Performative verbs: when you say a word you do the action ...

Other performative verbs are words like admit, advise, beg, confess, congratulate, declare, deny, forbid, guarantee, name, order, permit, ... Skiptomaincontent Performativeverbs:whenyousayawordyoudotheactiontheworddescribes Grammar RobletoviaFlickr Whenyouuseawordlike"promise"or"apologise",youaredoingtheactionbyjustsayingtheword.Inthosecases,usethepresentsimpleandnotthecontinuous. Thereisagroupofverbscalled"performativeverbs".Whenyousaythesewords,youactuallydotheactionoftheverb.IfIsay,"Iapologise",bysaying"apologise",Imakemyapology. Comparethistoawordlike"run".IfIsay,"Iruninthemorning",then"run"justrepresentsanaction.Actuallyrunningisadifferentaction.Icannotrunjustbysaying"run". Whenweuseperformativeverbs,weusethepresentsimple: IpromiseIwillneverdoitagain. Theyguaranteethequalityoftheirservice. Shedeniesbeingresponsible. Werequestyourco-operation. Otherperformativeverbsarewordslikeadmit,advise,beg,confess,congratulate,declare,deny,forbid,guarantee,name,order,permit,predict,promise,quit, refuse,remind,request,resign,suggest, thankandwarn. InformalEnglish,weusemodalstomakeoursentencesmorepolite. I must thankyouforyourhelp. We would denyanyconnectiontoourbusiness. Performativeverbs Presentsimple Modalverbs FormalEnglish Tweet Relatedarticles Grammar WhentouseCANorBEABLETOforability Youcanuse'can'or'beableto'totalkaboutability,butnotalways.Thisarticleexplainswhentouse'can'andwhentouse'beableto'. Grammar Verbswithdifferentmeaningswhentheyare... Someverbscantalkaboutastateordescribeanaction,butthemeaningchanges. Grammar Mentalstatesandthepresentcontinuousfora... Usethepresentcontinuouswithverbsaboutmentalstatesandemotionstoshowanewwayofthinkingorthatwearenotsure. Matthew AboutmeIamfromNewZealand.IlivedinJapanandBrazilforalongtime,butnowIambackhomeinAuckland.IamthefounderofPoligo.IliketoplayguitarandvideogamesandsurfwhenIgetthechance.Ihaveawifeandtwoboys. ExperienceIspecializeinteachingEnglishtoprofessionalsandEnglishteachers.IhavetaughtEnglishsince2001inJapan,NewZealandandBrazil.IspeakJapanese&Portuguese.IamthefounderofPoligoandTheEnglishFarm(anonlineschoolforbusinessEnglish). Fullprofile TryPoligonowforfree GethelpwithyourEnglishwritingfromprofessionalteachers24hoursaday.We'llcorrectyourwritingandgiveyoulotsofusefuladviceandfeedback.Poligo'sserviceissuperfast—ifyoudon'tgethelpinlessthan24hours,yougetyourmoneyback.It'sfreetojoin&newmembersget500charactersofwritingcheckedforfree. Fastservice. 100%private. Professionalquality. WritebetterEnglish Username* PleasewriteinEnglish. E-mailaddress* Password* Confirmpassword* MyNickname* PleasewriteinEnglish. GetournewsletterGetemailsaboutcourses,news&specialdiscounts.Weguaranteeyourprivacyandyourpersonalinformationwillneverbeshared. Subscribe IneedtowritebetterEnglishbecause* IwritebusinessemailanddocumentsinEnglish. IwriteadiaryinEnglish. Iwriteessaysforschool,universityorEnglishstudy. IampreparingforanEnglishtest. Ihaveanotherreason. Iampreparingforthistest TOEIC TOEFL GBC(FSI) IELTS EIKEN Anothertest Othermotivation InEnglish,pleasetelluswhyyouneedtolearntowritebetter. CAPTCHAThisquestionisfortestingwhetherornotyouareahumanvisitorandtopreventautomatedspamsubmissions. Articles Stopcommunicationcrash Ikindofgetit "Firsttimetomeet"or"firsttimemeeting"? UnderstandALMOSTandMOSTLY TheLogicTrap TheOrderofAdjectivesinEnglish LiveinanEnglishworld Threewaystouse-INGverbs CountableorUncountable SostrangeANexpression More Blog LASTDAYSOFSALE:10%offpointstillMay10th2020saleFINALDAYSummersale:10%offPointsneverexpireNewprices:cheaperforever20%NYsaleextendedtoFeb17thThenewsletterisback!NewYearsale:20%off!MatthewinTokyoSpanishSeafoodMore Twitter Tweetsby@Poligo