Linking Verb

[Lucky]

He is home.

I always thought a linking verb must be followed by adjective or noun (below):

He is happy.
He is a general.

Could a linking verb be followed by an adverb?

Thank you.

 

[TheParser]

He is home.

I always thought a linking verb must be followed by adjective or noun (below):

NOT A TEACHER


(1) May I suggest that "is" in "He is home" is not a linking verb.

(2) As you know, sometimes "to be" is a "real" verb that means something like to

exist. You remember Shakespeare's famous "To be or not to be." That is, to exist/live

or not.

(3) As the Editor said, the perfect sentence (according to the rules) is "He is at home." It answers the question: Where is he? (Which "proves" that the "is" in your sentence is not a linking verb.) Of course, many speakers delete (drop) the "at" in ordinary conversation and ordinary writing.


***

(4) In "He went home," the noun "home" is being used as an adverb to modify a verb

of motion. This is one of those exceptions that you find in any language.

 

[Lucky]

He is home.

I always thought a linking verb must be followed by adjective or noun (below):

NOT A TEACHER


(1) May I suggest that "is" in "He is home" is not a linking verb.

(2) As you know, sometimes "to be" is a "real" verb that means something like to

exist. You remember Shakespeare's famous "To be or not to be." That is, to exist/live

or not.

(3) As the Editor said, the perfect sentence (according to the rules) is "He is at home." It answers the question: Where is he? (Which "proves" that the "is" in your sentence is not a linking verb.) Of course, many speakers delete (drop) the "at" in ordinary conversation and ordinary writing.


***

(4) In "He went home," the noun "home" is being used as an adverb to modify a verb

of motion. This is one of those exceptions that you find in any language.

Thank you both.

May I just add:

So, in my sentence "is" isn't a linking verb (He is at home), but a state of being verb.

And, all linking verbs must be followed by predicate adjectives and predicate nouns.

 

[TheParser]

Thank you both.

May I just add:

So, in my sentence "is" isn't a linking verb (He is at home), but a state of being verb.

And, all linking verbs must be followed by predicate adjectives and predicate nouns.

NOT A TEACHER


(1) IMHO, you are 100% correct about your sentence.

(2) Regarding your second statement, you are again 99.99% correct. As Professors

House and Harman's book taught me: occasionally a linking verb is followed by a

prepositional phrase. Consider:

(a) The teacher is in his office. ( A full verb, similar to your sentence.)

(b) The teacher is in a very bad mood. (A prepositional phrase acting like

an adjective. Maybe something like: the teacher is upset/angry/etc.)


(Both sentences come from the professors' Descriptive English Grammar. I changed the
second sentence slightly.)

 

[Curt Jugg]

NOT A TEACHER

There is also some guidance on this site:


Copular Verbs « English Practice – Learn and Practice English Online

 

[Lucky]

NOT A TEACHER


(1) IMHO, you are 100% correct about your sentence.

(2) Regarding your second statement, you are again 99.99% correct. As Professors

House and Harman's book taught me: occasionally a linking verb is followed by a

prepositional phrase. Consider:

(a) The teacher is in his office. ( A full verb, similar to your sentence.)

(b) The teacher is in a very bad mood. (A prepositional phrase acting like

an adjective. Maybe something like: the teacher is upset/angry/etc.)


(Both sentences come from the professors' Descriptive English Grammar. I changed the
second sentence slightly.)

Once again, thank you (and you too Curt Jugg). Thank you also for sharing insight on prepositional phrase acting as predicate adjective.

What if I were to rewrite your sentence:

The teacher's mood is very bad.

Now, we have a linking verb followed by adjective. But, I still like your example better. Thanks.