Download subject complement

The Parts of Speech: Verbs, I
•Action, Linking, and Helping Verbs
• Identifying Action Verbs
• Linking Verbs and Subject Complements
• Help with Helping Verbs
• Verb Pitfalls
There are three kinds of verbs:
Action Verbs, Linking Verbs and Helping
Verbs
Action Verbs show a physical or mental action:
run
fish
rise
spin
think
study
dream
plan
Linking Verbs link subjects to words that complete the subject or
they express a state-of-being. The most common linking verbs
are the “to be” verbs:
I am
you are
he is
they are
I was
you were
he was
they were
Helping Verbs help the main verb by changing tense or changing
the meaning some other way. A complete list of helping verbs will
be given later.
Chart of Verbs
Main Verbs
Action
Physical
Helping
Verbs
Linking or
State-of-Being
Mental
Action Verbs:
These action verbs show either a physical or mental action:
Woodrow fed the cat.
Thomas wrote a paper for his English class.
George thought of a way to stop the British soldiers.
John has a beautiful garden.
Last night, Abe dreamed he was a lawyer in Illinois.
Cal did the best job.
Andrew determined that twelve hamburgers would be enough.
Can you identify the three mental action verbs?
If you identified thought, dreamed, and determined, you are right!
Linking Verbs and Subject Complements
I am.
Some linking verbs simply declare existence:
Usually linking verbs “link” the subject to the subject complement.
Jack is a sailor.
The linking verb, “is” links the subject, “Jack” to the subject complement, “sailor.”
“But just what the is a subject complement?” you ask. Great question. A subject complement “completes” the subject.
The subject complement identifies or describes the subject.
The subject complement is part of the predicate, meaning it is part of the verb
team of the sentence. (The other team of the sentence is the subject team.)
There are three types of subject complements:
nouns, adjectives, and pronouns.
A noun subject complement is called a predicate noun. (Remember, it is part of the
predicate.)
Lucy is my friend.
subject
linking
verb
subject complement
An adjective subject complement is called a predicate adjective (It’s part of the
predicate.)
Lucy is kind.
subject
linking
verb
subject complement
We know that “kind” is an adjective because it describes Lucy.
Linking Verbs and Subject Complements, II
Let’s review: we have looked at predicate nouns, which identify the subject, and
we have looked at predicate adjectives, which describe the subject. Now let’s look
at…
Predicate Pronouns, which are part of the
predicate and also identify the subject.
The winner is she.
subject
linking
verb
subject
complement
You think that sounds funny, don’t you? It sounds funny because in casual
conversation, most Americans use the incorrect case (or form) of the pronoun.
Most Americans would wrongly say, “The winner is her.” Such a construction
would win you no prizes at the grammar fair.
But why?
Well, you wouldn’t say, “Her is the winner,” would you?
I certainly hope not. You would sound like an oaf.
There is a rule you can memorize that will help you with this: “When a
subject complement is a predicate pronoun, the pronoun must be in the
subjective case (or form).”
Wait a minute. Pronouns have cases? What do they put in them?
“Case” is just a fancy way of saying “form.” Because pronouns can do all the
things a noun can do, (They can be the subject or the subject complement, or they
can be the direct object or the object of the preposition, or they can show
possession.) they need the different cases for the different jobs.
The subjective case pronouns are “I, We, You, He, She, It, and They.
Let’s look at some more sentences with predicate
pronouns.
Remember, when a pronoun is a subjective complement, it must be in the subjective
case or form (which is the same case used if the pronoun is a subject).
She is the winner.
subject
complement
subject
The winner is she.
linking verb
subject
subject complement
linking verb
They are the passengers.
subject
subject complement
linking verb
The passengers are they.
subject
linking
verb
I am it.
subject
linking verb
subject complement
It is I.
subject complement
subject
linking
verb
subject complement
HELPING VERBS
While the Main Verb can stand on its own, sometimes a Helping Verb is needed to
help determine time or tense (when the action is occurring, has occurred, or will
occur) or to express emphasis or a particular meaning.
So how do the helping verbs and main verbs work together?
1. The main verb is always the last verb in the series.
2. There can be up to three helping verbs.
Steve must have been studying for the test for weeks.
helping verbs
main verb
Look at how the helping verbs help the main verbs in
the following sentences.
Ann will go to work tomorrow.
Mark did return Jamal’s phone call.
Sue might join the book club.
Before we get to California, Tammy
will have gone to Hawaii.
Sharlietta has been attending Griffin
Technical College for a year.
The helping verb, will, helps the main verb, go,
create future tense. That is, she will go in the
future.
The helping verb, did, makes the main verb, return,
more emphatic.
The helping verb, might, changes the meaning of the
main verb, join, by making it uncertain.
The helping verbs, will have, help the main verb, gone,
change tense. Without them we wouldn’t know that one
thing (Tammy going to Hawaii) would happen before
another thing can happen (we get to California).
The helping verbs, has been, help the main verb, attending, by
telling us that Sharlietta’s attendance began in the past and is
still on going.
More on Helping Verbs
TIP: Together the helping verb(s) and main verb make up the verb phrase. When you are asked
to identify a sentence’s verb phrase, don’t forget to identify the helping verbs if there are any.
We can divide helping verbs into two categories: those that can
stand alone as main verbs and those that can be only helping verbs.
Memorize them.
Helping or Main Verbs
Have, Has, or Had
Do, Does, or Did
And the “to be” verbs:
May, Might, Must
Should
Could
Am
Was
Be
Is
Were
Being
Are
Helping Verbs Only
Been
Will
Would
Can
Shall
Warning:
Pitfall One:
Pitfalls to Avoid with Verbs
Sometimes the adverbs not and never will come between the
helping verb and the main verb. Adverbs, including not and never
are not part of the verb phrase. Watch out for other adverbs
separating the helping and main verb.
In this example, the adverbs are in bold black: Miguel does not like watching movies.
He will always prefer to be outside.
Pitfall Two:
Ex.
Sometimes, especially in a question, the subject will come
between the helping verb and the main verb. You can more
easily find the helping verb by changing the question to a
sentence.
Will Mary join us for lunch?
Pitfall Three:
Mary will join us for lunch.
The “ing” form of any verb (walking, thinking, swinging, saying) is
not doing the job of a verb unless there is a “to be” helping verb
working with it.
Ex. Gustav is walking into the room. Without the helping verb, is, walking could not be the verb.
So there you have the basics about
verbs. If you memorize the linking
and helping verbs and look for
action words (both physical and
mental) you should have no trouble
identifying the verb or verbs in
sentences. When you have
mastered that, go on to the next
level verb lesson.