Linking verbs are verbs that link a subject to additional information about that subject.
Example: Bob is tall.
The linking verb is gives additional information about the subject Bob.
Unlike an action verb, a linking verb does not suggest any “real” action happening in a sentence. Sentences with linking verbs are like math equations—the verb acts as an equal sign between the items being linked.
To be verbs are the most common linking verbs (is, was, were, etc.), but there are many other linking verbs. Here are some examples of linking verbs in a sentence:
Over the past five days, Charles has become a new man.
It’s easy to reimagine this sentence as “Over the past five days, Charles = a new man.”
Because of the oil spill, the beach smells bad.
That word processing program seems adequate for our needs.
Here, the linking verb is slightly more nuanced than an equals sign, though the sentence construction overall is similar.
A few more examples:
That house looks haunted
My environmental biology class is interesting because our teacher thinks Bigfoot might exist.
She appears to be angry.
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