Thank you, Dick. Just as you did, I have my students look at grammar alwasys in terms of meaning. Ed >>> "Dick Veit, UNCW English Dept." <[log in to unmask]> 03/25 9:35 AM >>> At 11:27 PM 3/24/99 -0600, you wrote: >Just to add one more point to the "John is" construction. One of the >famous aphorisms in Western thought is: > >I think, therefore I am. > >I have no sense that "I am" is incomplete. > >Bob Yates Yes, but in this case, "am" is not a linking verb. It's being used intrasitively, as a synonym for "exist" or "live." Same with "To be, or not to be." Dick Veit