Is has a linking verb?

donnach · Post by **donnach** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:30 pm

Words That Are True Linking Verbs

Some words are always linking verbs. These are considered "true." They do not describe the action, but always connect the subject to additional information. The most common true linking verbs are forms of "to be," "to become" and "to seem."

Forms of "to be"

Am
Is
Is being
Are
Are being
Was
Was being
Were
Has
Has been
Have been
Will have been
Had been
Are being
Might have been

If this is true, is "has" in the sentence "He has blue eyes" a linking verb? I thought that the test for linking verbs is to swap the verb with am, is, are, were, or was, and if the sentence makes sense it's a linking verb. If it doesn't make sense, it's not. Has does not pass this test, so therefore why is it included in the above quote?

Thanks,

Donna

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:37 pm

They mean in the sense of "He has kicked the ball" I suppose, though it still doesn't pass your test.

donnach · Post by **donnach** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:48 pm

woodcutter wrote:They mean in the sense of "He has kicked the ball" I suppose, though it still doesn't pass your test.

Isn't "has kicked" just the present perfect tense of a the transitive verb kick?

Has is listed all by its lonesome as a linking verb in the material I copied for my quote. So that would mean: He has blue eyes, wouldn't it? But, how is the "has" in "he has blue eyes" a linking verb?

Maybe the website I copied my quote from is wrong?

Thanks,

Donna

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 12:49 am

If a "linking verb" is supposed to resemble a copula and be the kind of thing which could be replaced by "feels" or "seems" then yes, I guess you are right, "has" should not be on the list.

ouyang · Post by **ouyang** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 3:38 am

"to have" is not a linking verb. It is a stative verb. We cannot say, "He is having blue eyes." or "He is being an English teacher." Both are stative verbs, but one is transitive and the other is intransitive. The verb "to have" takes objects. The verb "to be" takes complements.

donnach, You should use the URL button in the message form to link us to the sites you quote.

donnach · Post by **donnach** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:11 pm

donnach, You should use the URL button in the message form to link us to the sites you quote.

Yes, that would be helpful. Here it is:

www.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules/Linking-Verbs.html

donnach · Post by **donnach** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:24 pm

ouyang wrote:"to have" is not a linking verb. It is a stative verb. We cannot say, "He is having blue eyes." or "He is being an English teacher." Both are stative verbs, but one is transitive and the other is intransitive. The verb "to have" takes objects. The verb "to be" takes complements.

donnach, You should use the URL button in the message form to link us to the sites you quote.

Ouyang, I'm not sure what you mean by changing the verb I used in my example to "is having" and creating a different sentence with "is being". Are you illustrating a test that determines if a verb is stative or linking? Can you explain your explanation for me? My fuzzy mind can't figure it out.

Thanks,

Donna

donnach · Post by **donnach** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 6:44 pm

Ok, I just educated myself on what stative and dynamic verbs are, which is what I should've done in the first place. Hope I'm not trying everyone's patience too much.

Donna