Level: elementary
Some verbs are followed by either a noun or an adjective:
| She was a good friend. She was very happy. |
V + N V + Adj |
| He became headmaster. He became angry. |
V + N V + Adj |
These verbs are called link verbs. Common verbs like this are:
| be become |
appear feel |
look remain |
seem sound |
He looked hungry.
He looked a good player.
She seemed an intelligent woman.
She seemed intelligent.
After appear and seem we often use to be:
She appeared to be an intelligent woman.
He seemed to be angry.
Some link verbs are followed by an adjective but not a noun. Common verbs like this are:
| get | go | grow | taste | smell |
He got hungry in the evening.
The dog went crazy.
She grew stronger every day.
The soup tasted wonderful.
This milk smells bad.
- Link verbs 1
- Link verbs 2
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Is it incorrect to say "This plant grows rapidly"?Isn't here the verb "grow" a linking verb ?
Hi Faii,
No, it's correct. The verb "grow" can also be intransitive, as in this example. As a linking verb, it would be "This plant grows tall", for example.
I hope that helps to understand it!
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team