Copular Verbs and Their Complements

Grammatically speaking, what's the difference between Joe saw the CEO and Joe is the CEO? Here's a hint: That difference is also reflected in He sings badly and She feels bad.

If you don't know about copular verbs, also called linking verbs, you should. These verbs of being, seeming, becoming, appearing, or the five senses refer back to the subject. And because the subject is a noun phrase, these copular verbs are followed by an adjective instead of an adverb, which is why Ice cream tastes good and not well. Here's a more thorough explanation. 

 

Download MP3

Tags: , , ,

This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2018 at 3:43 pm and is filed under this week's podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.