Linking Verbs

Linguistic Overview

Linking Verbs express what or how the subject is, appears to be, or will become. What sets them apart from Action Verbs and Stative Verbs is that they can be followed by modifiers that modify the subject. Certain Linking Verbs can also be followed by nominals that identify or describe the subject.

While there is no definitive and comprehensive list of Linking Verbs, the number of verbs that can be counted as Linking Verbs is very small. For most of the verbs in this catalog, the term has multiple definitions, and not all of them qualify as a Linking Verbs. Therefore, it’s not any given term that matters, but the specific definition of that term.

Predicates & Complements

The predicate of any clause is the verb string plus any complements, which are words or phrases needed to complete the essential meaning of the clause. When the main verb is an Action Verb, the complement may be a direct object or a verbal complement, for instance (although sometimes no complement is needed). For Linking Verbs, the complements are instead predicative nominals or predicative modifiers. Since both of these refer back to the subject of the sentence, they are sometimes called subject complements.

Catalog

BE

The most common Linking Verb is BE in all its forms (‘am’, ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’, ‘were’, ‘be’, ‘being’, ‘been’), which is sometimes called the primary copula of the English language. BE can introduce a predicative modifier that might describe a key characteristic of the subject (as in “Those skyscrapers are tall.”) or simply a situational descriptor (as in “I am hungry.”). But BE can also introduce a predicative nominal that might identify or rename the subject (as in “This is Virginia.”) or classify the subject (as in “Kevin is a dentist.”).

BE is particularly special because it can serve the role of a main verb and its own auxiliary verb at the same time. For instance, we can say “Were you still asleep?” (instead of “~~Did you still be asleep?~~“) and “No, I wasn’t asleep anymore,” (instead of “~~No, I didn’t be asleep anymore,~~“). BE is the only verb that can do this. Read the Auxiliary Verbs page for more.

General Application LVs

Here’s a list of more Linking Verbs than can connect virtually any predicative modifier to its subject. The ones with an asterisk (*) also have the ability to link to predicative nominals, while verbs without an asterisk can only link to predicative modifiers. The Linking Verbs have been broken into groups based on their meaning.

Development: become*, die*, emerge, end up*, get, grow, keep, remain*, stay*, wax
Perception: appear, feel, look, seem, smell, sound, taste
Supposition: act, prove

Remember that these count as Linking Verbs only for specific definitions; some of these terms may have alternative definitions for which they are not Linking Verbs. For example, die is a Linking Verb in “I could die happy,” but an Action Verb in “Many popular musical artists have died at the age of 27.”

Selective Application LVs

There are additional Linking Verbs that only work with selective modifiers, including come, fall, go, last, and turn (development); play*, run, and test (supposition); extend, lean, lie, rest, run, sit,stand, and stretch (stance). Here are examples of specific applications some of these selective Linking Verbs are known for:

come alive | come loose | come true
fall ill | fall silent
go crazy | go quiet | go hungry
play dead | play dumb | play the fool
run hot | run wild
stand firm | stand strong | stand tall
test high | test positive
turn blue | turn evil | turn sour

Furthermore, the modifiers following stance verbs are generally limited to expressions of location, as in “extend beyond the boundaries“, “lie across the river“, or “sit on the corner of West and Elm Street“, while modifiers that follow last are limited to time expressions. Some stance verbs can also introduce ideological positions, as in “lean conservative“.

Properties

Dependent on Definitions

Some verbs do not qualify as Linking Verbs for all of their definitions. In fact, it’s more common for a verb to have more definitions as an Action Verb than definitions as a Linking Verb.

Consider the difference between “Can you smell that perfume?” and “This milk smells putrid.” In the first sentence, smell is an action that the subject does; in the second sentence, smell introduces a descriptor for the subject. This distinction applies to the other perception verbs as well.

Each of the stance verbs can be Action Verbs in at least one meaning (and some more than one). But each also has a definition that indicates the position of the subject. Consider the difference between “Leonard runs four times a week,” and “The bike path runs beside the river for the next six miles.” Unlike with the first sentence, run in the second sentence is inactive; it merely indicates an element of the subject’s location.

Inactive

Since Linking Verbs are not actions that any agents carries out or initiates, nor do they convey anything that happens, we might consider them to be inactive. With no activity or agency to reverse, Linking Verbs cannot come in the Passive Voice.

Static vs. Dynamic

Some Linking Verbs — such as become, get, go, grow, and turn — are dynamic, meaning they indicate a change over time.

Others — like appear, end up, look, remain, sit, and stay — are static. Static Linking Verbs are also Stative Verbs, which means they generally cannot be in Continuous Tenses or Imperatives, among other things.

Finally, some Linking Verbs can be either static or dynamic, depending on how they are used. Examples include act, lean, prove, play, and run.

Subject Complements

Subject complements are words or phrases that a) follow main verbs, b) complete the meaning of the clause, and c) connect back to the subject. Subject complements are either predicative modifiers or predicative nominals.

Predicative Modifiers

Predicative modifiers describe their subjects. They usually convey situational features or perceptions of the subject; they rarely convey characteristic descriptions that are essential to the identity of the subject (though modifiers following BE are more likely to do so).

Apart from predicative adjectives, predicative modifiers can be prepositional phrases or Adverbial Clauses.

solo adjective: “The party will be exciting!”
adjective phrase: “The party will be more exciting than last year.”
prepositional phrase: “The party will be after graduation.”
adverbial clause: “The party will be wherever we want it to be.”

Predicative modifiers can follow any Linking Verb.

Predicative Nominals

Some predicative nominals provide a category that the subject belongs to. For example, in “Jake died a hero,” and Jake is presumably one of many heroes, and being a hero is just one of Jake’s qualities.

Other predicative nominals — which can only follow BE or become — rename or otherwise equate to the subject. For instance, in “Jake is my brother,” the terms ‘Jake’ and ‘my brother’ are considered one and the same within their context. Often, the order of the subject and the predicative nominal can be swapped without altering the meaning of the clause (although it may flow differently), as in “My brother is Jake.”

Any nominal can be a predicative nominal.

solo noun: “The winner is Julia!”
noun phrase: “The winner is my eldest sister!”
pronoun: “The winner is me!”
Content Clause: “The winner is whomever reaches the end first.”
Gerund Phrase: “The game was racing through the obstacle course.”
Infinitive Phrase: “The objective was to be the fastest player.”

Predicative nominals can only follow certain Linking Verbs: BE, become, die, end up, play, remain, or stay.

Teaching Tips

Piecemeal

When English learners begin learning Linking Verbs, it’s probably best just to start with BE, or maybe also become and get. Past rudimentary levels, students should become familiar with sensation or perception verbs (seem, look, feel, etc.). Beyond that, the other Linking Verbs are less common; students may not need to be introduced to them until they come across them in conversation or in whatever media they consume.

No Big Deal

Since Linking Verbs don’t play heavily into any major Grammar Points, there’s probably not any need to call much attention to them. Rudimentary-level students will come across BE, become, and get fairly early on as they learn adjectives or ways to introduce themselves and others. Most learners will simply consider these to be a special grammatical construction (although they probably won’t consciously think of them in those terms), which is pretty much true of Linking Verbs anyway. Learners will naturally get used to Linking Verbs throughout their early language development, so there may be no need to call special attention to Linking Verbs at all.

English Grammar Encyclopedia for Educators