Question
Aggiornato il
30 apr 2018
- Giapponese
-
Inglese (Stati Uniti)
Domande Inglese (Stati Uniti)
The meaning of be verb.
I hear some native speakers say the be verb means "to exist" or "to be equal to", while others say there's no meaning in be and it just links subjects and predicates.
I think both explanations are valid because they are made by natives, who I guess do not pay much attention to grammar when speaking their mother tongue. But I do want to know what lies in their(your) mind when using be.
What do you think is the meaning of be?
The meaning of be verb.
I hear some native speakers say the be verb means "to exist" or "to be equal to", while others say there's no meaning in be and it just links subjects and predicates.
I think both explanations are valid because they are made by natives, who I guess do not pay much attention to grammar when speaking their mother tongue. But I do want to know what lies in their(your) mind when using be.
What do you think is the meaning of be?
I hear some native speakers say the be verb means "to exist" or "to be equal to", while others say there's no meaning in be and it just links subjects and predicates.
I think both explanations are valid because they are made by natives, who I guess do not pay much attention to grammar when speaking their mother tongue. But I do want to know what lies in their(your) mind when using be.
What do you think is the meaning of be?
Risposte
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Utente eliminato
To be has two functions
1. To exist
2. To be equal to
In Korean, for example, they have two different forms of to be for these two functions. In English you use them for both:
I am here. (I exist here)
I am Stella. (I equals Stella because I am Stella)
As for the linking subjects and predicates, that actually come from both meanings. Because English people often say stuff like:
Oh so it's like that?
It's: it is
So why must you use is here? It's actually because you're indirectly saying that it is the same as/equals the word THAT.
What's more is that when using the word like this, in your mind you don't see it like that. You'll think it doesn't have a meaning, because in a sense it doesn't.
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- Olandese
- Inglese (Regno Unito)
- Inglese (Stati Uniti)
“To be” has a LOT of meanings in English and is used in many phrasal verbs as well.
The first meaning that comes to mind is “to exist”. Even other words stem from this, like “being”: a living thing.
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