
What is the relationship between these different types of verbs? Because Kevin was tired of bugging his friend, he took action when he bought a Netflix subscription. There is also an action verb in the second independent clause of this sentence. This linking verb “links” or connects the subject, Kevin, to his current state of being, which is tired. In this sentence, the linking verb was is the main verb of the first clause. Linking verbs can only show a state of being or condition.įor example, Kevin was tired of asking Joe for his Netflix password, so he finally bought his own subscription. However, they are different in that linking verbs cannot show action. How are action verbs different from linking verbs?Īction verbs and linking verbs are alike in that they can both be the main verb of a sentence. If you want to read more about auxiliary verbs, check out this post on Albert. It was very possible that the gazelles would have been the cheetah’s breakfast if the cheetah had not stubbed his toe.

The auxiliary verb would expresses possibility. Were, have, and been are auxiliary verbs that express tense, or when the cheetah chased the gazelles.

These auxiliary verbs are: were, would, have, and been. However, there are also several auxiliary verbs that add meaning to both the action verbs and the overall sentence. In the sentence above, there are three action verbs: chased, caught, and stubbed. Let’s take this sentence apart, because there is a lot going on!
