Linking verbs express a state of being or a condition.
Linking verbs don’t perform an action; they just link the subject to the rest
of the sentence. Many linking verbs are forms of the word “be”. The following
are some of the most commonly used linking verbs: is, been, being, are, was,
were. Consider the following sentences:
Manny is my best friend.
I am tired of being
the one who does all the work!
In the above examples “is”, “am”, and “being” are the
linking verbs.
There are some verbs that can act as either linking verbs or
action verbs, depending on how they are used. They are:
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act
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appear
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become
|
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feel
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grow
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look
|
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prove
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remain
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sit
|
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smell
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sound
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stand
|
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taste
|
turn
|
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For example, consider the following sentence:
They look famished after
fasting for three days.
The word “look” is relating the subject of the sentence, “They”,
to the rest of the sentence. Hence in this sentence, the word “look” acts as a
linking verb. Now consider the sentence:
I frantically look for my
lucky socks before the game.
Here, the subject, “I”, is performing the action of looking.
Hence in this sentence, the word “look” acts as an action verb.