The verb (fe’l) is the word class that expresses actions and states and has the richest system of forms; it answers nima qildi? (what did ... do?), nima qilyapti? (what is ... doing?) and nima qiladi? (what does/will ... do?). The verb is the centre of the sentence: it is most often the predicate, and the other parts depend on it. Dozens of forms can be built from one verb stem: yoz-dir-il-ma-di-mi? ("wasn’t it written at someone’s request?"). The exam asks about voice, non-finite forms, mood and tense, and about telling verbs from other word classes. A solid grasp of the verb is also needed for analysing parts of the sentence and complex sentences.
Active (aniq) — no special suffix; the doer is the subject: Anvar xat yozdi (Anvar wrote a letter).
Reflexive (o‘zlik, -n, -l, -in, -il) — the action returns to the doer: yuvindi (washed himself), kiyindi (got dressed), tarandi (combed her hair).
Passive (majhul, -l, -il, -n, -in) — the doer is unknown and the action is seen from the object’s side: xat yozildi (the letter was written), uy qurildi (the house was built).
Reciprocal-cooperative (birgalik, -sh, -ish) — several people do the action together: kelishdi (they came together), yordamlashdi (they helped each other).
Causative (orttirma, -dir, -tir, -t, -giz, -kiz, -ir, -ar, -iz) — someone makes another person do the action: (had it written), (taught), (set in motion), (made someone drink).
The reflexive and passive suffixes can look the same; the difference lies in meaning: yuvindi (washed himself) — yuvildi (was washed by someone).
When the predicate is passive, the subject does not perform the action but undergoes it: Kitob nashr qilindi (The book was published).
One verb may carry two voices: yoz-dir-il-di (causative + passive). Voice suffixes stand closest to the root, followed by the suffixes of negation, tense and person.
Worked example
Identify the voice of the verb in Kitob nashr qilindi ("The book was published").
The predicate is nashr qilindi; the doer is not named.
The action is presented from the object’s (kitob) side: the book did not publish itself.
qil + -in — the passive suffix.
Answer: passive voice.
§3. Non-finite and auxiliary forms
These forms let a verb do the jobs of other word classes.
Participle (sifatdosh) — the action as a quality of a thing: -gan (o‘qigan — who has read / that has been read), -yotgan (o‘qiyotgan — reading), -(a)r (oqar suv — running water), -(a)digan (o‘qiydigan), -mas (tinmas — tireless). In a sentence it is usually an attribute: o‘qigan kitobim (the book I have read).
Converb (ravishdosh, verbal adverb) — the action as a feature of another action: -(i)b (o‘qib), -(a)/-y (kula-kula — laughing), -gach (kelgach — after coming), ( — until he comes), ( — went in order to read). In a sentence it is usually an adverbial.
Participles, converbs and verbal nouns remain verbs because they take voice and negation: o‘qilmagan kitob (an unread book).
Worked example
Identify the verb forms in Darsni tugatgach, kutubxonaga o‘qigan kitoblarimni topshirgani bordim ("Having finished the lesson, I went to the library to return the books I had read").
tugatgach — a converb in -gach, answering qachon bordim? (when did I go?).
o‘qigan — a participle in -gan, answering qanday kitoblarimni? (which books?) — an attribute.
topshirgani — a converb in -gani, expressing purpose.
bordim — indicative mood, past tense, 1st person singular; the predicate.
Answer: two converbs, one participle and a finite verb acting as the predicate.
§4. Mood
Mood shows how the action relates to reality, that is, how the speaker views it.
Imperative-optative (buyruq-istak): o‘qi, o‘qing, o‘qisin, o‘qiylik, o‘qiyin (read!, please read, let him read, let’s read, let me read). It expresses an order, a request or a wish.
Indicative (xabar) — the action really happened, is happening or will happen; it has tenses: o‘qidi, o‘qiyapti, o‘qiydi.
Conditional (shart) -sa: o‘qisa (if he reads), kelsang (if you come); -sa edi expresses a wish: Kelsa edi (If only he would come).
Purposive (maqsad) -moqchi: o‘qimoqchi (intends to read) — expresses intention.
Only the indicative changes for tense; the imperative always points to the future.
Negation is expressed by -ma and is possible in any mood: o‘qima, o‘qimadi, o‘qimasa.
Worked example
Analyse the predicate in Kitobni oxirigacha o‘qib chiqing ("Please read the book to the end").
The predicate o‘qib chiqing has two parts.
o‘qib — a converb in -(i)b, carrying the main meaning.
chiqing — an auxiliary verb meaning the action is completed.
-ing — imperative-optative mood, 2nd person, polite or plural form.
Answer: a predicate with an auxiliary verb in the imperative-optative mood.
§5. Tenses and person-number suffixes
Past: -di (witnessed), -gan (result), -(i)b+person (reported), -ar edi (habit)
The past in -di is an action the speaker witnessed: U keldi (He came). -ibdi marks something heard from others or discovered later: U kelibdi (Apparently he has come). The form in -a/-y (o‘qiyman) expresses both present and future, so it is also called the present-future tense: Har kuni o‘qiyman (I read every day), Ertaga o‘qiyman (I will read tomorrow). Person suffixes make the verb agree with the subject in person and number:
State the tense and meaning of the verb in Ertaga do‘stim kelar ("My friend may come tomorrow").
Verb: kelar, suffix -ar.
The time adverbial ertaga (tomorrow) points to the future.
-ar expresses a probable rather than a certain action.
Answer: future tense with a sense of probability.
§6. The verb in the sentence
A finite verb is the predicate: Bolalar o‘ynayapti. (The children are playing.)
A participle is an attribute (yozilgan xat — a written letter) and, when nominalised, a subject (O‘qiganlar keldi — those who studied came).
A converb is an adverbial: Kulib gapirdi. (He spoke with a smile.)
A verbal noun is a subject or object: O‘qish — baxt (Learning is happiness), Yozishni yaxshi ko‘raman (I love writing).
Sometimes the predicate consists of two verbs: o‘qib chiqdi, kela boshladi — together they form one part of the sentence, and analysing them separately is a mistake. To tell a verb from other classes, look at the question and the suffix: o‘qish (verbal noun, a verb) and o‘qituvchi (teacher, a noun) share a root but belong to different classes.
Check yourself
Which voice is kiyindi?
Which voice is the verb in Uy qurildi?
Which form is kelgach?
Which form is o‘qigan in o‘qigan kitob?
Is kelmoq transitive or intransitive?
What does the verb in U kelibdi convey?
Which voice is yozdirdi?
Which mood is o‘qimoqchi?
Common mistakes
Telling reflexive from passive by the suffix instead of the meaning (yuvindi — yuvildi).
Calling a participle an adjective: o‘qigan is a non-finite verb form.
Confusing a converb with a verbal noun: o‘qib is a converb, o‘qish a verbal noun.
Ignoring the difference between -di and -ibdi.
Treating every form in -ar as a participle: oqar suv is a participle, but in do‘stim kelar it is a predicate in the future tense expressing probability.
Score: 0 / 8 correct (0 attempted)
By structure verbs are simple (yozmoq), compound (sotib olmoq buy, yordam bermoq help, qabul qilmoq accept), paired (aytib-aytib, borib-kelmoq) or reduplicated (yura-yura).
yozdirdi
o‘qitdi
yurgizdi
ichirdi
-guncha
kelguncha
-gani
o‘qigani ketdi
Verbal noun (harakat nomi) — the action as a name: -sh/-ish (o‘qish — reading, study), -moq (o‘qimoq), -v/-uv (o‘quv). It declines like a noun: o‘qishga, o‘qishni.
Auxiliary verbs (ko‘makchi fe’llar) — follow a converb and add a shade of meaning: o‘qib chiqdi (read it through — completion), yozib qo‘ydi (wrote it down for later — a lasting result), yiqilib tushdi (fell down), kula boshladi (began to laugh), ishlab yuribdi (keeps working — duration).