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Understand the difference between action and linking verbs

Most verbs describe something happening, such as jump. These are known as action verbs, and are very easily identified. When a verb performs the duty of describing the state of something, then it is known as a linking verb. Such verbs are more subtle because they do not seem to describe any particular action normally associated with a verb.

The most common linking verb is "to be" in all of its forms. For instance, in the sky is blue, is is the linking verb, because it links blue to the sky. It does not matter whether it was expressed in past tense (the sky was blue) or future tense (the sky will be blue), each form of to be is considered a linking verb.

Other linking verbs that can describe state include verbs that pertain to a sense, such as smelled, sounded, felt, tasted and appeared, because they also link an attribute to a noun. These linking verbs are a little less obvious in their usage so we have made them an option for your worksheet.