What is the Difference Between Action and Linking Verbs?

The main difference between action and linking verbs lies in their functions within a sentence. Action verbs describe actions or processes, whereas linking verbs connect or "link" a sentence's subject to information about that subject. Here are some additional distinctions between the two:

• Sentence structure: Action verbs follow the structure: Subject → Action Verb → The rest of the sentence (noun, pronoun, or noun phrase) → (verb) → (adjective, adverb, noun, prepositional phrase, etc.). Linking verbs follow the structure: Subject → Linking Verb → Information about the subject (noun, pronoun, or noun phrase) → (verb) → (adjective, noun, or complement).
• Modification: Action verbs are often modified by adverbs, while linking verbs are usually followed by adjectives.
• Verb replacement: You can replace linking verbs with a form of "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, etc.), but you can't do the same thing with action verbs. For example, "She grows tired" can be replaced with "She is tired," but "She grows sunflowers" cannot be replaced with "She is sunflowers."

Some verbs can function as both action and linking verbs, depending on the context and sentence structure. For example, the verb "to smile" can be an action verb in one sentence and a linking verb in another.

Comparative Table: Action vs Linking Verbs

The difference between action and linking verbs lies in their function within a sentence. Here is a table summarizing the key differences:

Action verbs describe an action performed by the subject of a sentence and can stand alone, while linking verbs connect the subject to a predicate noun or adjective and are never followed by an object. Additionally, action verbs are modified by adverbs, whereas linking verbs are often followed by adjectives.