A verb is a word that is primarily used as a predicate in a sentence. It is the most important word in a sentence, and it brings action to, or specifies the state of, the various other words in the sentence. In Greek, the verb is the most complex element, with about 700 different forms for a regular verb, including the participle forms. But such forms are built in regular ways, making the learning of the various verb forms fairly straightforward and routine.

Without a verb, a sentence is little more than a list of nouns and things related to nouns. Throwing a verb into the mix activates the nouns into an event.

Take the sentence "The player hit the ball." Remove the word 'hit' and the action comes to a stop. The nouns 'player' and 'ball' become static. But one small word, 'hit,' activates the nouns. Notice how a different verb changes the event involving these two nouns.

• "The player hit the ball."
• "The player dropped the ball."
• "The player brought the ball."