Linking Verbs: List, Examples + 30 Exercises

A linking verb connects the subject to a subject complement: an adjective that describes the subject (She seems tired) or a noun phrase that renames it (He is a pilot). The verb itself shows no action. Be is the main linking verb; the others are the sense verbs (look, feel, smell, taste, sound) and verbs of seeming, becoming, and staying (seem, appear, become, grow, turn, get, prove, remain, stay, keep).

Many of these verbs can also be action verbs, and the difference controls whether you need an adjective or an adverb: She looks tired (linking, adjective) but She looked carefully at the map (action, adverb). The 30 exercises below train exactly that decision, with every answer checked instantly and explained in one line.

Linking Verbs Quiz: 30 Questions

Warm-up · spot the linking verb

1.Which word is the linking verb? “Our new manager seems friendly.”

2.The milk tastes ___. Throw it away.

3.Which sentence uses look as a linking verb?

4.Which verb fits the blank as a linking verb? “The room ___ cold after sunset.”

5.Is remained a linking verb in “He remained calm during the interview”?

6.The music sounds ___ through these new speakers.

7.Which sentence uses smell as an action verb?

8.Which sentence passes the linking-verb test (the verb can be replaced with is)?

9.Fill in: You ___ like you need a break.

10.What is the subject complement in “The leaves turn red every October”?

Core · adjective or adverb after the verb?

11.In formal writing, which is the standard choice? “I feel ___ about the mistake.”

12.Which sentence is about health rather than mood or comfort?

13.She sang ___ at the concert.

14.She looked ___ at the stranger.

15.To the security guard, the man looked ___.

16.The plan sounds ___ to me.

17.Which sentence about the bread is correct?

18.He grew ___ as the meeting dragged on.

19.In which sentence is grow an action verb?

20.The test turned out ___ than I expected.

Challenge · tricky verbs and noun complements

21.Which sentence uses appear as a linking verb?

22.What is the subject complement in “My sister became a nurse”?

23.Which sentence contains a linking verb?

24.Stay ___ — the results will come soon.

25.Which sentence uses feel correctly?

26.Which sentence does NOT contain a linking verb?

27.“This report looks good.” What does good describe?

28.Which verb can replace seems in “The idea seems strange” and keep it a linking verb?

29.In which sentence is well an adverb, not an adjective about health?

30.The rumor proved ___.

Answer key and explanationsOpen after you finish the quiz.

1. seemsSeems connects the subject (our new manager) to the adjective friendly, which describes her. Test it: Our new manager is friendly still makes sense, so seems is linking.
2. sourThe milk is not doing any tasting — tastes describes a quality it has, so it is a linking verb. Linking verbs take an adjective complement: tastes sour, not the adverb sourly.
3. She looked tired after the flight.In She looked tired, looked links she to the adjective tired (She was tired). In the other two, look is an action: she directed her eyes at the map or searched for her keys.
4. gotGet can be a linking verb meaning become: The room got cold. Put and made are action verbs that need an object, so “The room put cold” and “The room made cold” are ungrammatical.
5. Yes — remained links he to calmRemained connects he to the adjective calm and shows no action; He was calm keeps the meaning. Remain, stay, and keep (keep quiet) are the linking verbs of continuing a state.
6. greatSounds describes the music, not how the music performs an action, so it is linking and takes the adjective great. The adverb greatly would modify an action verb, which sound is not here.
7. The dog smelled the stranger’s shoes.The dog is actively using its nose on an object (the shoes), so smelled is an action verb. In the other sentences the kitchen and flowers have a smell — that is the linking use.
8. The plan proved useful.The plan is useful keeps the meaning, so proved is linking there. “She is the theorem,” “He is the sauce,” and “They are vegetables” make no sense — those verbs act on objects.
9. lookLook like is a linking pattern describing appearance: You look like you need a break. Watch and see are action verbs of perception and cannot introduce a description of the subject this way.
10. redRed is the subject complement: it describes the leaves after the linking verb turn (= become). The leaves is the subject, and every October is an adverbial of time, not a complement.
11. badFeel is linking here, so it takes the adjective: I feel bad. I feel badly is common in casual American speech, but usage guides treat bad as the standard form after linking feel.
12. I feel well again after the flu.After linking verbs, well is an adjective meaning in good health: I feel well again. Feel good describes mood or physical comfort, as in the first two sentences.
13. beautifullySang is an action verb, so it is modified by an adverb that says how she performed it: sang beautifully. Only linking verbs take an adjective like beautiful as their complement.
14. suspiciouslyLook at is an action — she directed her eyes at someone — so you need an adverb describing how: looked suspiciously at. Without at, “She looked suspicious” would mean she seemed suspicious.
15. suspiciousHere looked means seemed and describes the man, so it is linking and takes the adjective suspicious. Suspiciously would describe how he performed the act of looking, which is not the meaning.
16. reasonableSounds links the plan to a description of it, so the complement is an adjective: sounds reasonable. Test: The plan seems reasonable keeps the grammar, confirming the linking use.
17. The bread smells fresh.The bread has a quality, so smells is linking and takes the adjective fresh. Freshly is an adverb (freshly baked bread), and freshness is a noun that cannot describe the bread here.
18. impatientGrow is linking when it means become: He grew impatient = He became impatient. Linking grow takes an adjective, so impatiently is wrong here.
19. She grows herbs on her balcony.She grows herbs means she cultivates them — an action with a direct object. In the other three sentences grow means become and links the subject to an adjective (restless, dark, thin).
20. easierTurn out is linking here (The test was easier than I expected), so it takes the comparative adjective easier. More easily is an adverb and would need an action verb to modify.
21. The witness appeared nervous.Appeared nervous means seemed nervous, linking the witness to an adjective. In the other two, appear means come into view or be present, which is an intransitive action with no complement.
22. a nurseA noun phrase can also be a subject complement (sometimes called a predicate nominative): a nurse renames my sister. Be, become, and remain are the verbs that most often take a noun complement.
23. They kept quiet.In They kept quiet, kept means remained and links they to the adjective quiet. Kept the money is an action with an object, and kept running means continued running.
24. calmStay is a linking verb meaning remain, so it takes the adjective calm: stay calm. You can test it with Be calm, which keeps the same grammar.
25. She felt carefully along the wall for the switch.In the third sentence felt is an action (touching to search), so the adverb carefully is right. The first two use linking feel and need adjectives: The fabric feels soft; She felt nervous.
26. The chef tasted the soup.The chef tasted the soup is an action with a direct object. In the others, proved, tasted, and became link the subject to an adjective that describes it.
27. The reportAfter a linking verb the complement describes the subject, so good describes the report. That is why it is an adjective: it modifies a noun, not the verb looks.
28. soundsThe idea sounds strange is a normal linking sentence. Speak and say are action verbs of communication and cannot connect a subject to an adjective like strange.
29. She speaks French well.Speaks is an action verb, so well is an adverb telling how she speaks. After the linking verbs feel and be in the other two sentences, well is an adjective meaning healthy.
30. falseProve is linking when it means turn out to be: The rumor proved false. A linking verb needs an adjective complement, so the adverb falsely, the noun falsity, and the verb falsify do not fit.

Linking Verbs List

Linking verbs fall into three groups. Be is the only verb that is almost always linking when it is the main verb. The sense verbs describe how something seems to the senses. The verbs of seeming, becoming, and remaining describe an appearance, a change, or a continuing state.

Be: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been — He is a doctor; They were late.
Senses: look, feel, smell, taste, sound — The cake smells amazing; Your voice sounds hoarse.
Seeming: seem, appear — The task seems simple; She appeared confident.
Becoming: become, get, grow, turn, go, turn out, prove — It got dark; He went pale; The rumor proved false.
Remaining: remain, stay, keep — Please remain seated; Keep calm.

Be + adjective or noun is the core pattern. Every other linking verb can be swapped with a form of be (or seem) without breaking the sentence.

The Test: Can You Replace It With Is or Seems?

To check whether a verb is linking, replace it with a form of be or seem. If the sentence still makes sense and the meaning is close, the verb is linking. If it turns into nonsense, the verb is an action verb.

The test works because a linking verb puts the subject and its complement into an equals-or-describes relationship: subject = complement. An action verb instead does something, often to an object.

The soup tastes salty → The soup is salty. Linking.
The chef tastes the soup → The chef is the soup. Action.
She grew nervous → She became nervous. Linking.
She grew tomatoes → She became tomatoes. Action.
He appeared tired → He seemed tired. Linking.
He appeared on stage → He seemed on stage. Action (appear = come into view).

Ask what the word after the verb describes. If it describes the subject, the verb is linking; if it says how the action was done, it is an adverb after an action verb.

Verbs That Can Be Linking or Action

Most linking verbs other than be have a second life as action verbs. The meaning changes, and so does the grammar after them: a linking verb takes an adjective or noun complement, while an action verb takes an object or an adverb.

look: She looks tired (linking) / She looked at the map (action).
feel: The towel feels damp (linking) / She felt the towel (action).
smell: The milk smells off (linking) / The dog smelled the bag (action).
taste: The curry tastes spicy (linking) / I tasted the curry (action).
sound: That sounds great (linking) / Sound the alarm (action).
grow, turn, prove, appear, keep: grew restless / grew roses; turned cold / turned the key; proved useful / proved the theorem.

Adjective, Not Adverb: I Feel Bad, Not Badly

Because the complement of a linking verb describes the subject, it must be an adjective (or a noun), not an adverb. That is why careful writers use I feel bad, This looks good, and The plan sounds reasonable.

Adverbs only belong after action verbs, where they describe how the action is done: She sings badly; He looked carefully at the contract. I feel badly is common in casual American speech when expressing regret, but in edited writing I feel bad is the standard choice.

Linking + adjective: smells delicious, tastes bitter, seems honest, looks great.
Action + adverb: cooks deliciously, speaks honestly, works hard, writes well.
Hard and fast are both adjectives and adverbs, so “The bread got hard” and “He works hard” are both correct.

If you can put very in front of the word and it still describes the subject (feels very bad, looks very tired), you need the adjective.

Feel Good vs Feel Well

Both are correct, with different meanings. Well has two jobs: as an adverb it means skillfully (She writes well); as an adjective after a linking verb it means healthy (I don’t feel well). Good is an adjective describing mood, comfort, or quality.

I feel well again = I am no longer ill.
I feel good about this decision = I am happy or confident about it.
That bath felt good = it was physically pleasant.
You look well = you look healthy; You look good = you look attractive or happy.

In casual speech, I feel good is often used for health too. In writing, use well when you mean healthy and good when you mean happy or pleasant.

Keep practicing

Frequently Asked Questions

What are linking verbs?

Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to a subject complement — an adjective that describes the subject or a noun that renames it — instead of showing an action. Be is the main one; others include look, feel, smell, taste, sound, seem, appear, become, get, grow, turn, prove, remain, stay, and keep.

How can I tell if a verb is linking or an action verb?

Replace the verb with is or seems. If the sentence still makes sense (The soup tastes salty → The soup is salty), it is linking. If it becomes nonsense (The chef tastes the soup → The chef is the soup), it is an action verb.

Is it “I feel bad” or “I feel badly”?

In standard written English, use I feel bad, because feel is a linking verb and takes an adjective. I feel badly is common in casual American speech for regret, but bad is the form usage guides recommend.

Catch Adjective and Adverb Slips in Your Own Writing

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