Parts of Speech · Today with Lucy

Express a State of Being

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I'm Lucy, and I express a state of being. Every sentence I'm in tells you what something is. I don't act, and I don't hurry. Watch.

Meet the Linking Verbs!

A linking verb expresses a state of being. It does not act; it connects the subject to a subject complement that renames it or describes it. Most are forms of be (is, was, were); the rest come from the senses (look, smell) and from states (seem, become).

Forms of Be

The most common linking verbs: am, is, are, was, were. They state, plainly, that the subject simply is.

Your play was enjoyable.

Sense Linking Verbs

Look, sound, smell, taste, and feel. When nobody is doing the sensing, the subject just is that way.

Those muffins smell delicious.

State Linking Verbs

Seem, appear, become, grow, remain, and stay. A state that holds steady or quietly changes.

The crowd grew restless.

Linking Verbs Express a State of Being

Run the equals-sign test: swap the verb for an equals sign. If it still makes sense, the verb links. Forms of be do it, and so do sense verbs like smell and state verbs like seem; in each, nothing happens, and the subject simply is something.

In a sentence

Watch the test work. My dog is a bundle of joy, and he looks happy. Replace is and looks with the equals sign: my dog = a bundle of joy, and he = happy. It makes sense! Is and looks are linking verbs.

I am an astronaut.

She was outgoing.

Bill appears exhausted.

That smells gross.

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Now you try

Try seems, looks, smells, sounds, or stays. Run the equals-sign test to check your pick.

Action Verb or Linking Verb?

Some verbs work both jobs: taste, smell, look, sound, feel. Run the equals sign. If a renaming or describing word waits on the far side, the verb is linking; if someone is doing the smelling or looking, it is an action verb, and that one is Vinny's.

In a sentence

The same word can do two jobs. Watch smelled do both.

Your cooking smelled delicious! (Try the equals sign: your cooking = delicious. It works, so this smelled is mine.)

I smelled brownies in the oven the moment I walked inside. (Try it: I = brownies? That doesn't work, so this smelled belongs to Vinny.)

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Now you try

Try tasted, smelled, looked, or felt. The sentence decides which job a verb does.