Sentence Patterns IV and V The Linking Verb Patterns

Sentence Pattern IV IV— NP V-lnk ADJ V— NP1 V-lnk NP1 This is similar to what pattern? V— NP1 V-lnk NP1

Linking Verbs are: All verbs other than be completed by a subject complement – A subject complement is… an adjectival or a noun phrase that describes, characterizes, or identifies the subject.

Pattern IV: The linking verbs of the senses are often pattern IV. Taste, smell, feel, sound, and look often link an adjective to the subject. Other verbs that may be included in this list are seem, appear, become, get, prove, remain, and turn.

Pattern IV: The ADJ in the third slot is a subject complement. It describes the NP in the first slot. Sometimes prepositional phrases can function as adjectives.

Pattern IV Examples: The dinner smells good. Max looks sick. “good” describes “the dinner” Max looks sick. “sick” describes “Max”

More Pattern IV Examples: The lacrosse team seems out of shape. “out of shape” describes “the lacrosse team” We could say, “The lacrosse team seems talented.” Since “talented” is an adjective, so is the phrase “out of shape;” we call it an adjectival – or an adjectival prepositional phrase.

Pattern V: Very few linking verbs fit this pattern; Most of them take only adjectivals as subject complements. Become and remain are the two most common. Seem may also take a noun phrase rather than its usual adjectival on rare occasions.

Pattern V An NP fills the subject complement slot following the linking verb in this sentence. Both NPs have the same referent.

Pattern V Sometimes the NP in the first slot is just a name, and the NP in the third slot is a group of words. Don’t be fooled: the NPs don’t need to be the same number of words. Since prepositional phrases can only function as adjectives or adverbs, you know that a prep phrase standing alone cannot be a subject complement.

Pattern V Examples: The boy became a man. “A man” is an NP. “The boy” and “a man” have the same referent – they refer to the same person. “A man” doesn’t describe “the boy;” that would be adjectival.

Pattern V Examples: Sue remained my friend after her move. “My friend after her move” is an NP followed by an adverbial prepositional phrase* that modifies the verb, “remained.” *We will discuss these optional slots later. “Sue” and “my friend” have the same referent – they refer to the same person. “My friend” doesn’t describe “Sue;” that would be adjectival.

Pattern V Examples: The lacrosse team became champions. “Champions” is an NP referring to “the lacrosse team.” Joe seemed a smart man. “A smart man” is an NP renaming “Joe.” * It would be more common to say, “Joe seemed like a smart man.” In that case, “like a smart man” is an adjectival prepositional phrase, so that sentence is a pattern IV sentence.

Homework Complete Sentence Patterns IV & V Worksheet. Be sure to follow directions..