Linking Verbs
A linking verb connects a subject and its complement. Sometimes called copulas, linking verbs are often forms of the verb to be, but are sometimes verbs related to the five senses (look, sound, smell, feel, taste) and sometimes verbs that somehow reflect a state of being (appear, seem, become, grow, turn, prove, remain). What follows the linking verb will be either a noun complement or an adjective complement:
- Those people are all professors.
- Those professors are brilliant.
- This room smells bad.
- I feel great.
- A victory today seems unlikely.
A handful of verbs that reflect a change in state of being are sometimes called resulting copulas. They, too, link a subject to a predicate adjective:
- His face turned purple.
- She became older.
- The dogs ran wild.
- The milk has gone sour.
- The crowd grew ugly.
Recognize a linking verb when you see one.
Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the
subject of the verb to
additional information about the subject. Look at the examples below:
- Keila is a shopaholic.
Ising isn't something that Keila
can do. Is connects the subject,
Keila, to additional information about
her, that she will soon have a huge credit card bill to pay.
- During the afternoon, my cats
are content to nap on the couch.
Areing isn't something that cats
can do. Are is connecting the subject,
cats, to something said about them,
that they enjoy sleeping on the furniture.
- After drinking the old milk, Bladimiro
turned green.
Turned connects the subject,
Bladimiro, to something said about him,
that he was needing Pepto Bismol.
- A ten-item quiz seems
impossibly long after a night of no studying.
Seems connects the subject,
a ten-item quiz, with something said
about it, that its difficulty depends on preparation, not length.
- Irene always feels
sleepy after pigging out on pizza from Antonio's.
Feels connects the subject,
Irene, to her state of being, sleepiness.
The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the
verb be [am,
is, are,
was, were,
has been, are being,
might have been, etc.],
become, and seem.
These true linking verbs are always linking verbs.
Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities:
appear, feel,
grow, look,
prove, remain,
smell, sound,
taste, and turn.
Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they are
action verbs.How do you tell when they are action verbs and when they are linking
verbs?
If you can substitute am,
is, or are
and the sentence still sounds logical, you have a linking verb
on your hands.
If, after the substitution, the sentence makes no sense, you are dealing
with an action verb instead. Here are some examples:
- Sylvia tasted the
spicy squid eyeball stew.
Sylvia is the stew? I don't think
so! Tasted, therefore, is an action
verb in this sentence, something Sylvia is doing.
- The squid eyeball stew tasted
good.
The stew is good? You bet. Make your
own!
- I smell the delicious
aroma of a mushroom and papaya pizza baking in the oven.
I am the aroma? No way!
Smell, in this sentence, is an action
verb, something I am doing.
- The mushroom and papaya pizza
smells heavenly.
The pizza is heavenly? Definitely!
Try a slice!
- When my dog Oreo felt
the wet grass beneath her paws, she bolted up the stairs and curled
up on the couch.
Oreo is the wet grass? Of course
not! Here, then, felt is an action verb,
something Oreo is doing.
- My dog Oreo feels
depressed after seven straight days of rain.
Oreo is depressed? Without a doubt!
Oreo hates the wet.
This substitution will not work for appear.
With appear, you have to analyze the function
of the verb.
- Swooping out of the clear blue sky, the blue jay
appeared on the branch.
Appear is something a blue jay can
do—especially when food is near.
- The blue jay appeared
happy to see the bird feeder.
Here, appeared is connecting the
subject, the blue jay, to its state
of mind, happiness.
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