Re: Trigger language question concerning the use of "to be"

# 1 wrote:

> (It's the second time I write this, but because of a little problem I don't
> thik it has been sent, I just hope it will not arrive after that one will
> have been sent)
>
> Keith Gaughan wrote:
>
>> Chris Bates wrote:
>>
>>> It seems to me that there are different meanings involved here. One, the
>>> one involving stative verbs, is about the properties things possess, eg
>>> the man is good. The other is about equivalence and identity, eg to
>>> defend is to attack. I believe that some languages treat these two
>>> differently.... You could require a verb for identity type clauses "That
>>> man is the teacher" etc, and still have your stative verbs for
>>> expressive properties.
>>
>>
>> Spanish and Irish are examples here. In Spanish you have "ser" and
>> "ester"; Irish "is" and "bí".
>
> When I had to learn the difference between "ser" and "estar", I thought of
> this system to set the uses of "to be" in my mind
>
> 1- Auxiliary "I am eating" (with a verb)
> 2- Location "I am in the house" (with a place)
> 3- State "I am happy" (with an adjective)
> 4- Description "I am tall" (with an adjective)
> 5- Origin "I am Canadian" (with a national, ethnic, or cultural identity)
> 6- Identity "I am a human" (with a noun)
>
> So in Spanish the division is 1-3: Estar and 4-6: Ser
>
> 1- Auxiliary "Estoy comiendo"
> 2- Location "Estoy en la casa"
> 3- State "Estoy contento"
> 4- Description "Soy grande"
> 5- Origin "Soy canadiense"
> 6- Identity "Soy un humano"
That's pretty much the division (with some exceptions) that you find
between the Irish "bí" and "is". A few exception you might be interested
in are:

1. Auxiliary "Tá (bí) mé ag sugradh" or "Táim ag sugradh"
    "I am playing", lit. "I am at play(ing)".

3. State "Tá bron orm"
    "I am sad", lit. "Sadness is on-me".

But:

4. Description "Táim ard"
    "I am tall".

And for the copula, the subject and object appear to be backwards:

5./6. "Is muinteoir é"
       "He is a teacher" ("é" is the accusative of "sé")
       ...or...
       "Muinteoir is ea é",
       which means the same thing, but is literally "Teacher, it is him".

Also, you can drop the copula in certain cases:

       "Seo é mo mhuinteoir" = "This is my teacher"
       lit. "This, it (is) my teacher".

K.