English Linking (Copular) Verbs: Complete List with Usage Examples

Linking verbs (copular verbs) connect the subject to a subject complement (adjective, noun, or phrase) that describes or identifies it. They do not express action.

Primary Linking Verbs

• Be (am, is, are, was, were, been, being) — the prototypical copula

Sensory Linking Verbs (Perception)

• Look — visual appearance ("You look tired")
• Sound — auditory impression ("That sounds great")
• Smell — olfactory ("The soup smells delicious")
• Taste — gustatory ("This tastes salty")
• Feel — tactile/emotional ("I feel sick"; "It feels rough")

State/Change-of-State Verbs

• Seem — subjective impression ("She seems upset")
• Appear — visual/evidential ("He appears ready")
• Become — transition ("It became dark")
• Grow — gradual change ("We grew tired")
• Turn — change, often color/state ("Leaves turn red")
• Get — informal change ("Get ready")
• Go — negative change ("Go bad/crazy/bald")
• Stay/Remain/Keep — continuation ("Stay calm")

Measurement Verbs (Can Be Linking)

• Weigh — "The bag weighs 5 kg"
• Measure — "The room measures 4×5 m"
• Cost — "It costs $10"

Key Test: Adjective Complement

If you can replace the verb with be and an adjective follows, it's linking:

• "The cake smells good" → "The cake is good" ✓
• "He smells the cake" (action, object) → not linking

Grammar Note

• Linking verbs take subject complements (adjectives, nouns), not objects
• Pronoun case: "It is I" (formal) vs. "It's me" (informal)
• Adverbs modify action verbs; adjectives follow linking verbs ("Drive safe" colloquial vs. "Drive safely")

Mastering linking verbs improves grammatical precision and descriptive writing.