English Confidence for Tamil Kids — Foundations· Lesson 4 of 8
செயல் சொற்கள் — வினைச்சொற்கள்
Action Words — Verbs That Tell Us What Happens
~14 min
Learn the most common English verbs and how to build simple sentences that describe actions.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to— இந்த பாடத்தின் இறுதியில்
- Know 15+ common English verbs — run, walk, eat, drink, read, write, play, sleep, sit, stand
- Build simple sentences: subject + verb + object — 'I eat rice', 'She reads a book'
- Understand that English verbs change with 'he/she' — 'I run' but 'She runs'
Let's Learn
What you will learn today
Learn common English verbs and build simple sentences that describe actions.
Quick article check
Fill in: 'I have ___ apple and ___ banana.' (Answer: an apple and a banana.) If you got both right, you are ready for verbs!
What is a verb?
A verb is an action word — it tells us what someone DOES. Run, eat, read, write, play, sleep — these are all verbs. In Tamil, the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence. In English, it comes in the middle.
English sentence order: S-V-O
English follows Subject-Verb-Object order: WHO + DOES WHAT + TO WHAT. 'I eat rice.' 'She reads a book.' 'He plays cricket.' Tamil uses Subject-Object-Verb (S-O-V): 'நான் சாதம் சாப்பிடுகிறேன்.' The verb and object switch positions between the two languages.
- I eat rice. (Subject: I, Verb: eat, Object: rice)
- She reads a book. (Subject: She, Verb: reads, Object: a book)
- He plays cricket. (Subject: He, Verb: plays, Object: cricket)
The 's' rule for He / She / It
When the subject is 'he', 'she', or 'it', add 's' to the verb: 'I read' but 'She reads'. 'I play' but 'He plays'. This is one of the most common mistakes — even advanced English speakers sometimes forget it.
📐 A day in English
'I wake up at 7. I eat breakfast. I walk to school. I read books. I play with friends. I eat dinner. I sleep at 9.' — Seven simple sentences that describe a whole day, using seven different verbs.
Tamil word order trap
Tamil speakers often say 'I rice eat' instead of 'I eat rice' because Tamil puts the verb at the end. In English, always put the verb AFTER the subject and BEFORE the object: I + eat + rice.
Your turn
Describe 3 things you do every day using the S-V-O pattern. Example: 'I drink water. She cooks food. He reads a newspaper.'
What you learned
Verbs are action words. English sentence order is Subject-Verb-Object (the opposite of Tamil). Add 's' to verbs for he/she/it. With greetings, family words, objects, articles, and now verbs, you can describe most everyday situations in English.
You can now describe actions using English sentence order. The S-V-O pattern is the backbone of every English sentence.
↪ Next: describing words (adjectives) — how to say what things are LIKE.
Key Points
- ✓A verb is an action word — run, eat, read, write, play, sleep
- ✓English order: Subject + Verb + Object (I eat rice)
- ✓Tamil order: Subject + Object + Verb (நான் சாதம் சாப்பிடுகிறேன்)
- ✓Add 's' for he/she/it: I read → She reads
- ✓Tamil comparison: Tamil puts the verb at the end (S-O-V); English puts the verb in the middle (S-V-O) — this is the biggest word-order change to practise
Glossary
சொல் அகராதி
Verb
வினைச்சொல்
Run
ஓடு
Read
படி
Write
எழுது
Play
விளையாடு
Practice Activities
Quizவினாடி வினா
Answer each question to check your understanding.
ஆங்கில வாக்கிய வரிசை என்ன?
What is the correct English sentence order?
Match the Termsபொருத்துக
Click a term on the left, then click its matching definition on the right.
Click a term, then click its matching definition.
Terms
Definitions
Fill in the Blanksஇடைவெளி நிரப்புக
Type the missing word and press Check or Enter.
Type the missing word and click Check or press Enter.
அவள் தினமும் ஒரு புத்தகம் _____. (படி)
நான் தினமும் காலையில் பள்ளிக்கு _____. (நடை)
அவன் தன் நண்பர்களுடன் கிரிக்கெட் _____. (விளையாடு)