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Predicate Words
Name _________________________________________
Mods ____________
Some verbs do not express action. Instead, they tell of a state of being. These verbs link the subject of a
sentence with a word or group of words in the predicate. Because they link the subject with some other
word or words, they are often called linking verbs.
Ricardo is a chef.
Jean felt sick.
The winner will be late.
The verb be is the most commonly used linking verb. The verb be has many different forms. Study these
forms of be to make sure you recognize them:
Be
Being
been
am
is
are
was
were
The verbs be, being, and been can also be used with helping verbs. Here are some examples:
might be
could be
will be
is being
are being
was being
have been
might have been
should have been
Other linking verbs include:
appear
become
feel
grow
look
seem
sound
taste
When used in a sentence, the linking verbs listed above can be replaced with the verb “be” and the
meaning of the sentence will not change.
Like be, these verbs can have various forms (seems, appeared, felt), or can be used with helping verbs
(will sound, could grow, might have become).
The words linked to the subject by linking verbs are called predicate words. Three kinds of predicate
words are predicate nouns, predicate pronouns, and predicate adjectives. All of these words tell
something about the subject.
Ed is a pitcher. (predicate noun)
That was she.
(predicate pronoun)
Anna is clever. (predicate adjectives)
Identifying Linking Verbs and Predicate Verbs. Underline the linking verbs twice and the subjects
once. Write the predicate words.
1.
The fish tastes salty.
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2.
Martha is a casher at Goodwin’s.
3.
John will be the Capitan of the basketball team. _______________________________________
4.
The sky appears cloudy today. ____________________________________________________
5.
The new manger of the hotel is she.
6.
Elephants are the only animal with four knees.
7.
You are being stubborn. __________________________________________________________
8.
Some of the runners in the marathon grew very tired.
9.
That commercial is silly.
10.
This song is a balled.
11.
These tamales are spicy.
12.
The egg of a chicken is a single cell.
13.
Many students were nervous about tryouts.
14.
Rod has become an excellent carpenter. ____________________________________
15.
That car looks expensive.
16.
These old records sound scratchy.
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