{"id":4173,"date":"2021-02-03T00:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=4173"},"modified":"2021-05-25T09:10:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T14:10:48","slug":"what-is-a-linking-verb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/verbs\/what-is-a-linking-verb\/","title":{"rendered":"Linking Verbs: What Is a Linking Verb?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A linking verb is a verb that requires a complement that refers to the subject and completes its meaning. Linking verbs \u201clink\u201d the subject to descriptive information that follows.<\/p>\n

That subject complement can be an adjective, a noun, a pronoun, or a possessive. The verb be <\/em>is perhaps the most common linking verb. A few frequent others are become, seem, look, taste,<\/em> feel, <\/em>and appear<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\nExamples<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe Brockmans<\/u> (subject) seem<\/u> (linking verb) very nice<\/u> (subject complement: adjective).<\/p>\n

She<\/u> (subject) is<\/u> (linking verb) a wonderful actress<\/u> (subject complement: noun).<\/p>\n

The dog\u2019s owner<\/u> (subject) is<\/u> (linking verb) he<\/u> (subject complement: pronoun).<\/p>\n

If you leave the skates here, they<\/u> (subject) will become<\/u> (linking verb) mine<\/u> or Christopher\u2019s<\/u> (possessive).\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another way to think of what a linking verb is can be to imagine an equal sign between the subject and its complement in the sentences above:<\/p>\n

Brockmans = nice<\/em>
\nShe = actress<\/em>
\nowner = he<\/em>
\nthey = mine or Christopher\u2019s<\/em><\/p>\n

Linking Verbs = Intransitive Verbs<\/h2>\n

Because linking verbs neither describe actions nor require an object to complete their meaning, they are categorized as intransitive verbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nExamples<\/em><\/strong>
\nIntransitive: Jennifer is<\/u> (non-action linking verb) a good writer<\/u> (noun describing Jennifer).<\/p>\n

Transitive: Jennifer wrote<\/u> (action verb) a book<\/u> (direct object: what Jennifer wrote).\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note also that some linking verbs, such as taste, smell, <\/em>and feel<\/em>, can operate as a transitive verb depending on the definition being applied.<\/p>\n

\nExamples<\/em><\/strong>
\nBrianna felt<\/u> joyful today. (Felt <\/em>is a linking verb indicating her emotional state.)<\/p>\n

Brianna felt<\/u> the fabric before she purchased it. (Felt <\/em>is an action verb indicating she examined the fabric by touch.)<\/p>\n

The tacos taste<\/u> delightful. (Taste <\/em>is a linking verb indicating the flavor of the tacos.)<\/p>\n

Charmaine tasted<\/u> the tacos. (Taste <\/em>is an action verb indicating the sensory testing of the tacos.)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Linking Verb Be: <\/em>A Seeming Exception<\/h2>\n

The linking verb be<\/em> has one aspect that departs from otherwise standard grammatical principle in which nouns would be described only by adjectives, other nouns, pronouns, and possessives.<\/p>\n

Through the linking verb be, <\/em>nouns can be described by an adverb, adverb phrase, or adverbial prepositional phrase of time or place.<\/p>\n

\nExamples<\/em><\/strong>
\nHer jacket is<\/u> (linking verb) upstairs<\/u> (adverb indicating the location of the jacket).<\/p>\n

The concert is<\/u> (linking verb) tomorrow night<\/u> (adverbial phrase indicating when the concert takes place).<\/p>\n

The tour is<\/u> (linking verb) in the park<\/u> (adverbial prepositional phrase indicating the location of the tour).\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you\u2019ve learned in this article about what a linking verb is, identify each sentence that includes one correctly.<\/p>\n

1. Adewale appears ready for the tournament.<\/p>\n

2. That shirt feels silky.<\/p>\n

3. I smell a pie baking in the oven.<\/p>\n

4. Donatella gave the box to her sister.<\/p>\n

5. The performance is this Tuesday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. Adewale appears ready for the tournament.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. That shirt feels silky.<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. The performance is this Tuesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A linking verb is a verb that requires a complement that refers to the subject and completes its meaning. Linking verbs \u201clink\u201d the subject to descriptive information that follows. That subject complement can be an adjective, a noun, a pronoun, or a possessive. The verb be is perhaps the most common linking verb. A few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-verbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4173"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6416,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4173\/revisions\/6416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}