LESSON THREE

LESSON THREE
TO BE, OR NOT TO BE
THAT TRULY IS THE QUESTION

Now that you have a basic understanding of parts of a sentence and the basic tenses of verbs, we can take a closer look at the linking verb.

Some verbs help to make a statement by serving as a link between two words. These verbs are linking verbs or state-of-being verbs

The verb “to be” is the most frequently used linking verb.
         Be          shall be          should be
         Being          will be          would be
         Am          has been          can be
         Is          have been          could be
         Are          had been          should have been
         Was          shall have bee          would have been
         Were          will have been          could have been

The verb “to be,” however, is not the only linking verb.

Here are some frequently used linking verbs.
         Appear          grow          seem          stay
         Become          look          smell          taste
         Feel          remain          sound          turn

In a sentence that uses a linking verbs, the complement is know as a predicate nominative or predicate adjective, and the complement refers back to the subject.

The answer is three. [answer (subject) = three (predicate nominative) The two are the same.]

Rhonda will be the captain. [Rhonda (subject) = captain (predicate nominative) The two are the same. ]

The casserole tasted strange. [casserole (subject) = strange (predicate adjective) “Strange describes the casserole.]

The worker looked tired. [worker (subject) = tired (predicate adjective) “Tired” describes the worker.]

Many of the linking verbs listed above are also used as action verbs. This is why it was necessary to learn the parts of a sentence.

Sam tasted the casserole. [Sam = subject, tasted = action verb, casserole = direct object.]

The worker looked at the mess. [worker = subject, looked = action verb]

VERB PHRASES

The forms of the verb “to be” can also be used as helping or auxiliary verbs to create a verb phrase.

A verb phrase consists of a main verb that is preceded by one or more helping verbs.

The following are also used as helping verbs.
         Has          shall          may          could          do
         Have          will          should          might          did
         Had          can          would          must          does

Although using the verb “to be” and other linking verbs is not passive writing, when these verbs overly pepper your writing, it becomes boring to read.

EXAMPLES
The coffee was lukewarm. It was on the table.(linking)
The mug of lukewarm coffee sat on the table.(action)

Arthur Ashe is a tennis player.(linking)
Arthur Ashe plays professional tennis.(action)

The watch was expensive.(linking)
Sally wore an expensive watch.(action)

CAUTION

Using linking verbs to break things up helps to create a rhythm in your writing.
If you are always using action verbs, you have the potential of exhausting your reader, just like using all linking verbs can bore your reader.

In Lesson Two, we focused on the six basic tenses. When we use the verb “to be” as a helping verb with the –ing form of a verb, we are writing in the progressive form.

The six progressive forms of a verb are constructed by combining simple and perfect tenses of “to be” with the present participle (-ing) of a verb. (Lesson Two)

FIRST THE BASIC TENSES OF “TO BE”

PRESENT TENSE OF THE VERB “BE” (an irregular verb – probably the most misused irregular verb)
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I am here.                    We are here.
SECOND PERSON: You are here.                    You are here.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it is here.                    They are here.
                   James is here.                    The students are here.

PAST TENSE OF THE VERB “BE” (an irregular verb – probably the most misused irregular verb)
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I was here.                    We were here.
SECOND PERSON: You were here.                    You were here.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it was here.                    They were here.
                    James was here.                    The students were here.

FUTURE TENSE OF THE VERB “BE” (an irregular verb – probably the most misused irregular verb)
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I will be here.                    We will be here.
SECOND PERSON: You will be here.                    You will be here.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it will be here.                    They will be here.
                   James will be here.                    The students will be here.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE OF THE VERB “BE” (an irregular verb – probably the most misused irregular verb)
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I have been here.                    We have been here.
SECOND PERSON: You have been here.                    You have been here.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it has been here.                    They have been here.
                   James has been here.                    The students have been here.

PAST PERFECT TENSE OF THE VERB “BE” (an irregular verb – probably the most misused irregular verb)
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I had been here.                    We had been here.
SECOND PERSON: You had been here.                    You had been here.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it had been here.                    They had been here.
                   James had been here.                    The students had been here.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE OF THE VERB “BE” (an irregular verb – probably the most misused irregular verb)
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I will have been here.                     We will have been here.
SECOND PERSON: You will have been here.                    You will have been here.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it will have been here.                    They will have been here.
                   James will have been here.                    The students will have been here.

PROGRESSIVE FORM OF A VERB USING “TO BE” AS A HELPING VERB

PRESENT TENSE
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I am dancing.                    We are dancing.
SECOND PERSON: You are dancing.                    You are dancing.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it is dancing.                    They are dancing.
                   James is dancing.                    The students are dancing.

PAST TENSE
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I was dancing.                    We were dancing.
SECOND PERSON: You were dancing.                    You were dancing.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it was dancing.                    They were dancing.
                   James was dancing.                    The students were dancing.

FUTURE TENSE
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I will be dancing.                     We will be dancing.
SECOND PERSON: You will be dancing.                    You will be dancing.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it will be dancing.                    They will be dancing.
                   James will be dancing.                    The students will be dancing.

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I have been dancing.                    We have been dancing.
SECOND PERSON: You have been dancing.                    You have been dancing.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it has been dancing.                    They have been dancing.
                   James has been dancing.                    The students have been dancing.

PAST PERFECT TENSE
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I had been dancing.                    We had been dancing.
SECOND PERSON: You had been dancing.                    You had been dancing.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it had been dancing.                    They had been dancing.
                   James had been dancing.                    The students had been dancing.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
                   SINGULAR                    PLURAL
FIRST PERSON: I will have been dancing.                    We will have been dancing.
SECOND PERSON: You will have been dancing.                    You will have been dancing.
THIRD PERSON: She, he, or it will have been dancing.                    They will have been dancing.
                   James will have been dancing.                    The students will have been dancing.

GRAMMAR ASSIGNMENT
For each word group below, combine the verb (listed first) with the other words to create a sentence. This will give you a sentence with a linking verb. Then, revise the sentence (adding and changing words when necessary) to use an action verb: first revision=one of the six basic forms; second revision=one of the progressive forms. (Refer to lesson two if necessary.) Finally, identify which form you used for each revision.

EXAMPLE
GIVEN WORDS: Is Dr. Anderson, our family doctor
SENTENCE: Dr. Anderson is our family doctor. (using linking verb)
REVISION: Dr. Anderson, our family doctor, traveled to Europe for a vacation. (basic form: past tense)
REVISION: Dr. Anderson, our family doctor, is retiring in May. (progressive form: present)

1. had been Billie Holiday, a singer of blues
2. looks the frightened animal
3. grew the restless audience
4. tastes that bitter medicine
5. remained the calm lake
6. seems their odd behavior
7. may become one daughter, a famous pianist
8. smelled the slightly sour milk
9. could be real sea serpents
10. appeared the fully recovered patient

WRITTEN EXERCISE
Work to write a short scene for a story using only "to be" verbs.

DISCUSSION TOPIC
Write two different sentences that use linking verbs for others to revise. Make sure to visit at least one person's discussion topic post and revise the sentences they list into sentences using active verbs.