Editing Zero copula (section)

==In other languages==
Omission frequently depends on the [[grammatical tense|tense]] and use of the copula.

===Bengali===
In [[Assamese language|Bengali]] zero copula is usually used in the [[present tense]] with a prepositional phrase or the [[adverb]] 'here' or 'there'. For example, in the sentence, আমরা এখানে (Aamra ekhane, "We are here"), the copula আছি (Aachhi) is omitted.

===Russian===
In [[Russian language|Russian]] the copula {{lang|ru|быть}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|byt’}}) is normally omitted in the [[present tense]], but not in the [[past tense|past]] and  [[future tense|future tenses]]:

Present (omitted):
*{{lang|ru|Она дома}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Ona doma}}, literally "She at home"), i.e., "She '''is now''' at home, in the house"
Past (used):
*{{lang|ru|Она была дома}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Ona byla doma}}, "She '''was''' at home")

The third person plural {{lang|ru|суть}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|sut’}}, "are") is still used in some standard phrases, but since it is a homonym of the noun "essence", most native speakers do not notice it to be a verb:
*{{lang|ru|Они суть одно и то же}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Oni sut’ odno i to zhe}}, "they are one and the same").

The verb {{lang|ru|быть}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|byt’}}) is the infinitive of "to be". The third person singular, {{lang|ru|есть}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|yest’}}), means "is". As a copula, it can be inflected into the past ({{lang|ru|был}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|byl}}), "future" ({{lang|ru|будет}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|budet}}), and conditional ({{lang|ru|был бы}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|byl by}}) forms. A present tense ({{lang|ru|есть}}, {{lang|ru-Latn|yest’}}) exists; however, it is almost never used as a copula, but rather omitted altogether or replaced by the verb {{lang|ru|являться}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|yavlyat'sa}}, "to be in essence"). Thus one can say:
*{{lang|ru|Она была красавицей}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Ona byla krasavitsej}}, "she was a beautiful woman")—predicate noun in [[instrumental case]].
*{{lang|ru|Она красавица}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Ona krasavitsa}}, "she is a beautiful woman")—predicate noun in the [[nominative case]].
*{{lang|ru|Она является красавицей}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Ona yavlyayetsya krasavitsej}}, "she is a beautiful woman")—predicate noun also in instrumental.

But not usually:
*{{lang|ru|Она есть красавица}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Ona yest’ krasavitsa}}, "she is a beautiful woman"), which would be very formal and would suggest something more than a copula, something more existential than the normal English use of "is". As a result, this construction is quite rare.

But in some cases the verb {{lang|ru|быть}} in the present tense (form {{lang|ru|есть}}) is employed: {{lang|ru|Будь тем, кто ты есть}} (Be who you are).

The present tense of the copula in Russian was in common use well into the 19th century (as attested in the works of [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]]) but is now used only for [[archaism|archaic]] effect (analogous to "[[thou]] art" in English).

===Turkic languages===
{{further|Turkish copula}}
There is a contrast between the regular verb "to be" ({{lang|tr|[[wikt:olmak|olmak]]}}) and the copulative/auxiliary verb "to be" ({{lang|tr|[[wikt:imek|imek]]}}) in [[Turkish language|Turkish]].

The auxiliary verb {{lang|tr|imek}} shows its existence only through suffixes to predicates that can be nouns, adjectives or arguably conjugated verb stems, arguably being the only [[irregular verb]] in Turkish. In the third person, zero copula is the rule, as in Hungarian or Russian. For example:

:{| border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="1"
| align=left | || align=right | || align=left |
|-
| {{lang|tr|Deniz mavi.}}
| "[The] sea [is] blue." || (the auxiliary verb {{lang|tr|i-mek}} is implied only);
|-
| {{lang|tr|Ben maviyim.}}
| "I am blue." || (the auxiliary verb {{lang|tr|i-mek}} appears in {{lang|tr|(y)im}}.)
|}

The ''essential'' copula is possible in the third person singular:{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}}

:{| border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="1"
| align=left | || align=right | || align=left |
|-
| {{lang|tr|Deniz mavidir.}}
| "[The] sea is (always, characteristically) blue."
|}

In [[Tatar language|Tatar]], {{lang|tt|dir}} expresses doubt rather than a characteristic. The origin of {{lang|tt|dir}} is the verb {{lang|tt|durmak}}, with a similar meaning to the Latin {{lang|la|stare}}.

In the modern Tatar language copula is a disappearing grammatical phenomenon and is only rarely used with the first and second person (while the third person copula has fallen completely out of use).<ref>{{cite book |title= Татар грамматикасы|volume= 2|edition= 2|last= Зәкиев|first= М.З.|publisher= Казан: ТӘһСИ|year= 2016|pages= 56{{hyphen}}57|url= http://antat.ru/ru/iyli/publishing/book/2016/%D0%93%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0_2.pdf#page=55}}</ref> In the past there was a full paradigm for all persons:

:{| border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="1"
| align=left | || align=right | || align=left |
|-
| 
| Singular || Plural
|-
| I person
| -мын/-мен || -быз/-без
|-
| II person
| -сың/-сең || -сыз/-сез
|-
| III person
| -дыр/-дер (-тыр/тер) || -дыр/-дер (-тыр/тер)
|}

For example: {{lang|tt|Мин укытучымын}} ({{lang|tt-Latn|Min ukıtuçımın}}, "I'm a teacher"), {{lang|tt|Син укытучысың}} ({{lang|tt-Latn|Sin ukıtuçısıñ}}, "You're a teacher"), {{lang|tt|Ул укытучыдыр}} ({{lang|tt-Latn|Ul ukıtuçıdır}}, "He/She's a teacher"). While the copulas for the first and second person are historically derived from personal pronouns, the third person copula comes from the verb {{lang|tt|тор}} ({{lang|tt-Latn|tor}}, "stand, live, exist"). For negation the copula affix is attached to the negative particle {{lang|tt|түгел}} ({{lang|tt-Latn|tügel}}): {{lang|tt|Мин язучы түгелмен}} ({{lang|tt-Latn|Min yazuçı tügelmen}}, "I'm not a writer"). The copula is only used with nouns. Sometimes the noun can be in the locative case: {{lang|tt|Сез өйдәсез}} ({{lang|tt-Latn|Sez öydäsez}}, "You are at home").

===Japanese===
In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], the copula is not used with predicative adjectives, such as {{Nihongo||ご飯は熱い（です）|gohan wa atsui(desu)|[the] food [is] hot}}. It is sometimes omitted with predicative nouns and adjectival nouns in non-past tense, such as {{Nihongo||携帯電話は便利[だ]（です）|keitai-denwa wa benri|mobile phones [are] convenient}}, but is necessary for marking past tense or negation, as in {{Nihongo||いい経験だった（いい経験でした）|ii keiken datta(ii keiken deshita)|[it] was [a] good experience}}. It is also sometimes omitted in wh-questions, such as {{Nihongo||何これ？（これは何ですか？）|nani kore? (Kore wa nan desuka?)|what [is] this?}}.

===Māori===
In [[Māori language|Māori]], the zero copula can be used in predicative expressions and with continuous verbs (many of which take a copulative verb in many Indo-European languages) — {{lang|mi|He nui te whare}}, literally "a big the house", "the house (is) big"; {{lang|mi|I te tēpu te pukapuka}}, literally "at (past locative particle) the table the book", "the book (was) on the table"; {{lang|mi|Nō Ingarangi ia}}, literally "from England (s)he", "(s)he (is) from England"; {{lang|mi|Kei te kai au}}, literally "at the (act of) eating I", "I (am) eating"

===Arabic===
In [[Arabic language|Arabic]], a [[Semitic language]], the use of the zero copula again depends on the context. In the present tense affirmative, when the subject is [[definite]] and the predicate is [[indefinite article|indefinite]], the subject is simply juxtaposed with its predicate. When both the subject and the predicate are [[definite]], a [[pronoun]] ([[agreement (grammar)|agreeing]] with the subject) may be inserted between the two. For example:
*{{lang|ar|محمد مهندس|rtl=yes}} ({{lang|ar-Latn|Muḥammad muhandis}}), "Muhammad is an engineer" (lit. "Muhammad an-engineer")
*{{lang|ar|محمد هو المهندس|rtl=yes}} ({{lang|ar-Latn|Muḥammad huwa l-muhandis}}), "Muhammad is the engineer' (lit. "Muhammad he the-engineer")

The extra pronoun is highly recommended in order for one not to confuse the predicate for a qualifying adjective:
*{{lang|ar|محمد المهندس|rtl=yes}} ({{lang|ar-Latn|Muḥammad al-muhandis}}), "Muhammad the engineer'
(This is just a [[noun phrase]] with no copula. See ''[[al-]]'' for more on the use of definite and indefinite nouns in Arabic and how it affects the copula.)

In the past tense, however, or in the present tense negative, the verbs {{lang|ar-Latn|kāna}} and {{lang|ar-Latn|laysa}} are used, which take the [[accusative case]]:
*{{lang|ar|كان محمد مهندسًا|rtl=yes}} ({{lang|ar-Latn|Kāna Muḥammad muhandisan}}), "Muhammad was an engineer' ({{lang|ar-Latn|kāna}} = "(he) was") (literally "be it Muhammad an-engineer")
*{{lang|ar|محمد ليس مهندسًا|rtl=yes}} ({{lang|ar-Latn|Muḥammad laysa muhandisan}}), "Muhammad is not an engineer' (lit. "Muhammad is not an-engineer")

When the copula is expressed with a verb, no pronoun need be inserted, regardless of the definiteness of the predicate:
*{{lang|ar|محمد ليس بالمهندس|rtl=yes}} ({{lang|ar-Latn|Muḥammad laysa bi-l-muhandis}}), "Muhammad is not the engineer' (lit. "Muhammad is not of the-engineer")

[[Hebrew]], another [[Semitic language]], uses zero copula in a very similar way.

===Ganda===
The [[Luganda|Ganda]] verb "to be", {{lang|lg|-li}}, is used in only two cases: when the predicate is a prepositional phrase and when the subject is a pronoun and the predicate is an adjective:
*{{lang|lg|Ali mulungi}}, "She is beautiful' ({{lang|lg|ali}}, "(he/she) is")
*{{lang|lg|Kintu ali mu mmotoka}}, "Kintu is in the car" (literally "Kintu he-is in-car")

Otherwise, the zero copula is used:
*{{lang|lg|Omuwala mulungi}}, "The girl is beautiful" (literally "the-girl beautiful")
Here the word {{lang|lg|mulungi}}, "beautiful" is missing its initial vowel pre-prefix {{lang|lg|o-}}. If included, it would make the adjective qualify the noun {{lang|lg|omuwala}} [[attributive adjective|attributively]]:
*{{lang|lg|Omuwala omulungi}}, "The beautiful girl' or "a beautiful girl".

===American Sign Language===
[[American Sign Language]] does not have a copula. For example, "my hair is wet" is signed ''my hair wet'', and "my name is Pete" may be signed ''[MY NAME]<sup>topic</sup> P-E-T-E''.

===Irish===
The copula {{lang|ga|is}} is used in Irish but may be omitted in the present tense. For example, {{lang|ga|Is fear mór é}} ("He is a big man") can be expressed as simply {{lang|ga|Fear mór é}}. The common phrase {{lang|ga|Pé scéal é}} (meaning "anyhow", lit. "Whatever story it [is]") also omits the copula.

===Welsh===
{{Technical|section|date=April 2016}}
The fact that [[Welsh language|Welsh]] often requires the use of a predicative particle to denote non-definite predicates means that the copula can be omitted in certain phrases. For example, the phrase {{lang|cy|Ac yntau'n ddyn byr...}} ("Since he is/was/etc. a short man...") literally translates as "And he [particle] a short man...". The zero copula is especially common in Welsh poetry of the {{lang|cy|[[Medieval Welsh literature|gogynfardd]]}} style.

===Amerindian languages===
[[Nahuatl]], as well as some other [[Amerindian language]]s, has no copula. Instead of using a copula, it is possible to [[grammatical conjugation|conjugate]] nouns or adjectives like verbs.

Grammarians and other comparative linguists, however, ''do not'' consider this to constitute a zero copula but rather an [[affix]]al copula. Affixal copulae are not unique to Amerindian languages but can be found, for instance, in [[Korean language|Korean]] and in the [[Eskimo languages]].

Many indigenous languages of South America do, however, have true zero copulae in which no overt free ''or'' bound [[morpheme]] is present when one noun is equated with another. In fact, zero-copula is likely to occur in third-person contexts in Southern Quechua (notice ''wasiqa hatunmi'' 'the house is big' vs. ''wasiqa hatunmi kan'' 'the house is big', where ''kan'', the Quechua copula, is not really needed, as suggested by the first sentence).

Yaghan, from Tierra del Fuego, used, in its heyday back in the mid-19th century, zero copula as one option, when introducing new participants in discourse, but had a slew of posture-based copular verbs for all other contexts. So I could say, kvnji-u:a Jon (lit. 'this man IS John'(zero copula). kvnji 'this', u:a 'man' (v here is schwa, and colon marks tenseness of the vowel preceding it), but once John has been introduced I might say, Jon lvpatvx-wvshta:gu:a mu:ta 'John is a woodworker', lvpatvx 'wood' (x voiceless velar fricative), wvshta:gu: 'work' u:a 'man', mu:ta irregular present tense form of mu:tu: 'to be (sitting) (or occupied doing)'

=== Chinese ===
[[Standard Chinese|Modern Standard Chinese]], as well as many other [[Varieties of Chinese|Chinese dialects]], uses a copula, such as the Mandarin word ''shì'' (是), before nouns in predications, like in ''Wŏ '''shì''' Zhōngguó rén'' (我'''是'''中国人 / I '''am''' Chinese), but not usually before verbs or adjectives. For example, saying ''Wǒ '''shì''' kāixīn'' (我'''是'''开心 / I '''am''' happy) is a grammatically incorrect sentence, but saying ''Wǒ kāixīn'' (我开心 / I happy), is correct. Adverbs can be added to the adjective, like in ''Wǒ '''hĕn''' kāixīn'' (我'''很'''开心 / I '''very''' happy). A copula may be used for adjectives, however, if the particle ''de'' (的) is added after the adjective, like in ''Wǒ '''shì''' kāixīn '''de''''' (我'''是'''开心'''的''').

===Vietnamese===
Somewhat similar to Chinese, the [[Vietnamese language]] requires the copula {{lang|vi|là}} before nouns in [[Predicate (grammar)|predication]]s but does not use a copula before verbs or adjectives, thus {{lang|vi|Tôi '''là''' sinh viên}} (I am a student) but {{lang|vi|Tôi giỏi}} (I [am] smart). The topic marker {{lang|vi|thì}} may appear before an adjective to emphasize the subject, for example {{lang|vi|Tôi '''thì''' giỏi}} (As for me, I am smart). Many prepositions in Vietnamese originated as verbs and continue to function as verbs in sentences that would use a copula in English. For example, in {{lang|vi|Tôi '''ở''' nhà}} (I am at home), the word {{lang|vi|ở}} may be analyzed as either "to be at" or simply "at". Sometimes, attributive adjectives may follow the verb ''có'' (to have), thus ''Tôi '''(có)''' cao'' is a feasible sentence.