Term for the different uses of "are": one which applies an adjective independently, and one which denotes a relationship

Question

There are definitely at least two ways in which the word "are" is used. Consider the following:

Book A and Book B are red.

vs

Book A and Book B are similar.

In the first use, it is applying an adjective independently to multiple objects. You can view it as syntactic sugar for

Book A is red and Book B is red.

However, the second sentence doesn't allow such an expansion.

Now, I come from a CS and math background, so my view of this is a bit theoretical (to me, it seems that there is a difference in composition between the two example sentences). Grammatically or linguistically, is there such a concept as the difference I have described?

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 09 '19 at 11:43

[1] Book A and Book B are red.

[2] Book A and Book B are similar.

Yes, there is a difference.

Example [1] is called distributive coordination, while [2] is called joint coordination.

In [1] the property of being red applies to book A and book B separately -- it is distributed between them; whereas in [2] the property of being similar applies to the two books jointly, as a group.

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Both "are" and "is" are tenses of "be", and "be" can mean several things. The definitions of "be" (from Merriam-Webster) we are concerned with is:

D: to have a specified qualification or characterization

Your first and third examples are:

Book A and Book B are red.

Book A is red and Book B is red.

This is the English language equivalent of the distributive property. If Book A and book B are red, then I can distribute the verb and adjective to both while conveying the same meaning. Instead of a compound subject, I now create a compound sentence. This is exactly what you describe in your question.

Your second example is:

Book A and Book B are similar.

"Similar" describes a relational characteristic. You cannot distribute "similar" to apply to each noun individually (without additional context) because it requires two objects to form a comparison.

To explain in CS terms, think of it as "are" being a token that relies on the following token to define its own behavior.

Certain following words may define characteristics of each of the preceding nouns:

These books are expensive.

Others may define characteristics between each of the preceding nouns (

These two are lovers.

Lack of a following word may describe its inclusion in a previous statement

Which books are on sale?

These books are.

Is there a term that describes this difference? "Similar" is a ___ word, in the sense that it has this effect on the token "are". — extremeaxe5, Oct 08 '19 at 21:24

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 09 '19 at 13:06

The flaw in your question is assuming the answer has anything to do with the properties of the verb to be.

Rather, it's your choice of adjective that is not allowing you to use the transitive property on these sentences.

Your first example uses a simple descriptive adjective. Red It requires no comparison to work. Hence, the logic:

A is C. B is C. A & B are C.

Your second example is a different type of adjective. It's a comparative adjective. The logic still applies.

A is similar. B is similar. A & B are similar.

But, because you used a comparison you're left asking similar to what? if you view it as two singles.

You'd have similar issues with any comparison. Taller, greasier, stinkier, uglier, etc.

Term for the different uses of "are": one which applies an adjective independently, and one which denotes a relationship

3 Answers3