What Are Linking Verbs? (with Examples)
A linking verb is a verb that tells us what the subject is as opposed to what the subject is doing. In other words, a linking verb is used to re-identify or describe its subject by linking the subject to the subject complement (the bit after the linking verb).
The word, phrase, or clause that follows a linking verb to re-identify or describe the subject is called the subject complement.
A List of Linking Verbs
The most common linking verb is the verb to be. Other common ones relate to the five senses (to look, to feel, to smell, to sound, and to taste). Here is a list of common linking verbs:- to be (In all its forms, e.g., am, is, are, was, were, will be, was being, has been.)
- to appear
- to be
- to become
- to feel
- to look
- to seem
- to smell
- to sound
- to taste
Examples of Linking Verbs Used to Re-identify the Subject
Here are some examples of linking verbs (shaded) re-identifying the subject:- Alan is a beast.
- His father was the headmaster.
- This project is a disaster.
Examples of Linking Verbs Modifying (Describing) the Subject
Here are some examples of linking verbs (shaded) modifying the subject:Linking Verbs Are Not Action Verbs
The verbs to be, to become, and to seem are always linking verbs. They always link the subject to the predicate to re-identify or describe it. However, the other verbs in the list above are not always linking verbs. Remember that linking verbs do not express an action. However, some of the verbs in our list can express actions. For example:- He smells the soup. (In this example, smells is not a linking verb. This time, it is an action verb. It has taken a direct object. He is doing something to the soup.)
- Tony smells awful. (In this example, smells is a linking verb. It links the subject Tony to the adjective awful to describe Tony.)
- The inspector will feel the fabric. (In this example, will feel is not a linking verb. This time, it is an action verb. It has taken a direct object. The inspector will do something to the fabric.)
- The fabric will feel soft. (In this example, will feel is a linking verb. It links the subject The fabric to the adjective soft.)
A Quick Test
A Note from Teacher
"It is I" or "It is Me"?
A subject complement ought to be in the subjective case. This is important when the subject complement is a personal pronoun (e.g, I, he, they). Look at these examples (subject complement in bold):- It is I.
- It is she.
- It's they!
- It is me.
- It is her.
- It's them!
We have to accept that, since time immemorial, common usage has been re-writing our grammar rules, and it will continue to do so. We're already a long way down the road to re-writing the "subjective case for subject complements" ruling. For most people, the "correct" versions sound pretentious or wrong. Look at this again:
- It is they! They have arrived. (This is right. Really? Who would say this naturally?)
- "It was her." becomes "She was the one."
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
