Verb categories
Because of their ability to form the predicate, verbs are divided in various categories : full, auxiliary, modal, copular (linking) and empty verbs.
| Examples | formation of the predicate | |
| full verbs | Petra arbeitet bei der Post. | form the predicate alone |
| auxiliary verbs | Wir haben eine leckere Pizza gegessen. | form the predicate together with an infinitive or the past participle (Partizip II) |
| modal verbs | Ich muss meine Hausaufgaben machen. | form the predicate together with an infinitive |
| copular (linking) verbs* | Seine Töchter sind sehr nett. | form the predicate together with an adjective or a noun |
| empty verbs* | Triffst du endlich eine Entscheidung? | form the predicate together with a noun |
* The copular (lnking) verbs and empty verbs form the predicate only with nouns and adjectives, not with infinitive verb forms.