List Of Linking Verb | Fix Linking Verb Mistakes Fast

Linking verbs are quiet workhorses. They don’t show an action. They connect the subject to what the subject is, seems, or becomes.

If you’ve ever wondered why “She feels bad” sounds right but “She feels badly” can sound odd, you’ve already met the linking-verb rule in real life.

What Linking Verbs Do In A Sentence

A linking verb acts like a bridge between the subject and a word or phrase that describes or renames that subject. That word or phrase is a subject complement.

In “The soup smells good,” the verb links “soup” to “good.” The verb doesn’t tell you the soup is doing something. It tells you what the soup is like.

Two Common Jobs Linking Verbs Do

• Rename the subject with a noun or pronoun: “Rita is the captain.”
• Describe the subject with an adjective: “Rita is calm.”

Why Linking Verbs Matter In Writing

They shape meaning. “The dog looked hungry” describes a state. “The dog looked toward the bowl” shows an action. One small shift changes the whole sentence.

They also affect word choice after the verb. A linking verb is often followed by an adjective, not an adverb, since the word describes the subject.

List Of Linking Verb You’ll See Most Often

This list groups common linking verbs by the role they play. Many appear in several forms, so you’ll see them with tense changes like “is/was,” “seem/seemed,” and “become/became.”

Linking Verb	What It Often Links To	Quick Sentence
be (am, is, are, was, were, been)	identity or condition	My plan is simple.
become	change into a new state	The sky became dark.
seem	impression or appearance	The answer seems right.
appear	how something comes across	Her tone appeared cold.
remain	state that stays the same	The rules remain clear.
stay	state that continues	Stay calm during the test.
feel	inner state or sensation	I feel ready.
look	visual impression	You look tired.
sound	auditory impression	That idea sounds fair.
smell	scent impression	The bread smells fresh.
taste	flavor impression	The tea tastes bitter.
grow	gradual change of state	The room grew quiet.
turn	change of state	The leaves turned yellow.
get	shift into a state (informal)	He got angry.
prove	result or conclusion	The shortcut proved risky.

You can treat the items above as your starter set. If you’re writing school essays, emails, or reports, you’ll run into these verbs again and again.

If you want a quick definition from an established dictionary, see Cambridge Dictionary’s linking verb entry.

How To Tell A Linking Verb From An Action Verb

Some verbs are linking verbs in one sentence and action verbs in the next. The trick is to test what the verb is doing inside that sentence.

Test 1: Swap In “Is” Or “Are”

If you can replace the verb with a form of “be” and the sentence still makes sense, you’re often dealing with a linking verb.

• “The soup tastes spicy.” → “The soup is spicy.”
• “She looks confident.” → “She is confident.”

Test 2: Ask “What Is The Subject Like?”

A linking verb points you to a description. After the verb, you’ll often see an adjective or a noun phrase that tells what the subject is like or what it is.

In “Their plan seemed a mess,” the phrase after the verb describes the plan. No action is happening.

Test 3: Try An -ly Adverb Check

With many linking verbs, an adjective is the normal choice: “She feels bad,” “He sounds tired,” “The cake smells sweet.”

An -ly adverb can signal an action reading: “She spoke softly,” “He listened carefully.” Those verbs show doing, not being.

Subject Complements After Linking Verbs

The words that follow linking verbs can look small, yet they carry the meaning. They tell you what the subject is or what the subject is like.

Predicate Adjectives

A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject.

• The hallway is narrow.
• The children seem sleepy.
• The answer sounds odd.

Predicate Nouns And Pronouns

A predicate noun (or predicate nominative) is a noun that follows a linking verb and renames the subject.

• Ms. Rahman is our mentor.
• That person was she.
• My first choice is rice.

When A Prepositional Phrase Follows

Linking verbs can be followed by longer complements, like phrases that add detail about time, place, or condition.

“The meeting is on Monday” still uses “is” as a linking verb. The phrase tells the state of the meeting in terms of timing.

Verbs That Switch Roles Depending On Meaning

Several verbs can act as linking verbs or action verbs. The same word can do two jobs, so context is everything.

Feel

Linking: “I feel sick.” Action: “I feel the fabric.” In the second sentence, the subject is doing something by touching.

Look

Linking: “You look upset.” Action: “You look through the window.” The action version often takes an object or a direction phrase.

Smell

Linking: “The curry smells spicy.” Action: “She smelled the curry.” The action version answers “What did she smell?”

Taste

Linking: “The lemonade tastes sharp.” Action: “I tasted the lemonade.” Same word, two patterns.

Grow, Turn, Get

These often signal change into a new state: “grow silent,” “turn red,” “get tired.” In many school grammar systems, those are treated as linking uses because they tie the subject to a state.

If you’d like another clear definition with examples, Merriam-Webster’s linking verb entry is a solid reference.

Linking Verbs In Real Sentences: Patterns You Can Copy

Once you know the patterns, writing becomes smoother. You’re not guessing where the meaning sits.

Pattern 1: Subject + Linking Verb + Adjective

Use this when you want to describe a state.

• The room is quiet.
• The notes seem clear.
• The milk smells sour.

Pattern 2: Subject + Linking Verb + Noun

Use this when you want to name or classify.

• Her goal is progress.
• My cousin became a nurse.
• That building is a library.

Pattern 3: Subject + Linking Verb + Phrase

Use this when the complement is longer than one word.

• The answer is in the back of the book.
• His mood was out of place.
• The meeting remains on track.

Common Errors With Linking Verbs

Most mistakes come from mixing the linking pattern with the action pattern. These fixes are small, yet they clean up a page fast.

Mixing Adjectives And Adverbs

After a linking verb, the word usually describes the subject, so an adjective is the usual pick.

• Better: “She feels bad.” (Her condition is bad.)
• Different meaning: “She feels badly.” (Her sense of touch is poor.)

In daily writing, the adjective version is the one people expect.

Forgetting That “Be” Can Work Two Ways

“Be” is a linking verb in “The dog is sleepy.” It acts as a helper in “The dog is sleeping.” In the second sentence, “sleeping” is the main verb.

Subject Agreement Slips

The verb still agrees with the subject: “My favorite foods are apples and oranges.” If the subject is plural, choose a plural form like “are” or “were.”

When “Be” Verbs Make Writing Sound Flat

Forms of “be” show up everywhere, and that’s fine. Still, too many “is/are/was/were” sentences in a row can sound repetitive.

A quick fix is to keep the meaning and swap in a verb that shows change or appearance. You’re still using a linking verb, yet the sentence feels fresher.

Simple Swaps That Keep The Same Meaning

• Flat: “The room was quiet.” → “The room stayed quiet.”
• Flat: “Her face was red.” → “Her face turned red.”
• Flat: “The plan was risky.” → “The plan seemed risky.”
• Flat: “The crowd was silent.” → “The crowd grew silent.”

Don’t force a swap. If “is” fits best, keep it.

Linking Verb Or Action Verb: Side-By-Side Comparisons

This table shows how the same verb can change meaning based on the words that follow it.

Verb	Linking Use	Action Use
feel	I feel calm.	I feel the wind.
look	You look happy.	You look over the map.
smell	The bread smells good.	I smell smoke.
taste	The sauce tastes salty.	They taste the sauce.
sound	That plan sounds fine.	She sounded the alarm.
grow	The crowd grew quiet.	They grow rice.
turn	The sky turned gray.	He turned the page.
get	I got nervous.	I got the package.
remain	The door remained shut.	They remained there.
prove	The claim proved false.	They proved the theorem.
stay	Stay quiet.	Stay the course.

Practice: Spot The Linking Verb

Practice turns the rule into a habit. Read each sentence and name the verb. Then decide whether it works as a linking verb in that sentence.

Try These Sentences

1. The room feels chilly after the rain.
2. My brother is a pilot.
3. The kids tasted the soup.
4. Her answer seemed honest.
5. The flowers smell sweet.
6. They looked toward the schedule.
7. The plan became a mess.
8. The lights grew dim.
9. He was running late.
10. The bread turned hard overnight.
11. Your idea sounds smart.
12. I got a new notebook.

Check Your Answers

• 1: “feels” is linking (chilly describes room).
• 2: “is” is linking (pilot renames brother).
• 3: “tasted” is action (they did the tasting).
• 4: “seemed” is linking (honest describes answer).
• 5: “smell” is linking (sweet describes flowers).
• 6: “looked” is action (“toward the schedule” shows what they did).
• 7: “became” is linking (mess renames plan).
• 8: “grew” is linking (dim describes lights).
• 9: “was” is a helper with “running.”
• 10: “turned” is linking (hard describes bread).
• 11: “sounds” is linking (smart describes idea).
• 12: “got” is action (it takes an object: notebook).

Quick Checklist For Using Linking Verbs

• If the verb links the subject to a description, pick an adjective after it.
• If the verb shows an action and takes an object, treat it as an action verb.
• If a verb like “feel” or “smell” could go either way, run the “is/are” swap test.
• Use a noun complement when you’re naming the subject: “Sara is the leader.”
• Use a phrase complement when one word isn’t enough: “The answer is in the notes.”

Linking Verbs In Daily Writing

When you write emails, essays, or captions, this linking-verb list pops up in the background. You might not notice it, yet it shapes tone and clarity.

Try this quick edit pass: circle every form of “be,” then check the word that follows. If the word describes the subject, the sentence is working as a linking-verb sentence. If the next word is an -ing verb, “be” is acting as a helper.

Linking verbs are simple once you see the patterns. With a solid list of linking verb and a couple of tests, you can spot them and write with more control.