COPULATIVE VERBS: Unlike most verbs, they do not show action. They must be modified by adjectives, not
adverbs.
Be Appear Feel Become Seem Look Remain Sound Smell Stay Taste
EXAMPLES:
The flowers smell sweet.
The soup tastes good.
He bought a fast car. (Adjective)
He was driving so fast that he got a speeding ticket. (Adverb)
That was a costly mistake.
I found Houston a very friendly city.
Juan is an exceptionally good student.
He did very well on the last test.
The structure of the sentence, when adverbials are placed at the beginning, becomes-
Hardly Rarely Seldom + Auxiliary verb + Subject + Verb Never Only |
Rarely do we watch television during the week.
(We rarely watch television during the week.)
Seldom do I get good grades without studying
(I seldom get good grades without studying.)
Only by staying up all night can John finish his work.
(John can finish this work only by staying up all night.)
Warning
Always remember to use the subjective form of pronoun after ‘than’ such as
It’s never correct to say ‘Maksud is happier than him’. We have to always use ‘Maksud is happier than
he(is)’ since the subjective form of ‘him’ is ‘he’.
Double comparative:
If any sentence begins with a comparative construction, the following construction should also be in a similar comparative.
There are two ways to do it. They are-
i) The + comparative + subject + verb + the + comparative + subject + verb
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
ii) The more + subject + verb + the + comparative + subject + verb
The more we study, the more we learn.
Illogical comparison:
An illogical comparison occurs when a sentence compares two things that aren't of the same type:
Jimmy’s restaurant has more customers than Bob does.
Even though it might seem fine, this sentence is comparing "Jimmy's restaurant" with "Bob," which
makes no sense. In order to correct it, we have to alter the wording so that the two things being
compared are the same type of thing:
Jimmy’s restaurant has more customers than Bob's restaurant does.
This sentence, though correct, sounds pretty repetitive. To streamline it, we can drop the second
"restaurant":
Jimmy’s restaurant has more customers than Bob's does.
Or we could use the phrase “than that/those of” depending on the number.
Jimmy’s restaurant has more customers than that of Bob.