A linking verb connects the subject to a description or an identification instead of describing an action. It does not tell us what the subject does — it tells us what the subject is, seems, or becomes. The older grammatical name is copular verb, from a Latin word meaning "a link".
Compare:
In the first sentence, walks is an action. In the second, is connects Daniel to a description of who he is. The second sentence has no object — there is nothing receiving an action. There is only a link.
The pattern
Every linking-verb sentence follows the same shape:
Subject + linking verb + complement
The complement is called a subject complement because it refers back to the subject. It can be an adjective or a noun.
Think of the linking verb as an equals sign. Sarah = a teacher. The coffee = bitter. Both sides describe the same thing.
The verb *be*
The most common linking verb by far is be, in all of its forms: am, is, are, was, were, been, being. Roughly half of all linking-verb sentences in English use it.
Be is unusual among linking verbs because it can also link the subject to information about time or place, not only to a noun or adjective.
Other linking verbs do not work this way — you cannot say the concert seems tomorrow. This flexibility belongs to be alone.
Sense verbs
Five verbs of perception can act as linking verbs: look, sound, taste, smell, feel. They describe how the subject appears to the senses.
These same verbs can also be ordinary action verbs, and the difference matters. Compare:
When a sense verb is linking, it is followed by a description of the subject. When it is an action verb, it is followed by an object — the thing being looked at, tasted, or touched.
Verbs of change
Several verbs describe a change from one state to another. The most common are become, get, grow, turn, go, come.
In spoken English, get is the workhorse of this group — get tired, get angry, get bored, get hungry, get better. It is far more common in conversation than become, which sounds slightly more formal.
Note that each of these verbs follows its own habits. Turn often pairs with colours. Go often pairs with negative changes (go bad, go wrong, go bald). Come pairs with a small set of fixed phrases (come true, come loose, come undone).
Verbs of continuation
Remain, stay, keep describe a state that continues unchanged.
These verbs answer the question did anything change? with no.
Verbs of appearance
Seem, appear, look, prove describe how something presents itself, often with a hint that the appearance might not match reality.
After seem and appear, English often adds to be before the complement, especially with nouns:
The swap test
When you are not sure whether a verb is linking or active, replace it with a form of be and see whether the sentence still makes sense with the same meaning.
| SENTENCE | WITH *BE* | VERDICT |
|---|---|---|
| The coffee tastes bitter. | The coffee is bitter. | linking |
| She tasted the soup. | She was the soup. | not linking |
| Daniel grew tired. | Daniel was tired. | linking |
| Daniel grew tomatoes. | Daniel was tomatoes. | not linking |
| The room felt warm. | The room was warm. | linking |
| He felt the wall in the dark. | He was the wall in the dark. | not linking |
If the substitution preserves the meaning, the original verb is a linking verb. If the result is nonsense, it is an action verb with an object.
Adjective, not adverb
The most common mistake with linking verbs is using an adverb where an adjective belongs. Because linking verbs describe the subject, not the action, the word that follows must be an adjective.
The instinct to add -ly comes from a real rule — adverbs do modify verbs — but linking verbs are the exception. Their complement describes the subject, so the word stays in its adjective form.
A useful check: if you can replace the verb with is, you need an adjective. She is tired works; she is tiredly does not.
Common mistakes
Adjective vs adverb after a sense verb
Action verb mistaken for linking verb
Verbs of change
Continuation verbs
Seem and appear