Copulative Verbs (explained with examples)

Copulative verbs

Copulative verbs express a state or a condition, but they do not do so fully. By not expressing the totality of the action, copulative verbs require the presence of a structure called predicative subjective mandatory, which completes the sense. For example: Home It seems abandoned.

The copulative verb par excellence is "to be". So if someone claims My mother isIt is logical and expected to complete the expression with an adjective or with a substantive construction that reflects a characteristic of the mother.

In no case can the sentence end there, unlike what would happen if it said My mother cooks. This last situation exemplifies a predicative verb, with full meaning, which may or may not be followed by complements.

Examples of copulative verbs

Unlike all the other categories of verbs, the copulatives compose a limited list and around which some discussions persist.

Some grammarians affirm that there are thirteen copulative verbs, while others maintain that there are actually only three really copulative verbs (ser, be and seem), and the other ten would belong to an intermediate category called "pseudocopulatives" where, on occasions, the need for the complement may not Appear.

In either case, here is the complete list of copulative and pseudocopulative verbs:

1. To be. Landscape it is magnificent.
2. To be. you guys is it so calm because they know the truth.
3. Seem. The exam It seems simple but it is not.
4. Result. All this business result very uncomfortable for the family.
5. Resemble. They put together a set that resembled the bottom of the sea.
6. Stay. The spectators they remained in silence throughout the recital.
7. Follow. They recommended me follow, continue informational signs to get there faster.
8. Lie. In that valley lie archaeological remains dating from the Paleozoic.
9. Become. Over time, all the paperwork they turned too cumbersome.
10. To be made. After a long time, they were made good friends.
11. Become. The post it became too heavy for me.
12. To put on. Both parts they got agree in a heartbeat.
13. To stay. Birds they remained motionless despite the wind.

Transitive verbs

The concept of copulative verb should not be confused with that of transitive verb. The latter also need a structure that complements them, which is generally a Direct complement.

The category of ‘transitive’ is used in opposition to its counterpart, that of verbs intransitive verbs, which do not admit any direct complement.

If we say This week I read a magazineIt is clear that the verb ‘I read’ does not require the presence of a Direct Complement (since the sentence could have ended there in the verb), but it does admit it.

Instead, if we say His father cried, there is no possibility of placing a Direct Plugin (yes other types of plugins).

In neither of the two cases is it a copulative verb, since the possibility of being complemented appears by the context of the sentence (even the same verb can appear as transitive and intransitive) and not because of the condition of the verb as a link, as it happens in verbs of the type copulative.

Other types of verbs: