Posts

Showing posts from August, 2008

The verb "is"

When arguing about something, the verb "is" should be avoided as much as possible because of its ambiguity. "A is B" can represent: Identity: life is life. Membership to a class: a car is an object. An attribute: this apple is green. A relationship: 5 is greater than 3. A modification of a verb: John is walking. ... probably other meanings I'm forgetting now. Of course, in colloquial language "is" cannot be avoided and is not normally a problem.