Verbs are divided in various categories, according to their ability to form the predicate of a sentence.
| verb categories | formation of the predicate | |
| full verbs | can form, in their finite form, the sentence predicate on their own | on their own |
| auxiliary verbs | form the complex tenses and the passive voice forms of full verbs by combining their finite forms with a non-finite form of the respective full verb (infinitive, past participle). | + infinitive / past participle (Partizip II) |
| modal verbs | form the predicate with the infinitive of a full verb, thus changing the full verb's content | + infinitive |
| copular (linking) verbs | form the predicate of a sentence together with a predicative expression, which is, in principle, a noun in the nominative case or a non- inflected adjective. | + noun / adjective |
| empty (light) verbs | form the predicate with a phrase that contains a noun. This phrase is usually an accusative object or a prepositional object. | + noun |