Categories of Statements

Category Verbs
Arithmetic
  • ADD
  • COMPUTE
  • DIVIDE
  • INSPECT (TALLYING)
  • MULTIPLY
  • SUBTRACT
  • EXAMINE (TALLYING)
Conditional
  • ADD (SIZE ERROR)
  • CALL (OVERFLOW)
  • COMPUTE (SIZE ERROR)
  • DELETE (INVALID KEY)
  • DIVIDE (SIZE ERROR)
  • GO TO (DEPENDING)
  • IF
  • MULTIPLY (SIZE ERROR)
  • READ (END or INVALID KEY)
  • RETURN (END)
  • REWRITE (INVALID KEY)
  • SEARCH
  • START (INVALID KEY)
  • STRING (OVERFLOW)
  • UNSTRING (OVERFLOW)
  • WRITE (INVALID KEY or END-OF-PAGE)
  • EVALUATE
  • ON
Data movement
  • ACCEPT (DATE, DAY or TIME)
  • INSPECT (REPLACING)
  • MOVE
  • STRING
  • UNSTRING
  • EXAMINE
  • TRANSFORM
  • INITIALIZE
  • INSPECT (CONVERTING)
  • SET (TO TRUE)
  • SET (TO FALSE)
  • SET (ADDRESS OF)
  • SET (POINTER)
  • SET (object reference)
Ending
  • EXIT METHOD
  • EXIT PROGRAM
  • GOBACK
  • STOP
Input/Output
  • ACCEPT (identifier)
  • CLOSE
  • COMMIT
  • DELETE
  • DISPLAY
  • OPEN
  • READ
  • RECEIVE
  • REWRITE ]
  • ROLLBACK
  • START
  • STOP (literal)
  • UNLOCK
  • WRITE
  • EXHIBIT
  • SET (TO ON or TO OFF)
Inter-program
  • CALL
  • CANCEL
  • CHAIN
  • ENTRY
  • EXEC
  • INVOKE
  • SERVICE
Null operation
  • EXIT
  • CONTINUE
Ordering
  • MERGE
  • RELEASE
  • RETURN
  • SORT
Procedure branching
  • ALTER
  • CALL
  • EXIT PERFORM/EXIT PARAGRAPH/EXIT SECTION
  • GO TO
  • NEXT SENTENCE
  • PERFORM
Scope delimiting
  • END-ACCEPT
  • END-ADD
  • END-CALL
  • END-DELETE
  • END-DISPLAY
  • END-DIVIDE
  • END-EVALUATE
  • END-IF
  • END-INVOKE
  • END-MULTIPLY
  • END-PERFORM
  • END-READ
  • END-RETURN
  • END-REWRITE
  • END-SEARCH
  • END-START
  • END-STRING
  • END-SUBTRACT
  • END-UNSTRING
  • END-WRITE
COBOL system-directing
  • BASIS
  • DELETE
  • INSERT
  • $DISPLAY
  • $ELSE
  • $END
  • $IF
  • COPY
  • ENTER
  • USE
  • REPLACE
  • ENTRY
  • EJECT
  • SKIP1
  • SKIP2
  • SKIP3
  • TITLE
  • NOTE
  • ++INCLUDE
  • -INC
Table handling
  • SEARCH
  • SET

IF and ON are verbs in the COBOL sense; it is recognized that they are not verbs in English.