Identifying the Linking Verb in the Sentence

The sentence given is: "Mike Dolan was alone there."

Step 1: Understanding the Sentence Structure
To identify the linking verb in the sentence, we need to first understand the sentence structure.

- The subject of the sentence is "Mike Dolan," which refers to a person's name.
- The word "was" is the verb in the sentence.
- The word "alone" is an adjective that describes the state or condition of Mike Dolan.
- The word "there" is an adverb that indicates the location.

Step 2: Identifying the Linking Verb
A linking verb is a verb that connects the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, which can be a noun, pronoun, or adjective. It does not show any action but rather links the subject to additional information about it.

In the given sentence, the linking verb is "was." It connects the subject "Mike Dolan" to the adjective "alone," which describes the state or condition of Mike Dolan.

Step 3: Eliminating Incorrect Options
Let's analyze the given options:

a) Was: This is the correct answer as "was" is the linking verb in the sentence.
b) Mike: "Mike" is the subject of the sentence, not a linking verb.
c) Dolan: "Dolan" is the subject of the sentence, not a linking verb.
d) Alone: "Alone" is an adjective that describes the subject, not a linking verb.

Conclusion
The linking verb in the sentence "Mike Dolan was alone there" is "was." It connects the subject "Mike Dolan" to the adjective "alone," which describes his state or condition.