Thanks for your response, Kathleen.  I do follow what you're saying about
explaining it as a complement.  To satisfy my own curiosity about "like" in
this case, would "like summer" be a transposition of "summer-like" and
consequently operate as an adjective?  Heather

On 9/23/04 3:08 PM, "Kathleen M. Ward" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I would say that many, many copulative/linking/intensive verbs are
> followed by prepositional phrases as part of their complementation:
>
> He was under several delusions
>
> The now turned into slush
>
> They continued in their several perceptions (Henry James, I think)
>
> They felt under an obligation
>
> etc.
>
> I would just say that copulative/linking/intensive verbs often have
> the potential to be followed by
>
> an Adjective Phrase
>
> a Noun Phrase
>
> or
>
> a Prepositional Phrase
>
> but I would not say that these prepositional phrases are adverbial,
> just another form of subject complement.
>
> I defer to others, with better drawing programs (and abilities) to
> produce a tree diagram, but I would do the sentence in question as a
> complement, not an adjunct modifier.
>
> KMW
>
>
>
>
>> I know we recently tossed around the classifications of "such as" and "for
>> example," but a student stumped me with this one:
>>
>> What is the function of the word "like" in the following sentence: "It feels
>> like summer"?  Would "like summer" be an adverb clause describing how "it"
>> feels?  I recognize "it" as the dummy placeholder subject, but "feels" here
>> works as a linking verb describing a perception and should therefore be
>> followed by an adjective instead of an adverb, right?   How would you work
>> this out on a tree diagram?
>>
>> I found this in the OED:
>>
>>    7. predicatively, in certain idiomatic uses, chiefly with the vbs. feel,
>> look, sound:    a. With gerund as regimen: Having the appearance of (doing
>> something).    b. Giving promise of (doing something); indicating the
>> probable presence of (something).    c. colloq. In recent use (orig. U.S.),
>> to feel like: to have an inclination for, be in the humour for.
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Heather Fester
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