Linking Verbs

is
am
are
was
were
be
been
being
*appear, appears, appeared, appearing
*become, becomes, became, becoming
*feel, feels, felt, feeling
*grow, grows, grew, growing
*look, looks, looked, looking
*remain, remains, remained, remaining
*seem, seems, seemed, seeming
*smell, smells, smelled, smelling
*sound, sounds, sounded, sounding
*stay, stays, stayed, staying
*taste, tastes, tasting, tasting
*turn, turns, turned, turning

The BE Verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being - can also be helping verbs. Check to see if there is another verb after it. If there is, the BE verb is a helping verb. If there is not (if it's the last verb), it is linking.

The linking verbs with the * can also be action verbs. Use the Substitution Test to determine which it is.

The Substitution Test - Replace the entire verb phrase (and any interrupting adverbs) and replace it with either WAS or WERE. If one of these words makes sense, the * verb was linking. If it doesn't make sense, the * verb is action.