Re: Is "is" a verb?

From: Richard Herring (junk_at_[127.0.0.1)
Date: 06/16/04 

Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:50:41 +0100

In message <c98b1ba0.0406151447.4614204e@posting.google.com>, DE781
<de781@aol.com> writes
>"Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
>news:<40CF3264.7B19@worldnet.att.net>...
>> DE781 wrote:
>> >
>> > "Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
>> >news:<40CE2D59.3BB0@worldnet.att.net>...
>> > > DE781 wrote:
>> > > >
>> > > > "Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@worldnet.att.net> wrote in
>> > > >message news:<40CD934A.1FE8@worldnet.att.net>...
>> > > > > DE781 wrote:
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > > ranjit_mathews@yahoo.com (M. Ranjit Mathews) wrote in
>> > > > > >message news:<1d4c67e3.0406130932.14df6167@posting.google.com>...
>> > > > > > > "is" doesn't seem to be a verb like (say) "runs" insofar
>> > > > > > >isn't
>> > > > > > > qualified by an adverb. If it's not a verb, what is it? Examples:
>> > > > > > >
>> > > > > > > This food is good.
>> > > > > > > This car is running well.
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > > But you CAN say "this person is being well" and that's correct.
>> > > > >
>> > > > > Since you don't know what Tamil is, you're presumably not
>> > > > >Indian; where
>> > > > > else can you say "This person is being well"?
>> > > >
>> > > > "This person's being well" can be used when someone is being what
>> > > > they're supposed to be very well. For example, if you're putting on a
>> > > > play and you're pretending to be a lawyer, someone could say that
>> > > > you're "being well a lawyer", and it's perfectly acceptable. You're
>> > > > GOOD AT being a laywer, i.e., you ARE a good lawyer. But you're being
>> > > > a lawyer well. See the difference?
>> > >
>> > > Once again: where in the world is "being well a lawyer" perfectly
>> > > acceptable?
>> >
>> > Anywhere, numbnuts! But modern construction has evolved it into the
>> > more usual "being a lawyer well" that we're all used. Those damn
>> > Brits and their Queen of Cunts is responsible for THAT travesty! If
>> > you knew French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, Japanese, etc, etc, as do I,
>> > you'd have known that ALL other languages use the "being well a
>> > lawyer" form! THANK YOU!
>>
>> All except English? You know 5,000 - 6,000 languages?
>>
>> You're not only rude, you're a liar.
>
>I'm neither. I know about 32 languages.

I know about several thousand languages. It doesn't mean I know them. 

-- 
Richard Herring
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