'I am a cook' is an example of a very basic sentence pattern in English: Subject + Verb + Complement (SVC). 'I' is the subject. 'Am' is the verb. 'A cook' is a subject complement. This lesson will focus on the subject and verb.
The subject is the first part of the SVC sentence "I am a cook". The subject is the focus of the sentence. The most basic kind of subject is a noun, i.e. a person (Sally), place (the park), or thing (a movie). Instead of nouns, we can also use personal subject pronouns.
These are the 1st person personal subject pronouns:
- I
- we (plural of 'I', can replace 'Sally and I')
This is the 2nd person personal subject pronoun:
- you (singular and plural)
These are the 3rd person personal subject pronouns:
- he (male person, can replace 'John')
- she (female person, can replace 'Sally')
- it (objects or animals)
- they (plural of 'he'/'she'/'it', can replace 'Sally and John')
The linking verb is the second part of the sentence "I am a cook". It links (connects) the subject 'I' to information about the subject, 'a cook'. The most basic linking verb is 'be'.
In English, the subject is the most important part of the sentence. Verbs, such as 'be', change form to 'agree with' the subject. The forms of 'be' are: am, are, and is.
- You are a cook.
- We are cooks.
- They are cooks.
- He / she is a cook.
- It is a movie.
Just remember that most subjects use 'are'. Only 'I' and 'he/she/it' use a different form.
When speaking, we often contract (i.e. shorten) a word or phrase. Many phrases with linking verbs are contracted using an apostrophe ('):
- I am a cook → I'm a cook.
- We are cooks → We're cooks.
- You are a cook → You're a cook.
- They are cooks → They're cooks.
- He is a cook → He's a cook.
- She is a cook → She's a cook.
- It is a movie → It's a movie.
