The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 441–443 · Part 2: Part Second
122. The copula, predicate adjectives and predicate nouns
Goal: Your child recognizes linking verbs like is and was and the adjective or noun that follows them.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- Paper and pencil (a notebook kept just for this book works well)
What's in the book
Section 441 shows the little verbs is, am, was, were, has been, will be, which tie the subject to an adjective in the predicate (The robin is cheery), and calls them the copula. Section 442 shows the predicate noun (John is my brother). Section 443 gives twelve sentences to find the copula and say whether a noun or adjective follows.
The lesson, step by step
The coupler (Section 441)
Read the five example sentences.
The robin is cheery.
Ask: What does "cheery" describe? Where does it stand? The verb "is" ties them together, like a coupler between train cars.
Make sentences
Your child changes the ten phrases in Section 441 into sentences: "The merry boy" into "The boy is merry."
Predicate nouns (Section 442)
John is my brother.
Read the ten sentences. Your child finds the noun after the copula that tells what the subject is.
Noun or adjective? (Section 443)
Read the twelve sentences aloud. For each, your child names the copula and says whether a noun or an adjective follows.
Check it gently
Compare with the Answers. If your child mixes them up, ask: "Does the word name something, or describe it?"
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
The soup is hot. (is, adjective hot)
My uncle is a farmer. (is, noun farmer)
The sky was gray all day. (was, adjective gray)
Answers to the book's problems
Section 441: The girls are rosy-cheeked. The children are merry. The apple is juicy. The load is heavy. The horse is gentle. The lesson is difficult. The cloud is fleecy. The river is turbulent. The house is old. The paper is yellow. Section 442 (subject | predicate noun): 1. Those ships | warships. 2. The mountain which you see | Mount Shasta. 3. Madrid | capital. 4. His speech | event. 5. Fruit | export. 6. Samuel Adams | statesman. 7. The golden-rod | flower. 8. The name of that famous inventor | Edison. 9. You | patriot. 10. The Marseillaise | hymn. Section 443: 1. are, noun (thumbs). 2. is, noun (friend). 3. is, noun (father). 4. is, adjective (beautiful). 5. are, noun (travellers). 6. are, adjective (new). 7. is, adjective (calm). 8. are, noun (princes). 9. is, noun (sluggard). 10. is, noun (John Bull). 11. is, noun (soul). 12. is, noun (temperance); is, noun (fortitude).
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.