Re: Is "is" a verb?

From: LEE Sau Dan (danlee_at_informatik.uni-freiburg.de)
Date: 06/16/04 

Date: 16 Jun 2004 23:13:40 +0200

>>>>> "Robert" == Robert Bannister <robban@it.net.au> writes:

    Robert> It all comes back to the verb "be" being different from
    Robert> other verbs, and also that "well" has two distinct uses
    Robert> (adv. and adj).

There is a third one: a noun. And a fourth one, as in "Well..." or
"Well?"

I'm not sure if "well" is an adjective. But from what all the
examples I've seen in this thread, it seems to me that in those
dialects of English, "well" is used in places where I'd say "fine"
(adj, not noun). I learnt British English.

    Robert> All your other examples are fine; "is being good" is fine;
    Robert> "is being healthy" is vaguely possible, but "is being
    Robert> well" jars - it's confusing.

How about "is being fine"?

    Robert> Nor can I accept "I'm being it well"

That's the strangest to my ears. I wouldn't understand this sentence,
had I seen it outside this thread.

    Robert> - the addition of the "it", while explaining it, still
    Robert> doesn't come over as normal English. It sounds like the
    Robert> mistake a non-English speaker would make. You'd have to
    Robert> change it to "doing" or "going" or rephrase.

Well? I don't find "going it" acceptable. When has "to go" become
transitive? 

-- 
Lee Sau Dan                     +Z05biGVm-                          ~{@nJX6X~}
E-mail: danlee@informatik.uni-freiburg.de
Home page: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~danlee

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