equative (adj.)

A term used in GRAMMATICAL analysis to refer to a type of SENTENCE where a verb places two NOUN PHRASES into a relationship of identity, e.g. Jo is the leader. The VERB which links these ELEMENTS may be called an equative or equational verb (or a verb with ‘equative function’) – usually in English a form of the COPULA verb be. Some LANGUAGES (e.g. Russian) have equative sentences where the copula is not present – cf. the stereotyped language of film primitives (him Tarzan, etc.).

Some grammatical descriptions recognize an equative DEGREE, in analyzing comparison between ADJECTIVES or ADVERBS, e.g. as big as.