Linking Verbs Explained

Verbs come in all shapes and sizes. Some show action and some do not. Some
describe or rename the subject in the sentence. Verbs that describe or rename the
subject are called linking verbs.

What are linking verbs?

Another way to define linking verbs is that linking verbs do not express action but
connect the subject and verb to more information. Some words can function both as a
linking verb and an action verb as you will see in some of the sentences below.

Examples of linking verbs

Michael is a football fan.

Is isnt something that Michael can actually do. Instead, it connects the subject,
Michael to more information about him, that he really enjoys playing or watching the
ball. So in this sentence is is a linking verb.

The dogs are barking angrily at the cat.

Are isnt something dogs can do. Are connects the subject, dogs, to information about
them, that they are mad at the cat.

Tomas always feels tired when he stays up playing video games all night.

Feels connects the subject, Thomas, to his state of being, tired.

Learning to speak a new language seems impossibly hard at first.

Seems connects the subject, a new language, with something said about it, that its
difficulty can be deceiving at first.

There are other verbs that are known as true linking

verbs and they are as follows:
Any form of the verb be which includes am, it, is, are, were, was, has been, are being,
etc. Also, become and seem are linking verbs. These verbs are called true linking
verbs because they are always linking verbs.

Then there are verbs that can be linking verbs or action verbs. These include feel,
look, remain, grow, appear, smell, taste, turn, and sounds.

But how do you tell when these words are being used as an action verb and when they
are connecting the subject of the verb to more information? Its not as difficult as you
may think.
One handy little trick is to see if you can substitute is, and, or are and see if the
sentence still makes sense. If it does then youre dealing with a linking verb. If it
doesnt make sense after the substitution, then its an action verb. Here are a few
examples of this trick in action:

Stella tasted anchovy pizza for the first time.

Stella is anchovy pizza? Of course not! So in this case, tasted is an action verb and
expresses something Stella is doing.

The anchovy pizza tasted delicious.

The anchovy pizza is delicious? Some people think so! Sense tasted can be replaced
with is, the verb tasted is a linking verb in this sentence.

I smelled the cookies baking as soon as I walked in the door.

I am the cookies? Not me. Smell, in this case is acting as an action verb.

The cookies smell divine.

The cookies are divine? Absolutely! Have one! Smell is a linking verb in the above
sentence.

When Karen felt the slimy fish, she dropped it immediately.

Karen is the slimy fish? Of course not! Again, here were dealing with an action verb.
Felt is something Karen is doing.

Are you beginning to see how this works? Just remember that linking verbs do not
show action but describes or renames the subject and gives us more information about
it
Linking Verbs
Since linking verbs, also referred to as copulas or copular verbs, don't function in the
same way as typical verbs in showing action, it can sometimes be tricky to recognize
them. These types of verbs:

Show a relationship between the subject and the sentence complement, the part of
the sentence following the verb
Connect or link the subject with more information words that further identify or
describe the subject

Identify a relationship or existing condition

These types of verbs are sometimes described as performing the function of an equal
sign because they provide the connection between a subject and a certain state.

Words That Are True Linking Verbs

Some words are always linking verbs. These are considered "true." They do not
describe the action, but always connect the subject to additional information. The
most common true linking verbs are forms of "to be," "to become" and "to seem."

Forms of "to be"

Am
Is
Is being
Are
Are being
Was
Was being
Were
Has
Has been
Have been
Will have been
Had been
Are being
Might have been

Forms of "to become"

Become
Becomes
Became
Has become
Have become
Had become
Will become
 Will have become

Forms of "to seem"

Seemed
Seeming
Seems
Has seemed
Have seemed
Had seemed
Will seem

Any time you see these words in a sentence, you know they are performing a linking
or connective function in showing a relationship or describing a state.

For example:

"I am glad it is Friday." Here the linking verb "am" connects the subject (I) to the
state of being glad.
"Laura is excited about her new bike." Here "is" describes Laura's emotional state of
excitement.
"My birds are hungry." The word "are" identifies that the birds currently exist in a
physical state of hunger.

Determining Other Linking Verbs

In addition to true linking verbs, there are also many verbs that can exist either as
action verbs or linking verbs. These are also called resultative verbs. Verbs related to
the five senses often function in this way.

Common verbs that can exist as either action verbs or linking verbs include:

Grow
Look
Prove
Remain
Smell
Sound
Taste
Turn
Stay
Get
Appear
Feel

Testing for Linking Verbs

Since these verbs can function as either action verbs or copular verbs, how do you
make the distinction? A common test is to replace the verb you suspect in the
sentence with an appropriate form of a true linking verb.
 If it makes sense, it is linking.
If it isn't logical with the substitution, it's an action verb.

For example, take these two sentences:

"The flowers looked wilted."

"She looked for wildflowers"

Substitute the copular verb "are" for the word "looked" in both sentences. In the first
sentence, it makes sense: "The flowers are wilted." In the second sentence, however,
it doesn't make sense: "She are for wildflowers."

"The spaghetti sauce tasted delicious."

"She tasted the delicious spaghetti sauce."

The sentence: "The spaghetti sauce is delicious" works, but "She is the delicious
spaghetti sauce" is illogical. The verb in the first sentence is copular, and in the
second sentence it is not.

For more information, check out Examples of Linking Verbs.

Additional Online Resources

Teachers in upper elementary and middle school may need to include lessons on
linking verbs in their curriculum. ESL students may also be learning about
distinguishing this verb type.

Along with repetition, identification worksheets and quizzes work well for many
teachers. There are many online grammar exercises and resources available for
teaching, learning, and understanding copular verbs, including:

Grammar Bytes gives quick tips and examples on identifying verb forms. Interactive
exercises are also available.
Quia offers an interactive online quiz to identify linking and action verbs.
Lesson Tutor has simple hints for verbs and assignment to test your knowledge.
Using English, a site designed for ESL students, has a short section on linking verbs.
You can also use their forum to ask questions.
The Verb Song, submitted by Sara Jordan on Songs for Teaching, is a fun way for
younger students to learn this concept.
 A linking verb connects the subject with some more
information about the subject.

These are examples of some of the main linking verbs:

1. Be: I am extremely tired this evening.

2. Look: My hair looks a mess today.

3. Feel: My head feels fuzzy.

4. Taste: This glass of Scotch tastes good.

5. Smell: This pizza smells rather strange.

6. Sound: My neighbours sound very angry.

7. Seem: They seem determined to keep me awake tonight.

Here are some others; if you want to try to make some sentences with them, I'll check them
for you: Appear; Get; Become; Grow; Stay; Keep; Turn; Prove; Go; Remain; Resemble; Run;
Lie.

PS: Have you tried the "Reference" link, at the top of the page? If you search on "Linking
verbs", you'll find some more information.
 "If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself. Tell yourself that
you are not poet enough to call forth its riches."
(Rainer Maria Rilke)

"While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making
mistakes and becoming superior."
(Henry C. Link)

"I became a feminist as an alternative to becoming a masochist."

(Sally Kempton)

"These copular verbs (also linking verbs) can be divided semantically into two
types: (1) Those like be that refer to a current state: appear, feel, remain, seem, sound.
(2) Those that indicate a result of some kind: become, get (wet); go (bad); grow (old);
turn (nasty). Be is the copula that most often takes adverbial complements which
characterize or identify the subject: I felt cold; I felt a fool."
(Sylvia Chalker, "Copula," in The Oxford Companion to the English Language, edited
by Tom McArthur, Oxford University Press, 1992)

Like the be-pattern, linking verbs may take nouns as complements. Some of the
linking verbs have a little more acute verbal action than the be-equations:
Everything became a mist.
(C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, 380)

He became a castaway in broad daylight.

(William Golding, Pincher Martin, 56)
A simple syntactic structure--a linking verb with a noun and two adjectives--here
makes an urgent point:
War remains the decisive human failure.
(John Kenneth Galbraith, The Economics of Innocent Fraud, 62)
As predicate complements, adjectives that follow linking verbs often carry the new
information and draw the stress.
Argument remains inescapable.
(Julie Thompson Klein, Crossing Boundaries, 211)

She looked new and fresh.

(Carolyn See, The Handyman, 173) . . .
In these linking examples, the major emphasis tends to fall on the predicate
complement or, sometimes, whatever word or structure is at the end of the sentence . .
.."
(Virginia Tufte, Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. Graphics Press, 2006)
The Linking Verb
Recognize a linking verb when you see one.

Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of the verb to
additional information about the subject. Look at the examples below:

Keila is a shopaholic.

Ising isn't something that Keila can do. Is connects the subject, Keila, to additional
information about her, that she will soon have a huge credit card bill to pay.

During the afternoon, my cats are content to nap on the couch.

Areing isn't something that cats can do. Are is connecting the subject, cats, to
something said about them, that they enjoy sleeping on the furniture.

After drinking the old milk, Vladimir turned green.

Turned connects the subject, Vladimir, to something said about him, that he needed an
antacid.

A ten-item quiz seems impossibly long after a night of no studying.

Seems connects the subject, a ten-item quiz, with something said about it, that its
difficulty depends on preparation, not length.

Irene always feels sleepy after pigging out on pizza from Antonio's.

Feels connects the subject, Irene, to her state of being, sleepiness.

The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the verb be [am, is, are, was,
were, has been, are being, might have been, etc.], become, and seem. These true
linking verbs are always linking verbs.

Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities: appear, feel, grow, look,
prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, and turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs;
sometimes they are action verbs.

How do you tell when they are action verbs and when they are linking verbs?

If you can substitute am, is, or are and the sentence still sounds logical, you have a
linking verb on your hands.

If, after the substitution, the sentence makes no sense, you are dealing with an action
verb instead. Here are some examples:

Sylvia tasted the spicy squid eyeball stew.

Sylvia is the stew? I don't think so! Tasted, therefore, is an action verb in this
sentence, something Sylvia is doing.

The squid eyeball stew tasted good.

The stew is good? You bet. Make your own!

I smell the delicious aroma of a mushroom and papaya pizza baking in the oven.

I am the aroma? No way! Smell, in this sentence, is an action verb, something I am

doing.

The mushroom and papaya pizza smells heavenly.

The pizza is heavenly? Definitely! Try a slice!

When my dog Oreo felt the wet grass beneath her paws, she bolted up the stairs and
curled up on the couch.

Oreo is the wet grass? Of course not! Here, then, felt is an action verb, something
Oreo is doing.

My dog Oreo feels depressed after seven straight days of rain.

Oreo is depressed? Without a doubt! Oreo hates the wet.

This substitution will not work for appear. With appear, you have to analyze the
function of the verb.

Swooping out of the clear blue sky, the blue jay appeared on the branch.

Appear is something a blue jay can doespecially when food is near.

The blue jay appeared happy to see the bird feeder.

Here, appeared is connecting the subject, the blue jay, to its state of mind, happiness.