Results 1 to 4 of 4
Like Tree1Likes
  • 1 Post By uniopp

Thread: Verb + Verb

  1. #1
    uniopp is offline Newbie
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • Japanese
      • Home Country:
      • Japan
      • Current Location:
      • Japan
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    20

    Default Verb + Verb

    Hi,
    Could someone please explain the grammar of the following sentence -

    "All he does is speak English".

    Is "All he does" the subject, "is" the be verb, "speak" a verb and "English" the noun?

    I'm confused with "is speak". Is it ok to have verb + verb?

    In fact "does is speak" is verb + verb + verb.

    I only studied "to speak" like in "I want to learn to speak English" so "is speak" seems strange.

    A break down of the subject/object/verb in the sentence and any explanation would be good.

    Thanks
    onurediperu likes this.

  2. #2
    corum is offline Banned
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Interested in Language
      • Native Language:
      • Hungarian
      • Home Country:
      • Hungary
      • Current Location:
      • Hungary
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    1,121

    Default Re: Verb + Verb

    Quote Originally Posted by uniopp View Post
    Hi,
    Could someone please explain the grammar of the following sentence -

    "All he does is speak English".

    Is "All he does" the subject, "is" the be verb, "speak" a verb and "English" the noun?

    I'm confused with "is speak". Is it ok to have verb + verb?

    In fact "does is speak" is verb + verb + verb.

    I only studied "to speak" like in "I want to learn to speak English" so "is speak" seems strange.

    A break down of the subject/object/verb in the sentence and any explanation would be good.

    Thanks
    Pseudo-cleft.

    All (that) he does is (to) speak English.
    What he does is (to) speak English.
    To speak English is what he does. That is what he does.

    (to) speak English = bare infinitive in form and predicate nominative in function.

  3. #3
    billmcd is offline Key Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • United States
      • Current Location:
      • United States
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    3,206

    Default Re: Verb + Verb

    "All he does (noun clause, subject) is (verb) speak English (subject complement)".

  4. #4
    uniopp is offline Newbie
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • Japanese
      • Home Country:
      • Japan
      • Current Location:
      • Japan
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    20

    Default Re: Verb + Verb

    Thanks for your help.
    As I understand it -

    All he does = noun clause (subject)
    is = be verb
    speak = linking verb
    English = noun (predicate nominative/subject complement)

    Is that correct?

Similar Threads

  1. Phrasal verb + ?
    By Linguist__ in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 23-Mar-2010, 09:05
  2. Verb
    By Keralite in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 10-Nov-2008, 09:28
  3. Confused
    By Fame in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-Nov-2008, 13:38
  4. Replies: 13
    Last Post: 28-Sep-2008, 12:41
  5. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 24-Sep-2008, 05:20

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Hotchalk

Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.1