Linking verb example word

Linking verbs do not have the same role as typical verbs that show action. The function of this verb type is to link a subject to its subject complement.

What is a linking verb? What are all the linking verbs? My handy dandy guide will show you the meaning, functions, and list of all linking verbs in the English language. Then, you can answer the worksheet I provided to check your understanding.

What Are Linking Verbs?

A linking verb does not show action like dynamic verbs. Instead, it is a type of verb that expresses a subject’s state of being. This function sets them apart from intransitive verbs, phrasal verbs, and impersonal verbs. For example:

• Your dress feels silky.

In this sentence, feels establishes the state of being of the subject dress. It does not express the dress doing the act of feeling.

Some linking verb examples include is, feel, smell, and became. The most common linking verb is be in all its forms, such as is, was, am, and more. Here are more sentence examples.

• I am happy to see you.
• The book seems old.
• This room became messy.

Linking verbs are not part of action verb phrases. These sentence examples involve helping verbs instead of linking verbs.

• I am going to the mall.
• She is listening to her favorite song.

Linking Verb Functions

We all know that sentences always contain subjects and predicates. Consider this example.

• I saw her on television.

In this sentence, the subject is I, and the predicate is saw her on television. Saw is the action verb. It is an irregular verb which is the past verb form of see. Meanwhile, on television is a prepositional phrase.

• Whales are the most giant animal.

Linking verbs are always a part of the predicate. But what makes them different from normal verbs is that they do not describe the action.

When a sentence has a linking verb instead of an action verb, it means they are not a monotransitive verb or a ditransitive verb, as there is no direct object. Instead, there is a subjective complement.

There are two types of subject complement after a linking verb that will determine the proper verb usage. These are also known as special predicates.

Predicate Nominative or Predicate Noun

A linking verb is followed by a predicate noun or noun phrase when the word describing the object is a noun or noun phrase. For example:

• I became an accountant and a lawyer.

In this sentence, the predicate nouns accountant and lawyer describe the subject I. They are linked by the linking verb became, which is in the past form.

Predicate Adjective

A linking verb can link the subject to predicate adjectives when the word describing it includes adjectives or adjective phrases. For example:

• This solution is inefficient.

In this sentence, the subject complement inefficient describes the subject solution.

Adverb or Adverbial Phrase

Only the linking verb be can be described by an adverb, adverb phrase, or adverbial prepositional phrase of time or place. For example:

• Your phone is upstairs.

Upstairs may seem like an adjective, but it is an adverb indicating the phone’s location. It connects the predicate upstairs and the subject phone.

Here are more examples.

• The party will be tomorrow afternoon.
• The man is in his office.

Rules for Linking Verbs

Here are some rules for using linking verbs.

Do Not Use an Adverb for Your Subject Complement

You already know that the verb be can be followed by an adverb of time or phrase. But you should never use an adverb of manner to rename subjects. For example:

• Incorrect: Anthony seems happily.
• Correct: Anthony seems happy.

The first sentence is incorrect because adverbs modify verbs. Subject complements should rename and describe subjects. Therefore, it’s better to use an adjective that will describe Anthony, which is happy.

Linking Verbs Are Intransitive Verbs

Because linking verbs have subject complements instead of direct objects, then they are categorized as intransitive verbs. For example:

• Sarah is a writer
• You seem lonely.
• Jennifer feels joyful today.

Practice Subject-Verb Agreement

As with other sentences, the subject should always agree with the verb. So when the subject is singular, the verb should be singular. But when the subject is plural, the verb should be plural.

• Whales are the biggest animal in the sea.
• The principal is here.
• These fruits taste good.

“It Is I” or “It Is Me”

Since predicate nominatives are in the subjective case, we often wonder which personal pronouns to use. The grammatically correct statement is “it is I” instead of “it is me” because I is the nominative form.

But you can also say “It was me” in less formal contexts. In fact, this sentence is more common.

Use the Correct Verb Tense

All verbs, even linking verbs, show tense. For example, the simple present form of taste is taste/tastes. Its simple past form is tasted, and its simple future tense is will taste.

Remember that some linking verbs are irregular. For example, the simple present form of be is is or are, while its simple past form is was or were. However, the simple future tense of be is will be.

Common Linking Verb Words

Let’s take a look at the definitions of the most common linking verbs.

Be

The linking verb be means exist. For example:

• There are no easy answers.
• She is exhausted.

Become

The linking verb become means begin to be. For example:

• Tomorrow she will become a bride.
• Karen became a doctor last year.

Go

Go has the same meaning as become. For example:

• The rice went bad when my brother didn’t place it in the fridge.
• She goes dizzy every time she rides the car.

Keep

The linking verb keep means continue to be like this. But as an action verb, it has a common meaning of possession or ownership. For example:

• Please keep quiet when you’re inside the library.
• Keep calm and carry on.

Prove

Prove means to show a specific quality. But as an action verb, its meaning is to show with evidence. For example:

• The theory proved true after the study done by the researchers.

Fall

The linking verb fall talks about illness or silence. Here are some examples.

• The doctor told the parents that their son had fallen ill.
• Everyone in the hall fell silent.

Linking Verb List

This list shows the English linking verbs. Remember that some of them can function as action and non-action verbs.

Permanent Linking Verbs

These lists of verbs are always linking verbs and can never be dynamic. That means they fall under the non-action verb category.

• Be (is, are, am, was, were, being, been)
• Become
• Seem

Linking Verb Phrases

These linking verb phrases are different versions of be.

• Can be
• Could be
• Will be
• Would be
• Shall be
• Should be
• May be
• Might be
• Must be
• Has been
• Have been
• Had been

Sensory Verbs

Notice how some of these linking verbs are also common action verbs and stative verbs.

• Feel
• Smell
• Sound
• Appear
• Look
• Taste

Conditional Linking Verbs

• Act
• Come
• Fall
• Go
• Keep
• Remain
• Turn
• Constitute
• Equal
• Get
• Grow
• Prove
• Stay

How Many Linking Verbs Are There?

There are 23 linking verbs in the English language. Eight of these linking verbs are always linking verbs and never expressing actions. Some examples include seem, be, and become in their different verb forms.

What Is the Most Common Linking Verb?

The most commonly used linking verbs in English are:

• Is
• Are
• Am
• Was
• Were
• Can be
• Could be
• Will be
• Would be
• Shall be

Is From a Linking Verb?

The word from is not a linking verb that expresses a state of being. Instead, it is a preposition.

Linking Verb Summary

There are many types of verbs in English. Linking verbs are not like other common verbs that express actions. Instead, they connect the subject with different types of predicates.

This guide has shown you the definition, functions, and examples of linking verbs. Expand your knowledge of the English language by learning more about verbs.

В английском языке есть такое понятие как глагол-связка. Почему мы решили затронуть эту тему? Потому что большинство студентов считают, что глагол-связка и вспомогательный глагол – это одно и то же, однако, это не так. Для начала заметим, что глагол-связка в разных источниках может на английском звучать по-разному: linking verbs, copulative verbs, state of being verbs или being verbs, но все эти термины обозначают одно и то же явление.

Auxiliary verbs

Что касается вспомогательного глагола, то на английском языке он звучит как auxiliary verb и необходим для образования вопросительных и отрицательных предложений. В каждом грамматическом времени живут свои вспомогательные глаголы, например, в продолженных временах – это формы глагола to be, в простых или неопределенных – do, а в совершенных – формы глагола have. Вспомогательные глаголы редко встречаются в утвердительных предложениях и на русский язык не переводятся – они как бы есть — и их как бы нет.

Что касается глагола-связки, он не выражает действие предмета, т.е. не отвечает на вопрос «что делать?» и не является смысловым глаголом. Такой тип глагола связывает подлежащее и определяющее или характеризующее его существительное, прилагательное или местоимение.

Linking verbs

Английский глагол to be – самый распространенный глагол-связка, и вероятно большинство студентов путают понятия глагол-связка и вспомогательный глагол именно потому, что он также является и вспомогательным. Вот примеры глагола-связки to be в разных временах.

• I am hungry.
• She is a good doctor.
• The flowers were beautiful.
• That was a nice film.
• That man might have been a robber.

На втором месте по популярности находятся глаголы-связки seem и become. Что касается seem, то данный глагол всегда является связкой, а become — обычно, но не всегда.

• Your sister seems clever. (глагол-связка: соединяет слова sister и clever)
• When she returns home she becomes a good mother and wife. (глагол-связка: соединяет she и mother and wife)

В качестве смыслового глагола become означает “подходить, хорошо смотреться”:

• That dress certainly becomes her. – это платье определенно ей подходит.

Get — еще один популярный глагол, который может выполнять функцию смыслового глагола и глагола-связки:

• I get to my office by bus. (смысловой)
• She got pale when she heard the news. (связка)

Десять английских глаголов, которые могут быть как смысловыми, так и связующими глаголами, являются: appear, turn, feel, prove, grow, sound, look, taste, smell, remain:

• The apples appear ripe. (связка)
• He suddenly appeared from behind the tree. (смысловой)
• I feel sick because of the nausea. (связка)
• Feel the difference by tasting this sauce! (смысловой)
• Poor Emma grew old. (связка)
• We grow white roses in our garden. (смысловой)
• Mother looked tired after working in the garden. (связка)
• Jane looked under the bed but didn’t find her slips. (смысловой)
• Her opinion proved right. (связка)
• I proved my theory in a modern way. (смысловой)
• Our relations remain neutral. (связка)
• Little of my patience remained. (смысловой)
• The cake smells delicious. (связка)
• I smelled something rotten. (смысловой)
• That music sounded strange to my ears. (связка)
• The crew member sounded the alarm when it wasn’t necessary. (смысловой)
• The meat tastes good. (связка)
• I couldn’t taste pepper in the meat balls. (смысловой)
• She suddenly turned pale. (связка)
• I turned right when reached the corner. (смысловой)

Как определить, чем является в предложении тот или иной глагол?

Если вы не уверены, который глагол является связкой, который — смысловым, попробуйте следующее:

1. Замените глагол формой глагола “to be”, как в предложении «The cake smells delicious = the cake is delicious». Несмотря на то, что мы заменили smells на is, смысл остался прежним, что говорит о том, что smells в данном случае – это глагол-связка. Если же в результате подобной манипуляции предложение приобретет новое значение или же предложение станет бессмысленным, значит это смысловой глагол.

2. Измените порядок слов в предложении по следующему образцу: The cake smells delicious = delicious smells the cake. Звучит немного странно, учитывая то, что delicious – это прилагательное, но первоначальная мысль остается, а значит smells – глагол-связка.

Углубившись в английский язык, вы научитесь отличать глагол-связку от смыслового, отмечая связь между подлежащим и глаголом. Глагол-связка образует мост между подлежащим и словом, которое его определяет или описывает. Смысловые глаголы вовлекают подлежащее в действие, заставляя его в этом случае что-то делать.