CEFR B1

main verb

noun phrase

Meaning

The central word in a sentence or clause that expresses the primary action, occurrence, or state of being, often working alongside auxiliary verbs.

In the sentence 'They have finished their homework,' 'finished' serves as the main verb.
The main verb in 'He runs every morning' is 'runs'.

Synonyms: lexical verb, principal verb

noun phrase

Pronunciation: /meɪn vɜːrb/

The central word in a sentence or clause that expresses the primary action, occurrence, or state of being, often working alongside auxiliary verbs.

In the sentence 'They have finished their homework,' 'finished' serves as the main verb.
The main verb in 'He runs every morning' is 'runs'.
Even when you use helping verbs, the main verb carries the specific meaning of the action.

main verb of [clause] (collocation): identifying the specific action in a grammatical unit — "Can you identify the main verb of the second clause?"

Words with a similar meaning to main verb: