Rebecca Wheeler wrote:

> I think, therefore I am = I think, therefore I exist.
> John is ___ = John is happy and well rested. NOT "John exists happy and
well
> rested."
>
> so, the 'BE' verb in "I think, therefore I am" is of the meaning "exist."
If
> there were to be any post-verbal modifiers on it, they would be adverbial
in
> nature, methinks -- like "I am happily, robustly, etc."

Yes, of course "BE" has these two meanings. It seems to me, however, that
we wouldn't say, "I am happily." Instead we would say, "I exist happily."
In fact, "I am happily" sounds like a case of first language interference
in a non-native speaker. This meaning of "BE" doesn't seem to take an
adverbial modifier (at least I can't think of one). How, I wonder, would we
explain this phenomenon?

Curiously yours,

Paul E. Doniger
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