel tired today.
26. To Become
Meaning: To begin to be something
Example: She became a doctor last year.
27. To Leave
Meaning: To go away from a place
Example: I left the party early.
28. To Put
Meaning: To place something in a specific position
Example: Please put your phone away.
29. To Mean
Meaning: To signify or represent something
Example: What does this word mean?
30. To Keep
Meaning: To hold or retain something
Example: You can keep the book.
31. To Let
Meaning: To allow someone to do something
Example: My parents let me stay out late.
32. To Begin
Meaning: To start something
Example: The meeting begins at 10 a.m.
33. To Seem
Meaning: To appear or look like something
Example: It seems difficult, but it’s not.
34. To Help
Meaning: To assist someone
Example: Can you help me carry this?
35. To Talk
Meaning: To speak with someone
Example: We need to talk about your grades.
36. To Turn
Meaning: To rotate or change direction
Example: Turn left at the corner.
37. To Start
Meaning: To begin doing something
Example: I will start a new project tomorrow.
38. To Show
Meaning: To display or explain something
Example: Can you show me how it works?
39. To Hear
Meaning: To notice sound with your ears
Example: Did you hear that noise?
40. To Play
Meaning: To take part in a game or activity
Example: The kids play outside every day.
41. To Run
Meaning: To move quickly with your feet
Example: I run in the park every morning.
42. To Move
Meaning: To change position or place
Example: We moved to a new house.
43. To Like
Meaning: To enjoy or prefer something
Example: I like chocolate ice cream.
44. To Live
Meaning: To reside in a place or to be alive
Example: I live in New York.
45. To Believe
Meaning: To accept as true
Example: I believe in honesty.
46. To Hold
Meaning: To carry or keep something in your hand
Example: Can you hold this for a second?
47. To Bring
Meaning: To take something to someone
Example: I’ll bring the documents tomorrow.
48. To Happen
Meaning: To take place or occur
Example: What happened at the meeting?
49. To Write
Meaning: To use words to express something on paper or screen
Example: She writes in her journal daily.
50. To Provide
Meaning: To offer or supply something
Example: The hotel provides free breakfast.
51. To Sit
Meaning: To rest on your bottom
Example: Please sit down.
52. To Stand
Meaning: To be upright on your feet
Example: He stood at the back of the room.
53. To Lose
Meaning: To misplace or not win
Example: I always lose my keys.
54. To Pay
Meaning: To give money for something
Example: I paid for lunch.
55. To Meet
Meaning: To come together with someone
Example: I met him yesterday.
56. To Include
Meaning: To contain as part of something
Example: The price includes breakfast.
57. To Continue
Meaning: To keep doing something
Example: Let’s continue this later.
58. To Set
Meaning: To place or arrange
Example: She set the table for dinner.
59. To Learn
Meaning: To gain knowledge or skill
Example: I’m learning English online.
60. To Change
Meaning: To make or become different
Example: I changed my phone number.
61. To Lead
Meaning: To guide or be in charge
Example: She leads the team well.
62. To Understand
Meaning: To know the meaning of something
Example: I understand the instructions.
63. To Watch
Meaning: To look at something carefully
Example: We watched a movie last night.
64. To Follow
Meaning: To come after or obey
Example: Follow the path to the lake.
65. To Stop
Meaning: To end or pause something
Example: Please stop talking.
66. To Create
Meaning: To make something new
Example: Artists create amazing work.
67. To Speak
Meaning: To talk or say something
Example: She speaks three languages.
68. To Read
Meaning: To look at and understand written words
Example: I read a book every night.
69. To Allow
Meaning: To permit something
Example: They don’t allow smoking here.
70. To Add
Meaning: To include something
Example: Add sugar to the coffee.
71. To Spend
Meaning: To use money or time
Example: I spent all day cleaning.
72. To Grow
Meaning: To increase in size or develop
Example: Plants grow in sunlight.
73. To Open
Meaning: To make something no longer closed
Example: Please open the window.
74. To Walk
Meaning: To move on foot
Example: I walk to school every day.
75. To Win
Meaning: To succeed in a contest or competition
Example: He won the race.
76. To Offer
Meaning: To present something for acceptance
Example: She offered me help.
77. To Remember
Meaning: To recall something
Example: I can’t remember his name.
78. To Love
Meaning: To deeply care or feel affection
Example: I love my family.
79. To Consider
Meaning: To think about something carefully
Example: We’re considering your idea.
80. To Appear
Meaning: To become visible or show up
Example: A rainbow appeared after the rain.
81. To Buy
Meaning: To get something by paying
Example: I bought a new jacket.
82. To Wait
Meaning: To stay until something happens
Example: Please wait for your turn.
83. To Serve
Meaning: To give food or help
Example: They served dinner at 7 p.m.
84. To Die
Meaning: To stop living
Example: Her grandfather died peacefully.
85. To Send
Meaning: To cause something to go to another place
Example: I’ll send you the file.
86. To Expect
Meaning: To think something will happen
Example: I expect good results.
87. To Build
Meaning: To construct something
Example: They’re building a new bridge.
88. To Stay
Meaning: To remain in a place
Example: I’ll stay here tonight.
89. To Fall
Meaning: To drop down
Example: Leaves fall in autumn.
90. To Cut
Meaning: To use something sharp to divide
Example: She cut the cake.
91. To Reach
Meaning: To arrive at or stretch toward
Example: We reached the top of the hill.
92. To Kill
Meaning: To cause death
Example: The poison killed the insects.
93. To Remain
Meaning: To stay in the same place or condition
Example: Only a few cookies remain.
94. To Suggest
Meaning: To give an idea or advice
Example: I suggest taking a break.
95. To Raise
Meaning: To lift or increase something
Example: They raised the price.
96. To Pass
Meaning: To go by or succeed
Example: I passed the exam.
97. To Sell
Meaning: To give something in exchange for money
Example: He sells fruits at the market.
98. To Require
Meaning: To need something
Example: The job requires experience.
99. To Report
Meaning: To give information about something
Example: She reported the issue to the manager.
100. To Decide
Meaning: To make a choice
Example: We decided to stay home.
Verb Forms: Base, Past, and Past Participle
Here is a table showing the base form, simple past, and past participle of the 100 most common English verbs.
| Base Form | Simple Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was/were | been |
| have | had | had |
| do | did | done |
| say | said | said |
| go | went | gone |
| drive | drove | driven |
| get | got | got/gotten |
| make | made | made |
| know | knew | known |
| think | thought | thought |
| take | took | taken |
| see | saw | seen |
| come | came | come |
| want | wanted | wanted |
| look | looked | looked |
| use | used | used |
| find | found | found |
| give | gave | given |
| tell | told | told |
| work | worked | worked |
| call | called | called |
| try | tried | tried |
| ask | asked | asked |
| need | needed | needed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| become | became | become |
| leave | left | left |
| put | put | put |
| mean | meant | meant |
| keep | kept | kept |
| let | let | let |
| begin | began | begun |
| seem | seemed | seemed |
| help | helped | helped |
| talk | talked | talked |
| turn | turned | turned |
| start | started | started |
| show | showed | shown |
| hear | heard | heard |
| play | played | played |
| run | ran | run |
| move | moved | moved |
| like | liked | liked |
| live | lived | lived |
| believe | believed | believed |
| hold | held | held |
| bring | brought | brought |
| happen | happened | happened |
| write | wrote | written |
| provide | provided | provided |
| sit | sat | sat |
| stand | stood | stood |
| lose | lost | lost |
| pay | paid | paid |
| meet | met | met |
| include | included | included |
| continue | continued | continued |
| set | set | set |
| learn | learned/learnt | learned/learnt |
| change | changed | changed |
| lead | led | led |
| understand | understood | understood |
| watch | watched | watched |
| follow | followed | followed |
| stop | stopped | stopped |
| create | created | created |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| read | read | read (pronounced “red”) |
| allow | allowed | allowed |
| add | added | added |
| spend | spent | spent |
| grow | grew | grown |
| open | opened | opened |
| walk | walked | walked |
| win | won | won |
| offer | offered | offered |
| remember | remembered | remembered |
| love | loved | loved |
| consider | considered | considered |
| appear | appeared | appeared |
| buy | bought | bought |
| wait | waited | waited |
| serve | served | served |
| die | died | died |
| send | sent | sent |
| expect | expected | expected |
| build | built | built |
| stay | stayed | stayed |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| cut | cut | cut |
| reach | reached | reached |
| kill | killed | killed |
| remain | remained | remained |
| suggest | suggested | suggested |
| raise | raised | raised |
| pass | passed | passed |
| sell | sold | sold |
| require | required | required |
| report | reported | reported |
| decide | decided | decided |
