# Examples of verbs that don’t describe an action or state of being **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536 "2013-05-05T12:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/1 "2013-05-05T12:16:03Z")
In a Merriam Webster [blog post](http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/blog/2013/04/not-so-tidy-not-so-little-boxes-finding-parts-of-speech/) from last month, the author makes the following remark: > [@](#): > > When you first begin work at Merriam-Webster, you are trained to stop looking at the grammar of words on a macro level (nouns are persons, places, things; verbs describe action or a state of being; adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs) and begin delving into the microscopic world of English grammar. At that level of magnification, a part of speech which looks like a homogenous, glassy smooth dome of words is actually full of movement, variation, and life. Boundaries are blurry, and categorization is difficult. Adverbs can function as conjunctions; nouns can act like adjectives; some adjectives can take the definite article, like a noun; some verbs don’t describe an action or a state of being. I was curious about the verbs that don’t describe actions or states of being. Indeed, the first comment asks about this, but none of the subsequent replies provide any examples. What are some examples? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/2 "2013-05-05T12:32:42Z")
The author may be referencing auxiliary verbs such _can/could_, _will/would_, and _shall/should_. Excepting homophones (e.g. _I will myself to run that race every year, I can the best peaches in town_), those verbs typically do not carry meaning in and of themselves unless it is supplied indirectly by context. _Do/did_ is also a common auxiliary verb, but I’m not sure it quite falls into the same bucket as the ones formerly mentioned. Stripped of context and placed outside of a complete verb phrase, _do/did_ is pretty well devoid of meaning - but at least the listener would know some kind of action is indicated, even if imprecisely. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/3 "2013-05-05T12:44:35Z")
Verbs that don’t describe an action or a state of being? I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/4 "2013-05-05T13:17:56Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > The author may be referencing auxiliary verbs such _can/could_, _will/would_, and _shall/should_. Excepting homophones (e.g. _I will myself to run that race every year, I can the best peaches in town_), those verbs typically do not carry meaning in and of themselves unless it is supplied indirectly by context. But those are still states of being, albeit a state of mind. They give us information about the object. If someone says “I will run the race”, then any listener will know they are willing. If they say they can run the race, any listener will know they are able. Thus we can see that such verbs do clearly describe a state of being. > [@JustinC](#): > > I don’t know. How is the verb “to do” not describing an action? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/5 "2013-05-05T13:28:01Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > But those are still states of being, albeit a state of mind. They give us information about the object. If someone says “I will run the race”, then any listener will know they are willing. If they say they can run the race, any listener will know they are able. Thus we can see that such verbs do clearly describe a state of being. I was unclear – without conversational context, those verbs do not impart meaning _by themselves_ the way active and stative verbs can. You can say “I will run the race” and “I can run the race” – but “_I will the race_\*” is ungrammatical in uncontrived contexts. If a stranger walked up to you out of nowhere and said only “I can”, (or “I will”, “you should”, etc.) and then simply walked off, you’d not have much information about an action or a state of being. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/6 "2013-05-05T13:44:11Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > If a stranger walked up to you out of nowhere and said only “I can”, (or “I will”, “you should”, etc.) and then simply walked off, you’d not have much information about an action or a state of being. I’m still not seeing it. If a stranger walked up to me out of nowhere and said only “I do”, (or “I thought”, “you went”, etc.) and then simply walked off, I’d also not have much information about an action or a state of being. Nonetheless “to do”, “to think” and “to leave” are all verbs that describe states of being. The lack of information supplied by these verbs is because of the lack of context, not because the verbs are inherently vague. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/7 "2013-05-05T13:54:40Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > I’m still not seeing it. > > If a stranger walked up to me out of nowhere and said only “I do”, (or “I thought”, “you went”, etc.) and then simply walked off, I’d also not have much information about an action or a state of being. Nonetheless “to do”, “to think” and “to leave” are all verbs that describe states of being. The lack of information supplied by these verbs is because of the lack of context, not because the verbs are inherently vague. Another way this is often analyzed is by forming imperatives. You can certainly implore someone to “Think!” or “Go!”. “Do!” and “Be!” are dubious stand-alone imperatives, but are almost invariably supplied with objects in actual speech (Mr. Miyagi notwithstanding:D ). By contrast, “Can!_", "Shall!_”, and “Will!\*” cannot form imperatives. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/8 "2013-05-05T14:05:48Z")
What about “will” in “It will rain”? What about in “Will it rain?” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/9 "2013-05-05T14:28:05Z")
First off, modals are not verbs in English. Verbs can be governed by modals and modals cannot be so governed. It was once (16th century) possible to say, “I must can…”. Now we have to say "I must be able to…). In both French and German, modals function like verbs. If you want to see this argued in detail, so David Lightfoot’s book, “Principles of Diachronic Linguistics”. “Do”, aside from being a verb is also a pro-verb. It replaces a verb, similarly to how a pronoun replaces a noun. “Have you eaten?” “Yes, I’ve done it.” As for the OP, I haven’t any idea how a verb could do anything but describe an action or a state. Of course, you can verb any noun, but then it denotes an action or state. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/10 "2013-05-05T14:54:43Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > > [@Justin](#): > > > > I don’t know. > > How is the verb “to do” not describing an action? :dubious: I \*\*know \*\*what he meant. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/11 "2013-05-05T14:58:48Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > First off, modals are not verbs in English. [That can’t be stated in so pat a manner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_verb). Admittedly, it’s purely a matter of definition. Grammarians recognize that word categories are fuzzy around the edges. There’s nothing logically inconsistent in flatly stating that “whatever doesn’t describe an action or a state of being ain’t a verb.” ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/12 "2013-05-05T15:00:46Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Another way this is often analyzed is by forming imperatives. You can certainly implore someone to “Think!” or “Go!”. “Do!” and “Be!” are dubious stand-alone imperatives, but are almost invariably supplied with objects in actual speech (Mr. Miyagi notwithstanding:D ). > > By contrast, “Can!_", "Shall!_”, and “Will!\*” cannot form imperatives. Yes they can. No, they can’t. Yes they can! No, they can’t! Yes. They. Can! Can’t! Can! So it is certainly just as possible to form an imperative from “Can!”, “Shall!”, and "Will! as from “Be” or “Do”. But I still don’t see how any of this changes the fact that “Can” and “Will” describe a state of being. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I know what he meant. OK, so how is the verb “to know” not describing a state of being? That seems even clearer than “to do” describing an action. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/13 "2013-05-05T15:19:10Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Yes they can. > > No, they can’t. > > Yes they can! > > No, they can’t! > > Yes. They. Can! > > Can’t! > > Can! > > So it is certainly just as possible to form an imperative from “Can!”, “Shall!”, and "Will! as from “Be” or “Do”. Just because you stick an exclamation point after it doesn’t make it an imperative. The last two sentences They have been shortened for emphasis: [They] Can’t! [They] Can! An imperitive would be “[Hey, you:] Can!” or, in the third person, “[Let them] Can!” ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/14 "2013-05-05T15:31:02Z")
I suggest that a lot may depend on how we define “action” in this context. agree, refuse, love, desire, think - These are all actions, even if they are more mental than physical. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/15 "2013-05-05T16:34:14Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > No, they can’t! > > Yes. They. Can! > > Can’t! > > Can! > > So it is certainly just as possible to form an imperative from “Can!”, “Shall!”, and "Will! as from “Be” or “Do”. By that “logic” any word can form an imperative. “I think the first word of that book was _the_!” “No it was _an_!” “The!” “An!” In reality however these are clearly not imperatives, nor is “Can!”, alone. > [@](#): > > But I still don’t see how any of this changes the fact that “Can” and “Will” describe a state of being. Not alone they don’t. You may as well argue that _up_ is a verb, because it can function as part of a compound verb in sentences such as “They locked him up”. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/16 "2013-05-05T18:34:38Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > So it is certainly just as possible to form an imperative from “Can!”, “Shall!”, and "Will! as from “Be” or “Do”. I don’t think you know what an [imperative](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperative_mood) is. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/17 "2013-05-06T04:25:17Z")
How about verbs like “remain”, or “disregard”? By definition, they imply an absence of action. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/18 "2013-05-06T05:00:29Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Not alone they don’t. You may as well argue that _up_ is a verb, because it can function as part of a compound verb in sentences such as “They locked him up”. Well, and that is part of the point being made in the blog post quoted in the OP: that the structure of English is gelatinous. “Up” is normally regarded as a preposition (“up the road”), but in this case, it is either being used as an adverb or as an auxiliary component to the primary verb. The latter case might generally be made if examples can be found in other languages where a given construction is embodied in a word that is different from the equivalent of the unmodified verb, or even in English itself (e.g., “put up with” is indivisible, not cognate with its components, and has an English equivalent in “tolerated”). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/19 "2013-05-06T05:28:35Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > How about verbs like “remain”, or “disregard”? By definition, they imply an absence of action. Not always. Sometimes, to “remain” implies intense, desperate action. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536/20 "2013-05-06T12:19:04Z")
[Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb) adds ‘occurrence’ to state of being or action: \* A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word (part of speech) that in syntax conveys an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand).\* [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-verbs-that-don-t-describe-an-action-or-state-of-being/657536.md?page=2)