Parts of Speech · Today with Lucy

Express a State of Being

1 Learn Start here

2 Assess Take the quiz

3 Practice Try it out

4 Create Make your own

★ Certified Earn your badge

▶ Play Optional

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.

Clowns are hilarious.

Sense Linking Verbs

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

That chocolate milk tastes sour.

State Linking Verbs

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

Wilson's room remained the cleanest.

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

Half of these are forms of be, and half aren't. Run the equals sign on all four and notice it holding every time.

I was confused.

You are a teacher.

You seem pleased.

I feel tired.

Library

Now you try

Try remained, stayed, or felt. Check it with the test: the keeper = calm.

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

Each of these verbs makes both calls. Watch tasted do two jobs, and then watch smells do the same.

Cheo's milkshake tasted too sweet! (The milkshake = too sweet. The link holds, so this tasted is mine.)

Cheo tasted too much sugar in his milkshake. (Cheo = too much sugar? No. Cheo did some tasting, so this tasted is Vinny's.)

My puppy, Mr. Pickles, smells clean and fresh after a bath. (Mr. Pickles = clean and fresh. The link holds.)

I smell burning wood somewhere! (I = burning wood? No. A nose is hard at work, and that's action.)

Library

Now you try

Try grew, became, or seemed. The describing word after the blank keeps the link safe.

Linking Verb or Helping Verb?

A form of be can do two jobs. When it connects the subject to what it is (I am happy), it is a linking verb. When it carries one of Vinny's action verbs (I am walking), it is a helping verb.

In a sentence

The same small words can work two jobs. Watch am and was switch sides. Vinny can show you everything his helpers can build; my job is the call itself.

I am happy. (I = happy. The sentence holds, so this am is linking.)

I am walking to the library. (I = walking? No. This am is a helping verb, carrying Vinny's action.)

Gramma is the best cook in town. (Gramma = the best cook in town. This is renames the subject, so it's linking.)

Gramma was flipping pancakes at dawn. (Flipping is the action. This was is helping, so the sentence belongs to Vinny.)

Now you try

Try was, is, or will be. Check it: the kitchen = a glorious mess. If the equals sign holds, the be is linking.