traditional grammar Traditional grammar (also known as classical grammar) is a framework for the description of the structure of a language. The roots of traditional grammar are in the work of classical Greek and Latin philologists. The formal study of grammar based ...

and guide books, a linking verb is a

verb A verb () is a word (part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descri ...

that describes the subject by connecting it to a predicate

adjective In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Tra ...

or predicate

noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...

(collectively known as subject complements). Unlike the majority of verbs, they do not describe any direct action taken or controlled by the subject. Linking verbs include copulas such as the English verb ''be'' and its various forms, as well as verbs of perception such as ''look'', ''sound'', or ''taste'' and some other verbs that describe the subject, such as ''seem'', ''become'', or ''remain''. In addition to predicate adjectives and predicate nouns, English allows for predicate prepositional phrases as well: ''John is behind the cocktail cabinet''. The following sentences include linking verbs. *Roses ''are'' red. *The detective ''felt'' sick. *The soup ''tasted'' weird. *Frankenstein's monster ''resembles'' a zombie. *He quickly ''grew'' tired. *You are ''becoming'' a nuisance.

References

Verb types {{grammar-stub

See also

References