Last week we talked about action verbs. An action verb shows the action of a subject. This week we will talk about linking verbs. Linking verbs show no action. Linking verbs show existence.
Many linking verbs are forms of the verb to be: am, are, is, was, were
I am a teacher.
Yesterday was a Sunday.
Jack is tired.
These linking verbs are all forms of the verb to be and show existence.
Other linking verbs are not forms of the verb to be but still show existence. Here are some examples of other linking verbs: appear, seem, become, feel, taste, sound, look, smell, grow.
Look at these sentences:
I feel hungry.
Mom grew angry when I didn’t come home on time.
This book seems interesting.
Each of these sentence has no action because the verb only shows existence.
Use linking verbs to show existence instead of action.
▶It’s your turn. Which of these two sentences contains a linking verb? Bob is late for school. Jim is working late today. Did you figure out that the first sentence has a linking verb? There is no action in the first sentence. John is merely existing in a state of lateness. In the second sentence, Jim shows action as he works.