Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
It’s me.
It’s me.
Not quite. The proper way to answer
would actually be to say, “It is I.” And when asked, “Who did this?” the proper
answer would be, “It is he.” And when asking if those particular papers are the
ones you were meant to come collect, you should ask, “Are those they?” Yes, you
may sound like an old, stodgy British butler, but at least you’ll be an old,
stodgy, grammatically correct British
butler. All of this is because “to be” is a linking verb.
Think of a
linking verb as doing just that— linking. It can link a subject to a noun, a
pronoun, or an adjective. Consider it to be sort of like an equals sign,
meaning whatever is on either side should be the same. So if the word before the
conjugated form of “to be” is a subject, the word after (if it is a pronoun)
should also be in the subject case (a.k.a. nominative case). Subject form = subject form.
What are the subject and object pronouns? The subject
pronouns in English are I, you, he, she,
it, we, you, they, what, who. The object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, them, what, whom.
Incorrect: I am
her
Breakdown: I
(subject) am (conjugated form of “to be”) her (object form of pronoun)
Correct: I am she
Breakdown: I
(subject) am (conjugated form of “to be”) she (subject form of pronoun)
Incorrect: These are them
Breakdown: These (subject) are (conjugated form of “to be”) them
(object form of pronoun)
Correct: These
are they
Breakdown: These (subject) are (conjugated form of “to be”) they
(subject form of pronoun)
But the forms of “to be” aren’t the only linking verbs. Any
form of “become” or “seem” qualifies as a linking verb. And there are roughly
twenty other words that can be a linking verb if the context is right; if not a
linking verb, they act as action verbs (conveying an action taking place). These
include appear, look, feel, remain,
sound, and taste. Check out the
links (pun not intended) at the end of this post for more examples. The rule of
thumb for checking to see if these words are considered linking words in
specific cases is to replace the verb with a form of “to be” (is, are, was, were, etc.).* If the
sentence stills makes sense, then the verb would be considered a linking verb
in that context. If it does not make sense, it is an action verb in that
context. If it is a linking verb and the following word is a noun or an
adjective, then there is nothing to double check. But if the word that follows
is a pronoun, you would then need to make sure that it is in the subject form.
Example: She feels elated. à She is elated. [This sentence makes sense,
so “feels” is a linking verb, followed by an adjective.]
She feels the weight of the book in her hand. à
She is the weight of the book in her
hand. [This sentence does not make sense, so in this case, “feels” is an action
verb.]
*This method will not
work with the word “appear” or any of its forms.
References and other links for more information:
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