Brown's Morphemes

1. Uncontractible Copula

• The verb "to be" is the main verb (linking verb) and cannot be contracted due to grammatical constraints.

• Examples:

  • Who is it? → It is my brother. (Cannot be It’s my brother in response to this question.)

  • Here he is. ( "Is" cannot be contracted.)

2. Contractible Copula

• The verb "to be" is the main verb (linking verb) and can be contracted with the subject.

• Examples:

  • She is happy. → She’s happy.

  • The dog is big. → The dog’s big.

3. Uncontractible Auxiliary

• The verb "to be" is a helping verb (auxiliary) and cannot be contracted due to grammatical constraints.

• Examples:

  • He was running. ( "Was" cannot be contracted.)

  • Are they swimming? → Yes, they are. (Cannot say Yes, they’re. in response.)

4. Contractible Auxiliary

• The verb "to be" is a helping verb (auxiliary) and can be contracted with the subject.

• Examples:

  • She is playing outside. → She’s playing outside.

  • They are eating. → They’re eating.

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