11 · Predict
The verb be
When the finite main verb is a form of be, the course labels it Vbe. Be has unusual forms and behaves differently in questions. Finding the verb does not tell you what follows it. The next phrase may describe or identify the subject, or it may give a location that this use of be requires.
The diagram labels salty as a subject complement of tasted.
The diagram places are and on the table in the predicate; the phrase locates the keys.
Stale is the subject complement of the linking verb tasted.
The subject and complement stay fixed; only the verb is now Vbe.
This matched pair keeps the subject and complement fixed. The adjective phrase has the same subject-complement relation in both clauses, while the verb changes from a linking use to be. Noun phrases can have that function too: The winner was a stranger.
what makes it different
Be can move without a helper
The keys are on the table. → Are the keys on the table?
Finite main be can come before its subject without do. A typical lexical main verb needs do-support: Do the keys remain on the table? This is evidence for be’s unusual behaviour, not a way to identify Vbe: auxiliary be also inverts, as in Are the keys rusting?.
The phrase after be still has a relationship to identify.
The soup was salty describes a quality of the soup. The keys are on the table gives their location. The course analyzes that location as a required adverbial in lesson 14 and uses Vbe as its label for both verb uses.
Ten sentences from this lesson, one decision at a time.