Thought-provoking analysis: "to be" verbs
Here's some food for thought. It might even boggle your mind.
Last night, a very interesting thought crossed my mind. I was thinking about the differences between the verb "to be" between American Sign Language (ASL) and many spoken languages such as English. ASL doesn't have the "to be" verb. Then it struck me that the usage of the "to be" verb is illogical. Now, I just can't stop thinking about it and had this discussion with a few people today, including an English professor at Gallaudet University. I might be taking the language too literally, but do hear me out.
The verb "to be" (is, am are, were, was, been, being) means "the state of being" or "to have an existence". Why do you need to discuss the existence of a person or something when that person or that something is already there or has been there? It is not possible to discuss about something that does not have a state of being.
Before you argue that it's possible to talk about something that doesn't exist, let look at an example that does not exist: superheroes. While it is true that there is no such a person like Superman on our world, Superman does have a state of being by being an idea, a concept. Superman exists in the form of an idea. Therefore, Superman is already there.
Here's an example on what I mean when I said it is not possible to discuss about something that doesn't have a state of being. Is it possible to talk about a color that has yet to exist, neither physically nor an idea? No, because there is no name for it or does any of us know what it looks like.
A verb tells you the action of a person or something. I don't see the action when I see a sentence like, "The leaves are green." So why is the "to be" verb in this sense a verb?
The use of the "to be" verb can be eliminated from the language. What's the difference between "he is working today" and "he works today" or "he is working tomorrow", "he works tomorrow" and "he will work tomorrow"?
Just something for you to chew on.
Last night, a very interesting thought crossed my mind. I was thinking about the differences between the verb "to be" between American Sign Language (ASL) and many spoken languages such as English. ASL doesn't have the "to be" verb. Then it struck me that the usage of the "to be" verb is illogical. Now, I just can't stop thinking about it and had this discussion with a few people today, including an English professor at Gallaudet University. I might be taking the language too literally, but do hear me out.
The verb "to be" (is, am are, were, was, been, being) means "the state of being" or "to have an existence". Why do you need to discuss the existence of a person or something when that person or that something is already there or has been there? It is not possible to discuss about something that does not have a state of being.
Before you argue that it's possible to talk about something that doesn't exist, let look at an example that does not exist: superheroes. While it is true that there is no such a person like Superman on our world, Superman does have a state of being by being an idea, a concept. Superman exists in the form of an idea. Therefore, Superman is already there.
Here's an example on what I mean when I said it is not possible to discuss about something that doesn't have a state of being. Is it possible to talk about a color that has yet to exist, neither physically nor an idea? No, because there is no name for it or does any of us know what it looks like.
A verb tells you the action of a person or something. I don't see the action when I see a sentence like, "The leaves are green." So why is the "to be" verb in this sense a verb?
The use of the "to be" verb can be eliminated from the language. What's the difference between "he is working today" and "he works today" or "he is working tomorrow", "he works tomorrow" and "he will work tomorrow"?
Just something for you to chew on.
posted by Unknown at 1:34 PM
5 Comments:
I'm not sure I agree with your thought foods. I don't think the "to be" verb is so illogical because existence is not and end in itself but also used to describe the conditions and extent of that existence. Passive verbs, like, for example, are you happy? Are you tired, or are you okay? These all describe different states of being. As for superheroes, I would argue that while they don't exist, they do represent a state of being that we desire or imagine as better than what exists now. To be stronger, to have more power, more control, those desires are real, even though they aren't tangible. I think in the same way, I'd like to disagree about your last point. I think we can discuss things that don't have a state of being, at least not a known state of being. Mathematicians assign variables to unknown values in hypothetical situations that they explain through equations, even though none of the values are supposedly "real". For example, Einstein used his theories to figure out the ways of the universe, to prove mathematically the existence of things that astronomers in his time could not see, detect, or even fathom.
I don't think you should eliminate "to be" from language. I think the examples you gave with "he works" all represent slightly different shades of meaning. There are slight differences, depending on the context they are in.
Anyway that's my two cents. I still couldn't find your Disney-Pixar blog, so I'm thinking I must be blind. But I'll keep trying.
Be verbs usually describe an aspect of something's being, not just the fact that it exists. Or they can describe what it's doing. "Superman is" is unnecessary - you're right, but it's perfectly natural to say "Superman is flying" or "Superman is tired".
Some spoken languages, such as Hebrew, I think (at least ancient Hebrew, I don't know about modern) often exclude be verbs just like ASL. English solves the illogical problem of be verbs by forming contractions. Like instead of "Superman is tired" we might say "Superman's tired", combining the verb with the subject so it pretty much goes away. In languages descended from Latin (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Catalan, etc.), often instead of excluding the be verb, they exclude the subject instead. Like instead of saying "He is tired" they would just say "Is tired". In ASL and some spoken languages, you might say "He tired". In English, you simply contract them together and say "He's tired". Does that explain it?
How about using the phrase, "we are meant to be" ?
sorry, heh, forgot to log in. my name is laura. pulauralu (at) hotmail (dot) com
(on the "to be" discussion, I just posted: How about using the phrase, "we are meant to be" ?)
Hello. Stumbled across this blog accidentally through youtube! I don't really agree with you either. And it seems like you are mixing up two separate issues: whether something or someone is real or unreal and can be expressed (like Superman) and the ways in which the verb "to be" is used in English to express the existence of anything or anyone. Another issue to consider is that "to be" doesn't only denote existence or "the state of being". You can use it to show the relationship between a predicate and its comment. Eg, "[The dog] [is hairy]", "[These men] [were absent from work]". Or you can use "to be" to class people or objects: "They [are sheep]", "She [is a lawyer]". And as someone else mentioned it can be used as an auxiliary verb to make things passive: "She was given the book by me" as opposed to "I gave her the book". These two sentences result in the same action but we can use either to shift the sense/meaning/implication of a sentence. I think what I'm taking a long time to say is that just because another language can do these same things without "to be" (like ASL, BSL, Tongan, Samoan, etc) does not mean English (always) can; it serves more than just the function of existence. To me it's way too simplistic to say categorically that "to be" can be eliminated from the language unless you can show how English can deal with ALL of the functions of "to be" (as the 'copula' in English and as an auxiliary verb, etc) in alternative ways :)) Great thread!
Post a Comment
<< Home