— VOA Learning English — Everyday Grammar Source: Voice of America Learning English (https://learningenglish.voanews.com/) Licence: Public domain (work of the U.S. federal government, 17 U.S.C. §105) Audio is served by the publisher; Budi does not host or modify it.
0:01From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. In a previous Everyday Grammer story, we discussed two common sentence patterns using the word be. This week, we are going to give you more information about another common pattern in English, the linking verb pattern. To get you started with linking verb patterns, consider this passage from a story called The Diamond as Big as the Ritz. by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. As he approached the end, his sentences became broken, became short and uncertain, and his body seemed tense, seemed strained to catch the slightest pressure or whisper of life in the spaces around him. By the end of this story, you will be able to recognize one major linking verb pattern
1:06that Fitzgerald uses many times in this sentence. Remember, a sentence has a subject and a predicate. A clause has a subjec and a predicte too. The predicate is the verb phrase. It has a main verb, such as a linking verb, and other words, such a subject complement that give more information about it. When you capitalize the first word of a clause and put a period at the end of it, a clause becomes a sentence. Keep this idea in mind because it will help you understand sentences that use several clauses. In the book Rhetorical Grammar, Martha Cohn says that the term linking verbs applies to verbs that are completed by a subject complement, the adjective or noun phrase that describes the subject.
2:19Many grammar experts consider the verb be to be a linking verb, but Cohn says be verb patterns are sometimes different from other linking verb patterns. This is because adverbial information often follows B verbs, such as in the following sentence. My sister is at the store. In this case, an adverbial structure, a prepositional phrase, tells about the location of the subject, my sister. This B pattern is one we discussed in a previous Everyday Grammar story, Subject plus B plus Adverbial. Be plus adverbial make up the predicate. In contrast, the usual linking verb structure is this. Subject plus linking verb plus subject complement. The linking verb, plus subject compliment make up a predicate
3:32Some of the most common linking verbs are verbs of the senses. They include taste, smell, feel, look and sound. These verbs often link an adjective to a subject. For example, consider these memorable lines from Dirty Harry, a famous American film. You've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk? In the sentence, Do I Feel Lucky?, the adjective lucky acts as the subject complement. It describes the subject, I. If you were to answer the question, you might say this, Yes, I feel lucky. Verbs of the senses are not the only linking verbs. Two other common examples of linking verbs are remain and become. These verbs often link a noun or noun phrase to a subject. Consider the opening lines from Casablanca.
4:52Another classic American film. With the coming of the Second World War, many eyes in imprisoned Europe turned hopefully or desperately toward the freedom of the Americas. Lisbon became the great embarkation point. In the second sentence, Lisbon Became the Great Embarkation Point, you can see the basic linking verb pattern. Even though the subject complement has several words, Lisbon is the subject of the sentence. The predicate has the linking verb became as well as the noun phrase, the great embarkation point. Aside from the verbs of the senses and become and remain, there are three other common linking verbs. They are prove, seem, and appear. Like other linking verbs, these verbs link an adjective or noun phrase to the subject.
6:03All these verbs use the same basic pattern, subject plus linking verb plus subject complement. Think back to this passage from The Diamond as Big as the Ritz. As he approached the end, his sentences became broken, became short and uncertain, and his body seemed tense, seemed strained to catch the slightest pressure or whisper of life in the spaces around him. Fitzgerald uses some phrases that do not fit into the linking verb pattern, but if you look closely, you will see that he uses the subject plus linking verb plus subject complement pattern in the sentence. Consider these clauses. His sentences became broken. Fitzgerald then repeats the linking verb pattern, but does not say the subject.
7:09The repeated subject is understood. His sentences become short and uncertain. His body seemed tense. His body seems strained. This sentence contains other structures that are more complicated than the basic linking Verb Pattern, but you can still see that these basic patterns can serve as the starting point for very long, complicated sentences. Learning how to use linking verb patterns will help you improve your writing. You can think about creative ways to use them or you can learn to recognize when you use them too often. To start practicing this pattern, try finding the linking verb in the sentences at the end of this story. Identify the subject of the sentence, the linking-verb, and the subject complement.
8:24Be careful because one or more sentences may be tricky. We will give you the answers next week in the comments section and on our Facebook page. The Lake Became a Clear Pool, Pale and Quiet Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald Her Slight Unsteadiness Seemed Part of an Enchanted Dream The Jelly Bean by F Scott FitzGerald John T Unger Was on the Eve of Departure The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F Scot Fitzgerold I'm Jonathan Evans I'm John Russell. And I'm Jill Robbins.
This transcript was generated automatically from the recording, so it will contain mistakes — especially around names and places.