What Are The 20 Linking Verbs? | Quick List And Uses

When you first meet linking verbs, they can feel slippery because they do not show clear action. Instead, they connect the subject of a sentence to extra information, like a label or description. If a student asks, “What are the 20 linking verbs?”, they are really asking for a short list that makes this tricky group easy to spot during reading and writing.

Once you know these 20 common linking verbs, you can recognise them in sentences, teach them with confidence, and help learners build stronger sentences with subject complements, not just action words. This guide walks through each verb, shows how linking verbs differ from action verbs, and gives classroom friendly tips and examples.

What Are The 20 Linking Verbs?

At school level, many teachers use a standard list of 20 linking verbs. Different grammar books may add a few more, yet this core group appears again and again in worksheets and quizzes. Here is the classic classroom list:

No.	Linking Verb	Quick Meaning Or Use
1	am	form of be for I
2	is	form of be for he, she, it
3	are	form of be for you, we, they
4	was	past form of be, singular
5	were	past form of be, plural or you
6	be	base form, used with helpers
7	being	ing form, shows ongoing state
8	been	past participle form of be
9	appear	shows how something seems
10	become	shows change of state
11	feel	links to emotion or sense
12	grow	links to gradual change
13	look	links to visual description
14	remain	links to state that stays the same
15	seem	links to impression or guess
16	smell	links to scent description
17	sound	links to how something sounds
18	stay	links to state that continues
19	taste	links to flavour description
20	turn	links to change in condition

Many grammar resources give a similar list. One example is the Excelsior OWL page on linking verbs, which lists be, seem, appear, become, and several sense verbs as key linking verbs in English. Dictionaries also define a linking verb as a verb such as be, become, feel, or seem that joins a subject to its complement, as you can see in Merriam Webster’s definition of linking verb.

In short, every linking verb in this 20 word list connects the subject to a word or phrase that describes, renames, or identifies it. That second part of the sentence is called the subject complement, and it can be a noun, pronoun, or adjective.

How Linking Verbs Work In Sentences

A linking verb never shows action by itself. Instead, it works like an equals sign between the subject and the subject complement. If you replace the verb with an equals sign and the sentence still makes sense, you probably have a linking verb in that spot.

Look at these pairs of sentences, which often appear in school grammar practice:

I am tired. (linking verb) / I am running. (helping verb)

The soup smells delicious. (linking verb) / The cook smells the soup. (action verb)

The room grew quiet. (linking verb) / The plant grew quickly. (action verb)

In each first sentence, the verb connects the subject to a description, not an action. In the second sentence, the same word shifts into an action role or works as a helper for another verb.

What Are The 20 Linking Verbs In English Sentences

Because the search phrase what are the 20 linking verbs appears in so many homework tasks and quizzes, it helps to treat the answer as a fixed classroom set. Teachers can present this set as a memory list and then show how each verb behaves in real sentences.

Here is a clear written answer: the 20 linking verbs are am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste, and turn. When someone types what are the 20 linking verbs into a search box, they usually want to see exactly these words, plus friendly examples.

Many of these verbs belong to families. The first eight forms are all versions of be. Several others describe senses, and a few show change. Grouping them this way helps learners notice patterns and use them more confidently.

Forms Of “Be” As Linking Verbs

The first eight verbs in the list are forms of be. These are the most common linking verbs in English, and they already appear in the earliest reading books. They connect subjects to nouns, pronouns, or adjectives that tell more about the subject.

Here are sample patterns you can use when you teach forms of be as linking verbs:

I am a student. (subject + am + noun)

She is happy. (subject + is + adjective)

They are ready. (subject + are + adjective)

He was the captain. (subject + was + noun)

We were nervous. (subject + were + adjective)

The show has been fun. (subject + has been + adjective)

You are being silly. (subject + are being + adjective)

Forms of be can appear with helpers such as have, has, had, will, or would. In those cases, the full verb group still links the subject to a complement. The main idea is not an action but a state or identity.

Sense Verbs As Linking Verbs

Several of the 20 linking verbs are sense verbs. These include feel, look, smell, sound, and taste. Each one can work as either a linking verb or an action verb, depending on the sentence.

Compare these pairs:

The cake smells sweet. (linking verb, connects cake to sweet)

The child smells the cake. (action verb, shows what the child does)

The singer sounds tired. (linking verb, connects singer to tired)

The speaker sounds the alarm. (action verb, shows what the speaker does)

The soup tastes salty. (linking verb, connects soup to salty)

The student tastes the soup. (action verb, shows what the student does)

In a classroom lesson, you can ask students to test whether the verb links the subject to a description or shows an action. This test works well for look, feel, smell, sound, and taste, which often move between the two roles.

Verbs Of Change And Continuation

Four verbs in the list show change over time: become, grow, turn, and appear. Two others, remain and stay, show that a state continues. These verbs often link the subject to an adjective that names the result of the change or the continuing state.

Here are some common sentence patterns:

She became confident. (change in feeling)

The leaves grew dark. (change in colour)

The sky turned grey. (change in appearance)

He appeared calm. (change in how he seemed)

The doors remained closed. (state stayed the same)

The children stayed quiet. (state stayed the same)

When students meet these verbs, they can read them as small story signals. Each verb points to either a shift or a steady state, and the complement gives the detail.

Spotting Linking Verbs In Real Texts

Lists help with memorisation, yet learners also need practice spotting linking verbs inside real sentences and paragraphs. One simple task is to give students a short text and ask them to underline every linking verb and circle the subject complement that follows.

Many reading passages already contain several verbs from this 20 word set. You can reuse those sentences for quick warm ups. After students find the verbs, ask them to rewrite a few sentences by swapping the complement while keeping the linking verb the same.

Take the sentence The room seemed quiet. You can change it to The room seemed crowded or The room seemed bright. This shows that the linking verb holds the sentence together, while the complement supplies the fresh detail.

Practice Ideas For Linking Verbs

Once students know the basic list, mix short practice tasks into reading or writing lessons instead of treating linking verbs as a one time grammar topic. Short, focused tasks keep the idea active without taking a lot of class time.

Here are sample practice ideas you can adapt:

• Give a set of subjects and complements, then ask learners to match them with suitable linking verbs.
• Write pairs of sentences where the same verb acts as a linking verb in one sentence and an action verb in the other. Ask students to label each type.
• Ask students to write three sentences that use any form of be as a linking verb, then three sentences that use sense verbs as linking verbs.
• Use short descriptions from science, history, or literature texts and ask students to identify which verbs are linking verbs.

These tasks fit well into bell work, warm ups, or exit tickets. They build a habit of watching how verbs behave, not just memorising a list in isolation.

Summary Table Of Linking Verb Patterns

This second table brings together the 20 linking verbs and shows typical complement patterns. It can sit near the end of a lesson as a quick review card.

Linking Verb Group	Example Sentence	Type Of Complement
Forms of be	The students are ready.	Adjective
Forms of be	My brother is a doctor.	Noun
Sense verbs	The flowers smell fresh.	Adjective
Sense verbs	The music sounds soft.	Adjective
Change verbs	The sky became dark.	Adjective
Change verbs	The milk turned sour.	Adjective
Continue verbs	The doors remained open.	Adjective
Continue verbs	The lights stayed on.	Adjective

Once readers understand this pattern, they can look past the surface form of the verb and ask a simple question: does this word show what the subject does, or does it join the subject to a label or description? That one question points directly to the difference between linking verbs and action verbs and helps learners handle grammar with much more confidence.