Grammar

Mastering Linking Verbs in English : Rules and Examples

Mastering Linking Verbs in English : Rules and Examples

Linking verbs are words in sentences that are used to join the subject to a state. They aren’t used to show action but instead, they are used to connect subjects to get more information about it. Understanding linking verbs is important because they help us describe things and express what something is like. For example, in the sentence ‘She is happy,’ the word ‘IS’ is a linking verb because it connects the subject she to the word- happy. Therefore, when we want to describe something or say what it looks like, we use linking verbs. Let’s discuss more about linking verbs and see how they work together in sentences.

100 Linking Verbs Examples in English with PDF

What is a linking verb?

A linking verb is a word that is used connect the subject of a sentence with a noun or adjective that renames or describes it. It doesn’t use to show action. but instead it is used to link the subject to more information about it. For example, in the sentence The cake smells delicious. The word smells is the linking verb because it connects the subject Cake to the adjective Delicious describing her state of being.

How to Use Linking Verbs?

♦ Identify the Subject:
The subject can be the person, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. For example, in the sentence  ‘The flowers smell sweet.  The flower is the subject.

♦ Choose the Linking Verb:
Common linking verbs include BE which is the root of different verbs like (am, is, are, was, were, etc.), become, seem, appear, feel, look, taste, sound, and  remain.

♦ Connect the Subject to the Subject Complement:
The subject complement is the word or phrase that follows the linking verb and describes or renames the subject. For example, in the sentence ‘She is happy’ Happy is the subject complement.

List of linking Verbs with Examples

Linking Verb Sentence
Be She is happy.
Become He became a doctor.
Seem She seems tired.
Appear The star appears bright.
Feel He feels cold.
Look You look tired.
Taste The soup tastes salty.
Sound The music sounds melodic.
Remain She remains calm.
Stay They stay focused.
Keep He keeps busy.
Turn The milk turned sour.
Grow The plant grows tall.
Run The saucepan runs dry.
Lie The book lies open.
Stand The statue stands tall.
Fall The leaves fall gracefully.
Get He got tired.
Smell The flowers smell sweet.
Continue The music continues playing.
Would Be It would be easy for you to walk in these shoes.
Did Why did you seem like this?
Act He acted like a weird person.
Keep You have to keep a secret.
Went He went there for nothing.
Grew The tree grew against the wall.
Was Being He was being narcissistic.
Have Been I have been here for a long time.
Been It’s been two years since she has been behaving like this.
Must Be You must be normal at that time.

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