Since my post from last week (I Am Well vs. I Am Good) got such a great response, I’m going to tackle another adverb misconception. Once again, linking verbs are causing some confusion.
Have you ever heard someone say “I feel badly”? For example, “I feel badly that Cindy lost her dog.” I’m here, with help from Grammar Girl, to show that even though this is a nice sentiment, it’s not correct grammar.
The difference between action verbs and linking verbs.
To understand why you should say “I feel bad” for Cindy because she lost her dog, you need to know the difference between action and linking verbs.
Action verbs show action.
The dog smells his dinner. (The dog is sniffing his food.)
May I feel your sweater? (I want to touch the sweater with my fingers.)
The girl runs by every night. (The girl moves quickly down the street each night.)
Linking verbs show states of being or emotion. They link a subject to an adjective.
I am tired.
I feel sad.
She looks so happy!
Sense verbs (to taste, to feel, to smell, to hear) can be action verbs or linking verbs.
You can test to see if a sense verb is an action verb or a linking verb by replacing a form of “to be” for the verb in question. In most cases, any form of “to be” (am, are, was, is) will be a linking verb.
- The soup smells good. —> The soup is good.
- The substitution works, and we know “smells” is a linking verb and good describes the state of the soup. The soup isn’t actually smelling anything.
- The dog smells the skunk. —> The dog is the skunk.
- The substitution doesn’t work; a dog isn’t a skunk. Here, we know that the verb is an action verb; the dog is actively smelling something.
Let’s try this with the “I feel bad” dilemma.
- I feel bad that you lost your dog. —> I am bad that you lost your dog.
The substitution sounds a little funny, but we know that “bad” is describing an emotion or state of being. “Bad” is a predicate adjective describing “I”, and we understand that “I” feel sympathy for Cindy.
In “I feel badly” “badly” is an adverb describing the action verb “feel”. “I feel badly” indicates that “I” has a hard time physically exploring by touch. Usually, when people say, “I feel badly”, they aren’t trying to communicate that they are clumsy with their fingers. They are trying to express an emotion.
Word Nerd Workout
Those “sense” verbs are tricky! Test your Word Nerd prowess and decide if the verbs in the following examples are linking or action verbs.
- Roxie smells the treats in your pocket.
- I feel energetic this morning!
- You look sleepy today.
- Those shoes smell bad.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!
This is the best explanation of an action verb vs a linking verb and corrects my, “I feel badly” in a way that I now understand.
Yay! I’m glad you found it helpful! Thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙂 Julia
Dear Julia, I’m a grammar teacher and I know and understand the difference between an action verb and a linking verb. My dilemma is that I don’t know why we need to know what kind of verb it is,- unless you have to diagram it. When kids say, “Why do we have to know what kind of verb it is?” , what can I say?
Thanks for commenting, Carol. I think it’s critical to know what kind of verb it is so you know the proper modifier (adjective or adverb) to use. If you can figure out “is” will substitute, then you know it’s a linking verb and you need an adjective. Tell your students it’s important to know the reasons behind the right answer so that they can figure out the correct answer in the future in alternative situations. It’s like the difference between treating symptoms and understanding the disease that causes the symptoms. Hope that helps.
Okay – this is tougher than the last one.
1. Action verb – Roxie isn’t the treat.
2. Linking – I am energetic.
3. Linking – you are sleepy
4. Linking – describe the shoe’s smell – not the fact that the shoes actually smell something else
Love my word nerd workouts!
No answers – brain tired. But this is a great one to clear up.
Now…I’m still ashamed to admit it, but I will NEVER get lay and lie correct. 🙁
Thanks for the lesson today. Here are my workout answers for today.
1. Smell is an “action” verb
2. Feel is a linking verb
3. Look is also a linking verb
4. Smell is a linking verb or a predicate adjective. It describes the shoes
Great job Judy! Thanks for playing. 😉
Another good one, thank you!