Verbs – NDA English Notes

In Chapter 1 you learned that every sentence has a predicate built around a verb. In Chapters 2 and 3, you studied the subject side of the sentence: nouns and pronouns. This chapter now turns to the predicate’s core: the verb itself.

But this chapter is not about tenses, voice, or modal auxiliaries. Those have their own chapters. This chapter is about the verb itself: its type, its form, its complementation requirements, and its behaviour. The central principle is direct:

★ IMPORTANT Every verb has a specific grammatical behaviour. A verb is correct only when its form, meaning, complementation, and construction match the context in which it is used.

NDA has tested verb behaviour in seventeen confirmed questions across three formats spanning 2012 to 2025. This is the largest PYQ repository in Section A: a clear signal that verbs are among the examiner’s most productive testing grounds. The most consistently tested concept is the stative verb: a class of verbs that cannot appear in progressive (continuous) form. Six questions across four consecutive years confirm this as the chapter’s signature error.

2. What Is a Verb? Dynamic vs Stative

A verb is the word that expresses what the subject does, what happens to the subject, or what state the subject is in. Without a verb, a sentence does not exist. But not all verbs work in the same way. The most important division for NDA examination purposes is between dynamic verbs and stative verbs.

Dynamic Verbs: Actions and Processes

A dynamic verb describes an action, a process, or a change: something that unfolds over time. Dynamic verbs can be used in the progressive (continuous) form because the action genuinely unfolds: “She is running”: the running is in progress, currently happening, and will eventually stop.

She is running in the park.  → action in progress

He is building the wall.  → process in progress

They are studying for the exam.  → activity in progress

Stative Verbs: States and Conditions

A stative verb describes a state: a condition, a relationship, a mental position, or a quality that simply exists. It is not an action happening over time. It is not a process unfolding. It simply is. This is the critical distinction: a state does not “unfold”: it exists. The progressive form marks something unfolding over time; it cannot be applied to something that simply exists.

He knows the secret.  → knowledge is a state that exists, not an action in progress

She wants to leave.  → wanting is a mental state, not an activity happening right now

They own the building.  → ownership is a state of possession, not something being done

Dynamic Verb (Action)	Can Use Progressive?	Stative Verb (State)	Can Use Progressive?
Run	Yes: She is running.	know	No: “is knowing” is wrong
Build	Yes: He is building.	want	No: “is wanting” is wrong
Eat	Yes: They are eating.	own	No: “is owning” is wrong
Write	Yes: I am writing.	resemble	No: “is resembling” is wrong
Grow	Yes: The plant is growing.	understand	No: “was understanding” is wrong

3. Stative Verbs and the Progressive Form: The Core Concept

This is the most important section of the chapter. Six NDA questions across four consecutive years test the same principle: stative verbs do not normally appear in progressive (continuous) form. The errors look natural: “is knowing”, “is wanting”, “is owning” feel fluent, but they are non-standard in formal English because they apply the progressive form to a state rather than an action.

Understanding why this rule exists is more important than memorising which verbs are stative. The progressive form signals that something is currently in progress: it started, it is happening now, and it will eventually stop. Apply this logic to a stative verb: “He is knowing the answer.” This implies that his knowing started, is currently in progress, and will eventually finish. But knowledge does not work that way. You either know something or you do not. There is no process of “currently knowing” that will stop later. States have no beginning, middle, and end of the kind that the progressive marks.

The Stative Verb Master Table

Study this table. None of these verbs normally appears in progressive form.

Category	Stative Verbs	Notes
Mental States	know, understand, believe, think (= opinion), remember, forget, mean, realise, recognise	Do not use in progressive. “I am knowing” is wrong.
Perception	see, hear, smell, taste, feel (involuntary)	Involuntary perception is stative. “I see the car” = stative. “I am looking at the car” = dynamic.
Emotion & Desire	want, wish, love, hate, like, dislike, prefer, fear, adore	State of feeling: not action. “She is wanting” is wrong.
Possession	own, have (possession), possess, belong, contain	Ownership is a state. “He is owning buildings” is wrong.
Appearance & Relation	resemble, seem, appear, look (state), consist, depend, involve, concern	Resemblance is a state. “He is resembling his father” is wrong.
Measurement	weigh, cost, measure (static)	Static measurement is stative. “The parcel weighs 5 kg”: not “is weighing” in a static context.

Dual-use verbs: Some verbs are stative in one meaning and dynamic in another. The verb’s meaning in context determines which form is correct.

have:  stative (possession) → “I have a car.”  /  dynamic (activity) → “I am having lunch.” : progressive allowed for the activity sense.

think:  stative (opinion) → “I think he is right.”  /  dynamic (mental activity) → “I am thinking about the problem.”

see:  stative (perception) → “I see the car.”  /  dynamic (meeting) → “I am seeing my doctor tomorrow.”

weigh:  stative (measurement) → “The parcel weighs 5 kg.”  /  dynamic (action) → “The inspector is weighing the parcel.”

All Six NDA-Tested Stative Verb Errors: Analysed

“Resemble”: Appearance & Relation

“Resemble” describes a state of similarity that simply exists. Placing it in progressive form treats resemblance as an unfolding process, which is semantically incoherent, because resemblance does not unfold; it simply is.

NDA 2014-I: Sentence Improvement:

ERROR: He is resembling his father.

CORRECT: He resembles his father.  [NDA 2014-I]

Why wrong: “is resembling” treats resemblance as an unfolding process. Resemblance is a state.

“Know” : Mental State

“Know” describes a state of knowledge. Either you know something or you do not. There is no process of “currently knowing” in progress.

NDA 2014-I: Sentence Improvement:

ERROR: He is knowing the secret.

CORRECT: He knows the secret.  [NDA 2014-I]

Why wrong: Knowledge is a state. States do not have a progressive form.

“Want” : Emotion & Desire (First Instance)

“Want” describes a state of desire. Desire is not an action in progress. It is a mental state that exists.

NDA 2014-II : Sentence Improvement:

ERROR: I am not sure why she is wanting to see him.

CORRECT: I am not sure why she wants to see him.  [NDA 2014-II]

Why wrong: Desire is a state. “Is wanting” treats it as an ongoing process.

“Own”: Possession

“Own” describes a state of possession. You either own something or you do not. The sentence structure here is particularly revealing: “He is a rich man” is correct, but the following clause “he is owning” violates the stative rule.

NDA 2015-II: Spotting Errors:

ERROR: He is a rich man: he is owning a number of buildings in Bombay.

CORRECT: He is a rich man: he owns a number of buildings in Bombay.  [NDA 2015-II]

Why wrong: Ownership is a state. “Is owning” treats possession as an ongoing activity.

“Understand”: Mental State

“Understand” describes a mental state of comprehension. The reported speech context (“She said that…”) makes students want to extend the continuous aspect into the reported clause, but “understand” is stative regardless of surrounding tense.

NDA 2016-I: Spotting Errors:

ERROR: She said that she was understanding his point of view very well.

CORRECT: She said that she understood his point of view very well.  [NDA 2016-I]

Why wrong: Understanding is a mental state. The past continuous “was understanding” is non-standard.

“Want”: Emotion & Desire (Second Instance, in Conditional)

The conditional context “If you are wanting…” makes this error particularly tempting. But “want” is stative: the simple present is correct in all contexts, including conditionals.

NDA 2016-II: Spotting Errors:

ERROR: If you are wanting to watch the birds nesting you must not let them see you.

CORRECT: If you want to watch the birds nesting you must not let them see you.  [NDA 2016-II]

Why wrong: “Want” is stative. Even in a conditional clause, the simple present is required.

Error Tested (Progressive)	Correct Form (Simple)	Category	NDA Year
“is resembling his father”	“resembles his father”	Appearance & Relation	NDA 2014-I
“is knowing the secret”	“knows the secret”	Mental State	NDA 2014-I
“she is wanting to see him”	“she wants to see him”	Emotion & Desire	NDA 2014-II
“is owning a number of buildings”	“owns a number of buildings”	Possession	NDA 2015-II
“was understanding his point of view”	“understood his point of view”	Mental State	NDA 2016-I
“are wanting to watch the birds”	“want to watch the birds”	Emotion & Desire	NDA 2016-II

[Image Suggestion: Progressive Decision Flowchart: Is the verb describing an action (something happening/unfolding over time)? → Yes: Progressive may be used. → No: Is it describing a state? → Yes: Use simple form. → Is the verb dual-use? → Check context before deciding.]

4. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Before studying confusing verb pairs, you need one more classification tool. A transitive verb requires a direct object to complete its meaning: something must receive the action. “She raised the flag” : “the flag” is the object. A transitive verb requires something to be raised.

An intransitive verb cannot take a direct object. The action is complete in the subject itself. “The water rose”: there is no object. “Rose” is intransitive; nothing is being risen by the water. The water rises by itself.

TRANSITIVE:  “She raised the flag.”  (raised + object: the flag)

INTRANSITIVE:  “The water rose two feet.”  (rose : no object; the water acts on itself)

TRANSITIVE:  “He laid the book on the table.”  (laid + object: the book)

INTRANSITIVE:  “He lay on the bed.”  (lay : no object)

This distinction is not a stylistic preference. It is a grammatical property of the verb. Using a transitive verb where an intransitive is required, or vice versa, is a grammatical error regardless of how natural it sounds. The most important confusing pair in this chapter, rise vs raise, is entirely explained by this distinction.

5. Confusing Verb Pairs

Some verbs are confused with each other because they are similar in form, sound, or meaning, but their grammatical behaviour is different. Using the wrong member of the pair is a grammatical error, even when both words feel familiar.

Rise vs Raise : The Highest-Priority Pair

“Rise” is intransitive: the subject moves upward by itself. Nothing causes the rising externally. The water rises. The sun rises. Prices rise. No one is raising them.

“Raise” is transitive: someone or something causes an object to move upward. You raise a flag. You raise prices. The government raises taxes. There is always an agent causing the rising.

Form	Rise (Intransitive : no object)	Raise (Transitive : needs object)
Base form	Rise	raise
Simple Past	Rose	raised
Past Participle	Risen	raised
Present Participle	Rising	raising
Active Example	The water rose two feet.	They raised the flag every morning.
Passive Example	(rise is rarely passivised)	The flag is raised every morning. (Correct)
Error tested	The water raised two feet. (Incorrect) [NDA 2016-I]	The flag is risen in the morning. (Incorrect)  [NDA 2012-II]

NDA 2016-I: Sentence Improvement:

“After the heavy rains last week, the water in the lake raised another two feet.”

Error: “raised another two feet”

The water is not raised by anyone. It rises by itself. Intransitive → “rose”.

Correct: “the water in the lake rose another two feet.”  [NDA 2016-I]

NDA 2012-II: Spotting Errors:

“The flag is risen in the morning and taken down at night by the guards.”

Error: “is risen” : uses past participle of intransitive “rise” in passive construction.

The flag is raised by the guards : transitive + passive is required. Passive voice requires a transitive verb. “Rise” is intransitive: it has no passive.

Correct: “The flag is raised in the morning.”  [NDA 2012-II]

The agent test resolves both questions: Is there someone or something causing the upward movement? Yes → raise (transitive). No → rise (intransitive). Water rises by itself. A guard raises a flag. Prices rise on their own. The government raises taxes.

Find vs Founded: The Lexical Trap

“Find” means to discover or come upon something. Its past tense is “found”: “The detective found the clue.” This “found” is the past of “find.”

“Found” is a completely separate verb meaning to establish an institution, organisation, or city. Its past tense is “founded”: “Tagore founded Shantiniketan.” This “founded” is the past of “found” (to establish).

“The detective found the clue.”  → past of FIND (to discover)

“Tagore founded Shantiniketan.”  → past of FOUND (to establish)  (Correct)

“Tagore found Shantiniketan.”  → implies he discovered it: wrong meaning (Incorrect)

NDA 2019-I : Spotting Errors:

“Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel laureate and the author of the national anthem, found Shantiniketan.”

Error: Part (c) : “found Shantiniketan”

“Found” = past of find (to discover). Tagore did not discover Shantiniketan. He established it. Correct verb: “founded” (past of found = to establish).

Correct: “…Tagore founded Shantiniketan.”  [NDA 2019-I]

Win vs Own : The Idiomatic Fixed Expression

“Slow and steady wins the race” is an established English proverb. The verb “wins” is part of this fixed idiomatic expression. Substituting “owns” (though semantically plausible) breaks the fixed expression because “own the race” is not standard English.

NDA 2018-II : Spotting Errors:

“Slow and steady owns the race, as the wise would say.”

Error: Part (b) : “owns the race”

Correct: The correct idiomatic expression is “wins the race.”  [NDA 2018-II]

Supplementary Confusing Pairs

Pair	Key Distinction	Correct Usage Example	Common Error
lay vs lie	lay (transitive: to place something); lie (intransitive: to recline)	“He laid the book down. / She lay on the bed.”	Confusing “lay” and “lie” in past tense (lay is also past of lie)
bring vs take	bring (movement toward speaker); take (movement away from speaker)	“Bring me a glass of water. / Take this letter to the office.”	“Bring” used for movement away from the speaker
lend vs borrow	lend (give temporarily); borrow (receive temporarily)	“Can you lend me your pen? / Can I borrow your pen?”	Using “borrow” where “lend” is required

6. Verb Complementation

Some verbs require a specific grammatical structure after them, what linguists call verb complementation. Complementation is a lexical property: it must be learned verb by verb, not derived from a single rule. The NDA examiner has tested four distinct complementation patterns.

“Tell” vs “Say”: The Object Requirement

“Tell” requires a personal object (someone to whom the telling is directed) before any information clause. You tell someone something. “Say” does not require a personal object before the information clause.

CORRECT:  “You have never told me about your experiences in America.”  [tell + object (me) + about]

ERROR:  “You have never said me about your experiences.”  [“say” cannot take a personal object here]

“Told” needs “me/him/her/them” before the information. “Said” does not take a personal object: “She said that…”, not “She said me that…”

NDA 2017-I : Fill in the Blanks:

“You have never …….. me about your experiences in America.”

Options: (a) said  (b) told  (c) explained  (d) spoken

Answer: (b) told : “tell” takes a personal indirect object.  [NDA 2017-I]

(a) “said me” : “say” does not take a personal object before “about”. Wrong.

(c) “explained me” : “explain” requires “to me”, not “me” directly. Wrong.

(d) “spoken me” : “speak” requires “to me”. Wrong.

“Refuse” vs “Deny”: Complementation and Meaning

“Refuse” means to decline to do something. It is followed by an infinitive: refuse + to + base verb. “Deny” means to assert that something is not true. It is followed by a noun, pronoun, or gerund, not an infinitive.

NDA 2017-I : Fill in the Blanks:

“He …….. to listen to my arguments and walked away.”

Options: (a) denied  (b) disliked  (c) prevented  (d) refused

Answer: (d) refused : “refuse + to + base verb” = declined to listen.  [NDA 2017-I]

(a) “denied to listen” : “deny” does not take an infinitive complement. Wrong.

(b) “disliked to listen” : grammatically unusual; also changes meaning. Wrong.

(c) “prevented to listen” : wrong structure and wrong meaning. Wrong.

“Avail” + Reflexive Pronoun + “Of”

The verb “avail” in standard formal English requires three components: the verb itself, a reflexive pronoun matching the subject, and the preposition “of”. All three are required. “Avail of” (without the reflexive pronoun) is widely used in Indian English but is non-standard in formal examination English.

★ IMPORTANT Correct structure: avail + reflexive pronoun + of + noun phrase   I would like to avail myself of a fifteen days’ holiday.   She availed herself of the opportunity.   We availed ourselves of the facilities provided.

NDA 2017-I : Sentence Improvement:

“I would like to avail a fifteen days’ holiday this summer.”

Options: (a) to avail of  (b) to avail myself of  (c) to avail myself  (d) No improvement

Answer: (b) to avail myself of : complete structure: reflexive + of.  [NDA 2017-I]

(a) “avail of” : missing reflexive pronoun. Non-standard in formal English.

(c) “avail myself” : missing “of”. The preposition is required.

“Stand Trial” : The Fixed Verb Phrase

The idiomatic expression for appearing before a legal authority to face charges is “stood trial”. It is a fixed verb phrase: stand + trial. The alternatives “was trial”, “sat trial”, and “tried” alone do not represent established English verb phrases for this meaning.

NDA 2025-I : Fill in the Blanks:

“The accused _________ before the judge.”

Options: (a) tried  (b) was trial  (c) sat trial  (d) stood trial

Answer: (d) stood trial : established fixed phrase.  [NDA 2025-I]

Verb	Required Structure	Correct Example	Incorrect Form (Tested)
tell	tell + person + about/that	She told me about her trip.	She said me about…
say	say (+ to person) + that/—	She said that she was leaving.	She said me that…
avail	avail + reflexive + of + noun	I availed myself of the offer.	I availed of the offer.  [NDA 2017-I]
refuse	refuse + to + base verb	He refused to cooperate.	He denied to cooperate.
deny	deny + noun / gerund	She denied the accusation.	She denied to do it.
stand trial	stand trial (+ for + charge)	He stood trial for the offence.	He sat trial.  [NDA 2025-I]

7. Verb Idioms and Fixed Expressions

Some verb constructions are idiomatic: their meaning and form are fixed and cannot be derived from general grammar rules. Using the wrong form, even a plausible-sounding one, creates a non-standard construction.

“Couldn’t Help” vs “Couldn’t But”

English has two constructions for expressing inability to prevent oneself from doing something. They are grammatically different and cannot be mixed.

“couldn’t help” + gerund (-ing form):  I couldn’t help shedding tears.

“couldn’t but” + base verb:  I couldn’t but shed tears.

Both constructions are correct.  The error is mixing them into “couldn’t but help shed tears”, a non-standard hybrid.

NDA 2015-I : Spotting Errors:

“He couldn’t but help shed tears at the plight of the villagers…”

Error: Part (a) : “couldn’t but help”

Correct Option 1: “couldn’t help shedding tears” (couldn’t help + gerund)

Correct Option 2: “couldn’t but shed tears” (couldn’t but + base verb)

Wrong: “couldn’t but help shed” : hybrid of both constructions.  [NDA 2015-I]

“Was Stopped Aching” : Non-Standard Passive-Stative Hybrid

“Was stopped aching” creates a passive construction where the active intransitive form is required. Teeth do not get “stopped aching” by an external agent. They simply stop aching. “Stop” here is used intransitively: “my tooth stopped aching.”

NDA 2015-I : Spotting Errors:

“When the dentist came in my tooth was stopped aching out of fear…”

Error: Part (b) : “was stopped aching”

The tooth stops aching by itself. No external agent stops it. Active intransitive, not passive.

Correct: “my tooth stopped aching.”  [NDA 2015-I]

“Make Up” vs “Create Up”

The phrasal verb “make up” has an established meaning: to constitute, to total, to add up to. “Create up” does not exist as a standard English phrasal verb.

NDA 2023-II : Spotting Errors:

“Three hundred and sixty five create up the number of days in a calendar year.”

Error: Part (b) : “create up”

Correct: “make up the number of days” : “make up” = constitute/total.  [NDA 2023-II]

8. Correct Verb Forms After Auxiliaries and Infinitives

Three construction rules govern verb form after auxiliaries and the infinitive marker. The NDA examiner has confirmed four questions testing these very errors, particularly in the 2023 papers.

“To” Always Takes the Base Form

★  IMPORTANT “To” (infinitive marker) always requires the base form of the verb. Always. There are no exceptions. The base form does not change regardless of the tense of the surrounding sentence.

NDA 2023-II : Spotting Errors:

Q15: “Many people came from faraway places to prayed at the temple on the auspicious day.”

Error: Part (b) : “to prayed”  |  Correct: “to pray” : base form required after “to”.  [NDA 2023-II]

Q20: “They had promised to delivered the bags before mid-March…”

Error: Part (a) : “to delivered”  |  Correct: “to deliver” : base form required after “to”.  [NDA 2023-II]

Modal Perfect : “Would/Could/Should + Have + Past Participle”

In a modal perfect construction, the structure is: modal verb + have + past participle. The “have” does not inflect for person: it is always “have”, never “has”. The verb following “have” must be a past participle, not a present tense form.

modal + have + PAST PARTICIPLE:  would have had  /  could have gone  /  should have done  /  would have seen

NDA 2023-I : Spotting Errors:

“She wouldn’t have has an accident, if she had driven carefully.”

Error: Part (b) : “has an accident”

“Would have” requires the PAST PARTICIPLE. “Has” is present tense : wrong form.

Correct: “wouldn’t have had an accident” : past participle required.  [NDA 2023-I]

“Do/Does/Don’t/Doesn’t” Takes the Base Form

The auxiliary “do” (do, does, don’t, doesn’t, did, didn’t) always requires the base form of the main verb after it. The inflection for person and tense is carried by “do” itself: the main verb remains in the base form.

NDA 2023-I : Spotting Errors:

“I’m not working tomorrow, so I don’t had to get up early.”

Error: Part (b) : “don’t had to”

“Don’t” requires the BASE FORM. “Had” is past tense : wrong form.

Correct: “I don’t have to get up early.”  [NDA 2023-I]

Parallel Verb Form in Coordinated Structures

When two verbs are joined by “or”, “and”, or “but” in a coordinate structure, they must be in the same grammatical form.

NDA 2018-II : Spotting Errors:

“We often hear people say that most human beings have not evolved or grow up enough…”

Error: Part (c) : “grow up” should be “grown up” to parallel “evolved”.

Structure: “have not evolved or grown up” : both past participles.  [NDA 2018-II]

Construction	Rule	Correct Form	Incorrect Form (Tested)	NDA Year
“to” + verb	Always base form	to pray / to deliver	to prayed / to delivered	NDA 2023-II
modal + have + verb	Always past participle	would have had	would have has	NDA 2023-I
do/don’t + verb	Always base form	don’t have to	don’t had to	NDA 2023-I
coordinated verbs	Same form throughout	evolved or grown up	evolved or grow up	NDA 2018-II

9. Supplementary Verb Patterns

These patterns are standard syllabus content and plausible future NDA targets. They have not yet appeared in the confirmed PYQ corpus.

Causative Verbs

Causative	Structure	Example
make	make + object + bare infinitive	She made him apologise. (not: to apologise)
let	let + object + bare infinitive	Let me help you. (not: to help)
have	have + object + past participle	She had her hair cut.
get	get + object + past participle / to + infinitive	He got the car repaired. / She got him to help.

Perception Verbs: Bare Infinitive vs Present Participle

see + object + bare infinitive:  “I saw him cross the road.”  (complete action observed)

see + object + present participle:  “I saw him crossing the road.”  (action in progress)

hear + object + bare infinitive:  “I heard her sing the anthem.”  (complete performance)

hear + object + present participle:  “I heard her singing.”  (process observed)

The “Have” Verb: Possession vs Activity

STATE (stative: no progressive):  “She has a degree in engineering.” (Correct)

ACTIVITY (dynamic: progressive OK):  “We are having a meeting right now.” (Correct)

ERROR:  “She is having a degree in engineering.” (Incorrect)

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