not conversational English. In conversational English, the following exchange is okay:
Who’s there?
It is me. OR It’s me.
In formal English, the exchange goes like this:
Who is there?
It is I.
Because of the linking verb is, you want the same kind of pronoun before and after the linking verb. You can’t start a sentence with me, but you can start a sentence with I.
Now you’ve probably, with your sharp eyes, found a flaw here. You can’t reverse the last reply and say
I is it.
I takes a different verb – am. Both is and am are forms of the verb to be – one of the most peculiar creations in the entire language. So yes, you sometimes have to adjust the verb when you reverse a sentence with a form of to be in it. But the idea is the same: I can be a subject; me can’t.
Linking verbs are important, but unless you’ve won the lottery, you just can’t sit around being all the time. You have to do something. (And even if you did win the lottery, you’d be bored without something to do.) Here's where action verbs come into the picture. Everything that is not being is action, at least in the verb world. Unlike the giant equal sign associated with linking verbs (see “Linking Verbs: The Giant Equal Sign,” earlier in the chapter), something happens with an action verb:
Drew slapped the thief who stole the briefcase. (Slapped and stole are action verbs.)
Fred will run to third base as soon as his sneezing fit ends. (Will run and ends are action verbs.)
According to the teacher, Roger has shot at least 16 spitballs in the last ten minutes. (Has shot is an action verb.)
Calling the Help Line for Verbs
You’ve probably noticed that some of the verbs I’ve identified throughout this chapter are single words and others are made up of several words. The extra words are called helping verbs. They don’t carry out the trash or dust the living room, but they do help the main verb express meaning, usually changing the time, or tense, of the action. (For more on tense, see Chapter 6.)
Helping verbs often signal when the action or state of being is occurring. Here are some sentences with helping verbs that create a time line:
Alice will sing five arias from that opera tomorrow evening.
(Sing is the main verb, and will is a helping verb. Will places the action at some point in the future.)
Gwen had moved the vase, but the baseball hit it anyway.
(Moved is the main verb, and had is a helping verb. Hit is a main verb without any helping verbs. Had places the action of moving sometime in the past.)
Bob and Ellen are admiring Lola’s new tattoo.
(Admiring is the main verb, and are is a helping verb. Are places the action in the present.)
To make your life more complicated, English often throws in a helping verb or two in order to form questions and negative statements. Usually the helping verb and the main verb are separated in this sort of sentence. In questions, the subject (the person or thing performing the action) comes between the helper and the main verb. Not, by the way, is NOT part of the verb. It’s an adverb. (Check Chapter 10 for more about adverbs.) In negative statements, not shows up between the helper and the main verb. In Chapter 6, I explain more about forming questions and negative statements in various verb tenses. For now, check out these examples of questions and negative statements with helping verbs:
Does the ring in Lulu’s bellybutton rust when she showers?
(Does is a helping verb, and rust is the main verb.)
Do Larry and Ella need a good divorce lawyer?
(Do is the helping verb, and need is the main verb.)
Did Zoe play the same song for eight hours?
(Did is the helping verb, and play is the main verb.)
Did the grammarians complain about that question?
(Did is the helping verb, and complain is the main verb.)
Will George remember all the old familiar places?
(Will is the helping verb, and remember is the main verb.)
Larry does not drive a sports car because he wants to project a wholesome image.
(Does is the helping verb, and drive is the main verb.)
The killer bees do not chase Roger because they are afraid of him.
(Do is the helping verb, and chase is the main verb.)
I will not learn anything else about verbs ever again.
(Will is the helping verb, and learn is the main verb.)
You’ve probably figured out that the main verbs in these example questions and negative statements are action verbs, with the helpers do, does, did, or will. You can’t go wrong with did and will, because those helpers are the same for singular and plural subjects. Does and do, unfortunately, change according to the subject of the sentence. Does matches all singular subjects (when only one person is performing the action) and do works best in plural sentences, when more than one person is performing the action. Do is also the helper you want when the subject is I or you. (For more on matching singular and plural subjects and verbs, turn to Chapter 7.)
Is grammar a popular subject?
Am I a good grammarian?
Were the grammarians analyzing that sentence?
