Verbs 3 - State of Being and Linking

Many verbs do not convey action.  They are called state of being or linking verbs.  They link the subject to the predicate without any action.

State of Being Verbs
(these are all forms of the word "be")
am
is
are
was
were
be
being
been

Examples:

State of being verbs are considered linking when they appear in these forms:

State of Being + Noun*
The dog is a beagle.

State of Being + Pronoun
The dog is hers.

State of Being + Adjective
The dog is fast.

State of being verbs are NOT considered to be linking** when they appear in these forms:

State of Being + Adverb
The dog was here.

State of Being + Prepositional Phrase
The dog was in the yard.

*The nouns following a linking verb is NOT a direct object (DO).  It is called a predicate noun (PN).

**This point is in dispute even among grammarians.  Many texts choose to simplify and called them all linking verbs.

Besides the state of being verbs, there are other verbs that are linking.

Other Common Linking Verbs
appear
become
feel
get
grow
sit
look
prove
remain
seem
smell
sound
taste
turn

Examples:

The dog smells stinky.
The dog appears friendly.

Many of these linking verbs can also function as action verbs; be aware as you look for them!

The dog smells his bone.
The dog appeared at the door.

Teaching Ideas:

• Make a poster of State of Being Verbs
• [Game for identifying linking v action verbs]

Copywork Ideas (Older):

• Music is the universal language of mankind. (Longfellow)
• The end of government is the happiness of the people. (Macaulay)
• The true and good resemble gold. (Jacobi)