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1. Subject + predicate adjectives + 이다

# Posted: 31 Dec 2006 22:16 KST - Edited by: _joseph_
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* 나는 학생이다 = I am a student
* 리사는 선생님이다 = Lisa is a teacher
* 앤드류는 의사였다 = Andrew was a doctor
* 저는 중학생이에요 = I am a middle school student [formal spoken form]

thank you Luke

First, the important definition. what is a predicate adjective?
An adjective modifies a noun. In some cases the adjective precedes the noun which it modifies, like the following

the red dog
the blue moon
the yellow man

a predicate adjective however occurs in the predicate (everything after the subject), even though it modifies the subject. Another word for predicate adjective is subject complement.

A linking verb connects a subject to a subject complement which identifies or describes the subject, as in the following sentences:

The play is Waiting for Godot.

In this sentence, the linking verb is links the noun phrase the play to the identifying phrase Waiting for Godot, which is called a subject complement.

The bold words below are predicate adjectives.

she is Julie.
She is a cook.
She is an adult.

English order: subject + verb + predicate adjective
korean order: subject + predicate adjective + to be verb

Just use the Korean verb for to be 이다 and to not be아니다 . 이다 is the form which links a subject with its predicate, indicating equality or identification. f this form is attached to the noun, there can be no pause or space between it and the Noun. It is pronounced like a part of the Noun.
It has two different forms -예요 and -이에요. -예요 is used when the Noun ends with a vowel, and -이에요 is used when the Noun ends with a consonant.

X Y 이다 --> X is Y
X Y 아니다 -> X is not Y

그녀는 줄리이다 She is Julie
그녀는 요리사(cook)이다
그녀는 성인(adult)이다

So far as presented, it`s pretty simple, though, for us native English speakers, non? We just put the predicate adjective in front of the verb 이다.

The most common linking verb is be. Other linking verbs are become, seem, appear, feel, grow, look, smell, taste, and sound, among others.

examples of this in korean to follow here.

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