LINKING VERBSBy: Jessenia Rivera

What is a link?

. Anything serving to connect one part or thing with another; a bond or tie.

What is a Linking Verb?

A linking verb links its subject to a word in the predicate.

Two Types of Linking Verbs

To beVerbs that Express Condition

is were

beingare bee

n

amwas

be

Forms to Be

Examples

Michael is a football fan.The dogs are barking angrily at the cat.

All the kittens were playful.

Verbs that Express Condition

Appear Become Feel Grow Look Remain Seem Smell Sound Taste

Example:

 Everybody remained silent for a few minutes. 

She sounded very surprised when she heard the news.

The play seems absurd to me.

How can 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.

Example:

 My dog Oreo felt the wet grass beneath her paws

My dog Oreo feels depressed after seven straight days of rain.

The soup tasted good.

I tasted the food.

The squid eyeball stew tasted good.

Sylvia tasted the spicy squid eyeball stew .

The eggs smell rotten.

I smell the delightful aroma from the kitchen.

Linking Verb

Some verbs can serve as either action or linking verbs.

Action Verb

Linking Verb

Action Verb

.  

to be to become to seem 

Always Linking Verbs  

Example:

He became suspicious when he saw the safe was open.

The test questions seemed simple as a result of my studying.

Lightning can be dangerous.

Subject Verb Agreement.

Make the verb agree with the subject stated before the linking verb, not with the noun complement that follows the verb. Singular subject - Singular verb Plural subject - Plural verb

  Her passion is rare books. Rare books are her passion. The cat is brown. The cats are brown.

Let’s practice

Linking Verbs: Underline the Linking Verb in each sentence.

The big computer is very fast. The orange block is at the bottom of the stack. The teacher seemed confused by the question. The brown suitcase looks heavy. My dog’s fur smells bad all the time. There are too many fish in this fish tank. There is an old tree in the back yard. These jeans are too small for me now. This software is not compatible with my

computer. I was late for work today.

Lets practice

For each given sentence, you must fill in the blank with a linking verb (is, was, were, are, am).

Answer: were 1. We ______________ going to the game tonight. 5. You _________ talking too much in the class. 10. They __________ going to the dance, but it got

canceled. 11. The bases ____________ full. 12. The outfielder ________________ a great player. 13. The three players ___________________ friends. 14. The crowd _________________ very loudly. 15. The students ___________________ happy