What Is a Copula?
A copula is a type of verb that connects the subject of a sentence with all that makes up the predicate. The predicate consists of a word, combination of words, verb, objects or phrases which are not in the subject but are governed by the verb.
The word "copula" comes from a Latin noun meaning a 'tie' or 'link' between two things. Since a copula is a verb that links the subject with a modifier, it is also called a linking verb.
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Identification
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In English copulas can be used to express identity, predication (relation and property attributes), or membership.
Identity can expressed as follows: She doesn't want 'to be' you. Predication can be as follows: Will he 'be' chopping the tree? Membership can be expressed as follows: I 'am' one of them.
Copula can have 'non copular' (auxiliary) uses that make the passive voice (making it an intransitive verb), and to express something happening at that moment. It can also be used to express existence.
Existential Usage of the Copula
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The copula 'to be' has an "existential usage." This means that it expresses existence. It is sometimes hard to tell the difference between its existential usage and its copulative usage.
Within professional linguistics, there is the concept of existential constructions. In its beginnings, this construction used words like 'there' in place of the existential use of a verb.
The concept that copulas can express literal existence is refuted by some such as Abelard. He tested copulas using a "reductio ad absurdum" argument and came to the conclusion that copulas do not express existence. -
Considerations
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A language's most frequently used copula can be referred to as "the copula."
Certain languages don't use the copula as frequently as English does. Languages like Russian, Hebrew, Arabic and Hungarian don't use the copula in the present tense.
In English the copula, "to be," is highly irregular. "To be" conjugates into eight different forms, which are: being, been, be, is, am, was, are and were. This high level of irregularity is common in the Indo-European language family, to which English belongs.
Misconceptions
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The word "copula" is used in fields outside of language. This includes music, statistics and developmental anatomy.
The "membership" use of a copula is sometimes considered to be the only main usage, with all others being subsets.
How to Spot a Copula
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When analyzing a sentence, there is a test to tell if a word is an active verb or a copula. The verb in question is replaced with a conjugation of the copula "to seem" or "to be." "Hans felt the ledge" makes no sense when "felt" is replaced with "seems" or "was." "Hans felt odd" still makes sense when "felt" is replaced with "seemed" or "was."
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