saeiiiid
What is the granmatical role of this structure? Hi dear native speakers I know that in the following sentence : I learn English The subject is : I The verb is : learn The object : English Now how about this : John is a student. John : Subject Is : verb a student : ??? What is the grammatical role of " a student"? I know it is a phrase comprised of a determiner + a noun, but what is its grammatical role? Is it an OBJECT ? THANKS
Nov 10, 2018 1:52 PM
Answers · 5
4
Hi saeiiiid, In "John is a student", "is" is a linking verb which actually connects the subject (John) to its predicate nominative (a student). A linking verb does not express an action, unlike other verbs such as "learn" or "do". Instead, it describes a quality or state of a subject. In turn, a predicate nominative completes a linking verb and provides more information about the subject. In your sentence, the predicate nominative (i.e. a student) provides more information about who the subject (i.e. John) is. As a side discussion, take a look at these two sentences below: 1. He fails badly. (grammatically correct) "fails" is a verb describing an action; "He" describes the subject doing the action; "badly" is an adverb of manner showing how he failed. However, we do not write: 2. He feels badly. (grammatically wrong) This is because "feel" is another linking verb. "feel" does not describe an action although it is a verb; instead, it describes the state of mind of a person. The sentence should be written as "He feels bad." (Subject--> He / Linking verb --> feels / "bad" --> predicate adjective (since it describes the subject)) I hope this helps.
November 10, 2018
Yes, 'a student' is the object of the sentence. Objects often answer the question 'what'. What is John? John is a student.
November 11, 2018
What a strange question for an English teacher to ask.
November 11, 2018
You need to study subject and predicate. http://www.myschoolhouse.com/courses/O/1/55.asp
November 10, 2018
Why do you think the names of grammatical things are important?.. just wondering?
November 10, 2018
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