A linking verb connects a subject to a word or phrase in the predicate called a subject complement. The subject complement gives more information about the subject by expressing a state of being.
For example:
Ronnie is tall.
The verb is links the subject, Ronnie, to its subject complement, tall.
Be-verbs are the most common linking verbs; they include, be, am, is, are, was, were, being, and been.
Again, notice how the be-verbs in the following examples connect the subjects to additional information about their states of being:
I am hungry.
We are tired.
Johnny and Kate were never happy.
Hungry, tired, happy: these are all states of being that describe their subjects.
Other examples of linking verbs are smell, taste, feel, grow and look.
Other Linking Verbs
Other linking verbs include intransitive verbs that also comment on a subject’s state of being:
- Susie appeared angry.
- I became the world champion.
- The food tasted good.
- I feel overwhelmed.
- The car smells like it’s new.
- Robert seems nice.
- Peter got very angry.
- I grow weary of your lies.
- My children never sit still.
How can you tell if a verb is a linking verb?
The simple trick is to replace the verb with a be-verb, and if the sentence still makes sense, it’s a linking verb.
Susie appeared angry / Susie is angry
The food tasted good / The food was good
Robert seems nice / Robert is nice
I grow weary of your lies / I am weary of your lies
He published many pamphlets. / He (was? is?) many pamphlets: a be-verb doesn’t make sense, so published is not a linking verb; rather, it is an action verb. Action verbs describe something that can be done by a subject, in contrast to describing a state of being, as with the linking verb.