She seems single?

[keannu]

Is it true that seem should go with "to be" to denote one's social status or identity like in the following, while it's forgiven for adjectives?

ex)She seems (to be) very happy.
She seems to be singleoops:seems single)
He seems to be a studentoops:seems a student)

 

[JTRiff]

Non-teacher

It looks wrong - She acts single feels better here.
But, She seems happy.... seems to be correct.. but is it?

 

[keannu]

Non-teacher

It looks wrong - She acts single feels better here.
But, She seems happy.... seems to be correct.. but is it?

I'm sorry, I don't get it.

 

[freezeframe]

Is it true that seem should go with "to be" to denote one's social status or identity like in the following, while it's forgiven for adjectives?

ex)She seems (to be) very happy.
She seems to be singleoops:seems single)
He seems to be a studentoops:seems a student)

You can read here about linking verbs.

B. To be can occur between the linking verb and the complement. Although this "to be" is not necessary, both American English and British English prefer an infinitive construction with to be rather than simply a noun phrase.

• She seems (to be) all right.
• He proved (to be) a good husband.
• She appears (to be) exhausted.

 

[allenman]

• She seems (to be) all right. (Both are correct, both are used equally in AmE)
  
• He proved (to be) a good husband. (No, you can't say "He proved a good husband" -- that is a nonsense sentence)
  
• She appears (to be) exhausted. (Again, both are equally used)
  

See comments in blue above.

Not a teacher, just a native

 

[joham]

Martin Hewings's ADVANCED GRAMMAR IN USE: Unit 26
D appear, seem
After appear (= seems true) and seem we sometimes use to be before an adjective:
He seems/appears (to be) very nervous.
We include to be before the adjectives alive, alone, asleep, and awake:
I didn't go in because she appeared to be asleep, (not ...appeared asleep.)
Before a noun we include to be when the noun tells us who or what the subject is, but can often
leave it out when we give our opinion of the person or thing in the subject. We leave out to be in
more formal English. Compare:
He went through what appeared to be a locked door, (not ...appeared a locked door.)
She seems (to be) a very efficient salesperson.
Notice that we include to be before -ing forms (growing, moving, etc.):
It seems to be growing rapidly.

 

[joham]

Definition and pronunciation of prove | Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
2 linking verb if something proves dangerous, expensive, etc. or if it proves to be dangerous, etc, you discover that it is dangerous, etc. over a period of time
Synonym
turn out+ adjective The opposition proved too strong for him.It was proving extremely difficult to establish the truth.+ noun Shares in the industry proved a poor investment.His lack of experience may prove a problem in a crisis.prove to be something The promotion proved to be a turning point in his career.Their fears proved to be groundless.

 

[joham]

I was reading about the linking verbs in the book BRITISH OR AMERICAN ENGLISH? when I happened to see this thread and would like to copy the following, thinking it might be a bit of help to the discussion:

A group of copular verbs ( feel, look, seem, sound, etc.) have predominantly adjectival complements in common-core English, but also have nominal subject complements in British more frequently than in American.
appear Appear to be / like <As he did so, what had appeared an outside
chance of Britain winning its first track gold of the Games moved closer to
evens.> 1996 Aug. 3 Times 45/1.

 

[freezeframe]

He proved (to be) a good husband. (No, you can't say "He proved a good husband" -- that is a nonsense sentence)

I disagree that it's nonsense. It's simply a construction that we don't use anymore, preferring to insert to be.

 

[5jj]

I disagree that it's nonsense. It's simply a construction that we don't use anymore, preferring to insert to be.

I agree that it is not nonsense; indeed we do say it, at least in BrE.

 

[BobK]

He proved (to be) a good husband. (No, you can't say "He proved a good husband" -- that is a nonsense sentence)

Smile when you say that - it's fine in Br English.

b

 

[Allen165]

NOT A TEACHER.

I also agree that "He proved a good husband" is good English. I would argue that using "prove" without "to be" gives the sentence a more literary sound.