List of English copulae explained

This is a non-exhaustive list of copulae in the English language, i.e. words used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate (a subject complement).

Because many of these copulative verbs may be used non-copulatively, examples are provided. Also, there can be other copulative verbs depending on the context and the meaning of the specific verb used. Therefore, this list is not an exhaustive one.

• act "Tom acted suspicious."
• appear "Tom appears satisfied, but really is not."
• be "Tom is a coward."
• become (inchoative) "Tom became wealthy."
• call in "Tom called in sick."
• come "The prediction came true;" "the belt came loose;" "the characters in the story come alive"
• come out "It came out burnt."
• constitute "Verbs constitute one of the main word classes in the English language"
• die "He died poor."
• eat "Tom eats healthy."
• emerge "Tom emerged unharmed after the incident."
• end up "I ended up broke;" "the room ended up a mess."
• equal "Two plus two equals four."
• get (inchoative) "Tom got angry."
• go "The man went crazy;" "Tom went bald;" "the food went bad;" "the mistake went unnoticed"
• grow (inchoative) "Tom grew insistent."
• fall "Tom fell ill with the flu."
• feel "Tom felt nauseated."
• freeze "The lake froze solid."
• keep "Tom kept quiet."
• lean "This area leans conservative."
• look "Tom looks upset."
• play "The possum played dead."
• prove "Tom's behavior proves difficult to understand."
• remain "Tom remained unsatisfied."
• run "Protectionist impulses run far too strong on Capitol Hill" (New York Times)
• seem "Tom seems happy."
• shine "Her smile shines bright."
• smell "Tom smelled sweet"
• sound "Tom sounded obnoxious."
• stay "Tom stayed happy."
• take "Tom took ill."
• taste "The food tastes fresh."
• turn (inchoative) "Tom turned angry."
• turn up "Tom turned up missing."
• wax (inchoative) "Tom waxed lyrical."