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As everyone in a romantic relationship knows, when things turn serious, it’s time to meet the family – the cousins, grandparents, and other relatives you’ll be eating Thanksgiving dinner with for the rest of your life. Your relationship with verbs may not be romantic, but it is serious, because you can’t make a sentence without a verb. In this section, you meet the two verb “families” – linking and action. You don’t have to share holidays, but you do have to recognize and deal with them.

Linking verbs: The Giant Equal Sign

Linking verbs are also called being verbs because they express states of being – what is, will be, or was. Here’s where math intersects with English. Linking verbs are like giant equal signs plopped into the middle of your sentence. For example, you can think of the sentence

Ralph’s uncle is a cannibal with a taste for finger food.

as

Ralph's uncle = a cannibal with a taste for finger food.

Or, in shortened form,

Ralph’s uncle = a cannibal

Just as in an algebra equation, the word is links two ideas and says that they are the same. Thus, is is a linking verb. Read on to find out about all sorts of linking verbs.

Forms of “to be”

Most linking verbs are forms of the verb to be, an essential but annoying verb that changes form frequently, depending on the subject of the sentence. Have a look at these example sentences:

Lulu will be angry when she hears about the missing sculpture.

Lulu = angry (will be is a linking verb)

I am unhappy about the theft also!

I = unhappy (am is the linking verb)

Stan was the last surfer to leave the water when the tidal wave approached.

Stan = last surfer (was is a linking verb)

Edgar has been depressed ever since the fall of the House of Usher.

Edgar = depressed (has been is a linking verb)

Unlike Hamlet, the Shakespearean character who worries whether “to be or not to be,” you have no choice. You need a form of “to be” almost every time you speak or write. Try writing a paragraph or so without this verb. Tough, right? The most common forms of to be are the following: am, are, is, was, were, will be, shall be, has been, have been, had been, could be, should be, would be, might have been, could have been, should have been, shall have been, will have been, must have been, must be. (In Chapter 6, you can find all the forms of this irregular but essential verb.)

Synonyms of “to be”

“To be” is not the only linking verb – just the most popular. In fact, some people call linking verbs “being verbs.” I prefer the term linking because some equal-sign verbs are not forms of the verb to be. Check out these examples:

With his sharp toenails and sneaky smile, Big Foot seemed threatening.

Big Foot = threatening (seemed is a linking verb)

A jail sentence for a misplaced comma appears harsh.

jail sentence = harsh (appears is a linking verb in this sentence)

The penalty for making a grammar error remains severe.

penalty = severe (remains is a linking verb in this sentence)

Loch Ness stays silent whenever monsters are mentioned.

Loch Ness = silent (stays is a linking verb in this sentence)

Seemed, appears, remains, and stays are similar to forms of the verb to be in that they express states of being. They also add shades of meaning to the basic concept. You may, for example, say that

With his sharp toenails and sneaky smile, Big Foot was threatening.

but now the statement is more definite. Seemed leaves room for doubt. Similarly, remains (in the third example sentence) adds a time dimension to the basic expression of being. The sentence implies that the penalty was and still is severe.

The most common words that express shades of meaning in reference to a state of being are appear, seem, grow, remain, and stay.

Savoring sensory verbs

Sensory verbs – verbs that express information you receive through the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and so forth – may also be linking verbs:

Two minutes after shaving, Ralph's chin feels scratchy.

Ralph's chin = scratchy (feels is a linking verb)

The ten-year-old lasagna in your refrigerator smells disgusting.

lasagna = disgusting (smells is a linking verb)

The ten-year-old lasagna in your refrigerator also looks disgusting.

lasagna = disgusting (looks is a linking verb)

Needless to say, the ten-year-old lasagna in your refrigerator tastes great!

lasagna = great (tastes is a linking verb)

Verbs that refer to the five senses are linking verbs only if they act as an equal sign in the sentence. If they aren’t equating two ideas, they aren’t linking verbs. In the preceding example sentence about Ralph’s chin, feels is a linking verb. Here’s a different sentence with the same verb:

With their delicate fingers, Lulu and Stan feel Ralph’s chin.

In this sentence, feel is not a linking verb because you’re not saying that

Lulu and Stan = chin.

Instead, you’re saying that Lulu and Stan don’t believe that Ralph shaved, so they checked by placing their fingers on his chin.

Some sensory verbs that function as linking verbs are look, sound, taste, smell, and feel.

Which sentence has a linking verb?

A. That annoying new clock sounds the hour with a loud heavy metal song.

B. That annoying new clock sounds extremely loud at four o’clock in the morning.

Answer: Sentence B has the linking verb. In sentence B, clock = extremely loud. In sentence A, the clock is doing something – sounding the hour – not being. (It’s also waking up the whole neighborhood, but that idea isn’t in the sentence.)

Try another. In which sentence is “stay” a linking verb?

A. Larry stays single only for very short periods of time.

B. Stay in the yard, Rover, or I cut your dog-biscuit ration in half!

Answer: Sentence A has the linking verb. In sentence A, Larry = single (at least for the moment). In sentence B, Rover is being told to do something – to stay in the backyard – clearly an action.

If you're dying to learn more grammar terminology, read on. Linking verbs connect the subject and the subject complement, also known as the predicate nominative and predicate adjective. For more on complements, read Chapter 5.

Completing linking-verb sentences correctly

A linking verb begins a thought, but it needs another word to complete the thought. Unless your listener is a mind reader, you can’t walk around saying things like “the president is” or “the best day for the party will be” and expect people to know what you mean.

You have three possible completions for a linking verb: a descriptive word, a noun, or a pronoun (a word that substitutes for a noun). Take a look at some descriptions that complete the linking-verb equation:

After running 15 miles in high heels, Renee’s thigh muscles are tired.

thigh muscles = tired (tired is a description, an adjective in grammatical terms)

Renee’s high heels are stunning, especially when they land on your foot.

high heels = stunning (stunning is a description, also called an adjective)

Oscar’s foot, wounded by Renee’s heels, seems particularly painful.

foot = painful (painful is a description, an adjective)

Lola’s solution, to staple Oscar’s toes together, is not very helpful.

solution = helpful (helpful is a description, an adjective. The other descriptive words, not and very, describe helpful, not solution.)

You may also complete a linking verb equation with a person, place, or thing – a noun, in grammatical terms. Here are some examples:

The most important part of Lulu’s diet is popcorn.

part of Lulu’s diet = popcorn (popcorn is a thing, and therefore a noun)

Lulu’s nutritional consultant has always been a complete fraud.

Lulu’s nutritional consultant = fraud (fraud is a noun)

Sometimes you complete a linking verb sentence with a pronoun, a word that substitutes for the name of a person, place, or thing. For example:

The winner of the all-state spitball contest is you!

winner = you (you is a substitute for the name of the winner, and therefore a pronoun)

The murderer is someone in this room.

The murderer = someone (someone is a substitute for the name of the unknown killer and therefore a pronoun)

You can’t do much wrong when you complete linking verb sentences with descriptions or with nouns. However, when you’re writing, you can do a lot wrong when the completion of a linking verb sentence is a pronoun. (In speaking, most people don’t worry about this rule.)

Think of a linking-verb sentence as reversible. That is, the pronoun you put after a linking verb should be the same kind of pronoun that you put before a linking verb. Here’s what I mean. Read these sentence pairs:

The winner of the election is him!

Him is the winner of the election!

Uh oh. Something’s wrong. You don’t say him is. You say he is. Because you have a linking verb (is), you must put the same word after the linking verb that you would put before the linking verb. Try again:

The winner of the election is he!

He is the winner of the election!

Now you’ve got the correct ending for your sentence.

Subject pronouns, which complete linking-verb sentences correctly, are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, and whoever. Pronouns that are not allowed to be subjects include me, him, her, us, them, whom, and whomever. (In case you're curious, these pronouns act as objects. More on objects in Chapter 7.)

In the previous examples, I discuss formal English, not conversational English. In conversational English, the following exchange is okay:

Who’s there?

It is me. OR It’s me.

In formal English, the exchange goes like this:

Who is there?

It is I.

Because of the linking verb is, you want the same kind of pronoun before and after the linking verb. You can’t start a sentence with me, but you can start a sentence with I.

Now you’ve probably, with your sharp eyes, found a flaw here. You can’t reverse the last reply and say

I is it.

I takes a different verb – am. Both is and am are forms of the verb to be – one of the most peculiar creations in the entire language. So yes, you sometimes have to adjust the verb when you reverse a sentence with a form of to be in it. But the idea is the same: I can be a subject; me can’t.

Lights! Camera! Action verb!

Linking verbs are important, but unless you’ve won the lottery, you just can’t sit around being all the time. You have to do something. (And even if you did win the lottery, you’d be bored without something to do.) Here's where action verbs come into the picture. Everything that is not being is action, at least in the verb world. Unlike the giant equal sign associated with linking verbs (see “Linking Verbs: The Giant Equal Sign,” earlier in the chapter), something happens with an action verb:

Drew slapped the thief who stole the briefcase. (Slapped and stole are action verbs.)

Fred will run to third base as soon as his sneezing fit ends. (Will run and ends are action verbs.)

According to the teacher, Roger has shot at least 16 spitballs in the last ten minutes. (Has shot is an action verb.)

Don’t let the name action fool you. Some action verbs aren’t particularly energetic: think, sit, stay, have, sleep, dream, and so forth. Besides describing my ideal vacation, these words are also action verbs! Think of the definition this way: If the verb is not a giant equal sign (a linking verb), it’s an action verb.