文法跟讀 In-Tense Ep.061: Linking Verbs連綴動詞

Welcome to 15mins.today the home of English Shadowing. I am your host Gavin, and this is InTense Episode 61. Well guys were busy with verbs and we have done the first lot, which are action verbs and they can be transitive or intransitive, and we've covered all of that, so we're going to look at the next major kind of verb. Those are linking verbs, and these are a bit confusing in some ways, because what they do is, they link the subject and the predicate.

Now the predicate is a part of the sentence that tells us about the subject. So, for example, “The manager was happy about the job change.” So, what was he happy about? The job change. ” He is a good worker.” The “good worker” what is he? “He is a good worker.” it joins those two parts of the sentence. It tells us more about the subject. So, there's no real object, but it tells us more about the subject. Okay, “John is very happy.” So, very happy is linked to John who is the subject of the sentence and that is is a linking verb. OK, so it links the subject with the phrase or part of the sentence that tells us more about the subject. Okay, so again, I will reiterate this every episode, you don't have to worry about recognising linking verbs. You only need to know that it is a verb and that verb there is “is/was”. So, they tend to be those all the forms of be > was, is,am, was having,feel,grow,seem,smell,remain. You can go on Google and you can type in “List of Linking Verbs” and you will find a list of the most common ones.

Okay, but as long as you can recognise that is or was or taste you will know that is a verb. In this case if it is a sentence with no object, as far as I can tell. If so, it's basically a subject and then a verb and then it links to a little bit of a sentence that tells us more about the subject. That verb that links it, that would be a linking verb. Wow! So, let's get started with some examples.

Has Mary become successful? Yes, she has become successful.

Has Mary become successful? No, she has not become successful.

Did that sound like a good idea? Yes, it sounded like a good idea.

Did that sound like a good idea. No, it did not sound like a good idea.

Did the cake taste delicious? Yes, it tasted delicious.

Did the cake taste delicious? No, it did not taste delicious.

Did John stay at home? Yes, he stayed at home.

Did John stay at home? No, he did not stay at home.

Do you feel satisfied? Yes, I feel satisfied.

Do you feel satisfied? No, I do not feel satisfied.

Did Peter remain at the office? Yes, he remained at the office.

Did Peter remain at the office? No, he did not remain at the office.

Did the customer appear to be angry? Yes, the customer appeared to be angry.

Did the customer appear to be angry? No, the customer did not appear to be angry.

Are you happy? Yes, I am happy.

Are you happy? No, I am not happy.

Did the boy grow a lot? Yes, he grew a lot.

Did the boy grow a lot? No, he did not grow a lot.

Do the Flowers smell lovely? Yes, the Flowers smell lovely.

Do the Flowers smell lovely? No, the Flowers do not smell lovely.

Was Lisa being truthful? No, she was not being truthful.

Was Lisa being truthful? No, she was not being truthful.

Well there you go guys. Just a few quick examples of linking verbs. Again, don't worry about it, just be able to recognise the verbs, but for those of you who really care, those are linking verbs. Again, look on Google, find a list if you are really into it and you can get more examples. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you in the next episode, bye!