How do you conjugate a verb or recognize a verb?

A verb is recognized by its function in a sentence. It either indicates an action (walk, talk, understand) or a state (is, seems, feels).

To conjugate a verb, you match the form of the verb with its person and number, and the tense you are expressing (e.g. present, past, future). There are about a dozen separate tenses in English, and six person/number combinations:

First person singular (I), first person plural (we)

Second person singular (you), second person plural (you, you all)

Third person singular (he, she, it), third person plural (they)

- Example of present tense conjugation of action verb "to walk" (a regular conjugation):

I walk, we walk, you walk, they walk / he, she it walks

- Example of conjugating irregular linking verb "to be" :

I am, we are, you are, they are / he, she, it is