The major aim of this study was to find out whether there was any significant difference between types of verbs and the textbooks used in different fields of study in the light of Halliday’s Systemic Functional Grammar model (1994). 90 ESP texts were chosen from different fields of study, 30 from engineering, 30 from medical sciences, and 30 from social sciences. Based on the guidelines laid down by Halliday on Experiential Metafunction (in which verbs are classified into six types: material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal, and existential) the texts were analyzed and the frequency of each type of verb was computed. After applying Chi-Square to the data, it was found that different fields of study employ different types of verbs. The results demonstrated that in engineering texts material verbs, in social sciences texts mental, relational, and verbal verbs, and in medical sciences texts behavioral verbs are more prevalent. Finally, it was recommended that ESP teachers, materials developers and learners take such differences into account.

Keywords