Terms

• Transitive Verbs
• Intransitive Verbs
• Definite Noun
• Indefinite Noun
• Adjective

The Oxford English Dictionary, Vol. I: A-B; The Philological Society; Ed. Murky, James & Bradley, Henry; Oxford University Press; Oxford, England; 1933. This gives a detailed list of how the verb to be and linking verbs began, were used, and how they have progressed in grammar through the years. 

Smitherman, Geneva; Talkin and Testifyin; Houghton Mifflin Company; Boston; 1977. The rules and aspects for African American English. 

Understanding English Grammar; Fifth Ed.; Kola, Martha and Funk, Robert; Allen & Bacon, A Vacuum Company, Need ham, Mass.; 1998; Chapter 2, pg. 19-52.

http://www.langservices.com
Useful grammar tips can be found on this site.

http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/
Good practice and review sentences for linking verbs are shown with this page. There are also tips and drilling exercises. 

http://grammar.uoregon.edu
Linking verbs and how they are connected to pronouns, nouns, and adjectives are found here, along with transitive and intransitive verbs. 

http://admin.santafe.cc.fl.us
Everything from linking verbs to direct objectives are defined and illustrated on this site.

http://www.gsu.edu
Current linking verbs and resulting linking verbs are displayed on this web page.

http://www.manson-nw.k12.ia.us
Forms of the verb "be" and other linking verbs are not in short supply on this page.

http://www.chompchomp.com
Examples of linking verbs and practice sentences and answers are numerous at this site.

Updated: 2/2/01

Linking Verbs

     The most common linking verb is the "to be" verb. Be (bi), v. An irregular, an defective verb, the full conjugation of which in modern English is effected by a union of the surviving inflections of three originally distinct and independent verbs: (1) the original Aryan substantive verb with stem es-.
(2) the verb with stem wes- and (3) the stem beu- "to become, come to be".
Es- possessed only the present tenses, Indicative and Subjunctive, all other parts being supplied from the stem wes-, which, though still only supplements to es-, the two constituting the substantive verb Am-was (OED,715).
    By the beginning of the 13th century, the Infinitive and Participle, Imperative, and pres. Subjunctive of am-was, became successively obsolete, the corresponding parts of be taking their place, so that the whole verb as-was-be is now commonly called, from its Infinitive, the verb to be (OED, 715).
     In Old English the present Indicative of am had two forms of the plural, (1) sind, sindon, and earon, aron the latter confined to the Anglian dialects, where it was used side by side with sind, -un. Of these sind, -un ceased to be used before 1250. We, ye, they, beth, ben, and be were the standard forms in Southern dialect speech. Meanwhile aron, earon, arn, and are survived in the north, and gradually spread south, till early in the 16th century, are made its appearance in Standard English. Be continued in concurrent use till the end of the century (see Shakespeare and Bible of 1611), and still occurs as poetic archaism, as well as in certain traditional expressions and familiar quotes of the 16th century. For example "the powers that be" (OED, 715).
    Linking verbs can be used for direct statements, such as, The caterpillar  became butterfly. Or linking verbs can be used to allow for vivid descriptions, such as, After metamorphosis, the caterpillar emerged as a stunning butterfly. Linking verbs are used depending on the author and what impact they want the readers to have. 
     Not every culture uses linking verbs in the Standard English form. Geneva Smitherman, an expert in African American Vernacular English, in her book "Tallinn and Testifying", says that the copular has "aspects as well as intention". To say "he smiling" is not Standard English because the copula is not inflected, but rather it is understood the smiling is taking place every time he is seen (Smitherman, chapter 2, 16).
    Linking verbs or copula, to join or link, link the subject of the sentence to a complement. They [inking verbs] must be followed by a complement for the sentence to be complete. Linking verbs can classify, identify, and describe.
    To classify the subject of the sentence the classification is often done with an indefinite noun. If the subject is a singular noun, then the indefinite noun usually starts with the article "a". There is usually no article if the article is plural. SUBJECT + LINKING VERB + INDEFINITE NOUN is the basic formula for a classifying sentence. An example would be: The children are singers. Example found at http://adimin.santafe.cc.fl.us
 

Subject	Verb	Indefinite Noun
The children	are	singers.

    To identification of the subject in a sentence is usually done with a definite article. The definite noun in most cases starts with the article "the" and often is followed by a modifying phrase. SUBJECT + LINKING VERB + DEFINITE NOUN is the basic formula for a identifying sentence. An example would be: Those children are the singers which I want in my choir. 
Example found at http://adimin.santafe.cc.fl.us
 

Subject	Verb	Definite Noun
Those children	are	the singers which I want in my choir.

    To describe the subject of the sentence an adjective is used. The adjective describes the subject. In some cases the linking verbs used for description are "be" and all of its forms. SUBJECT + LINKING VERB + ADJECTIVE is the basic formula for a describing sentence. An example would be: The children are hungry. Example found at http://adimin.santafe.cc.fl.us
 

Subject	Verb	Adjective
The children	are	hungry.

The forms of BE. Complete chart found at www.gsu.edu

am	am being	can be	have been
are	are being	could be	has been
is	is being	may be	had been
was	was being	might be	could have been
were	were being	must be	may have been
been		shall be	might have been
		should be	must have been
		will be	shall have been
		would be	should have been
			will have been
			would have been

    There are also twelve other verbs that may act as linking verbs. These are appear, feel, look, seem, sound, taste, become, grow, remain, smell, stay, sit, turn, prove, and get.  As well as all of there forms. 
    Many linking verbs can also be used as transitive or intransitive verbs (with the exception of "be"). Transitive verbs always require a "direct object". A direct object answers the question of "what?" for the verb. For example:  The student brought a book. Example found at http://adimin.santafe.cc.fl.us
 

Subject	Verb	Direct Object (What?)
The student	brought	a book.

    For the verb to be intransitive what follows the verb must indicate location rather than a state of being. An example of this is: Ken's books are on the refrigerator. Example found at http://adimin.santafe.cc.fl.us
 

Subject	Verb	Intransitive Verb
Ken's books	are	on the refrigerator.

Exercise

1)     That professor seems happy.
2)     He became sick after dinner.
3)     They got hungry after practice.
4)     I feel tired.
5)     Most skunks smell bad if they spray.
6)     He became a doctor after years of medical school.
7)     After I adopted that boy, he became my son.
8)     That child appears angry.
9)     The butterflies look pretty and dainty.
10)   The play seems absurd to me and my friends.
11)   During the afternoon, my cats are content to nap on the couch.
12)   Doug is a shopaholic.
13)   After drinking the old milk, John turned green and had to leave.
14)   Dave tasted the spicy squid eyeball stew and said "No thank you".
15)   The cheese and bacon pizza smells heavenly. 
16)   The map looked hopelessly confusing.