The verb 'to be' auxiliary or copula?

ssean · Post by **ssean** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:19 am

Hello guys, just a quick question. Today we (the class and I) were looking at the uses of the verb to be, I am teaching a high level ESP class and we are studying academic text. I'd done some background reading and read that the verb to be is used either as an auxiliary verb to make tenses, form the passive and make questions.
Also it can be used as a copula verb in a ascriptive mode (noun phrase followed by adjective phrase) ie the girl is tall, as a locative ie the girl is in the class ( np followed by prepostional phrase) or as equative 'the girl is my sister' (np followed by np). So i thought this is all very good until i started to use some real examples such as
'a person may be dissatisfied because of a long waiting list'
'it should be appreciated that every person has the right to choose a particular system of health care'
I couldn't decide whether these are examples of auxiliary vb + passive
or Link vb + ascriptive.
any opinions or suggestions are appreciated. (link + ascriptive?)

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:55 am

In your first example, a person may be dissatisfied, I would consider dissatisfied to be an adjective (you might have said a person may be unhappy and had much the same effect, while you couldn't rewrite it as one may dissatisfy a person...). It isn't an example of a passive and be is therefore performing the function of a main verb. Watch out for -ed as adjective as students often mistake them for passives.

In your second example, it should be appreciated..., this is a passive (you could have said people/one should appreciate with the same meaning).

Does that help?

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:24 pm

Often you will find you can't decide between passive and adjective.
The road is closed for example.

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 2:07 pm

Of course, context will usually indicate whether it's passive or not:

The railway line is closed every weekend for maintenance. (Passive - conjours up, at least for me, an image of someone putting up "closed" signs i.e. a change of state)
Oh no! The road is closed. (Adjective - conjours up image of irate driver arriving at a sigh that sayd "road closed")

There will be times when you won't be able to tell, but in those cases it probably doesn't matter that much.

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:56 am

There will be times when you won't be able to tell, but in those cases it probably doesn't matter that much.

It won't matter at all, unless you labour under the misapprehension that the inadequacy of the labelling system is somehow a fault of the language.

ssean · Post by **ssean** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 1:47 am

Many thanks for your replies, on reflection lolwhites I would agree with your definitions. And I think the point about inadequacy of the labelling system is a fair point, but i think the confusion lies in my own misunderstanding rather than the system itself.
I am interested in your opinions in the use of such an activity. I think the exercise itself is valid as a consciousness raising activity given the predominance of the verb 'to be' in all texts, especially the use of passives in academic text, and this labelling system I think could be extremely invaluable tool for the learners to acquire.

dullard · Post by **dullard** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 11:43 pm

...while you couldn't rewrite it as one may dissatisfy a person...

No, but could it not be rewritten as: A long waiting list may dissatisfy a person.

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:46 am

Dullard - had the original example been a person may be dissatisfied by a long waiting list, I would have agreed with you, or, at least, the sentence would have been ambiguous (not that it would have mattered as the meaning would still have been clear). Since it said a person may be dissatisfied because of a long waiting list, I don't see how you can rewrite it in the way you describe without altering the meaning.

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:21 am

Would a rough-and-ready criterion be that if you can put "very" in front, it's an adjective?

Same for:

That chocolate cake is (very) appealing. "That bowler is appealing to the umpire" would not normally have "very", although I'm sure there are some very fanciable bowlers.

Though I'm not sure: "I'm very appalled by your behaviour". What's that?

ssean · Post by **ssean** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:21 am

That is one criteria of whether the word is being used as verb or an adjective, can you put very or really infront of it, if so the 'be' would be acting as a copula ie He was (really) amused by the film.

dullard · Post by **dullard** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 5:07 am

lolwhites wrote:...I don't see how you can rewrite it in the way you describe without altering the meaning.

No, you're quite right. They don't call me dullard for nothing!