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.
Express a State of Being
Trailer
Section 1 · Meet the Linking Verbs
Sections 2–3
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.
Sense Linking Verbs
Look, sound, smell, taste, and feel. When nobody is doing the sensing, the subject just is that way.
State Linking Verbs
Seem, appear, become, grow, remain, and stay. A state that holds steady or quietly changes.
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.
Now you try
Try seems, looks, smells, sounds, or stays. Run the equals-sign test to check your pick.
Files it under done
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.
Now you try
Try tasted, smelled, looked, or felt. The sentence decides which job a verb does.
Files it under done
And that's the whole lesson. You didn't rush, and neither did I. Stroll down the hall to The Big Linking Verb Quiz. It's eight questions, and the bench will still be here after.
Or skip ahead to the quiz without checking in.