Step 1: General introduction

The grammar in this unit focuses on linking verbs. You’ll review what a linking verb’s function is in a sentence and what verbs can be used as linking verbs. You are expected to apply the rules you have learnt to complete some written tasks.

Step 2: Exercises:

Fill in the blanks with proper linking verbs:

1. Wood ___ hard.

2. The exercise ___ easy, but in fact it’s very hard.

3. Don’t you think the music of the song ___ beautiful?

4. The old man ___ poor in the old days, but now he’s ___ rich on hare.

5. Most leaves begin to ___yellow in autumn.

6. The fish ___good; the children like it very much.

7. The girl’s face ___red when she heard his words.

8. It’s true ___ that parents ___ old when children grow up.

Keys:

1. looks 2. seems 3. sounds 4. looked; been

5. turn/get 6. tastes 7. turned 8. to find; become

Step 3: Explanation and practice:

A linking verb is a word used to connect the subject of a sentence to further information about the state which the subject is in. The most common linking verb is “to be (be/am/is/are/was/were/been)”

1. Let’s look at Part A on page 41. Please read the passage and underline all the linking verbs at the same time.

Answers

A feel; is; seems; are; is;

was; seemed; is; felt; be;

were; stayed; become; am; am; proved

2. Now, please turn to Part B on page 41. Please replace the underlined words with the words given in the box.

Answers

B 1 proved/seemed/appeared 2 appeared/seemed 3 feel

4 stayed/remained 5 remained/stayed 6 seemed

For reference

More explanation of linking verbs:

連系動詞看似簡單，實則是中學英語中的重要語法項目，同時，也是歷屆高考考查的重點和熱點。

一、用法

連系動詞本身有一定的詞義，但不能獨立作謂語，必須與表語一起構成謂語。表語通常由名詞、形容詞，或相當于名詞或形容詞的詞或短語等充當，說明主語是什么或怎么樣。

二、分類

1. “存在”類：表示存在或具有某種特征或狀態。這類連系動詞強調“存在”。常見的有：be(是)，look(看起來)，feel(摸上去)，seem(似乎是)，appear(似乎、顯得)，prove(證明是)，smell(聞起來)，taste(嘗起來)，sound(聽起來)等。例如：

　　The story sounds true.

　　Those oranges taste good.

2. “持續”類：表示某種情況或狀態的持續。這類連系動詞強調“持續”。常見的有：remain(依然)，keep(保持)，stay(保持)，continue(繼續、仍舊)，stand(處于某狀況或情形)等。例如：

-Why don't you put the meat in the fridge?

-It will stay fresh for several days.

　　It's already ten in the morning. The store remains closed. What's the matter?

3. “變化”類：表示由一種情況或狀態變化成另一種情況或狀態。這類連系動詞強調“變化”后的情況或狀態。常見的有：become(變成)， turn(變成)， grow(變得)， go(變得)等。例如：

　　Put the fish in the fridge, or it will go bad in hot weather.

三、注意事項

1. 有些連系動詞通常不用于被動語態和進行時態中。如：feel，taste等詞。例如：

　　-Do you like the material?

　　-Yes, it feels very soft.

2. 一般情況下，連系動詞主要跟形容詞或分詞作表語。例如：

　 Be careful when you cross this very busy street. If not, you may get run over by a car.

3. 能跟名詞作表語的連系動詞常見的有：be, become, appear, seem, prove, remain和turn等。注意：turn后跟(表示主語身份的)名詞作表語時，不加冠詞。例如：

　　Twenty years later, he turned teacher.

　　The population growth in China remains a problem.

4. 連系動詞也可跟不定式(to do / to be)，常見的有： appear, seem, remain, prove, look等。例如：

　　Having a trip abroad is certainly good for the old couple, but it remains to be seen whether they will enjoy it.

　　On the long journey, Peter proved to be a most interesting guide. We all had a wonderful time.

For reference

常用連系動詞

1. be

1) She is a nurse. 她是一名護士。

2) I am an engineer. 我是一名工程師。

3) Ben and Paul are farmers. 本和保羅是農民。

2. become

1) He became a member of the football club a year ago. 他一年前成為這個足球俱樂部成員。

2) It's becoming much more expensive to travel abroad. 現在出國旅行的費用貴得多了。

3) Gordan has become a famous man. 喬丹已成為名人。

3. look

1) You’re not looking quite yourself; You’re looking ill. 你看上去不對勁，像是生病了。

2) You look as if you slept badly. 你看來像是睡眠不足。

3) It looks like rain. 天像是要下雨的樣子。

4. get

1) She will soon get better. 她不久就會康復的。

2) On the way back to hotel, he got lost. 在回旅館的路上，他迷路了。

3) It's getting warmer and warmer. 天越來越暖和了。

5. grow

1) It grew cold. 天氣變冷了。

2) It began to grow dark. 天漸漸暗了。

3) My mother grows older. 我母親越來越老了。

6. feel

1) This material feels soft. 這種料子摸起來很柔軟。

2) You will feel better after a night's sleep. 經過一夜的睡眠你會覺得好些。

3) He feels confident of success. 他對成功感到有信心。

7. turn

1) His hair has turned grey. 他的頭發花白了。

2) Leaves turn brown in autumn. 秋天樹葉變黃了。

3) The test paper turned blue. 試紙變成藍色。

8. remain

1) The problem remained unsolved until last year. 問題到去年才解決。

2) He remained silent. 他仍然沉默。

3) The temperature remains constant while the ice melts. 當冰融化時，溫度保持不變。

9. seem

1) Things far off seem (to be) small. 遠處之物看上去小些。

2) What seems easy to some people seems difficult to others. 某些人覺得容易的事，別的人可能覺得困難。

3) The child seems to be asleep. 這孩子好像睡著了。

10. appear

1) This recorder appears (to be) simple in structure. 這臺錄音機看來似乎結構簡單。

2) Why does she appear so sad? 她為何顯得如此悲傷？

3) He appears to have many friends. 他似乎有許多朋友。

11. keep

1) Keep quiet, please! 請保持安靜！

2) Keep cool! 保持冷靜！

3) I hope you are keeping well. 我希望你保持健康。

12. come

1) The little girl’s dream has come true. 小女孩的夢想實現了。

2) It comes easily with practice. 一經練習就很容易。

3) Everything will come all right in the end. 一切問題終會解決。

13. go

1) Something has gone wrong with the car. 車出毛病了。

2) Fish soon goes bad in hot weather. 魚在熱天不久就變壞了。

3) The children went wild with excitement. 孩子們興奮得發狂。

14. seem, appear后面常跟to be。

高考鏈接

1. The traffic lights __________ green and I pulled away. (2006廣東)

A. came B. grew C. got D. went

2. One of the best ways for people to keep fit is to______ healthy eating habits. (2006湖北)

A. grow B develop C. increase D. raise

3. -- I was wondering if we could go skiing on the weekend.

-- _______good. (2006湖北)

A. Sound B. Sounded C. Sounding D. Sounds

4. Someone who lacks staying power and perseverance is unlikely to ___ a good researcher. (2006山東)

A. make B. turn C. get D. grow

5. In the dark forests ________, some large enough to hold several English towns. (2005遼寧)

A. stand many lakes　　　　B. lie many lakes

C. many lakes lie　　　　 D. many lakes stand

6. Having a trip abroad is certainly good for the old couple, but it remains ____whether they will enjoy it. (2002全國)

A. to see B. to be seen C. seeing D. seen

7. The water _____ cool when I jumped into the pool for morning exercise. (2006全國)

A. was felt B. is felt C. felt D. feels

8. Why don’t you put the meat in the fridge? It will _____ fresh for several days. (2003全國)

A. be stayed B. stay C. be staying D. have stayed

9. The pilot asked all the passengers on board to remain _____ as the plane was making a landing. (2004上海春)

A. seat 　B. seating　C. seated　D. to be seating

10. Be careful when you cross this very busy street. If not, you may _____ run over by a car. (2002北京)

A. have　　 B. get 　 C. become　　 D. passed

11. Happy birthday, Alice. So you have _____ twenty-one already. (2004天津)

A. become B. turned　　 C. grown　D. passed

12. Sarah, hurry up. I’m afraid you can’t have time to _____ before the party. (2004全國Ⅱ)

A. get changed　　　　　　B. get change

C. get changing　　　　　　D. get to change

13. On hearing the news of the accident in the coal mine, she _____ pale. (2004湖北)

A. got　 B. changed　C. went　D. appeared

14. The flowers _____ sweet in the botanic garden attract the visitors to the beauty of nature. (2004上海)

A. to smell B. smelling C. smelt D. to be smelt

15.-Owe! I’ve burned myself!

-How did you do that?

-I _____ a hot pot. (2005浙江)

A. touched　　 B. kept　　C. felt　　D. held

答案：1-5 DBDAB 6-10 BCBCB 11-15 BACBA

Step 4: Consolidation:　

I. Multiple choice:

1. What he said sounds_______. (1993上海)

A. nicely B. pleasantly C. friendly D. wonderfully

2. We don’t care if a hunting dog smells _____, but we really don’t want him to smell_____. (1995上海)

A. well, well B. bad, bad C. well, badly D. badly, bad

3. He turned ____ ten years ago but later he became _____.

A. a teacher; a doctor B. teacher; doctor

C. teacher; a doctor D. a teacher; doctor

4. The dog _____lost yesterday.

A. got B. became C. turned D. fall

5. The old man must have ____ mad.

A. gone B. turned C. fallen D. driven

6. I felt ____ that I should leave.

A. strong B. strongly C. to be strong D. very strong

7. -Do you like the material?

-Yes, it _____ very soft. (1994全國)

A. is feeling　 　B. felt　　 C. feels　　 D. is felt

8. I am afraid the weather will _____ hot for a few days.

A. last B. be lasted C. stay D. be stayed

9. Although he has taken a lot of medicine, his health _____ poor. (2002春上海)

A. proves B. remains C. maintains D. continues

10. I love to go to the seaside in summer. It _____ good to lie in the sun or swim in the cool sea.

A. does　 　B. feels　　 C. gets　　D. makes

II. Translation (using link-verbs):

1. 她聞了聞肉，看看是否還新鮮。

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. 當學生整理東西時，老師讓他們保持安靜。

_______________________________________________________________________________

3. 我們的國家正變得越來越強大了。

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. 當夏天到來時，天氣變得越來越熱。

_______________________________________________________________________________

5. 我上次過生日已滿五十歲。

_______________________________________________________________________________

Keys:

I. 1-5 CDCAA 6-10 BCCBB

II.

1. She smelled the meat to make sure it still smelled good.

2. The teacher asked the students to keep quite hen they were keeping everything in order.

3. Our country is becoming stronger and stronger.

4. When summer comes, it is getting hotter and hotter.

5. I turned fifty on my last birthday.