Lesson: Grammar Tidbit - Linking Verbs

Comment on Grammar Tidbit - Linking Verbs

VERY WELL EXPLAINED...THANKYOU!

02:53 Is this ok?
"The flowers smell wonderfully fresh."

Where 'fresh' = adj. describing the noun = 'flowers' and 'wonderfully' = adverb describing the adj. = 'fresh'.
gmat-admin's picture

That's perfect!

Is there a difference between "Bob is happy." and "Bob is being happy."?
gmat-admin's picture

I'd say the two sentences convey the same meaning, except BEING is somewhat redundant (since IS already suggests a state of being)

Yulia's picture

Hi Brent. Thank you for the video, I have learnt something new today.
I have one question regarding the liking verb which expresses a state of being. To my understanding "a state of being" includes:
- verb to be, ex I am beautiful
- any verb that expresses any state of feeling, which ex. I feel great, I love strong, I see clear.....

While I was typing the comment, I realized that it is kind of difficult to distinguish the active and linking verbs. Ex. I do homework (clearly is an active verb, I do the action); Joe feels bad (here also Joe does the action "feeling", so it is a linking verb?).

What would be your advice to avoid such a confusion?
Thank you in advance.
gmat-admin's picture

LOVE and SEE aren't linking verbs; they're both action verbs.

Here's a nice web page featuring tons of different linking verbs: https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-linking-verbs.html

When determining whether a verb is a linking verb or an action verb, focus on the modifier and ask yourself "What word is this modifying?"
If the modifier is modifying a noun, then the verb is likely a linking verb.
If the modifier is modifying the verb itself, then the verb is likely and action verb.

Two examples:
- Joe is happy. In this case, HAPPY modifies the noun Joe. So IS is a linking verb, because it "links" the noun JOE with the adjective HAPPY.

- Joe sees clear. In this case, CLEAR modifies of a verb SEES (it tells us HOW Joe sees). So, SEES is an action verb. Also, since we are modifying a VERB, we must use the adverb CLEARLY (not clear). So the corrected sentences "Joe sees clearly"

Likewise, in your example " I love strong," the word STRONG modifies the verb LOVE. As such, we need to use the adverb STRONGLY to get " I love strongly"

Does that help?

Cheers,
Brent

Yulia's picture

Hi Brent,

Thank you. The article helped.

Hi Brent,

I would like to know the implication of this. Is it imp for me to know the kind of verbs being used for every question I solve?

Are there any questions that test this adverb/adjective issue on OG?

Hope my question makes sense!

Thanks,
Prajwal
gmat-admin's picture

Offhand, I can't think of any official questions that hinge on this concept, but you'll find various solutions out there that use the term " linking verb." So, in that sense, it's useful to know.

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