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Linking Verbs and Subject Complements: When Verbs Don't Act

Master linking verbs — be, seem, become, look, taste, feel — and why they take adjectives, not adverbs.

English Grammar , Writing Skills 3 min read

❌ She looks beautifully.
✅ She looks beautiful.

❌ The food tastes well.
✅ The food tastes good.

After linking verbs, use adjectives (not adverbs) to describe the subject.

Rule box: Linking verbs (be, seem, become, appear, look, sound, taste, smell, feel, grow, turn, remain, stay) connect the subject to a subject complement. Use adjectives (not adverbs) as subject complements to describe the subject.

VerbExample
beShe is a teacher. / She is intelligent.
seemHe seems tired.
becomeShe became a doctor.
appearHe appears nervous.
lookShe looks happy.
soundThat sounds interesting.
tasteThe soup tastes delicious.
smellIt smells wonderful.
feelThe fabric feels soft.
growHe grew impatient.
turnThe leaves turned red.
remainShe remained calm.
stayPlease stay quiet.

She looks beautiful. (adjective — describes “she”)
She sings beautifully. (adverb — describes “sings”)

The food tastes good. (adjective — describes “food”)
He cooks well. (adverb — describes “cooks”)

The test: If the verb describes the subject (not the action), use an adjective.

She is happy. (describes “she” — adjective)
She works happily. (describes “works” — adverb)

Linking verbs can also be followed by nouns:

He became a teacher. (noun complement)
She is a doctor.
They remained friends.
He turned traitor.

WrongRightWhy
She looks beautifully.She looks beautiful.Adjective after linking verb.
The food tastes well.The food tastes good.Adjective after linking verb.
He feels badly about it.He feels bad about it.Adjective describes “he.”

Note: “He feels badly” could mean his sense of touch is impaired (adverb describing the action of feeling). “He feels bad” means he feels unhappy (adjective describing him).

Choose the correct form.

  1. She looks ___. (beautiful / beautifully)
  2. The soup tastes ___. (good / well)
  3. He seems ___. (happy / happily)
  4. Error spotting: She looks beautifully.
  5. Error spotting: The food tastes well.
  6. Fill in the blank: He ___ a teacher. (is / became)
  7. Fill in the blank: The fabric feels ___. (soft / softly)
  8. Rewrite correctly: She sings beautiful.
  9. Choose: He remained ___. (calm / calmly)
  10. Choose: That sounds ___. (interesting / interestingly)

  1. beautiful — adjective after linking verb.
  2. good — adjective after linking verb.
  3. happy — adjective after linking verb.
  4. She looks beautiful. — adjective.
  5. The food tastes good. — adjective.
  6. is / became — both correct (noun complement).
  7. soft — adjective.
  8. She sings beautifully. — adverb describes action.
  9. calm — adjective.
  10. interesting — adjective.

Rule: Linking verbs take adjectives (not adverbs) as subject complements. The adjective describes the subject, not the action.

Memory trick: “Linking verbs link to the subject. Adjectives describe subjects. Adverbs describe actions.”

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