Verbs: The Heart of the Sentence

Every sentence needs a verb, so you start with the verb when you want to do anything to your sentence — including correct it. Verbs come in all shapes and sizes. In this chapter, I explain how to distinguish between linking and action verbs and to sort helping verbs from main verbs. Then I show you how to choose the correct verb for each sentence. Finally, I explain which pronouns you need for sentences with linking verbs. 

Linking Verbs: The Giant Equal Sign

Linking verbs are also called being verbs because they express states of being — what is, will be, or was. Here’s where math intersects with English. Linking verbs are like giant equal signs plopped into the middle of your sentence. For example, you can think of the sentence

Ralph’s uncle is a cannibal with a taste for finger food.as
Ralph’s uncle = a cannibal with a taste for finger food.Or, in shortened form,
Ralph’s uncle = a cannibal

Just as in an algebra equation, the word is links two ideas and says that they are the same. Thus, is is a linking verb. Here are more linking verbs:

• Lulu will be angry when she hears about the missing bronze tooth.

Lulu = angry (will be is a linking verb)

• Stan was the last surfer to leave the water when the tidal wave approached.

Stan = last surfer (was is a linking verb)

• Edgar has been depressed ever since the fall of the House of Usher.

Edgar = depressed (has been is a linking verb)

Being or linking — what’s in a name?

In the preceding section, you may have noticed that all the linking verbs in the sample sentences are forms of the verb to be, which is (surprise, surprise) how they got the name being verbs. When I was a kid (sometime before they invented the steam engine), these verbs were called copulative, from a

root word meaning “join.” However, copulative is out of style with English teachers these days (perhaps because you can also use the root for words referring to sex). I prefer the term linking because some equal-sign verbs are not forms of the verb to be. Check out these examples:

• With his foot-long fingernails and sly smile, Big Foot seemed threatening.

Big Foot = threatening (seemed is a linking verb)

• A jail sentence for the unauthorized use of a comma appears harsh.

jail sentence = harsh (appears is a linking verb in this sentence)

• The penalty for making a grammar error remains severe.

penalty = severe (remains is a linking verb in this sentence)

• Lochness stays silent whenever monsters are mentioned.

Lochness = silent (stays is a linking verb in this sentence)

Seemed, appears, remains, and stays are similar to forms of the verb to be in that they express states of being. They simply add shades of meaning to the basic concept. You may, for example, say that 

With his foot-long fingernails and sly smile, Lochinvar was threatening. 

But now the statement is more definite. Seemed leaves room for doubt. Similarly, remains (in the third sample sentence) adds a time dimension to the basic expression of being. The sentence implies that the penalty was and still is severe.
No matter how you name it, any verb that places an equal sign in the sentence is a being, linking, or copulative verb.

Savorinq sensory Verbs

Sensory verbs — verbs that express information you receive through the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and so forth — may also be linking verbs:

• Two minutes after shaving, all of Legghorn's three chins feel scratchy. 

all of Legghorn's three chins = scratchy (feel is a linking verb) 

• Lola's piano solo sounds horrible, like barking inside a paint can.

piano = horrible (sounds is a linking verb)

• The ten-year-old lasagna in your refrigerator smells disgusting.

lasagna = disgusting (smells is a linking verb)

• The ten-year-old lasagna in your refrigerator also looks disgusting,

lasagna = disgusting (looks is a linking verb)

• Needless to say, the ten-year-old lasagna in your refrigerator tastes great!

lasagna = great (tastes is a linking verb)

Some verbs, especially those that refer to the five senses, may be linking verbs, but only if they act as an equal sign in the sentence. If they aren't equating two ideas, they aren't linking verbs. In the preceding example sentence about Legghorn's chins, feel is a linking verb. Here's a different sentence with the same verb:

• With their delicate fingers, Lulu and Lochness feel Legghorn's chins.

In this sentence, feel is not a linking verb because you're not saying that Lulu and Lochness = chins. Instead, you're saying that Lulu and Lochness don't believe that Legghorn shaved, so they went stubble hunting.

Here is a list of the most common linking verbs:

• Forms of to be: am, are, is, was, were, will be, shall be, has been, have been, had been, could be, should be, would be, might have been, could have been, should have been, shall have been, will have been, must have been, must be.

• Sensory verbs: look, sound, taste, smell, feel.

• Words that express shades of meaning in reference to a state of being: appear, seem, grow, remain, stay.