Copula Verbs
Copula verbs are a type of verb that connects the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as an adjective or a noun. They do not show action, but rather express a state of being or a relationship between the subject and the complement. Examples of copula verbs include "be," "seem," and "become."
3 Key excerpts on "Copula Verbs"
eBook - ePubColloquial Tibetan
The Complete Course for Beginners
- Jonathan Samuels(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Copula Verbs (both those of identity and existence) have no conjugation. The time-frame is understood either by context or by the addition of temporal adverbs. Questions There are two main ways to formulate questions: using a question-word – equivalents to ‘what?’, ‘who?’ etc. – or adding a question-particle after the verb. There are various question-particles; the one used depends on the verb. When asking a question, one follows the rule of anticipation. The rule is that the question must use the verb which is expected in the answer. If English had such a rule, the answer ‘Yes, I am Jane.’ would be preceded by the question ‘Am you Jane?’ Affirmation and negation There is no direct equivalent of the word ‘yes’. To affirm something, you use the verb – as though responding ‘am’ to an enquiry about whether you are the Tibetan student. Likewise, there are no negation words equivalent to ‘no’, or ‘not’. To negate something, you modify the verb, by adding the consonant m. The form this takes depends upon the verb, but the m will either be incorporated into the verb itself, or form part of a separate syllable, placed before it. Verb features Copula Verbs basically join subjects with properties to form sentences, and vary according to the subject (i.e. whether it is I, you, etc.). But in addition, these verbs reveal something about the source of the information, the evidence for making a statement etc. (‘evidentiality’). One aspect of this (featuring in the book) is that some verbs indicate that the speaker has witnessed what he or she is talking about firsthand, whereas others do not. Implied subjects It is extremely common to miss out the subject from a sentence (i.e. instead of ‘he is here’, saying something more like ‘is here’)...
eBook - ePubBasic Russian
A Grammar and Workbook
- John Murray, Sarah Smyth(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Unit 20 Identifying people’s professions DOI: 10.4324/9780203559017-20 Copula Verbs and their complements In most languages there are a number of verbs whose function is to join the subject with a noun or adjective which describes some attribute of that subject. These verbs are referred to as copulas, and the noun or adjective which they govern is called the complement. Compare for instance the two following sentences: ‘John killed a lawyer.’ and ‘John became a lawyer.’ The verb in the first example is a transitive verb: it has a direct object (lawyer), which in Russian would be expressed in the accusative case: Иван убил адвоката. ‘John killed a lawyer.’ (see Units 9 & 31). The direct object always refers to some person (or object) who is different from the subject: John and the lawyer are two different people. The verb in the second example, on the other hand, is a copula: it has a complement. The complement always refers to an attribute of the subject: John and the lawyer are one and the same person. In Russian the complement is expressed by a noun or adjective in the instrumental case. The three verbs стать, быть and работать ‘to become, to be, to work (as)’ are copulas. The person that one ‘becomes’, ‘is’ or ‘works as’ are their complements. In the present tense the complement of быть – which does not appear in the present tense – is in the nominative case; in all other tenses it is in the instrumental: Kто она? Она – инженер. subject copula complement ‘What does she do? She’s an engineer.’ Kем она была? Она была инженером. subject copula complement ‘What did she do? She was an engineer.’ The complement for both стать and работать is always in the instrumental: Kем работает Павел? Павел работает инженером. subject copula complement ‘What does Pavel work at? Pavel works as an engineer.’ Kем стал Павел? Павел стал инженером. subject copula complement ‘What did Pavel become? Pavel became an engineer.’ Exercise 1 Answer the following questions according to the model...
eBook - ePub- Nancy Stenson(Author)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...UNIT SEVENTEEN The copula is As noted previously, the verb bí (sometimes called the ‘substantive verb’) generally cannot link two nouns in sentences such as ‘I am Bridget’ or ‘Tim is a doctor’. This type of construction is the domain of the copula, is. The copula is sometimes called a defective verb, because it lacks the tense distinctions of other verbs. It functions more like a particle attached to the beginning of another word. Unlike ordinary verbs, it is never stressed, can be omitted, and never occurs alone without something following it. In effect, the copula makes a predicate of whatever it attaches to, linking it to the subject. Sentences formed with is are quite different from those with ordinary verbs, including bí. Forms of the copula The copula is never conjugated for different subjects; all parts of the sentence are expressed by separate words. It also has only two tense forms. Is is used for present (occasionally, future) meaning, and ba (with lenition of a following consonant) is used for past and conditional meanings. Present/future Is múinteoir mé. I am a teacher. Past/conditional Ba mhúinteoir é. He was/would be a teacher. When it is crucial to distinguish time reference, a special construction consisting of bí and a prepositional phrase can be used (see Unit 18 for more detail). Tá mé i mo mhúinteoir. I am a teacher (lit. I am in my teacher). Beidh siad ina múinteoirí. They will be teachers. Most standard question and negative particles used with the copula are the same in form as the particles for all verbs, but instead of preceding the copula, they replace or include it. Thus, in contexts where the copula is required, ní means ‘is not’, an means ‘is?’, nach means ‘isn’t?’ To introduce a subordinate clause with a copula, gur (instead of go) is used...
