2.2.2.2  Linking verbs

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                       Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of a sentence to the subject
                       complement which renames or describes the subject. When a linking verb is followed by an
                       adjective, the adjective serves to describe the subject and functions as the subject complement;
                       when a linking verb is followed by a noun, the noun serves to rename the subject and functions as
                       the subject complement. For example:

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• The cake tastes good.

• The car is slow.

• The seas turned rough.

• The play they are playing at the college playhouse is “Waiting for Godot.”

• Some of us think that the play is very good.

• Others think it becomes boring after the first fifteen minutes.

• The cast appears disorganized and confused; perhaps Beckett intended this.

• The play seems absurd to me.

                 

                2.2.2.2.1   Linking verbs are often either verbs of sensation, for example:
 

• feel, look, smell, sound, taste...
   

                2.2.2.2.2   or, verbs of existence, for example:
 

• act, appear, be, become, continue, grow, prove, remain, seem, sit, stand, turn...

   

                2.2.2.2.3   A verb that is used as a linking verb may also be used as a verb that describes action, and not
                                 as a linking verb. For example:

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• Jojo insists that the water in Des Moines tastes terrible. (tastes -- linking verb)

• I tasted the soup before adding more salt. (tasted – action verb)

• Peter grew angry. (grew – linking verb)

• The grass grew quickly. (grew – action verb)

               

                2.2.2.2.4   How does one tell when a verb is an action verb and when it is a linking verb?
 

                                 If one can substitute be (am, is or are) and the sentence still sounds logical, then it is a linking
                                 verb. If, after the substitution, the sentence makes no sense, then it is an action verb. For
                                 example:

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• The chicken dish smells good. / The chicken dish is good. (linking verb)

• Liza smells the delicious aroma of the chicken baking in the oven. / Liza is the delicious aroma of the chicken baking in the oven (?) (action verb)

• Richard feels depressed after the exam. / Richard is depressed after the exam. (linking verb)

• Richard felt the pain of his girlfriend leaving him. / Richard is the pain of his girlfriend leaving him (?) (action verb)

             

                2.2.2.2.5   Verbs that can exist as either action verbs or linking verbs include:

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• grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, turn, stay, get, appear, feel...

    

                2.2.2.2.6  The most common linking verbs are:

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• be, appear, become, feel, get, grow, lie, look, prove, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn...