Copular Verbs and Their Complements

Compare these two sentences: Joe saw the CEO. Joe is the CEO.

In the first one, you have the verb “saw” with its direct object, the CEO. But second one doesn’t work the same way.  In the second one, the verb “is” is not really an action but a reference back on the subject. The CEO referred to in the second half of the sentence is one and the same with Joe.

Verbs that are all about being are in a category all their own. They’re called copular verbs or linking verbs. And the word that follows is called the complement. Here's the full story.

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