English Grammar For Dummies - Woods Geraldine

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heels = stunning (stunning is a description, also called an adjective)

      Oscar’s foot, wounded by Renee’s heels, seems particularly painful.

      foot = painful (painful is a description, an adjective)

      Lola’s solution, to staple Oscar’s toes together, is not very helpful.

      solution = helpful (helpful is a description, an adjective. The other descriptive words, not and very, describe helpful, not solution.)

      You may also complete a linking verb equation with a person, place, or thing – a noun, in grammatical terms. Here are some examples:

      The most important part of Lulu’s diet is popcorn.

      part of Lulu’s diet = popcorn (popcorn is a thing, and therefore a noun)

      Lulu’s nutritional consultant has always been a complete fraud.

      Lulu’s nutritional consultant = fraud (fraud is a noun)

      Sometimes you complete a linking verb sentence with a pronoun, a word that substitutes for the name of a person, place, or thing. For example:

      The winner of the all-state spitball contest is you!

      winner = you (you is a substitute for the name of the winner, and therefore a pronoun)

      The murderer is someone in this room.

      The murderer = someone (someone is a substitute for the name of the unknown killer and therefore a pronoun)

      You can’t do much wrong when you complete linking verb sentences with descriptions or with nouns. However, when you’re writing, you can do a lot wrong when the completion of a linking verb sentence is a pronoun. (In speaking, most people don’t worry about this rule.)

      Think of a linking-verb sentence as reversible. That is, the pronoun you put after a linking verb should be the same kind of pronoun that you put before a linking verb. Here’s what I mean. Read these sentence pairs:

      The winner of the election is him!

      Him is the winner of the election!

      Uh oh. Something’s wrong. You don’t say him is. You say he is. Because you have a linking verb (is), you must put the same word after the linking verb that you would put before the linking verb. Try again:

      The winner of the election is he!

      He is the winner of the election!

      Now you’ve got the correct ending for your sentence.

      

Subject pronouns, which complete linking-verb sentences correctly, are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, and whoever. Pronouns that are not allowed to be subjects include me, him, her, us, them, whom, and whomever. (In case you're curious, these pronouns act as objects. More on objects in Chapter 7.)

      

In the previous examples, I discuss formal English, not conversational English. In conversational English, the following exchange is okay:

      Who’s there?

      It is me. OR It’s me.

      In formal English, the exchange goes like this:

      Who is there?

      It is I.

      Because of the linking verb is, you want the same kind of pronoun before and after the linking verb. You can’t start a sentence with me, but you can start a sentence with I.

      Now you’ve probably, with your sharp eyes, found a flaw here. You can’t reverse the last reply and say

      I is it.

      I takes a different verb – am. Both is and am are forms of the verb to be – one of the most peculiar creations in the entire language. So yes, you sometimes have to adjust the verb when you reverse a sentence with a form of to be in it. But the idea is the same: I can be a subject; me can’t.

Lights! Camera! Action verb!

      Linking verbs are important, but unless you’ve won the lottery, you just can’t sit around being all the time. You have to do something. (And even if you did win the lottery, you’d be bored without something to do.) Here's where action verbs come into the picture. Everything that is not being is action, at least in the verb world. Unlike the giant equal sign associated with linking verbs (see “Linking Verbs: The Giant Equal Sign,” earlier in the chapter), something happens with an action verb:

      Drew slapped the thief who stole the briefcase. (Slapped and stole are action verbs.)

      Fred will run to third base as soon as his sneezing fit ends. (Will run and ends are action verbs.)

      According to the teacher, Roger has shot at least 16 spitballs in the last ten minutes. (Has shot is an action verb.)

      

Don’t let the name action fool you. Some action verbs aren’t particularly energetic: think, sit, stay, have, sleep, dream, and so forth. Besides describing my ideal vacation, these words are also action verbs! Think of the definition this way: If the verb is not a giant equal sign (a linking verb), it’s an action verb.

      Calling the Help Line for Verbs

      You’ve probably noticed that some of the verbs I’ve identified throughout this chapter are single words and others are made up of several words. The extra words are called helping verbs. They don’t carry out the trash or dust the living room, but they do help the main verb express meaning, usually changing the time, or tense, of the action. (For more on tense, see Chapter 6.)

Timing is everything: Creating a time frame with helping verbs

      Helping verbs often signal when the action or state of being is occurring. Here are some sentences with helping verbs that create a time line:

      Alice will sing five arias from that opera tomorrow evening.

      (Sing is the main verb, and will is a helping verb. Will places the action at some point in the future.)

      Gwen had moved the vase, but the baseball hit it anyway.

      (Moved is the main verb, and had is a helping verb. Hit is a main verb without any helping verbs. Had places the action of moving sometime in the past.)

      Bob and Ellen are admiring Lola’s new tattoo.

      (Admiring is the main verb, and are is a helping verb. Are places the action in the present.)

Don’t ask! Questions and negative statements

      To make your life more complicated, English often throws in a helping verb or two in order to form questions and negative statements. Usually the helping verb and the main verb are separated in this sort of sentence. In questions, the subject (the person or thing performing the action) comes between the helper and the main verb. Not, by the way, is NOT part of the verb. It’s an adverb. (Check Chapter 10 for more about adverbs.) In negative statements, not shows up between the helper and the main verb. In Chapter 6, I explain more about forming questions and negative statements in various verb tenses. For now, check out these examples of questions and negative statements with helping verbs:

      Does the ring in Lulu’s bellybutton rust when she showers?

      (Does is a helping verb, and rust is

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