192. When BE can be Omitted

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The verb BE is omissible in English, given the right circumstances

THE OMISSIBILITY OF be IN ENGLISH

The verb BE can sometimes be omitted in English without losing grammaticality or changing meaning, just as its equivalent can in many other languages. However, English BE omission does not always match omission of a BE word in other languages. For example, it cannot happen when BE is the only verb in a sentence (though see 158. Abbreviated Sentences), as in the following:

(a) The problem was difficult.

This post catalogues English contexts where BE omission is grammatical. It excludes BE combined with a “modal” verb (will, can, should etc.) since dropping that does change meaning. Six main contexts are described. Some also feature in other posts, but bringing them all together in one place and adding to them will hopefully make their appreciation and memorization slightly easier.

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WITH PAIRED COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES

Most readers will have met sentences like the following:

(b) The higher the price (is), the lower the demand (is).

Both uses of BE here can be omitted, but sometimes the first is kept.

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AFTER CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunctions allow (but do not compel) omission of numerous kinds of words after them (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #6). One situation where BE can be omitted is when it is repeated in its sentence in the same form:

(b) The problem was difficult BUT (it was) quickly solved.

Here, the second was is omissible because (1) it repeats an earlier one linked to it in the same sentence by the conjunction but; and (2) its subject it (which must also be omitted) represents the same thing as the subject of the first was (the problem). Many but not all conjunctions allow this kind of BE omission. Albeit seems to have it more commonly than not (see 191. Exotic Grammar Structures 3, #1). Conjunctions that mostly disallow it include after, before, as, because and since.

A similar kind of BE omission is possible after a sentence-starting conjunction:

(c) ALTHOUGH (it was) difficult, the problem was solvable.

Here, the omitted was precedes rather than follows the one it mirrors. This use is not possible with as many conjunctions: excluded are those that can only go between the two verbs that they link – so-called “coordinating” conjunctions – such as and, but, or, so and yet (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #3). In other words, only “subordinating” conjunctions (with the same exceptions as above) allow it.

The same subordinating conjunctions also allow omission of a pronoun + BE when the other verb in the sentence does not contain or comprise BE. The conjunction usually starts the sentence, with the pronoun referring forward to the subject of the later verb:

(d) Although (it is) slow, walking enables places to be appreciated.

For more examples, see 36. Words Left out to Avoid Repetition (final section) and 191. Exotic Grammar Structures 3, #1.

A rather different kind of BE omission is possible with passive verbs after the conjunction as:

(e) As (is) shown by the graph, growth has been constant.

Passive verbs of this kind will typically represent some kind of information-giving, and be followed by mention of the information source, e.g. a neighbouring graph or another text (see 104. Naming Data Sources with “As”). All of this will form a parenthesis between two commas or a full stop and a comma (see 183. Statements between Commas).

As also allows a special kind of BE omission when it introduces an example:

(f) The letter “u” is sometimes pronounced like “e”, as (it is) in “bury”.

This usage is characterised by as before in or an occasional alternative like with (see the end of 53. “As”, “Like” and “Such As”). Between them is an omitted pronoun and either BE as above or another auxiliary verb.

Further conjunction uses that allow omission of BE again allow it of other verbs too. The conjunction than is particularly notable:

(g) Whales are larger than elephants (are).

There are situations, though, where omission after than is best avoided because it creates a double meaning (see 233. Structures with a Double Meaning 3, #5).

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WITH RELATIVE PRONOUNS

It is very often the case that BE after a relative pronoun (who, whom, which, that) can be dropped along with the pronoun. An example is:

(h) The reforms (which were) introduced by Napoleon were revolutionary.

The key point here is where such combinations cannot be dropped. There are two rules: one involving “auxiliary” BE (before an -ing or -ed verb, as above), and one involving BE before no other verb. A relative pronoun + auxiliary BE must be kept when the verb is active (with -ing) and either surrounded by commas or signifying a past completed event. For details, see 52. Participles Placed Just after their Noun, #4.

The situation where a relative pronoun + lone BE cannot be dropped is before an adjective, but not always. Dropping is not possible before high in the following:

(i) Clouds which are high are not normally rain-bearing.

What makes it possible to drop a relative pronoun + BE before an adjective is words after the adjective that expand it into a longer phrase. In (i), for example, which are could be dropped if high was expanded into the adjective phrase high in the sky.

Describing words that can follow an adjective, enabling BE to be dropped, may begin with a preposition (like in above), or that (e.g. interesting that…), or a question word (e.g. doubtful whether…), or a to verb (e.g. easy to understand), or an -ing verb (e.g. angry seeing…). For details, see 203. Expanding an Adjective with Words after it.

Note that describing words before an adjective, such as very before high in (i), do not permit BE-dropping in the manner of words after it – which are in (i) would have to be kept before very high (see 109. Placing an Adjective after its Noun, #3).

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BEFORE COMPLEMENTS

Complements are nouns or adjectives equated by a special kind of verb to a noun or equivalent placed before them. In sentence (a), for example, difficult is a complement equated by the verb BE to its subject problem. It is consequently a “subject complement”. In the following example, San Salvador is an “object complement”, equated by the verb CALL to its object island:

(j) Columbus called the island he first reached San Salvador.

For a fuller discussion of subject and object complements, see 220. Features of Complements.

1. Omission before Subject Complements

There are at least two situations where BE is omissible before a subject complement. One is extensively described elsewhere in this blog (159. Exotic Grammar Structures 2, #4), so is only considered briefly here:

(k) These bacteria spread easily, their effects (being) invisible.

In this sentence type, a comma separates two closely linked statements. The second starts with a possessive adjective (their) referring to the subject of the first, followed by a noun, the omissible BE, and the complement of the noun (invisible). If BE was present, it would need -ing because it is not the main verb in the sentence (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop).

The other situation where BE is omissible before a subject complement is when it is in the to form after certain verbs. One group of these is APPEAR, LOOK and SEEM, as in the following:

(l) Demand for illegal drugs seems (to be) unstoppable.

Also usable in this way are passive verbs of a particular kind, such as BE CONSIDERED (see the next section).

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2. Omission before Object Complements

With object complements, the condition for BE becoming omissible is similarly the choice of the verb. A common one is CONSIDER (see 48. Tricky Word Contrasts 1, #3):

(m) Plato considered the world (to be) a copy of reality.

The object here is the world, and the object complement is a copy of reality. Other verbs that at least sometimes allow this option frequently have a complement indicating a description, role or belief. Examples are APPOINT, BELIEVE, DECLARE, ELECT, FIND, JUDGE and THINK (see 92. Verbs with an Object + “As”). If such verbs are used in the passive voice, converting their object into their subject, and the object complement into a subject one, they directly precede the optional to be (see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb, #3).

Grammar errors are likely in this area because many verbs with a complement-like noun after their object either require mention of to be or forbid it – they do not allow a choice. Verbs requiring to be – cause verbs, for example, like ENABLE, or commanding ones like ORDER – are extensively illustrated within this blog in 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive.

Verbs that never allow to be before their object complement are of two kinds. One kind – CALL, LEAVE, MAKE and NAME, for example – allows no other word at all (excepting lone be on rare occasions after MAKE: see 271. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 3, #3). CALL and MAKE are especially prone to incorrect additions (see 140. Words with Unexpected Grammar 2, #g and #h). The other verb kind requires as instead of to be. Examples are CATEGORISE, CRITICISE, DEFINE, DESCRIBE and PRAISE (see 279. Grammatical Properties of Citation Verbs, #4).

Also worth mentioning are verbs that require a choice to be made between to be and as, such as CHOOSE:

(n) The country will choose someone new as (or to be) President.

The need to include as when to be is absent means that to be cannot be described as “omissible”. Other verbs requiring the same choice include ACKNOWLEDGE, ESTABLISH, PORTRAY, TAKE and VISUALISE. For further examples, see 92. Verbs with an Object + “As”.

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AFTER PERCEPTION VERBS

The verbs FEEL, HEAR, LISTEN TO, NOTICE, OBSERVE, SEE, SENSE, SMELL and WATCH need a noun (or equivalent) straight after them as their object, which may or may not be the subject of a second verb (see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, #12). The second verb may have either the base form (as a “bare infinitive” – see 148. Infinitive Verbs without “to”) or -ing. BE is omissible from passive bare infinitives expressing an instantaneous event, like this:

(o) Many people saw John Kennedy (be) shot in Dallas.

Dropping BE in such cases may be more common than keeping it. When it is present, being seems more likely than be. Note that a to infinitive is actually possible after SEE and FEEL, but makes the meaning more like “believe”.

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AFTER “WHAT(SO)EVER THE…”

Outside questions, whatever (sometimes with -so-) combines with a verb and its subject to form a noun-like or adverb-like sentence part (see 272. Uses of “Ever“, #6). If the subject in the adverb-like use has the, any following BE is omissible:

(p) Try everything, what(so)ever the cost (is).

This use is adverb-like (indicating unimportance: see 199. Importance and Unimportance, #8) because it is not the subject or object of the main verb try.

191. Exotic Grammar Structures 3

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Some English grammar structures are unlikely to be described in language coursebooks

THE NATURE OF “EXOTIC” STRUCTURES

Grammar descriptions for learners of English do not include every structure in the language. Some structures may be left out because they have not been clearly identified by grammarians. Many others are absent because they are quite rare in English: coursebooks tend not to have enough space for everything and give priority to the more common structures in the belief that those will help learners the most to communicate

However, structures that are not commonly found in language-learning coursebooks can still be useful to know, especially for English users with a more advanced competence, who are the target audience of this blog. It is in this belief that the present post is offered. Five structures are described below. Further Guinlist posts on the same topic can be accessed from 88. Exotic Grammar Structures 1.

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LIST OF EXOTIC STRUCTURES

1. “Albeit” instead of “Although”

Although is a conjunction that suggests there is something contradictory between two parts of its sentence. Consider this example from 40. Conjunctions versus Connectors:

(a) Although chickens have wings, they cannot fly.

Although here says it is surprising chickens cannot fly given that they have wings.

Albeit is a conjunction like although and expresses the same basic meaning (it may indeed just be an abbreviation of although it be). It can quite often replace although, but it seems to do so much more commonly in some situations than others.

Computer (concordance) searches suggest that most uses of albeit involve words – particularly verbs – that have been left unmentioned because their meaning is obvious (see 36. Words Left Out to Avoid Repetition). Words with obvious meaning cannot always be dropped in English (see 8. Object-Dropping Errors and 158. Abbreviated Sentences), but they commonly can with conjunctions (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #6), e.g.:

(b) Although/Albeit (it is) unhealthy, fast food is convenient and tasty.

Dropping it is here means the next word after albeit is an adjective (unhealthy). Other common possibilities in this position include -ing verbs (indicating the “present continuous” tense), preposition phrases, and even adverbs, like this:

(c) Funding cuts have caused great suffering, albeit (they have caused great suffering) indirectly.

My intuition is that albeit is particularly likely instead of although directly before adverbs.

When no words can be omitted, albeit is still sometimes preferred to although. This may particularly happen when the choice has to be made in the middle of a sentence, rather than at the start. Consider again sentence (a) above. Replacing although there with albeit feels a little strange. On the other hand, reordering (a) so that albeit is in the middle seems less strange:

(d) Chickens cannot fly, albeit they have wings.

The reason for this difference may be that albeit has a special property that most other conjunctions lack: it nearly always introduces information already known to the reader, i.e. not a main point in its sentence. Other conjunctions that can go before or between two verbs, like although, seem to introduce familiar information more at the start of a sentence than in the middle (see 37. Subordination). This means that at the start a sentence without any omitted words albeit has no advantage over although, but in the middle albeit can be useful for saying something familiar.

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2. “Let alone”

These two words together form a conjunction (see 230. Multi-Word Conjunctions, #2). They say that something mentioned after them is very unlikely to happen or exist because it depends on something else – mentioned just before – which is already difficult or impossible:

(e) Tax increases hardly reduce smoking, let alone stop it.

We understand here that tax increases cannot stop smoking because they do not even reduce it by very much. The wording before let alone expresses the idea of difficulty by means of the negative word hardly. This is not the only negative possibility: most of the numerous negative expressions in English (see 310. Aspects of Negation) have a similar use. The negativity of let alone – to some extent what I call “hidden” (see 7. Hidden Negatives) – comes from the negative before it. The message after let alone is usually the main one in the sentence.

Here is another example, with the let alone part incomplete. How might it be finished?

(f) Animals cannot make words, let alone…

A suitable continuation might name something that cannot be achieved because it depends on word-making, such as compose sentences.

The word(s) after let alone always include or imply a verb. The verb has to be included when it is different from the one before, but it must have the same form. For example, stop in (e) is different from reduce, but is similarly in the present simple plural form; and compose in (f) is different from make, but is similarly in the “bare infinitive” form necessitated by cannot (see 148. Infinitive Verbs without “to”). Auxiliary verbs like can(not) are not usually repeated after let alone. Other verb forms possible there include -ing (after an earlier verb in a “continuous” tense) and “past participles” (after verbs in the “perfect” tenses or the passive form).

The verb after let alone is not mentioned at all when it is the same as the one before, e.g.:

(g) Most planets are not suitable for life, let alone (are suitable for) humans.

As this shows, one can leave out not just a repeated verb, but also any other repeated words (suitable for above).

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3. “As if”

These words are another pair that act together as a single conjunction. Usable within two main types of construction, they indicate a rather subtle kind of similarity. Compare:

(h) Animals act as if they are/were machines.

(i) The building looks as if an earthquake has/had hit it.

In (h), the as if part illustrates adverb-like statements, combining with a verb (act) to indicate “how” (see 120. Six Things to Know about Adverbs, #1). In (i), it illustrates complement statements necessitated by a complement-taking verb like LOOK, BE or SEEM. In the first case, as if could be paraphrased as “similarly to how they would…if…”; in the second case as if means “similar to the state that would exist if…”.

When the main verb of an as if sentence is not in a past tense, the verb after as if can usually vary its tense to show reality or unreality of the action or state that it is expressing, with past tenses showing unreality (see 319. Superficiality, #5). Thus, in (h) are machines allows for the possibility that animals really are machines, while were machines says that they are not; while in (i), has hit suggests that an earthquake may really have happened, while had hit says it did not.

Other places where “unreal” events or situations may be found include after if (see 118. Problems with Conditional “if”, #6), after wish that… (see 254. Tricky Word Contrasts 10, #6), and in questions starting What if…? (see 274. Questions with a Hidden Meaning, #2).

Sentences like (h) would be not so different in meaning if the as if part was replaced by like + noun (…act like machines). Like would imply that the two compared ideas were separate things – that animals and machines in (h) were not the same, just as as if + past tense does (see “As”, “Like” and “Such As”). If there is a difference in this situation, it is that like can mean a partial similarity, whereas as if + past always indicates a complete one.

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4. “Go so far as to…”

This is a useful expression for marking an action as extreme. The to needs to be followed by a verb in the base (infinitive) form, not –ing:

(j) Few language learners go so far as to MEMORISE a dictionary.

A common usage is in literature reviews before a “citation” verb (see 76. Tenses of Citation Verbs), such as argue, claim or say (e.g. X goes so far as to argue that…). Doubt is cast as a result on the reported point (see 152. Agreeing and Disagreeing in Formal Contexts).

Quite often go is preceded by even, do(es) not or only. Even makes the extremeness of the accompanying idea sound even greater. Only and do(es) not, by contrast, reduce it. Only can also suggest not going far enough.

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5. Apposition Involving a Statement

Apposition is usually a combination of two nouns or noun equivalents that refer to the same idea, in order to make it more fully appreciated (see 77. Apposition). Consider this:

(k) Mount Kilimanjaro, an extinct volcano, is the highest peak in Africa.

It is clear that the two underlined noun expressions here refer to the same mountain.

Apposition involving a statement is a rare kind where the first of the two noun expressions is replaced by a verb-based statement, like this:

(l) Clearing forests reduces rainfall, a change that affects agriculture.

Here, a change… refers not to the noun before it (rainfall), but to the entire statement made with the verb reduces. Sometimes, the end of such statements will not be a noun at all.

Apposition involving a statement is the type of apposition where the first half names an idea and the second describes it. This is the kind in (k) above as well as in (l).

The second half of apposition involving a statement can be just a noun, but is usually a longer noun phrase. In (l), the noun change is expanded into a phrase by means of the relative pronoun that after it – a common means of expanding the second half of apposition sentences like (l), but not the only possibility (see 252. Descriptive Wording after Nouns 1).

An alternative to a noun + that in apposition sentences like (l) is which by itself, removing the apposition altogether (see 200. Special Uses of Relative Clauses, #2). Another possibility is a full stop instead of the comma before the noun, followed by this and the noun without the relative pronoun: … . This change affects… (see 28. Pronoun Errors #2).