Which word among the following is an example of a linking verb?

• A. Begin
• B. Run
• C. Eat
• D. Seem

Answer: (D)

Linking verbs connect the subject to more information about it, usually a description or a renaming word, and they aren’t showing an action. Seem fits this role because it links the subject to a description of its state: the subject seems (appears to be) a certain way, and that description comes after the verb, not as something the subject does. For example, in a sentence like The soup seems cold, the word seems is not performing an action; it ties the subject to the adjective cold to describe its condition.

The other options describe actions the subject performs. Begin signals starting something, as in The race begins at dawn; run describes moving quickly, as in The dog runs every morning; eat describes consuming food, as in The child eats lunch. These are action verbs, not linking verbs, because they convey doing rather than linking to a description of the subject.