How to Use Copulas
- 1). Use a copula instead of an action verb to convey what the subject or noun of your sentence is doing. Using a copula gives the listener or reader an idea of how the subject in a sentence is feeling or expresses the link between the verb and how he feels about it. An example of the use of a copula might be "When I grow up I want to be a movie star." The copula in this instance is "to be". Another way to write or say it might be "When I grow up I want to become a movie star". Here the copula is expressing the same idea with the words "to become".
- 2). Check your sentence to tell if a verb is a copula or an action verb. Substitute another verb in place of what might be the copula. Looking at a sentence like "John looks ill", you might substitute the verb "is" or "was" in place of "looks". If your substitutions make sense then the verb "looks" is used as a copula.
To decide if a verb is a copula and not an action verb, simply reverse this process and substitute the words "to be" or one of its forms, for the verb in the sentence. "I jumped for joy" includes the action verb "jumped". If you try to substitute a copula into the sentence such as "to be" or "become" instead of "jumped" it will make very little sense. ("I to be for joy" or "I become for joy") This shows you that the word "jumped" is an action verb and not a copula. - 3). Use a copula as a way of expressing connections between nouns and identity, classification and relation. There are many examples used in everyday language such as, "I want to be a movie star", "That dog could be a Spaniel" or "It's lonesome to be alone on a Sunday afternoon".
Choose to use a copula to better show your listener or reader the connection between the subject of your sentence and your predicate.
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