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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
can the word 'happy' be a noun?
My English professor recently asked the class if anyone knows why the word 'well' is used in many places that most people would say the word 'good,' and I figured it out. This made me start to think about other phrases that people commonly say and why they might be incorrect. I thought of the phrase 'I feel happy.' I figured that 'happy' is an adjective, and 'feel' is a verb, so 'happy' cannot be used to describe 'feel.' An adverb would be needed to describe a verb, so I thought it would be correct to say 'I feel happily.' I presented this argument to my father, and it puzzled him as well. He soon realized that 'happy' could be a state of being, which would be a noun, which would work. I looked up the word 'happy,' and I did not find a definition for the word as a noun. Can anyone help me figure this out?
Top answer
Both you and your father need to brush up your grammar. I feel happy. Feel is a copular verb here (like 'be') and takes an adjective complement ('happy').
- Both you and your father need to brush up your grammar.
- I feel happy.
- Feel is a copular verb here (like 'be') and takes an adjective complement ('happy').
- Other copulars: This soup tastes good.
- You look great!
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6 Answers
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Both you and your father need to brush up your grammar.
I feel happy.
Feel is a copular verb here (like 'be') and takes an adjective complement ('happy'). Other copulars:
This soup tastes good.
You look great!
That song sounds sad.
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Both you and your father need to brush up your grammar.
I feel happy.
Feel is a copular verb here (like 'be') and takes an adjective complement ('happy'). Other copulars:
This soup tastes good.
You look great!
That song sounds sad.
.
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I'd stick with "happy" = adjective. The culprit in your example is "feel." It can be used in the same way as a verb of being to take a "predicate adjective."
I am happy. I feel happy.
But you could say, "I feel carefully."
BTW, I didn't follow in your explanation how if "happy" were a noun (state of being) then that would "work." If you say, "I am frozen," frozen
I am happy. I feel happy.
But you could say, "I feel carefully."
BTW, I didn't follow in your explanation how if "happy" were a noun (state of being) then that would "work." If you say, "I am frozen," frozen
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You can use happily as an adverb to describe how you are performing the action of feeling: I was feeling happily...
BUT that would describe how you were enacting the action of the verb "feeling" such as "I was happily feeling his soft, curly hair." It is an unusual usage.
The noun for the state of being happy is "happiness."
Good question. Good lu
BUT that would describe how you were enacting the action of the verb "feeling" such as "I was happily feeling his soft, curly hair." It is an unusual usage.
The noun for the state of being happy is "happiness."
Good question. Good lu
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Thank you very much. Neither of us even knew what a copular verb was. That takes a load off my mind.
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Just remember, if you smell bad (adjective), nobody wants to be around you; if you smell badly (adverb), you may need to see a nose doctor!
CJ
CJ
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loooonnnnggg ago - but with all the "you can never have too much happy!" around:
is there a secret behind it? I just wanted to correct a German lady on a forum (basically telling her to better use her own language, rather than using English like that...), but then I googled and found tons of hits.
Thanks,
NP
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