President Lincoln hoped that slavery would end when he gave the Gettysburg Address.
In this sentence hoped, end and gave are verbs. I don't understand how end is treated as a verb. It is not performing any action, nor helping any verb nor it seems linking. Is it an Action, Helping, or Linking verb? If so, how?
Best Answer
Yes, "end" as used there as an active verb. Combined with the helping verb "would", it expressed the hoped-for (but at that time not yet realized) action of slavery ending (stopping, ceasing to exist).
Compare: "This class will end at 11am."
By the way, Lincoln had no illusion that slavery would end "when he gave the Gettysburg Address". The Civil War was far from over. Rather, when he gave the Gettysburg Address (and before, and after) he hoped that slavery would end sometime soon.