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  • Hi everybody, welcome to www.engvid.com, I'm Adam.

  • In today's video, I have a grammar lesson for you, and specifically we're going to look

  • at copula or linking verbs.

  • Copula - linking verbs, same thing, different names.

  • Most people don't really know or have never heard of this word - copula.

  • Sometimes it's an adjective, it's called copular verbs, but the more common one is the linking verbs.

  • And I'll show you in a moment what is actually being linked.

  • So, the most common copula verb is the "be" verb, and in its different forms, different

  • tenses, I should say.

  • Am, is, are, was, were, etc.

  • The most common other copula verbs are seem and appear, and you can combine them with

  • "to be".

  • And I'll show you examples, but appear to be, seem to be, and you can also use this

  • to make a passive structure, which I'll show you as well.

  • And look, and then you have your sense verbs.

  • Sound, taste, smell, and feel.

  • These are also state verbs, and they can also be action verbs, but we're going to look at

  • them as copula verbs.

  • And you'll notice that all of these copula verbs are not action verbs.

  • There is no action happening.

  • So, be careful with these four, because you can use them as action verbs as well.

  • Like, if you say something, I say "Yeah, that sounds right".

  • Or, I can sound the alarm, I can "ding ding ding ding ding ding", etc.

  • So, action - active or not.

  • And then become and get.

  • And I split these up for a reason, and I'll show you that reason in a moment.

  • So, first thing to remember - there is no action involved with copula verbs.

  • What they are doing is they are linking, they are joining or showing some sort of relationship

  • between the subject of a sentence and the subject complement.

  • So, as an example, "He is tall".

  • So, if you think about this sentence, a lot of people will think "Subject, verb, object".

  • But "tall" is not an object to the verb "is".

  • Tall is the subject complement to the subject "he".

  • Essentially, what this means is he, tall, same person.

  • Same thing we're focusing on.

  • The "be" verb acts like an equal sign, showing that these two things are the same thing.

  • I'm describing or talking about the same thing.

  • And it doesn't have to be an adjective, it can also be a noun.

  • A noun can also be a subject complement, not an object.

  • "He is a teacher."

  • "He - a teacher", same person.

  • Same thing, if you want to think about it that way.

  • And that's where the link is.

  • So, you're linking subject complements to subject, right?

  • So, very important not to think of it as an object.

  • And the same applies to the other verbs.

  • "Seem" does not take an object.

  • "Appear to be" does not take an object.

  • All of these do not take an object.

  • Another thing that's very important to remember is that these - all of these verbs, because

  • they're not in a subject, verb, object structure, will be followed by an adjective but never

  • by an adverb.

  • Okay?

  • And I'll give you an example of this as well.

  • Let's look at "seems".

  • Another very important point to remember - we treat, except for "be" verb, of course - we

  • treat all of these copular verbs like action verbs, meaning in a third person singular,

  • we're still going to add the "s", okay?

  • So, it's very important to remember that it looks like an action verb, but there's no

  • action happening.

  • Now, what's the difference, the main difference, between a "be" verb and seem, appear, and

  • look?

  • These three also act like an equal sign, except a "be" verb is stating a fact.

  • He is tall means that's the fact, tall.

  • "She seems nice" means that it's a possibility that she's nice.

  • She looks nice, she appears to be nice, she seems nice.

  • All of these mean the same thing that I think she's nice, but I might be wrong.

  • She is nice - it's a fact.

  • I'm not wrong, it's a fact.

  • There's not wrong or right, there's is or isn't, as it were.

  • So, she seems nice.

  • Adjective describing "she".

  • "She seems to be married."

  • So, I'm still using an adjective, but now I'm using "to be", because "She seems married"

  • doesn't make much sense.

  • I'm describing her situation.

  • Here, I'm describing her.

  • Here, I'm describing her situation.

  • So, I need to put that into more of a context of existence or being something.

  • And again, "She seems to be an executive".

  • I can't say, "She seems an executive".

  • I'm talking about her situation again.

  • Here, it's her marriage situation.

  • Here, it's her career.

  • Now, again, very important.

  • She seems to be an executive.

  • Maybe she's dressed in a suit, like a business suit.

  • She has a bag.

  • She looks very professional.

  • Whether it's true or not, I don't know.

  • That's why she seems to be, she appears to be.

  • She looks like an executive, and you actually add "like" here as well.

  • She looks like something, right?

  • Maybe she is, maybe she's not.

  • Keep in mind, though.

  • When you say, "He looks like his father", that's a different use of "look".

  • This is more about the actual physical appearance.

  • I can - it's a fact.

  • It's not a possibility.

  • But "look like" as a copula means possibility, maybe.

  • Okay?

  • Now, sound, taste, smell, and feel.

  • You're going to describe how certain things affect the senses.

  • So, the song sounds nice.

  • The food tastes delicious.

  • Notice the "s".

  • The flower smells lovely.

  • The cat's tongue feels rough, when it licks me, etc.

  • So, I'm describing sense.

  • Now, keep in mind that these are also stative verbs, and if you're not sure what a stative

  • verb is, Rebecca, who is another teacher here at www.engvid.com , has made a lesson about that.

  • You can look for the link somewhere here to learn more about stative verbs.

  • These are a part of the stative verbs.

  • Now, become and get, they're a little bit trickier.

  • So, I'm going to look at them individually and I'll give you some more examples.

  • Okay, so now we're going to look at a few more examples and notice a few more specific

  • grammatical points.

  • "The house appears to have been damaged in the storm."

  • So, right away, you notice that I have the option of using copula verbs in passive situations

  • as well.

  • You just have to adjust according to the time, according to the situation.

  • Here, I just want to point out a couple of other things.

  • "She seems intelligent", and "The food tastes delicious".

  • Notice it's not "intelligently" and not "deliciously".

  • So, it's very, very important to remember, just because you have a verb that's not a

  • "be" verb, it doesn't mean that you must have an adverb.

  • Copula verbs are not followed by adverbs, only adjectives or noun complements.

  • That's very important to remember.

  • Another thing to remember is that all of the verbs so far, the "be" verb, the "appear,

  • seem" and all the sense ones, they don't take an "-ing" form.

  • Right?

  • Because they're a bit of a state verb.

  • There's no action happening.

  • On the other hand, "get" and "become" can take all the different forms.

  • And while all of these basically - they're like an equal sign, so the food tastes delicious,

  • and the food is delicious mean the same thing.

  • This is just a more specific verb.

  • And it basically means equal.

  • Food = delicious.

  • Same thing.

  • Become and get are verbs that are copular.

  • They're still linking verbs, but they suggest a change.

  • And this is very important, and this is where a lot of people get confused with these two verbs.

  • Become and get, when they're used in this context, like copular verbs, always suggest change.

  • And it's very important to remember that.

  • "She got married", okay.

  • That doesn't mean - there's no action here.

  • "Married" here is being used - it's a participle - it's being used as an adjective.

  • "She got married" or "She was married", both okay.

  • "She is getting married."

  • Now here, I can use this as an "-ing", but I'm still explaining the situation.

  • This is actually referring to the future.

  • So, now she is single.

  • She is getting married.

  • She will become a married woman.

  • There's no action involved.

  • She's not getting anything.

  • It's not a receiving verb, it just - the changing situation verb.

  • If I wanted to use the action verb, I would just simply say "married".

  • "She married Bob."

  • It means she had a wedding and put on a ring, signed some papers, got married.

  • Same thing with "become".

  • You can use it in all the different forms, and always notice there's a change.

  • "She has become too powerful."

  • There should be a period here, actually.

  • She has become - it's not a sudden action.

  • She has become too powerful over time, which is why I'm using the present perfect tense.

  • And I'm suggesting a change.

  • I could say, "She is too powerful".

  • It means it's a fact now.

  • She was, or she will be too powerful, all talking about specific situation - has become

  • over the time she has been in this position.

  • "He is becoming rich."

  • He's getting more and more money.

  • It doesn't mean he's rich yet, but he's certainly on his way.

  • His situation is changing, changing.

  • "He will become mean."

  • When he has more money, the more money he has, the more he will become mean.

  • Like a mean person, because some people become mean when they have money.

  • Why?

  • Because "The more money he has, the more arrogant he becomes."

  • And again, I'm using it as a single with the "s" for the single third person.

  • But again, change, change.

  • As money changes, as the money amount changes, his personality changes, right?

  • So, it's all about change.

  • And this is more like an actual fact, when I use a present simple, I'm stating it more

  • like a fact.

  • The other ones are more a possibility.

  • Okay?

  • So, these are the main copula verbs.

  • There are some others, but these are the ones you need to understand to be able to read

  • and to write especially.

  • Because these are the ones that give people the most trouble, I believe, when it comes

  • to understanding how to use them.

  • Now, of course, it's a little bit tricky.

  • "Become", a lot of people confuse the verb "become" with the verb "be".

  • These are two different verbs.

  • Make sure you remember that, because how you're going to use them will affect the meaning

  • of the sentence, right?

  • Depending on which one you use.

  • But there, that's a very basic understanding of copula verbs.

  • If you're not sure and you want a little bit more practice, go to www.engvid.com and take

  • the quiz.

  • And of course, ask me questions in the comment section.

  • I'll be very happy to help you out if you need a little bit more explanation about this.

  • And that's it.

  • If you like the video, give me a like.

  • I hope you liked it.

  • Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.

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  • So you can get more grammar vocab and other English helping tools, hopefully.

  • Okay?

  • Until next time, bye bye.

Hi everybody, welcome to www.engvid.com, I'm Adam.

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