linking verbs and cleft sentence

Linking verbs

by Duyen Le

Action verb ​

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Action verbs

​Action verbs show the actions

- Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of the verb with an adjective or a noun that describes or identifies the subject.

​- We use an adjective or a noun after a linking verb.

• Ex. Joe Smith was the counsellor.

• Sam is a teacher. (predicate noun)

• The teacher is skillful. (predicate adjective)

• Chris turned twelve. (predicate adjective)

Some verbs can be either linking verbs or action verbs depending on how they are used in the sentence.

How do we identify if the verb in a sentence is an action verb or linking verb?

​If you can substitute a form of the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) for the original verb, it is a linking verb.

The "is" and "are" test!

If the verb could be linking or action, replace the verb with "is" or "are".

Mrs. Welniak tasted the chicken noodle soup. (Does is or are replace?)

The chicken noodle soup tasted delicious. (Does is or are replace?)

Multiple Choice

Is the underlined verb an action or linking verb?

She appears upset about the announcement.

• linking verb

• action verb

Multiple Choice

Is the underlined verb an action or linking verb?

The student remained in his seat the entire period.

• action verb

• linking verb

Multiple Choice

Is the underlined verb an action or linking verb?

Stacy looked everywhere for her missing sock.

• action verb

• linking verb

Multiple Choice

Is the underlined verb an action or linking verb?

The eggs smell rotten.

• action verb

• linking verb

Multiple Choice

She liked the blue and red scarf at Old Navy.

• linking verb

• action verb

Cleft sentence ​

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Cleft sentences

• When we want to focus attention on one part of a sentence, we can do this by adding certain words or phrases to the beginning of the sentence.

• The focus is put after It is/was. the part of the sent4ence we don't want to emphasise is put into a clause begimning with 'that'​

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​​Notes:

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- In cleft sentences, 'that' is commonly used after the focus. When the focus is on a person, 'who' can be used in a more formal style.

 - When the focus / emphasised subject is a pronoun (I, you, ... ), there are two possibilities for formal and informal styles. 

Examples:

Formal	Informal
It is I who am brave.  It is you who are brave.	It's me that is brave. It's you that is brave.