Since the sentence The cab driver was driving extremely fast down the street has both an action verb and a linking verb, what do I say it is action or linking?
That sentence does not have a linking verb.
The verb, "was," is used here as a helping verb with "driving."
To determine whether the sentence "The cab driver was driving extremely fast down the street" has an action verb or a linking verb, you need to understand the difference between the two.
Action verbs describe an action that the subject of the sentence is performing. They show physical or mental activity, such as "run," "jump," "think," or "teach."
Linking verbs, on the other hand, connect the subject of the sentence to additional information about the subject, such as a noun, pronoun, or adjective. They do not show action, but rather describe a condition or state of being. Examples of linking verbs include "is," "am," "are," "was," "were," and "become."
In the sentence "The cab driver was driving extremely fast down the street," there are two verbs: "was" and "driving."
The word "was" is a linking verb because it connects the subject "cab driver" to the predicate adjective "driving." It describes the state of being or condition of the cab driver.
The word "driving," in this case, functions as a participle and acts as an action verb. It describes the action being taken by the cab driver.
Therefore, you can say that the sentence has both an action verb ("driving") and a linking verb ("was").