Is the word can a linking verb

Main Linking Verbs Takeaways:

• Here’s a Comprehensive Linking Verbs .pdf
• Unlike most verbs, a linking verb is not an action word.
• Instead, they connect the subject of a sentence with the rest of the sentence. They join a subject with its predicate noun or adjective.
• There are 12 main and 23 total linking verbs in the English language.
• These are always linking verbs: to seem, to become, and any form of the verbto be.

What is a Linking Verb in English Grammar?

According to traditional English grammar guides, a linking verb describes the subject by connecting it with the rest of a sentence. What’s more, they can be a single word or a group of words. Unlike other verbs, this type of verb does not convey action. Instead, they describe or identify a subject. Think of them as the glue that holds a sentence together.

There are several verbs that are always linking. These are:

• to seem
• to become
• any form of the verb to be

Here are some examples of linking verbs used in sentences:

What is the Difference Between a Linking Verb and an Action Verb?

Typically, verbs are action words. However, linking verbs don’t express action. Instead of acting, they describe and connect. Specifically, this type of verb describes a state of being. Moreover, it connects the subject of a sentence with the subject complements. Subject complements are predicate nouns or predicate adjectives. “To be,” “to become,” and “to seem” are always linking verbs. Words that can function as a linking or an actionverb include smell, appear, look, and sound.

Linking Verb Definition: a word or expression that joins the subject of a sentence with its predicate.

How Many Linking Verbs are There?

There are 23 total linking verbs in the English language. This total is made up of about eight verbs that are always linking. Examples include become, seem, and any form of the verb to be like am, is, are, was, were, and has been. Additionally, this total includes about 15 more verbs that can also be action or helping verbs.

What are the 23 Linking Verbs?

The 23 linking verbs are:

What is the Most Common Linking Verb?

There are 12 popular linking verbs (is, seems, be, am, becomes, been, are, feels, being, was, appears, were).

But, you can transform some of them into other forms, such ashelping verbs.

What Is the Difference Between a Linking Verb and a Helping Verb?

To start with, both linking verbs and helping verbs are not action verbs. However, there’s a big difference between their functions in a sentence. Linking verbs express a state of being or a condition. They connect the subject to the rest of the sentence. On the other hand, helping verbs or auxiliary verbs help the main action verb in a sentence. Consider the following examples:

Linking verbs used in sentences

Helping verbs used in sentence

Here is a list of common helping verbs. Bold verbs are also linking:

To further complicate things, sometimes “is” can be linking, action verb, or a helping verb depending on the sentence’s context.

In these sentences, “is” describes a state of being. The action referenced here is “to be.”

Download:Here’s a Comprehensive .pdf of Linking Verbs

How Do You Identify a Linking Verb?

Here’s are three quick tricks for identifying a linking verb. First, replace your verb with is or are. If the sentence still makes sense, then your verb is most likely a linking verb. This is because is and are can act as linking verbs, but they are also effective substitutes for others. Similarly, another trick is to replace the verb with an equals sign (=). If the sentence still make sense, the verb is almost certainly a linking verb. The final trick is to decide whether the verb describes a state of being or an action. If the verb describes the subject’s state of being, it’s probably a linking verb. However, if the verb describes an action, it’s probably not.

1. Replace the Verb With Is or Are

In the examples above, you can replace each verb in question with “is” or “are.” The sentences still make sense. Therefore, it’s confirmed that the each verb we replaced islinking.

However, in this example, the meaning of the sentence changes when we substitute the verb in question:

The verb dries is an action verb because itdescribes an action the subject takes and not a state of being.

2. Replace the Verb With =

One of my favorite short-hand tactics for taking notes in History class. Replacing the verb in question with an equal sign can also help you determine what kind of verb a word is.

How does Shayla feel? She’s annoyed, and we understand that after reading each example.

3. You Decide: State of Being or Action?

Action verbs express something a person or thing does. Linking verbs do not convey action. However, some are also action verbs.

The example above describes the subject, Daria. What’s more, the word smells connects Daria to the rest of the sentence. The linking category of verbs describes the subject and connects it to the rest of the sentence. Therefore, smells is linking here.

However, this example describes an action that the subject of the sentence took. In other words, this example describes something that Daria did.

What did Daria do? She smelled (the cake. We know you’re fresh as a daisy, Daria).

Therefore, smells is an action verb here.

Linking, Helping, Action, or All of the Above? Set a new High Quiz Score

Read More: First, Second, and Third Person: Points of View in Writing

Moving Descriptors: Linking Verbs, Action Verbs, and Helping Verbs

You may already know a bit about the importance of action and linking words. After all, you can’t have complete sentences without including them at least once. But do you know there are three main categories? What about resume action verbs? The main forms include linking verbs, action verbs, and helping verbs. Curious to know the difference between these three types? Let’s look at definitions and answer “what are linking verbs”?, “what is an action verb”?, “what is a helping verb”? and look at further examples of linking verbs and action words to help you out.

What is an Action Verb?

In every sentence you have two main parts. First, there’s a subject. This is usually a noun or pronoun. Second, you have an action or state of being word. This word describes information about the subject.

When the word describing the subject is an action verb, the reader or listener understands what action the subject takes. It’s important to learn about action verbs because these words convey a variety of different actions that are both mental and physical. By increasing the number of action verbs you use in conversation, you can accurately describe to listeners what a subject is doing. That’s what a list of action verbs are good for, too. Try to see if you can create one as you go.

A few action verb examples include walk, skip, and jog. Although the actions aren’t much different (as the words all describe motion) each one forms a different image in your mind. It’s these subtle changes that make language more exciting! That’s why it’s so important to memorize a list of action verbs.

A mental action verb looks like think, discover, and plan amongst others. No action verb definition is complete without understanding two types of an action verb. In fact, the next section will explain more.

What is an Action Verb?: Defining the Transitive

A transitive action verb definition describes an action taken. However, this type of verb also affects a direct object. The direct object can be another noun or pronoun. Additionally, this type of action verb can even affect a phrase or clause. Let’s review some transitive action verb examples and compile a list of action verbs:

• Fred’s going to buy a comic book.

Without knowing the direct object (in this case a comic book) you wouldn’t understand what Fred is going to buy. That’s what makes the word buy transitive. See if you can identify the direct object in the next two action verb examples.

• Stacy is washing her dirty dishes.

Stacy (the subject) is washing (the verb) her dirty dishes (the direct object.)

• Can you check whether the front door is locked?

You (the subject) should check (the verb) the front door (the direct object) to determine if it’s locked.

Did you accurately locate the subject, direct object, and action verb? Still asking what is an action verb or need help creating a list of action verbs? There’s still more information below. If you need more help with the transitive form, click site.

What is an Action Verb?: Defining the Intransitive

Whereas a transitive word requires a direct object, an intransitive word does not. That’s because these action verbs describe what the subject of a sentence does to itself. Thus, it does not act upon a direct object. Here are some intransitive action verb examples:

• I can’t stop crying.

This action only impacts the subject, who cries continuously.

• Stacy always arrives to work ten minutes late.

The action verb arrives is followed by the location work. In this case, work is a preposition of place and not a direct object. You can also say, “Stacy always arrives ten minutes late,” and the sentence would still retain its meaning.

An Action Verb Definition

Considering that there are two ways to describe action verbs, a good action verb definition describes what a subject does involving physical and mental action verbs. These words can even explain the impact the action has on the subject itself, or the impact it has on a direct object. The other is called resume action verbs, but we will get to those in the next section.

List of Action Verbs

Here’s a list of action verbs, including resume action verbs. Resume action verbs help describe previous work experience and show off your accomplishments without using the same words repeatedly.

Common Action Verb Examples

Resume Action Verbs

See if you can form in your own action verb definition. Now that you’ve seen a list of action verbs and resume action verbs, why not take some time to learn about MLA format and APA format? Once you’re done, let’s move on to discussing the linking verb.

What is a Linking Verb?

To be, to feel, and to become are linking verbs examples. But what are linking verbs specifically? Before you read a linking verb definition, look at this useful reference on linking verbs and check out the examples of linking verbs they provide.

What is a linking verb? A linking verb connects a subject to the words that describe what the subject is. Linking words, unlike action verbs, do not describe actions. Instead, a linking verb definition describes a state of being.

Examples of Linking Verbs

Examples of linking verbs include: to be, to become, and to seem. These three examples are always linking verbs. In addition, you have a linking verb: to appear, to feel, to look, to smell, to sound, and to taste. These words act as either action or linking verbs, depending on whether they express an action or not. Here are some linking verb examples.

• Pete is my favorite dog.
• That car was incredibly fast.
• I am happy that I passed my math exam!
• The house smells like the ocean breeze.
• Nancy feels a bit sick today.

Although linking verbs such as, smells and feels, can describe actions in the above examples, they help connect the subject to the predicate. They aren’t used in these examples of linking verbs to express any action but instead describes a state of being. Sometimes an action word can be considered both an action or a linking verb. Linking verb examples include remain, prove, and grow but depending on the context in which the word is used can also be defined as action words.

Add this to your linking verb definition and you are one step ahead of the game in knowing linking verbs. Answering what is a linking verb and continuing reading will help you further your understanding.

What are linking verbs? Use these examples of linking verbs when someone asks what is a linking verb? You’ll be able to write up your own linking verb definition in no time and create personalized linking verb examples. Quick tip: Is your next academic paper due soon? Try out the paper checker from Citation Machine Plus. In addition, Citation Machine Plus also comes with tools for creating citations in MLA format and more citation styles.

What is a Helping Verb?: The Auxiliary Form

In some sentences you have multiple actions or linking verbs. One action or linking verb is often more important in the sentence than the other. The second action or linking verb simply provides additional meaning and assists the main word. Turns out a helping action assists with answering what are linking verbs and linking verb examples.

So, what is a helping verb exactly? Well, a  helping word adds both emphasis to your sentences and describes the possibility of something happening. There are two types of helping verbs: auxiliary and modal.

Auxiliary words include the tenses of to be, to have, and to do. If you find a sentence with multiple action or being words, such as to be, to have, or to do, then you know these words are in their auxiliary form. Here are some helping verb example sentences that include an auxiliary:

• Jacob is running another marathon this weekend.
• Her father has not made dinner for us yet.
• I am reading my favorite book right now.

What is a Helping Verb?: The Modal Form

The second type of helping verb is known as a modal. Modals include the words: can, could, might, may, should, shall, will, would, must, and ought to. You can use a modal helping verb to discuss possibility and obligation. Here is a modal helping verb example:

• May I use your bathroom please?

More than likely you can, but there’s a chance that whoever you’re asking will not let you use the bathroom.

• You must make this basket to win the game!

You might need to, but there’s a chance that you miss the basket and lose the game. 

• Could Steve give me a hand with the groceries?

Helping words can also be used in the past perfect, present perfect and future perfect tenses. Look at these examples of a helping word at work:

• He will finish doing his chores before playing outside.
• Lily has delivered the packages to the post office.
• My uncle has a lot of board games to pass the time with.  

As you can see the perfect tenses are italicized whereas the helping verbs are bolded. In this case, the tenses takes the form of to be and to have as the helping verb in the sentence indicating points in time when the verb was or will be completed. The bolded word is identified as the main verb.

One more thing before jotting down what is a helping verb; adverbs that appear in between action words do not count as helping words. For example words like not, always, never, often and sometimes are just some of the few. Think you’re an expert now? Try creating your own bullet points or test yourself on what is a helping verb. Mastery over helping verbs doesn’t come overnight and will truly help you define what is a linking verb and a linking verb definition. 

Now you know all about the types of action, linking, and helping verbs and their many forms! Use them to accurately describe who you are and the actions you’ll take in your writing and speech. See if you can answer the following and practice resume action verbs:

• In your own words, what is a helping verb and can it help define what is a linking verb?
• What are linking verbs?
• Examples of linking verbs that can be action verbs?
• What are your own linking verb examples?
• Your own action verb examples?
• What is an action verb?
• What are some good resume action verbs?
• What are the differences between a helping verb, action verb, and a linking verb?

In this post, we learn what linking verbs are, and what they do in a sentence.

What are linking verbs in English?

Linking verb definition: A linking verb is a type of a main verb that links the subject of a sentence to its complement (a word or a group of words that identifies the subject and either renames it or modifies it).

A word or a group of words that comes after a linking verb and identifies is called a subject complement. It tells what the subject is or how it is.

Here’s a complete list of linking verbs in English

Linking verb examples

• You are a wonderful singer. (The linking verb ‘are‘ is linking the subject ‘you’ to its complement a wonderful singer, which is giving the subject a name. You = a wonderful singer)

• Jon was sad last night. (The linking verb ‘was’ is connecting the subject ‘Jon’ with the subject complement ‘sad’. Jon = sad)

A linking verb is either followed by a noun (predicate nominative) or an adjective (predicate adjective).

More linking verbs examples

• I am really excited for the party.
• Akshay was the best bowler of our team.
• The teacher is upset with all the students.
• My friends are the best.
• You were the love of my life.
• Sam is being extremely polite to me.
• All the interviewers were being very rude to me.
• This year has been terrible for most people.
• Knowing how many skillful workers the company has lost, the employers have been very positive about the future.
• Jon had been very helpful in those days.
• You will be the mother of my baby in some time.
• We shall be happy to contribute to this amazing cause.
• Tina may be upset with you.
• This trip might be a failure.
• You must be a fighter. You look like one.
• The team should be satisfied with their performance as it was quite a historical win.
• If he didn’t come on time, I would be dead.
• Because of you, the party could be exciting.
• Jennifer could have been the lead actress of this movie.
• Max should have been more careful with the money he won in the lottery.
• Your family must have been disappointed with your results.
• Everyone seemed clueless when he announced his retirement.
• This jacket looks perfect on you.
• You look beautiful without makeup.
• The task seems difficult to solve.
• My mom appears mad at me.
• The food smells delicious.
• I felt terrible when they stranded the dog.
• If you put in the work, dreams come true.
• Jimmy stayed calm and composed even after getting a death threat.
• You must try this. It tasted extremely good.
• The crowd went silent after Virat lost his wicket.
• Even after losing his dream job, Max remained positive.
• Sometimes, we get demotivated when things don’t go the way we want them to go.
• He remained faithful to the company.
• Your story never falls true.

Linking verbs vs action verbs

Some verbs act as both linking verbs and action verbs. Here’s the list of verbs that can be both linking verbs and action verbs:

• Appear
• Look
• Smell
• Go
• Taste
• Stay
• Fell
• Get
• Turn

How to identify if any of these verbs function as a linking verb or an action verb in a sentence?

If a verb functions as an action verb, it is followed by a noun (object) or an adverb or a prepositional phrase. None of these things will refer to the subject; they will be different from the subject.

But if a verb functions as a linking verb, it will be followed by a noun (predicate nominative) or an adjective (predicate adjective): subject complement. And both the things will identify the subject; the subject complement either renames the subject (noun) or modifies it (adjective).

Examples:-

• He appeared before the court yesterday. (Action verb)
• He appeared lost before the court. (Linking verb)

• She looked at me in a weird way. (Action verb)
• She looked beautiful in that dress. (Linking verb)

• He smells his food before eating it. (Action verb)
• He smells nice today. (Linking verb)

• We go to new places every now and then. (Action verb)
• We go crazy after having some drinks. (Linking verb)

• The chef tasted the food himself. (Action verb)
• The food tasted delicious. (Linking verb)

• We stayed at his place last night. (Action verb)
• We stayed motivated even after losing the match. (Linking verb)

• I felt the pain in his voice. (Action verb)
• I felt helpless when I got lost in the forest. (Linking verb)

• He got some bonus money. (Action verb)
• He got emotional after hearing his sad story. (Linking verb)

• He turned the chair towards me. (Action verb)
• He turned violent as soon as he got fired. (Linking verb)

Linking verbs vs helping verbs

All the ‘to be’ verbs can function as both linking verbs and helping verbs.

When ‘to be’ verbs function as helping verbs, they are followed by an action verb, and when they are followed by a noun or an adjective, they function as a linking verb.

Examples:

• I am a teacher. (am = linking verb, a teacher = subject complement)
• I am working on something. (am = helping verb, working = main verb)

• Ron has been very loyal to me. (has been =linking verb, very loyal = subject complement)
• Ron has been living here for years. (has been = helping verb, living = main verb)

• You might be right. (might be = linking verb, right = subject complement)
• You might be sleeping. (might be = helping verb, sleeping = main verb)

• She could have been the lead actor. (could have been = linking verb, the lead actor = subject complement)
• She could have been doing something at that time. (could have been = helping verb, doing = main verb)

Don’t use an adverb after a linking verb!

Don’t make the mistake of using an adverb after a linking verb.

• It tasted strongly. ❌
• It tasted strong. ✔️

• You smell nicely. ❌
• You smell nice. ✔️

NOTE: adverbs are not used right after linking verbs, but, sometimes, they can be used before linking verbs.

• You always look pretty.
• Jon never goes mad.

Using a pronoun after linking verbs

When a subject complement renames the subject, it’s usually a noun, but it can also be a pronoun. When a subject complement is a pronoun, some people use a subjective pronoun, and some use an objective pronoun.

• It was me who called her.
• It was I who called her.

A subject complement refers back to the subject, which can only be a noun or a subjective pronoun. So with this logic, we should use I. But people have been using an objective pronoun in this case for so long that it has almost become acceptable. So, there’s no loser; everyone wins.

Subjective pronoun: I, we, you, he, she, it, they
Objective pronoun: me, us, you, him, her, it, us

FAQs

A verb shows the power of action, and it also can connect ideas. And these verbs are called «Linking Verbs«, and if we want to call it vastly then we consider them as «a state of being verbs«.

To know more about linking verbs, we need to talk about action verbs. These verbs express some physical or mental action that a person, animal, object or even nature can do. Action verbs are words like drink dance, eat and swim. Action verbs are different from linking verbs, which we can think of as «states of being» verbs.

All forms of be verbs are linking verbs. For example: are, am, is, were, was etc. Besides, verbs that have to do with the five senses are linking verbs: feel, look, smell, sound and taste.

So we come to the point that linking verb is not an action verb. It tells about what the subject is not what it’s doing. For example: Sneha’s cat is tired, here shows the condition of Sneha’s cat, not what it’s doing. So here “is” is working as a linking verb.

Examples of linking verbs in sentences:

There are so many linking verbs. It depends on how we do the counting, but there are about a dozen and a half common linking verbs.

• The tomato smells rotten.
• The professor is absolutely sure.
• My brother gets mad when he’s hungry.
• Lean was tired until the caffeine kicked in.
• The company stays true to its founding principles.

The underlined words are linking verbs. They’re all examples of states of being. In fact, we could replace the verbs smell, gets and stays with the verb «is» and the meaning would remain the same.

• The tomato is rotten.
• My brother is mad when he’s hungry.
• The company is true to its founding principles.

Of course, there’s certainly a shade in meaning when we say that a tomato smells rotten instead of that it is rotten, but we get the idea.

But sometimes they’re not expressing themselves as linking verbs. When they’re transitive verbs, meaning that they take an object. Let’s consider the following examples:

• You should stop and smell the roses.
• Get me a roast beef sandwich, please.
• The judge stayed the execution.

In each case, the verb smell, get, and stay have a direct object (roses, sandwich and execution, respectively). There’s no state of being involved.

List of linking verbs:

We tried to bring up most of the linking verbs into this very list.

Forms of be:

The “Five Sense” verbs:

Feel: This sweater feels itchy.

Look: The sculpture looks strange.

Smell: The dinner smells wonderful.

Sound: That doorbell sounds broken.

Taste: This soup tastes delicious.

The “States of Being” verbs:

Act                              Grow                           Stay

Appear                        Prove                           Turn

Become                       Remain

Get                              Some

Now we need to know about the differences between linking and helping verbs to have a constructive idea of linking verb.

A linking verb doesn’t always act like a linking verb. Well, that’s because a word like “is” can also play an auxiliary or helping role in a sentence.

For example, in the sentence, Malcom is drawing a picture, the word “is” isn’t a linking verb. It’s a helping verb. It’s there to “help” the main verb in the sentence (drawing).

So, how do we tell whether a word on our list of linking verbs above is playing the part in a given sentence?

If it’s followed by a predicate adjective or predicate noun, then it’s a linking verb. But if it’s next to an “-ing” verb, then it’s a helping verb.

For example:

• My friends are dancing at Stella’s tonight.

Here, “-are” is a helping verb because the –ing verb follows it.

• The girls are happy because they’re eating all together.

Here “-are” is a linking verb because a predicate adjective follows it.

What are linking verbs? Well, they’re sort of like those boring but reliable friends you have. They’re not particularly flashy, but boy are they dependable!

However, unlike boring friends, linking verbs are everywhere. Seriously, they flood our daily speech and appear often in our writing.

So sit back, relax, and check out what linking verbs are, see a few examples, and read our list of linking verbs. (I would say Fasten your seatbelt, but there’s really no need. Linking verbs are tame.)

What Are Linking Verbs Exactly?

To understand linking verbs, let’s first talk about action verbs. These are verbs that, as the name implies, express some kind of physical or mental action that a person, animal, object—or even nature—can do.

Action verbs are words like drink, dance, eat, and swim. (Don’t try all of these at once. It’s very hard, to say nothing of the drowning risk…)

Action verbs are different from linking verbs, which you can think of as “states of being” verbs.

All forms of be are linking verbs: is, am, are, was, were, etc. In addition, verbs that have to do with the five senses are linking verbs: feel, look, smell, sound, and taste.

Is that clear as mud? OK, then try this linking verb definition on for size:

A linking verb is not an action verb. It tells you something about what the subject is, not what it’s doing.

For example, the word is in the sentence Sarah’s dog is tired is a linking verb.

Contrast this with the word chewed in Sarah’s dog chewed the furniture. (The action verb, ladies and gentlemen!)

But any list of linking verbs ought to come with a disclaimer. And that is that a linking verb isn’t always what it seems to be.

For examples of linking verbs, see the section below.

Examples of Linking Verbs in Sentences

How many English linking verbs are there? Well, I don’t really know—and it depends on how you do the counting—but there are about a dozen and a half common linking verbs.

Examples of linking verbs (and examples of when those same verbs aren’t linking verbs) are below.

This tomato smells rotten.

The professor is absolutely certain.

My brother gets mad when he’s hungry.

Leah was tired until the caffeine kicked in.

The company stays true to its founding principles.

In each sentence above, the word highlighted in blue is a linking verb. They’re all examples of states of being. (Notice, too, that each linking verb is followed by a  predicate adjective in bold.)

In fact, speaking of being, you could replace the verbs smells, gets, and stays with the verb is and the core meaning would stay the same. Try it!

This tomato is rotten.

My brother is mad when he’s hungry.

The company is true to its founding principles.

See?

Of course, there’s certainly a nuance in meaning when you say that a tomato smells rotten instead of that it is rotten, but you get the idea.

So when are verbs such as smell, get, and stay not linking verbs?

When they’re transitive verbs, meaning that they take an object. Consider the following:

You should stop and smell the roses.

Get me a roast beef sandwich, please.

The judge stayed the execution.

In each case above, the verbs smell, get, and stay have a direct object (roses, sandwich, and execution, respectively). There’s no state of being involved.

Memorizing a list of linking verbs isn’t enough. You have to understand how they work in order to recognize them.

List of Linking Verbs

Below is a decent list of linking verbs. (Note that the list doesn’t include all possible forms of be.)

What’s the Difference Between Linking and Helping Verbs?

Remember when I wrote that a linking verb doesn’t always act like a linking verb? Well, that’s because a word like is can play an auxiliary (or helping) role in a sentence.

For example, in the sentence Malcolm is drawing a picture, the word is isn’t a linking verb. It’s a helping verb. It’s there to “help” the main verb in the sentence (drawing).

English uses  helping verbs (there’s even a song for them!), but many other languages don’t. The continuous form of the verb (the -ing form) just doesn’t exist in French, for example. The -ing meaning comes from context.

So how do you tell whether a word on our list of linking verbs above is playing the part in a given sentence?

Easy. Just look at what comes after it. If it’s followed by a predicate adjective or predicate noun, then you’ve got a linking verb. If it’s next to an -ing verb, though, you’ve got a helping verb.

The girls are eating at Stella’s tonight.
(are is a helping verb because the -ing verb follows it)

The girls are happy because they’re eating at Stella’s tonight.
(are is a linking verb because a  predicate adjective follows it)

For more information on English grammar, read about restrictive clauses (they sound trickier than they are) or parallel structure in sentences.

If you need help with your writing, check out our post on good word choice and then read “8 Easy Steps to Better Web Content.”