Linking verbs in English

Verbs, nouns, pronouns, and other parts of speech are an integral part of English grammar. Today, we're talking about linking verbs. What are they? How and when can you use them? What's the difference between linking and action verbs? Let's find out the answers to these and other important questions together!

What is a linking verb?

Verbs describe actions, occurrences, or states of being. A linking verb, also known as a copular verb or a copula, connects the subject of a sentence to more information about it without expressing action.  

For example, take a look at the simple sentence: 

I am tired. 

Here, the verb "am" is the linking verb. It connects the subject with the description. Although it looks very small, the sentence becomes grammatically incorrect without it.

I tired.

As you can see from the linking verb definition, such words are really important in English grammar. They help you make your sentences clear and meaningful. Some common linking verbs include be, seem, appear, become, feel, look, remain, smell, sound, taste, stay, grow, turn, and prove. We'll talk about the complete linking verbs list a bit later.

Different types of linking verbs

Now that you know how to define linking verb, it's time to move further to understand more details about it. Copulas can be divided into several categories:

• Permanent linking verbs. These are verbs that can only be copulas, regardless of the context. A list of linking verbs of this type includes the words be, seem, and become. For example:

She seems excited.

He was sad.

• Verbs of sensory perception. These are verbs related to the five senses. They can be both linking and action verbs, so you need to consider the context. What are linking verbs examples in this case? These are the words taste, smell, look, sound, and feel.

He sounds nervous.

Food tastes funny.

• Verbs of condition or change. These English linking verbs indicate a state, condition, or transition from one state to another. The list includes the verbs act, come, constitute, equal, fall, get, go, grow, keep, prove, remain, stay, and turn. 

They remained silent.

The theory proved incorrect.

List of linking verbs

There are many different linking verbs that are used in English. Here is a handy list:

• Be
• Become
• Seem
• Appear
• Remain
• Feel
• Look
• Smell
• Sound
• Taste
• Stay
• Grow
• Turn
• Prove
• Have
• Had
• Has
• Do
• Did
• Does
• Will
• Would

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How to use linking verbs?

In English, sentences consist of two parts – a subject and a predicate. A subject is typically a noun or a pronoun, and the predicate is mostly a verb. In most cases, a predicate describes the action performed by the subject. 

Harry goes out every day.

Martha is working for two hours.

That's how the action verbs work. However, it's a bit different when you use linking verb examples. Such verbs have special predicates called subject complements. They don't describe an action; instead, they describe the subject. There are two types of complements that can be used with examples of linking verbs:

• Predicate nominatives, also called predicate nouns, appear when the subject is described by nouns or noun phrases.

My father is a teacher.

She became a doctor.

• Predicate adjectives can be found in sentences where the subject is described by adjectives or adjective nouns.

The weather feels cold today.

Her idea sounds interesting.

Linking verb examples in sentences

After familiarizing yourself with linking verb definition and examples, it is time to take a step further to help you memorize the topic better. In the list below, you can find linking verbs in different sentences to understand how to use them in various contexts.

• She is sad.
• He became angry.
• It seems like a good idea.
• They appear happy.
• We remain calm.
• I feel exhausted.
• She looks beautiful.
• The cake smells delicious.
• The music sounds pleasant.
• The soup tastes salty.
• He stayed late.
• The tree grew tall.
• The leaves turned brown.
• The experiment proved successful.

How to identify linking verbs?

Some verbs (be, become, and seem) are always linking. However, many can be both linking and action, depending on the context. Take a look at these sentences:

This soup tastes delicious.

She tastes the soup.

In the first case, the verb "taste" is a linking one, as it describes the soup. In the second example, the same verb is an action verb because it shows us what she is doing. Here's a linking verb list that can help you understand how to identify them.

• Go is a linking verb when it means to become.

Don't drink that milk. I think it went bad already.

• Come, grow, turn, and get are linking verbs when they show a change in a state or condition.

He grew quiet as the opponent continued to talk.

The sky turns orange at dusk.

He comes off as very confident in interviews.

It got colder as the sun set.

• Remain and stay are linking verbs when they connect the subject with the continuing state, not implying the action.

They remained hopeful.

He stayed silent.

• Prove is a linking verb when connecting the subject with a descriptive complement.

The solution proved effective.

• Feel, look, sound, smell, and taste are linking verbs when describing a sensory quality or a subject's condition.

The fabric feels nice.

She looks excited.

This idea sounds great.

The perfume smells too sweet.

It tastes funny.

Linking verb rules

So, what's a linking verb? It is the one that describes state and condition rather than an action. You already know what are some linking verbs, so here's a list of rules to understand the topic better.

1. Subject complements. Use adjectives – not adverbs – to describe the subject. For instance, say, "The weather is cold" instead of "The weather is coldly."
2. Adverbs with linking verbs. Adverbs can modify the linking verb meaning, such as "He gradually became slower" or "She hardly seems shy."
3. Subject-verb agreement. The linking verb always agrees with the subject, even if the predicate differs in number. For example, although "Her favorite dessert is pies" is grammatically correct, it sounds awkward. It's better to say, "Her favorite dessert is a pie" or "Pies are her favorite dessert."
4. Context matters. Many linking verbs can act as action verbs in different contexts. Replace the suspected example of a linking verb with a form of "to be" (like "is" or "was"); if the sentence still has the same meaning, it's likely a linking verb.
5. Auxiliary verbs. In some cases, definition linking verbs can also function as auxiliary verbs. For example, forms of "to be" in continuous tenses (e.g., "She is running").

Understanding these rules helps you recognize every example of linking verbs and master sentence structure.

Summary

Understanding a list of linking verb examples is a great place to start improving your English grammar. With the help of this reference, you can easily identify them in sentences and use them fluently.

Remember that linking verbs exist to help connect the subject and add additional information – it all falls into place from there! Check out more handy grammar articles to improve your language skills.