----- Original Message ----- From: "C. G. Estabrook" <galliher at illinois.edu>
> "We have gone."
have gone = perfect tense of verb 'to go'
> "We are gone."
gone = (predicate) adjective
--------------- Yes, good explanation.
Verbs are tricky in English. The easiest way to determine what is the verb is to look at what words you need to change when time changes, because verbs mark tense. So look at the words that change in the following sentences.
I had gone to the movies.
I have gone to the movies.
I go to the movies.
I am going to the movies
I will go to the movies.
I will have gone to the movies.
The words that change are the verb/verb phrase/predicate.
Joanna