Primary English tuition for Rosyth School families should help students distinguish verbs that describe an action from verbs that link a subject to a description or identity. eduKateSG is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of Rosyth School; this is an independent tuition resource for families.
This rebuilt legacy URL now owns one distinct teaching job: linking verbs and subject complements. The old school-specific boilerplate, stale phone number and generic 2017 claims have been removed.
eduKateSG currently teaches selected Primary English students in focused 3-pax small groups, typically 1.5 hours, at 83 Punggol Central, Singapore 828761 and 8 Fourth Avenue, Singapore 268674.
The Direct Answer
A linking verb does not normally show the subject performing an action on an object. It connects the subject to information that describes or identifies it.
- be: The room is quiet.
- seem: The task seems difficult.
- become: The sky became dark.
- feel: The cloth feels rough.
- look: The soup looks ready.
- remain: The door remained closed.
Linking verbs connect the subject to a state, quality or identity.
Why This Matters
Students often treat every verb as an action word. That works poorly with sentences such as “The flowers smell sweet” or “The plan became complicated”. Nothing is being “smelled” by the flowers; the verb links the flowers to the quality sweet.
Recognising this structure improves grammar, adjective/adverb choice and reading accuracy.
Action Versus Linking Use
Some verbs can do both jobs.
- Linking: “She looked tired.”
- Action: “She looked at the notice.”
In the first sentence, tired describes she. In the second, looked is an action directed toward the notice.
Another Pair: Feel
- Linking: “The fabric feels soft.”
- Action: “She felt the fabric.”
The same written verb participates in two different sentence structures.
Subject Complement: Adjective
“The soup smells delicious.” The adjective describes the soup through the linking verb.
Students sometimes write “The soup smells deliciously,” treating the verb as an action that needs an adverb. In standard usage, the intended meaning usually requires the adjective delicious because the complement describes the soup.
Subject Complement: Noun
“Mira became the team captain.” The noun phrase identifies what Mira became.
Not every complement is an adjective; the key question is whether it describes or identifies the subject.
Worked Example: Seem
“The instructions seem confusing.”
Subject = instructions. Linking verb = seem. Complement = confusing. The sentence says how the instructions appear to the observer.
Worked Example: Grow
“The room grew quiet.” Here grew means “became”, so it functions as a linking verb.
“The farmer grew vegetables.” Here grew is an action verb taking an object.
Students should classify by sentence meaning, not by memorising a permanent list of “linking verbs”.
Worked Example: Turn
“The leaves turned brown.” Linking use: the leaves changed state.
“She turned the handle.” Action use: she performed an action on an object.
Linking Verbs and Sensory Language
Words such as look, sound, smell, taste and feel can link a subject to a perceived quality.
“The music sounds gentle.” The adjective describes the music as perceived. This is different from “The musician sounded the bell,” where sounded expresses an action.
The Substitution Test
In many linking constructions, replacing the verb with a form of be preserves much of the core relationship:
“The sky became dark” → “The sky was dark.”
The time/change nuance is reduced, but the subject-complement relationship remains visible.
The Subject-Description Test
Ask whether the word after the verb describes the subject.
“The child ran quickly.” Quickly describes how the child ran, not the child’s state; this is an action verb plus adverb.
“The child seemed anxious.” Anxious describes the child; this is linking verb plus adjective complement.
Why Adjective/Adverb Choice Matters
Students sometimes learn “verbs take adverbs” as a broad rule. Linking verbs are an important boundary. The complement can be an adjective because it describes the subject, not the action.
Linking Verbs in Comprehension
“The path appeared safe at first.” The sentence reports an appearance, not guaranteed reality. The verb appeared can therefore contribute to inference and claim strength.
Students should notice the difference between “was safe” and “appeared safe”.
Linking Verbs in Writing
Linking verbs are useful when a writer needs to represent state change: “The crowd became restless”, “The room remained silent”, “The plan seemed impossible”.
But overusing was can make prose static. Writers should decide whether the sentence needs a state or an action.
P1–P2: Be and Simple Descriptions
Young learners can stabilise “is/are/was/were + adjective/noun” structures and distinguish them from simple action verbs.
P3–P4: Sensory and Change Verbs
Middle-primary students can work with seem, become, feel, look, sound, smell and turn in both linking and action uses.
P5–P6: Meaning-Based Grammar
Upper-primary students can use linking-verb structure to choose adjectives/adverbs accurately and interpret stance in comprehension. The MOE Primary English syllabus treats grammar as a resource for meaning. Official reference: MOE English Language Syllabus 2020 Primary.
Common Linking-Verb Failure Modes
| Symptom | Issue | Repair |
|---|---|---|
| Every verb treated as action | Link relation unseen | Ask whether complement describes subject |
| “Smells deliciously” | Adverb rule overgeneralised | Use adjective for subject quality |
| Verb permanently labelled linking | Context ignored | Compare action/linking uses |
| “Appeared” read as certainty | Stance lost | Preserve appearance meaning |
| Writing overloaded with “was” | State over action | Choose verb by event job |
Why Three Students Helps
Students can classify the same verb in different sentences and defend whether it is linking or action. The tutor then asks what the complement describes.
When Rosyth School Families May Consider This Support
- Adjective/adverb choices are inconsistent.
- The child thinks all verbs are actions.
- Words such as look, feel and turn cause grammar errors.
- Comprehension misses the difference between “is” and “seems”.
- Writing needs clearer state/change language.
What Progress Should Look Like
A stronger learner can identify when a verb links the subject to a quality or identity, choose the correct complement and distinguish the same verb’s action use from its linking use.
Independent tuition notice: eduKateSG is not affiliated with Rosyth School. Current eduKateSG centres: 83 Punggol Central, Singapore 828761 and 8 Fourth Avenue, Singapore 268674. Contact +65 8823 1234.