Verbs

Question

What is the difference between a linking verb, a state-of being verb, and a stative verb? I'm confused.

Examples

I have a book. have as a main verb is not linking subject to predicate (it shows possesion, it's listed as stative)

It smells good. smells links the subject to the predicate (the verb is listed as a linking verb and a stative verb)

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Some verbs can be either, depending on the usage. For example:

Smell the flowers! (Stative)
Your soup smells delicious. (Linking)

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWhat is the difference between a linking verb, a state-of being verb, and a stative verb? I'm confused.

Here's the hierarchy:

Stative verbs consist of linking verbs and other stative verbs.
Linking verbs consist of state-of-being verbs and other linking verbs.

State-of-being verbs, as defined on many web sites, are not usually recognized as a special type of verb. They are simply the forms of the single verb to be: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being. The verb to be is a linking verb, and therefore, it is a stative verb as well.

Some linking verbs besides the verb be are: appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain, seem, smell, sound, taste, and turn. They usually connect a subject to an adjective (or a noun). The food looks good. They remained seated. The leaves turned brown. Linking verbs are a kind of stative verb.

Some stative verbs besides the linking verbs are: like, know, belong, love, have, fit, hate, suppose, contain, want, consist, need, prefer, depend. Stative verbs do not normally occur in the progressive (continuous) tenses.

Verbs that are not stative verbs are called dynamic verbs. Dynamic verbs are action verbs like jump, throw, kick, rise, win, shrug, zip, walk, talk.

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Apologies - My line of thought was along transitive and intransitive verbs, which matched Anon's description!

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