What Is a Linking Verb? Examples and Exercises

Use the reference sections or go straight to the 16 questions and editing task. Write your answers before opening the explanations.

What follows a linking verb?

A subject complement can be an adjective phrase or a noun phrase. A one-word adjective can form an adjective phrase on its own. The complement refers back to the subject; it is not a direct object.

Identify the verb and the information it connects to the subject
Sentence	Linking verb	Subject complement	Type and meaning
The cat is fluffy.	is	fluffy	Adjective: a quality of the cat.
The fabric feels very soft.	feels	very soft	Adjective phrase: a quality of the fabric.
My brother became a doctor.	became	a doctor	Noun phrase: the role my brother took on.
The case remains a mystery.	remains	a mystery	Noun phrase: how the case is classified.

Other complement forms are possible too: The spare chairs are upstairs uses an adverb, and The spare chairs are in the hall uses a prepositional phrase. Cambridge’s subject-complement reference explains these forms. So “always use an adjective after a linking verb” is too broad.

Complement or object? In Rina became a teacher, a teacher describes Rina. In Rina met a teacher, it refers to the person she met and is the direct object. The noun phrase’s job matters, not just its position after a verb. See Cambridge’s explanation of objects and linking verbs.

A list of common linking verbs with examples

These verbs have linking uses; the list does not make every occurrence of each verb a linking verb. Their complement patterns also differ.

Learn the verb together with a natural complement
Group	Examples	In a sentence
Forms of be	am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been	I am a teacher. They were students. She wants to be a doctor.
Appearance or impression	seem, appear, look	Your plan seems excellent. The task appeared simple. You look tired.
Continuing state	remain, stay	The stores remain open until nine. She decided to stay calm.
Change of state	become, grow, get, go, turn	We became friends. He grew tired of waiting. The leaves turned brown.
Sensory descriptions	sound, smell, taste, feel	The music sounds beautiful. The bread smells delicious. This soup tastes salty. The fabric feels soft.

Do not treat the words as interchangeable. Become a doctor is a natural noun-complement pattern; grow a doctor does not express the same change of role. Grow tired uses an adjective. The British Council’s link-verb guide distinguishes verbs that accept noun complements from those normally used with adjectives.

Linking verbs and action verbs: compare the meaning

Same verb, different job
Verb	Linking use	Action use
taste	The soup tastes salty. Salty describes the soup.	The chef tastes the soup. The chef samples it.
feel	I feel tired. Tired describes my state.	I feel the soft fabric. I touch it.
look	You look thoughtful. Thoughtful describes your appearance.	I looked at the painting. I directed my eyes towards it.
grow	She grew tired. Her state changed.	The farmer grows corn. The farmer cultivates it.

Is replacing the verb with be a reliable test?

It is a useful clue, not proof. Changing The soup tastes salty to The soup is salty keeps a description of the soup. But Rina met a teacher and Rina is a teacher are both grammatical: the second changes the relationship and does not show that met is linking.

Ask what the verb means here and whether the following phrase describes or identifies its subject. Also remember that a replacement loses information: seems tired expresses an impression, while is tired states the condition more directly. The Cambridge guide to verb types describes linking verbs through their complements.

Not every non-linking verb describes an action. In Mara owns a bicycle, owns expresses possession, and a bicycle is its object. The action/linking contrasts above are useful examples, not an exhaustive classification of all main verbs. The British Council’s stative-verb guide explains verbs that describe states.

Adjective or adverb?

Compare The singer sounds confident with The singer speaks confidently. The adjective describes the singer; the adverb describes how the speaking happens. An adverb can also modify an adjective: The singer sounds very confident. It is the whole phrase’s function that matters. See the British Council’s guidance on manner and link verbs.

Is be a linking verb or a helping verb?

Be can be the main linking verb or an auxiliary, also called a helping verb. Look at the complete verb phrase.

He is tired. — is links he to the adjective tired.
He is sleeping. — is helps form the present continuous of sleep.
The email was sent by Noor. — was helps form the passive of send.
He is being quiet today. — is is the continuous auxiliary; being is the main linking verb, with quiet as its complement.
She has been helpful. — has is the perfect auxiliary; been is the main linking verb, with helpful as its complement.

Cambridge explains the main and auxiliary uses of be and the order of verbs in verb phrases. Use the auxiliary-verb chart and exercises for more practice with helping verbs.

16 linking-verb exercises with explained answers

Use your browser’s Print command for a learner worksheet. Reference sections and answer panels are hidden; the questions and editing task print with writing space.

Exercise 1: Identify the linking verb and complement

For questions 1–5, write the linking verb and its complete subject complement. Say whether the complement is an adjective phrase or a noun phrase.

The night sky appears dark and full of stars.
Answer 1
appears; dark and full of stars. The complement coordinates two adjective phrases that describe the sky’s appearance. It is not an object that the sky acts on.
After the long hike, my legs felt sore.
Answer 2
felt; sore, an adjective phrase describing the legs. After the long hike gives time and context; it is not the subject complement.
Those flowers smell absolutely wonderful.
Answer 3
smell; absolutely wonderful, an adjective phrase describing the flowers. Absolutely modifies the adjective wonderful; it does not turn the phrase into an action description.
With the new evidence, the case remains a mystery.
Answer 4
remains; a mystery, a noun phrase describing the case. A noun phrase can be a subject complement; it does not have to be an adjective.
My brother is a talented artist.
Answer 5
is; a talented artist, a noun phrase identifying the brother. Its main word is the noun artist, even though it also contains the adjective talented.

Exercise 2: Linking or action?

For questions 6–11, classify the bold verb in this sentence. For a linking use, name the subject complement; for an action use, explain what the subject does.

She grew tired of all the noise.
Answer 6
Linking. Tired of all the noise describes her changed state. She became tired; she was not cultivating something.
The farmer grows corn in that field.
Answer 7
Action. The farmer cultivates corn. Corn is the direct object, not a description or identity of the farmer.
I looked at the beautiful painting.
Answer 8
Action. The speaker directed their eyes towards the painting. Beautiful describes the painting inside at the beautiful painting; it does not describe I.
You look very thoughtful today.
Answer 9
Linking. Very thoughtful is the adjective phrase describing the subject’s appearance. Today adds time information.
The chef tasted the sauce one last time.
Answer 10
Action. The chef sampled the sauce. The sauce is the direct object; the sentence does not describe how the chef tastes.
This milk tastes sour.
Answer 11
Linking. Sour describes the milk’s taste. The milk is not performing the action of sampling something.

Exercise 3: Complete the verb form

For questions 12–16, use the verb and tense specified in brackets. Other verbs can fit some of these meanings, but this exercise practises the named form.

The silk scarf __________ incredibly soft against the skin. (feel, present simple)
Answer 12
feels. The singular subject the silk scarf takes the present-simple -s form. The sentence describes the scarf’s texture.
After years of hard work, she finally __________ a successful lawyer last year. (become, past simple)
Answer 13
became, the past-simple form of become. A successful lawyer is a noun phrase describing the role she reached; last year places the change in the past.
The air in the bakery always __________ like fresh bread and cinnamon. (smell, present simple)
Answer 14
smells. The air is singular. Like fresh bread and cinnamon gives the sensory comparison; a linking construction is not limited to a single adjective.
Speaking to two friends: “You __________ my best friends.” (be, present simple)
Answer 15
are. You takes are in the present simple. Here the speaker addresses two people; my best friends identifies their relationship to the speaker.
Judging by those clouds, it __________ like it might rain later this afternoon. (seem, present simple)
Answer 16
seems. Singular it takes the present-simple -s form. Seems reports an impression, and might keeps the prediction uncertain.

Use it: edit an event organiser’s note

This fictional note describes preparations for an event. Correct three word-form errors while keeping the facts and verb choices. One sentence is already correct. Then explain which phrases describe a subject and which describe an action.

The hall seems brightly. Noor became the event host last month. The helpers are carry chairs into the hall. Please taste the soup careful before serving it.

Edited note and explanations

The hall seems bright. Noor became the event host last month. The helpers are carrying chairs into the hall. Please taste the soup carefully before serving it.

Bright describes the hall after linking seems. The manner adverb brightly does not fit that role.
The event host is a noun phrase identifying Noor’s role. That sentence needs no correction.
Are carrying is present continuous. Are is an auxiliary here, and carrying names the helpers’ action.
Carefully describes how to sample the soup. Taste has its action meaning here; the note does not describe the soup’s flavour.

For a further check, write a new sentence describing the soup’s flavour with taste as a linking verb. Example: The soup tastes spicy. Explain how the subject and the job of the following phrase differ from Please taste the soup carefully.

Choose the next practice from the error

Complement or object: compare two sentences with the same noun phrase, such as Noor became the host and Noor thanked the host. Ask who each phrase refers to.
Linking or helping: label every verb in She has been helpful, then use the auxiliary-verb practice.
Verb forms: use the subject-verb agreement guide if present-simple endings caused difficulty.
Transfer to writing: ask learners to describe a place, a person’s role and an action in three new sentences. Use the writing-practice guide when planning a longer task.

These public questions are practice material, not a proficiency test or an automatic upload to the platform’s assignment library. The grammar-practice guide explains the available teacher workflow.

Sources and editorial note

The Kingdom of English revised this page with AI assistance using the Cambridge English Grammar Today and British Council references linked beside the explanations. References were checked on October 21, 2026. Useful earlier examples and the 5 + 6 + 5 practice structure are retained, with clearer instructions and explained answers; the event note is an original fictional editing task.

This revision removes unsupported research percentages and corrects the earlier claims that linking complements must always be adjectives and that replacing a verb with be proves its function. See our editorial approach and corrections information.