Tense: This indicates when the action happens.
* Present tense: The action is happening now (e.g., "I walk").
* Past tense: The action happened before now (e.g., "I walked").
* Future tense: The action will happen in the future (e.g., "I will walk").
Voice: This indicates who is performing the action.
* Active voice: The subject of the sentence performs the action (e.g., "The dog chased the ball").
* Passive voice: The subject of the sentence receives the action (e.g., "The ball was chased by the dog").
Mood: This indicates the purpose of the action.
* Indicative mood: States a fact or asks a question (e.g., "He is running" or "Is he running?").
* Imperative mood: Gives a command or makes a request (e.g., "Run!" or "Please run").
* Subjunctive mood: Expresses a wish, possibility, or hypothetical situation (e.g., "I wish I could run").
Beyond Tense, Voice, and Mood
Verbs also indicate action through their transitive/intransitive nature:
* Transitive verbs: Require a direct object to receive the action (e.g., "He threw the ball").
* Intransitive verbs: Do not require a direct object (e.g., "He ran").
Examples:
* "The cat is sleeping" (Present tense, active voice, indicative mood, intransitive verb)
* "The letter was sent" (Past tense, passive voice, indicative mood, transitive verb)
* "Please open the door" (Imperative mood, active voice, transitive verb)
* "If I were a bird, I would fly" (Subjunctive mood, active voice, transitive verb)
By understanding these different aspects of verb usage, you can better understand how verbs indicate the action in a sentence.