A problem with an "-n't" test of linking verbs is that forms of "do,"
"have," and the modals also take "n't".

I also don't think we can recommend using now/then time adverbs to test
tense, since we use present tense for past ("Yesterday this guy walks up
to me and says...") and future ("Tomorrow I take a vacation") and
ongoing statements ("Haste makes waste"). Tense is a grammatical
category only loosely related to chronological time.

Dick Veit
________________________________
 
Richard Veit
Department of English
University of North Carolina Wilmington

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Johanna Rubba
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 12:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A Lesson on "Be" Verbs

It should be easy for students to find "be" verbs in a sentence, even 
if they don't know they are forms of "be". Tell them to put a 
contracted negative "-n't" in the sentence. If there is a form of "be" 
in the sentence, that's what they'll attach it to.

It's true, isn't it, that the negative marker always attaches to the 
finite element of the verb phrase? Since the contracted negative marker 
attaches directly to the finite element, it is very useful, even if not 
preferred in formal writing. It's just a device for finding things.

As to figuring out whether and which tense the form is marked for, ask 
students to put a time adverb in the sentence: "now", "then". "Now" 
will usually indicate present and "then" past.

Does anyone on this list actually try this stuff?

Dr. Johanna Rubba, Associate Professor, Linguistics

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