Verbs are words used to describe action. Sentences need a noun and a verb to be complete. Linking verbs do not show action but instead connect subjects to the rest of the sentence. Follow these tips to use linking verbs properly.

1

Use the verb "to be" to link parts of sentences to the original subject. You can use the different forms of "to be" like am, is, are or the past tense of the same verb as in "was" and "were."

2

Choose the linking verbs "to seem" or "to appear" when you want to describe a feeling as in he seems unhappy or she appears cold.

3

Describe the senses using linking verbs like "to taste," "to smell," "to look" or "to hear." You can write sentences like "she smells the roses" or "it tastes good."

4

Write the word "become" to link the subject of the sentence to what the person will be. For example, write "he will become angry" to say the person will get angry. Angry is linked to "he" by the verb "become."

5

Use the verb "seem" to state how the subject appears as in the sentence "the dog appears sad." This sentence links the dog to the how the dog appears to feel.

6

Use adverbs after linking verbs like in the following sentence: The plant grew slowly. This sentence links the speed of the action to the plants growth.

7

Realize that some linking verbs can also be action verbs depending on how they are used in a sentence. Taste is a verb that can be used as an action or a linking verb. For example, in the sentence "the food tastes good," the word "good" is linked to the food. In the sentence "he tastes the food," taste is an action verb.

8

Make sure you include information after the linking verb in order to complete the sentence. The linking verb cannot stand alone. For example, "he sits" is a complete sentence but "he became" is not complete.