Random Verb Generator

How the random verb generator picks verbs

The list holds 140 English verbs in three groups: 60 action verbs (run, build, climb), 40 mental verbs (think, remember, decide) and 40 communication verbs (ask, explain, whisper). A verb refers to an action, event or state. The grouping is the page's own, and some verbs could sit in more than one group.

Tick the groups you want; at least one has to be ticked. With all three ticked each verb has a 1 in 140 chance on a single draw, and an action verb comes up in 3 draws out of 7. Up to 20 verbs are drawn at a time, in their base form, and a verb already drawn is skipped for the rest of the set.

Each pick is an unbiased draw from the browser's cryptographic random generator, as described in how our randomness works.

Example: an action verb round of charades

Untick Mental Verbs and Communication Verbs, so only the 60 action verbs are left, and set the number to 1. A player reads the verb and mimes it without speaking, the way charades is usually played today, while the others guess.

Verbs such as climb, row and stir are quick to mime. Assemble, organize and install are harder, so give each player one minute.

Ways to use random verbs

• Charades: action verbs are made for it.
• Tense practice: draw a verb and give its past tense and past participle. Several mental verbs, such as know and believe, are stative verbs: they describe a state and are rarely used in the -ing form.
• Sentence building: combine a verb with a word from the random noun generator.

For verbs mixed with nouns and adjectives, use the random word generator. For a whole story to act out, start from the random plot generator.