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Mrs. Donna Garner -- English I

¶13. Certain verbs are considered state-of-being verbs or are called linking verbs. The term "state-of-being" is probably more correct than "linking" because sometimes "linking" verbs do not actually link the subject with a predicate noun, predicate pronoun, or a predicate adjective. Sometimes an adverb or a prepositional phrase comes to the right of the "linking" verb. To make things easier, however, we will refer to the "state-of-being" verbs as intransitive linking verbs -- I. L. verbs.

¶14. Here is an easy way to remember the I. L. verbs:

A. 5 Senses

1. to look

2. to smell

3. to taste

4. to sound

5. to feel

B. BRASSS --G Words

6. to become ----- B

7. to remain ----- R

8. to appear ------ A

9. to seem ------ S

10. to stand ------ S

11.to stay ------ S

12. to grow ------ G

¶15. You will notice that there are 12 verbs on the Possible 12 List. The reason we call them "possible" is that their children can "possibly" be linking in some situations and not in other situations. The way to tell whether these verbs are used in a linking situation is to see whether the verbs indicate any action. When in doubt, if you can substitute am, are, is, was, were, shall be, will be for the verb in question, then you do indeed have an I. L. verb.

Ex. The music seems loud. (Notice that seems comes from the Possible 12 verb

Ex. The bride tastes the punch. (If you substitute is for the word "tastes," the sentence reads "The bride is the punch." Obviously, you cannot successfully substitute "is" for the verb "tastes." Therefore, "tastes" in this particular sentence is not an I. L. verb. I. L. verbs will show absolutely no action. This sentence could be acted out which indicates that there is action in the sentence -- not state- of-being.)

¶16. To repeat: I. L. VERBS WILL NOT SHOW ANY ACTION. They indicate state-of-being or the condition of something or someone.

¶17. I. L. verbs are usually followed by:

A. Predicate noun (P.N.) -- renames the subject

B. Predicate pronoun (P.Pro.) -- takes the place of a noun and renames the subject

C. Predicate adjective (P. A.) -- describes the subject

¶18. Sometimes I. L. verbs may be followed by prepositional phrases or adverbs which tell where, when, how, to what extent.

Ex. The kite stays in the air.

The kite stays there.

¶19. The second type of I. L. verb (besides the Possible 12 List) comes from the verb TO BE. ALL OF THE CHILDREN FROM THE VERB TO BE WILL ALWAYS BE LINKING (I. L.). These verb children occur very frequently in English sentences. The problem with the TO BE family is that many of the children do not look like the father. All you have to do is learn the Principal Parts for the verb TO BE; apply the same conjugation pattern; and you will be able to conjugate the verb TO BE. Every single form (child) that you conjugate will always be linking.

PRESENT TENSE -- TO BE (1ST COL.)

am being

are being

is being

was being

were being

shall be being

will be being

should be

would be

should have been

would have been

can be can have been

could be could have been

may be may have been

might be might have been

must be must have been

¶20. All of these children from the verb TO BE will always be I. L. verbs:

¶21. One other slight problem arises every so often. Look at the following sentences:

Ex. The window was broken.

The window was broken by George.

The problem is to determine whether the verb phrase is "was broken" or whether the verb is just plain "was" and the word "broken" is a participle used as an adjective to describe the state or condition of the window. Remember what you learned in the preposition packet about verbals:

There is a general "Rule of Thumb" to cover situations with verbals. If there are any modifying words involved, then usually the verb is drawn together into a verb phrase. Look after the trouble spot in the two examples mentioned above the verbal chart. See if there are any modifiers present. In the second example, notice that the words "by George" (preposition phrase) are modifying. Since modifiers are present, then the verb tends to be drawn close together into "was broken." In the first example, the state or condition of the window is that it is "broken." The word "broken" comes from the 3rd col. (Past Participle) and is describing the state or condition of the window. Therefore, in the first sentence, the verb is "was" and "broken" is a participle--part adjective yet comes from the verb family "to break." In the second example, the verb is "was broken" because of the modifying element "by George."

¶22. Let's get back to I. L. verbs. See if you can find the I. L. verbs. Be sure and look to the right of the I. L. verbs and see if there is a predicate noun, predicate pronoun, or a predicate adjective present. Use your test of replacing the verb with am, are, is, was, were, shall be, will be. If the verb can be replaced successfully, then the verb is an I. L. verb.

Also, notice how the first few sentences have been diagrammed for you. Diagram the rest of the sentences following the examples given.

¶23. Do Worksheet #4. Underline the I. L. verbs. Diagram and label the main elements in the sentences.

1. This food really smells good.

2. David's mother is a good cook.

3. The dogs looked ferocious.

4. The dogs looked at the cats.

5. This information is a secret.

6. Ludwig was one of the seven children.

7. He was a very unhappy fellow.

8. The man had been quite ill.

9. She will be ten on her birthday.

10. She was being a good friend to Sally.

11. It will have seemed like a long time.

12. She will feel better tomorrow.

13. Our meeting was long.

14. Lorice might be at home.

15. They were green with envy.

16. It had been a long time.

17. The school play is very good.

18. We were the winners.

19. Some people were from Texas.

20. The children grew three inches during the summer.

21. I stay at home often.

22. The students are standing in a row.

23. The audience is standing up and shouting.

24. The man sounded the alarm.

25. That sounds loud.

26. The boy appeared from behind the curtain.

27. The girl often appears a little pale.

¶24. Fill out the following Worksheet #5.

1. Another name for intransitive linking verb is ______________ ___________ _____ _______________________.

2. State-of-being verbs is a (better, worse) name for linking verbs because _______________________________________________________________.

3. Why do we use I. L. rather than intransitive state-of-being as our term? _______________________________________________________________

4. What does I. L. stand for? _______________________________________

5. Linking verbs do not show ______________________.

6. Linking verbs are usually followed by:

1. ____________

2. ____________

3. ____________

7. Sometimes linking verbs are followed by _________________ or _____________________________.

8. The verb _______________ and all of its children are always I. L. verbs.

9. Name 12 other verbs which may sometimes be I. L. and sometimes action.
1. ___________________ 6. _______________

2. ___________________ 7. _______________

3. ___________________ 8. _______________

4. ___________________ 9. _______________

5. ___________________ 10. _______________

10. Conjugate the verb TO BE in the following tenses:

1. Present

2. Past

3. Past Perfect

4. Future Conditional

11. Write down the 33 children of the verb TO BE.

12. Make a list of 50 children which come from the Possible 12 List.