I have these two sentences: The family of Johnsons in 1980 are heartbroken. They, like all families around them, appear to have given up. When I read it, a lot of things are wrong and awkward about this sentence. My question: Is “of Johnsons” a misplaced modifier? Also, given that the two sentences have to … Read more
I found this sentence in a blog post and the poster has used a linking verb followed by a past participle verb form in a sentence, which gives me a bit of confusing. Here is the sentence below: In hospital, she felt stripped of all her dignity. The part I don’t understand here is the … Read more
I am writing a sentence that contains a list of elements in it. Some of the elements are formed with linking verbs and some with action verbs. For example: Laura is a sexy lady, smells heavenly, dances salsa gracefully, and plays soccer in her free time. To me, somehow, mixing linking verbs (is, smells) and … Read more
Only an auxiliary verb is repeated in tag questions. My question is which auxiliary verb should be used in the tag when the main verb of the sentence is a linking verb other than ‘be’? You look a bit sacred, don’t you? Or, You look a bit scared, aren’t you? She seems happy, doesn’t she? … Read more
Here I am again. Well, cutting to the chase: I was reading about linking verbs and saw an example: Opportunity is missed by most people, so one question arose: Are all statements in passive voice used with complements? Check it: I sent a letter A letter was sent In the first example, send is a … Read more
I’m looking for a linking word that can connect two sentences: Omitting the predefined parameter relaxes the potential charging destinations at a step to be the entire sensors, thereby expanding the potential trajectory space. ______, it requires the charging algorithm to strike a balance between extending the network lifetime and the efficiency of the MC. … Read more
According to a grammar book called Grammar in Use Before a noun we include to be when the nouns tells us what the subject is, but often leave it out when we give our opinion…We leave out to be in formal English. For example : He walked into what seemed to be cave. ( not … Read more
Consider the sentence: Our son, John, is 15 and our daughter, Mary, 11. Is it grammatical? I have read such omission of the linking verb (especially is) in a sentence with a compound subject. I wanted to know if the linking verb attaches to both the subjects. Is the above preferred to the more straightforward … Read more
By the most strict rules of the English language, can you actually say "the purpose is to claim that…" or "her purpose is to embarrass him…" etc. Colloquially, this and phrases like it (i.e. phrases with a noun linked to an infinitive via a linking verb) are said often, but I wonder if it is … Read more
Using the example sentence in the title, would you use the plural linking verb "are" or singular linking verb "is"? The same question can be applied to anything with the following format: (action verb ending with -ing) (prepositional phrase) (singular or plural linking verb) (adjective) To take a step further, here are my reasoning for … Read more
