Talk:List of English copulae
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What about "sound" and "taste"? —JerryFriedman 23:55, 15 December 2005 (UTC)
- Also "stay", "remain", and "keep" (as in "keep quiet")? —JerryFriedman 23:51, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
- And "wax" (as in "wax poetic" or "wax eloquent")? Jeff Worthington 00:21, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
Are "wax" and "grow" inchoative verbs? --Fashnek 02:54, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
What about "drive" as in "Tom drives me crazy"? Johnfrye3 (talk) 04:58, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] let's not get completely anal....
I gather that the task set here is a compilation of EVERY SINGLE verb that could be conceived of as a Copula, in alphabetical order. Might I ask the following:
1. Of what earthly use would this be to anyone?
2. Lists don't explain ANYTHING. My objection to the article in general is that it consistently uses long lists of things as a substitute for an explanation. For example, I get far more useful info on what a copula is from a basic definition on any on-line dictionary.
3.In these on-line definitions, copula is said to belong to the field of grammar rather than linguistics. That is where I would have put it.
4. How is a copula, in English at any rate, different to a transitive verb. It seems, from the list starting to take shape here, that just about ANY verb could be said to "link a subject to a predicate". What else do verbs do? The article fails to give simple info on these basics.
5. Look at (1)"He gained access to the Internet" and (2)"He accessed the Internet". Is "gained" a copula in (1), with "access" as the predicate? And is "accessed" a copula in (2) with "Internet" as the predicate?
6. What about "Tom went to the shop"? Is THIS an example of a "went to" as a copula? Because if it is, then so is just about every verb known. Look at my note in the article on clear writing and try to fix it up. I am a medically-retired writer of manuals, and have 25 years' experience in the field and I would red-line just about everything I see here. And apparently, the same attitude is displayed in other articles on grammar. Dense, obsessively detailed, abstruse, ramshackle, and with the same tendency to use lists as a substitute for clear explanation.
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Notice that all these verbs have to do with appearance and being. Your examples like "gained access" and "accessed" do not fit the general purpose of these ones. I don't see how a list like this can be so lacking in "clear writing"; it seems fairly clear to me. Just from looking at this list I can instantly get a perfect idea of what defines a copula and where copulae are used. I'm not sure why you're having trouble.
Actually, I see now what you mean about "ANY verb" having the purpose of "linking a subject to a predicate". However, the use of "link" in this case is the same as in the often-taught term "linking verb". It's not just any relation; "Tom went to the shop" does not at all match the concept of Tom with the concept of a shop. --Fashnek 05:59, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Forms of "to be"
What are "am" and "are" doing at in this list? "To be" is sufficient. — 217.46.147.13 (talk) 16:38, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Consistency
Every example given uses "Tom" as the subject, except for one: "taste 'The gâteau tastes delightful.'" For the sake of consistency, I think we should replace this with "Tom tastes delightful." Mmm, that would be much better. —Iamthedeus (talk) 21:38, 10 May 2008 (UTC)
