What does the verb copula mean in Russian? Linking verb in English: meaning of the concept, examples of words and sentences. To be or not to be: all the smallest details

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In English there is such a thing as a linking verb. Why did we decide to touch on this topic? Because most students think that a linking verb and an auxiliary verb are the same thing, however, this is not the case. To begin with, we note that the linking verb in different sources may sound differently in English: linking verbs, copulative verbs, state of being verbs or being verbs, but all these terms mean the same phenomenon.

Auxiliary verbs

As for the auxiliary verb, in English it sounds like an auxiliary verb and is necessary for the formation of interrogative and negative sentences. Each grammatical tense has its own auxiliary verbs, for example, in continuous tenses these are forms of the verb to be, in simple or indefinite tenses - do, and in perfect tenses - forms of the verb have. Auxiliary verbs are rarely found in affirmative sentences and are not translated into Russian - they seem to be there and they are not.

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As for the linking verb, it does not express the action of the subject, i.e. does not answer the question “what to do?” and is not a semantic verb. This type of verb connects the subject and the noun, adjective or pronoun that defines or characterizes it.

Linking verbs

English is the most common linking verb, and probably most students confuse the concepts of linking verb and auxiliary verb precisely because it is also an auxiliary. Here are examples of the linking verb to be in different tenses.

• I am hungry.
• She is a good doctor.
• The flowers were beautiful.
• That was a nice film.
• That man might have been a robber.

Linking verbs are in second place in popularity. seem And become. Regarding seem, then this verb is always a copula, and become- usually, but not always.

• Your sister seems clever. (linking verb: connects the words sister and clever)
• When she returns home she becomes a good mother and wife. (linking verb: connects she and mother and wife)

As a semantic verb become means “ fit, look good”:

• That dress certainly becomes her. – this dress definitely suits her.

- another popular verb that can serve as a semantic verb and a linking verb:

• I get to my office by bus. (semantic)
• She got pale when she heard the news. (ligament)

Ten English verbs that can be either semantic or linking verbs are: appear, turn, feel, prove, grow, sound, look, taste, smell, remain:

• The apples appear ripe. (ligament)
• He suddenly appeared from behind the tree. (semantic)
• I feel sick because of the nausea. (ligament)
• Feel the difference by tasting this sauce! (semantic)
• Poor Emma grew old. (ligament)
• We grow white roses in our garden. (semantic)
• Mother looked tired after working in the garden. (ligament)
• Jane looked under the bed but didn’t find her slips. (semantic)
• Her opinion proved right. (ligament)
• I proved my theory in a modern way. (semantic)
• Our relations remain neutral. (ligament)
• Little of my patience remained. (semantic)
• The cake smells delicious. (ligament)
• I smelled something rotten. (semantic)
• That music sounded strange to my ears. (ligament)
• The crew member sounded the alarm when it wasn’t necessary. (semantic)
• The meat tastes good. (ligament)
• I couldn't taste pepper in the meat balls. (semantic)
• She suddenly turned pale. (ligament)
• I turned right when reached the corner. (semantic)

How to determine what a particular verb is in a sentence?

If you're not sure which is a linking verb and which is a semantic verb, try this:

1. Replace the verb with a form of the verb “to be”, as in the sentence “The cake smells delicious = the cake is delicious.” Despite the fact that we replaced smells with is, the meaning remained the same, which suggests that smells in this case is a linking verb. If, as a result of such manipulation, the sentence acquires a new meaning or the sentence becomes meaningless, then it is a semantic verb.

2. Change the word order in the sentence according to the following pattern: The cake smells delicious = delicious smells the cake. It sounds a little strange, given that delicious is an adjective, but the original idea remains, which means smells is a linking verb.

As you delve deeper into the English language, you will learn to distinguish a linking verb from a semantic one, noting the connection between the subject and the verb. A linking verb forms a bridge between the subject and the word that defines or describes it. Semantic verbs involve the subject in action, forcing him in this case to do something.

Compound nominal predicate (CIS) consists of two parts:

a) auxiliary part - bunch(verb in conjugated form) expresses grammatical meaning (tense and mood);
b) main part - nominal part(name, adverb) expresses lexical meaning.

SIS = copula + nominal part

Examples: He was a doctor; He became a doctor; He was sick; He was sick; He was wounded; He came first.

Types of linking verbs

Verb be can act as an independent simple verbal predicate in sentences with the meaning of being or possessing:

He had three sons; He had a lot of money.

Verbs become, becomes, turn out to be etc. can also be independent simple verbal predicates, but in a different meaning:

He found himself in the city center; He stood against the wall.

The most difficult to analyze are compound nominal predicates with a denominator, because usually such verbs are independent predicates (cf.: He was sitting by the window). If a verb becomes a connective, its meaning becomes less important than the meaning of the name associated with the verb ( He sat tired; more important is that he was tired, not what He sat and not stood or lying).

For the combination “nominal verb + name” to be a compound nominal predicate, the following conditions must be met:

the nominative verb can be replaced by the grammatical connective be:

He sat tired- He was tired; He born happy- He was happy; He came first- He was the first;

the link can be made null:

He sat tired- He tired; He born happy- He happy; He came first- He first.

If a verb has dependent forms of a full adjective, participle, ordinal number (answers the question Which?), then this is always a compound nominal predicate ( sat tired, left upset, came first). Parts of such a compound nominal predicate are not separated by commas!

Ways to Express the Nominal Part

Pay attention!

1) Even if the predicate consists of one word - a name or an adverb (with a zero connective), it is always a compound nominal predicate;

2) short adjectives and participles are always part of a compound nominal predicate;

3) nominative and instrumental cases - the main case forms of the nominal part of the predicate;

The most common mistakes when parsing a compound nominal predicate:

1. The short form of an adjective and especially a participle is mistaken for a verb, so the predicate is mistakenly considered a simple verb. To avoid mistakes, put the predicate in the past tense: the suffix -l appears in the verb, and a short adjective or participle will have the connective was ( was, was, were).

For example:
He is sick(PGS). - He was sick;
He's sick(SIS). - He was sick ;
The city is taken(SIS). - City was taken .

2. A short neuter adjective (the nominal part of the predicate) is confused with an adverb ending in -o. To avoid mistakes, pay attention to the form of the subject:

if there is no subject (one-part sentence), then the nominal part of the predicate is an adverb.

Wed: The sea is calm;

if the subject is an infinitive, a feminine, masculine noun, a plural noun, then the nominal part of the predicate is an adverb:

Living is good; Life is good; Children are good;

if the subject is a neuter noun, change the number of the subject or substitute another subject - a feminine or masculine noun: the form of the adverb will not change; the ending of the short adjective will change; You can also replace a short adjective with a full one.

Wed: The sea is calm(SIS; the nominal part is expressed by a short adjective). - The river is calm A; The sea is calm s; The sea is calm oh ).

3. The nominal part of the predicate, expressed by a full adjective, participle, ordinal number, is mistakenly parsed as a secondary member - a definition. In order not to make a mistake, pay attention to which word starts the question which? to this name.

4. The nominal part of the predicate, expressed by a noun or pronoun in the nominative case, is often confused with the subject. It is especially difficult to distinguish between the subject and the predicate if both members are expressed in the nominative case.

To distinguish between the subject and the predicate, expressed in the nominative case, consider the following:

The subject usually precedes the predicate:

Moscow is the capital of Russia; The capital of Russia is Moscow.

However, in Russian the predicate can also precede the subject.

Wed: Ivan Ivanovich is a good man;

the demonstrative particle this stands or can be placed before the predicate:

Please note that in sentences like: This is good ; This is my brother - This is the subject expressed by the demonstrative pronoun in the nominative case;

the subject can only be expressed in the nominative case form; the predicate has two main case forms - nominative and instrumental cases. If you put the connective be in the past tense ( was, was, was, were) or the copula appear, then the form of the nominative case of the predicate will change to the instrumental form, and for the subject it will remain the same.

Wed: Moscow was the capital Russia; Moscow is the capital Russia; Ivan Ivanovich was a good person; Ivan Ivanovich is a good person.

Plan for parsing a compound nominal predicate

1. Indicate the type of predicate.
2. Indicate how the nominal part is expressed, in what form the linking verb is.

Sample parsing

Life is good.

Fine Fine expressed by an adverb; grammatical connective be

I came first.

Came first- compound nominal predicate. Nominal part first expressed by an ordinal number in the nominative case; significant copula came expressed by a verb in the past tense of the indicative mood.

This guy is of average height.

Average height- compound nominal predicate. Nominal part average height expressed as a whole phrase with the main word - a noun in the genitive case; grammatical connective be- in zero form; the zero copula indicates the present tense of the indicative mood.

Predicate, consisting of a nominal part and a linking verb is called a compound nominal predicate.
The linking verb to be is the most commonly used. The connective in the sentence can be omitted.

Compound nominal predicate, which is abbreviated as SIS, consists of two parts:

a) auxiliary part - the copula expresses grammatical meaning;
b) main part – the nominal part expresses the lexical meaning.

When parsing, the predicate is indicated by two horizontal lines.

The nominal part of a compound predicate is expressed:
adjective name.
Let's give an example: the road was bad;

noun.
Let's give an example: a dog is a faithful friend;

Comparative degree of an adjective.
Let's give an example: her hair is longer than her shoulders;

A short turn of the passive participle.
Let's give an example: food is eaten;

A short adjective.
Let's give an example: the morning is fresh;

Adverb.
Let's give an example: the error was obvious;

Numeral name.
Let's give an example: five five - twenty five;

Pronoun.
Let's give an example: this book is yours;

Syntactically integral phrase.
Let's give an example: she fell face down into the mud;

Type of connective by meaning:
Grammatical connective – expresses only grammatical meaning (tense, mood), has no lexical meaning.

Typical verbs:
Verbs to be, to appear. In the present tense, the copula be is usually in the zero form (“zero copula”): the absence of the copula indicates the present tense of the indicative mood.

Here are some examples:
She was a teacher.
She will be a teacher.
She's a teacher.
She was a waitress.
She will be a waitress.
She's a waitress.
She is a waitress.
Lyrics are the highest manifestation of art.

Type of connective by meaning:
The semi-nominal copula not only expresses the grammatical meaning, but also introduces additional shades into the lexical meaning of the predicate, but cannot be an independent predicate (in that meaning).

Typical verbs:
a) the emergence or development of a sign: to become, to become, to be done, to become;
b) preservation of the sign: stay;
c) manifestation, detection of a sign: to happen, to appear;
d) assessment of a sign from the point of view of reality: to appear, to seem, to introduce oneself, to be considered, to be reputed;
e) name of the attribute: to be called, to be called, to be revered.

Here are some examples:
He became sick.
He remained ill.
He was sick every autumn.
He turned out to be sick.
He was considered sick.
He seemed sick.
He is sick.
He was considered sick.
They were called sick.

Type of connective by meaning:
The nominative connective is a verb with a full lexical meaning (one can act as a predicate).

Typical verbs:
a) Verbs of position in space: sit, lie, stand;
b) verbs of motion: go, come, return, wander;
c) verbs of state: live, work, be born, die.

Here are some examples:
She sat tired.
He left angry.
He returned upset.
He lived as a hermit.
He was born happy.
He died a hero.

Compound nominal predicate (CIS) consists of two parts:

a) auxiliary part - bunch(verb in conjugated form) expresses grammatical meaning (tense and mood);
b) main part - nominal part(name, adverb) expresses lexical meaning.

SIS = copula + nominal part

Examples: He was a doctor; He became a doctor; He was sick; He was sick; He was wounded; He came first.

Types of linking verbs

Verb be can act as an independent simple verbal predicate in sentences with the meaning of being or possessing:

He had three sons; He had a lot of money.

Verbs become, becomes, turn out to be etc. can also be independent simple verbal predicates, but in a different meaning:

He found himself in the city center; He stood against the wall.

The most difficult to analyze are compound nominal predicates with a denominator, because usually such verbs are independent predicates (cf.: He was sitting by the window). If a verb becomes a connective, its meaning becomes less important than the meaning of the name associated with the verb ( He sat tired; more important is that he was tired, not what He sat and not stood or lying).

For the combination “nominal verb + name” to be a compound nominal predicate, the following conditions must be met:

the nominative verb can be replaced by the grammatical connective be:

He sat tired- He was tired; He born happy- He was happy; He came first- He was the first;

the link can be made null:

He sat tired- He tired; He born happy- He happy; He came first- He first.

If a verb has dependent forms of a full adjective, participle, ordinal number (answers the question Which?), then this is always a compound nominal predicate ( sat tired, left upset, came first). Parts of such a compound nominal predicate are not separated by commas!

Ways to Express the Nominal Part

Pay attention!

1) Even if the predicate consists of one word - a name or an adverb (with a zero connective), it is always a compound nominal predicate;

2) short adjectives and participles are always part of a compound nominal predicate;

3) nominative and instrumental cases - the main case forms of the nominal part of the predicate;

The most common mistakes when parsing a compound nominal predicate:

1. The short form of an adjective and especially a participle is mistaken for a verb, so the predicate is mistakenly considered a simple verb. To avoid mistakes, put the predicate in the past tense: the suffix -l appears in the verb, and a short adjective or participle will have the connective was ( was, was, were).

For example:
He is sick(PGS). - He was sick;
He's sick(SIS). - He was sick ;
The city is taken(SIS). - City was taken .

2. A short neuter adjective (the nominal part of the predicate) is confused with an adverb ending in -o. To avoid mistakes, pay attention to the form of the subject:

if there is no subject (one-part sentence), then the nominal part of the predicate is an adverb.

Wed: The sea is calm;

if the subject is an infinitive, a feminine, masculine noun, a plural noun, then the nominal part of the predicate is an adverb:

Living is good; Life is good; Children are good;

if the subject is a neuter noun, change the number of the subject or substitute another subject - a feminine or masculine noun: the form of the adverb will not change; the ending of the short adjective will change; You can also replace a short adjective with a full one.

Wed: The sea is calm(SIS; the nominal part is expressed by a short adjective). - The river is calm A; The sea is calm s; The sea is calm oh ).

3. The nominal part of the predicate, expressed by a full adjective, participle, ordinal number, is mistakenly parsed as a secondary member - a definition. In order not to make a mistake, pay attention to which word starts the question which? to this name.

4. The nominal part of the predicate, expressed by a noun or pronoun in the nominative case, is often confused with the subject. It is especially difficult to distinguish between the subject and the predicate if both members are expressed in the nominative case.

To distinguish between the subject and the predicate, expressed in the nominative case, consider the following:

The subject usually precedes the predicate:

Moscow is the capital of Russia; The capital of Russia is Moscow.

However, in Russian the predicate can also precede the subject.

Wed: Ivan Ivanovich is a good man;

the demonstrative particle this stands or can be placed before the predicate:

Please note that in sentences like: This is good ; This is my brother - This is the subject expressed by the demonstrative pronoun in the nominative case;

the subject can only be expressed in the nominative case form; the predicate has two main case forms - nominative and instrumental cases. If you put the connective be in the past tense ( was, was, was, were) or the copula appear, then the form of the nominative case of the predicate will change to the instrumental form, and for the subject it will remain the same.

Wed: Moscow was the capital Russia; Moscow is the capital Russia; Ivan Ivanovich was a good person; Ivan Ivanovich is a good person.

Plan for parsing a compound nominal predicate

1. Indicate the type of predicate.
2. Indicate how the nominal part is expressed, in what form the linking verb is.

Sample parsing

Life is good.

Fine Fine expressed by an adverb; grammatical connective be

I came first.

Came first- compound nominal predicate. Nominal part first expressed by an ordinal number in the nominative case; significant copula came expressed by a verb in the past tense of the indicative mood.

This guy is of average height.

Average height- compound nominal predicate. Nominal part average height expressed as a whole phrase with the main word - a noun in the genitive case; grammatical connective be- in zero form; the zero copula indicates the present tense of the indicative mood.

Types of ligaments

Three types of connectives are distinguished depending on whether the connective expresses only the grammatical relationship between the subject and the predicative member or also contains part of the real meaning of the predicate.

A) The abstract copula is the verb to be in various forms of tense and mood; the role of this connective is purely grammatical. For example: But he is this official (G.); You will be a hero in appearance and a Cossack in soul (L.). Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr (P.); ...Be my wife, agree to my happiness (P.).

If the predicate has the meaning of the present tense, the copula is, as a rule, absent (in this case they speak of a zero copula), for example: All rich people are misers (M. G.).

The particles this can act as a link, so this means, for example: Emergency - this means general work, when one watch is not enough and all hands are needed (Gonch.); To be liked is a matter for young men (T.); The Podkhalyuzins and Chichikovs are strong, practical characters (Good).

The predicate can be attached to the subject using comparative words like, as if, as if, exactly, etc., for example: Silence is like a piece of ice, you can break it even with a whisper (Leon.); You are like a white dove among sisters among gray, simple pigeons (N.); Your speeches are like a sharp knife... (L.); Really, your human soul is like a steamed turnip (G.); The trees on its sides are like unlit torches... (M.G.).

B) A semi-abstract copula is a verb with a weakened lexical meaning that performs a dual function: it connects the nominal part with the subject and partially expresses the real meaning of the predicate. These include the verbs become, become, seem, appear, become, count, be called, etc. For example: Our girl has already become a mature virgin (Kr.); She seemed like a stranger in her own family (P.); Already in the grove the light becomes fire (Kr.); The princess was known as a lover of music (T.); He turned out to be a talkative, annoying interlocutor (Shol.).

C) The nominative copula (material, concrete) is a verb with the meaning of movement, state, activity, etc., capable of independently serving as a verbal predicate, but in this construction also performs the function of a copula connecting the nominal part with the subject. These include the verbs return, return, go, leave, stand, lie, sit, be born, live, die, work, etc. For example: Onegin lived as an anchorite (P.); He saw his chaise, which stood completely ready (G.); The lady wanders around so sad (P.); I was born as a tumbleweed... (T.); Kitty returned home to Russia, cured (L. T.).

A predicate of this type, expressed by a full-nominal verb and a nominal part, is sometimes called a complex nominal predicate.

As the nominal part of a compound predicate, nominal parts of speech (noun, adjective, numeral, pronoun) are used.

A) The nominal part is expressed by a noun in the nominative case; in the instrumental, genitive cases and in indirect cases with prepositions, for example: The village where Eugene was bored was a lovely corner (P.); The memory of Natasha was the most poetic memory of Boris (L. T.); He was of average height (L.); There was love without joy, separation will be without sadness (L.); Everything was like in a dream (M. G.); Tarkovsky was a cheerful, witty, charming interlocutor (Ard.).

B) The nominal part is expressed by an adjective in the nominative or instrumental case, a short form, a comparative or superlative form, for example: The wind was headwind (L. T.); His character... became heavy, irritable (Ch.); And happiness was so possible, so close! (P.), Onegin, I was younger then, I think I was better... (P.); The fair was excellent (G.).

Sometimes the name of the attribute indicated in the predicate is attached to the subject using the words person, man, woman, people, animal, thing, etc., used with a weakened lexical meaning, for example: You are a kind person, you are an honest person (T.) ; Valentina Mikhailovna's parents were not rich people (T.); But lunch is a pleasant thing (Black); You people are passing through (Ch.).

C) The nominal part is expressed by a numeral name or a quantitative-nominal combination, for example: Their hut was the third from the edge (Ch.); He seemed to be about six years old (L.).

D) The nominal part is expressed by a pronoun, for example: ... I was not me, but some kind of unearthly creature (L. T.); Within a few days Lisa became different from the one he knew her (T.).