copula

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In linguistics, a copula (/ˈkɒpjələ/; pl.: copulas or copulae; abbreviated cop) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word is in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase was not being in the sentence "It was not being cooperative." The word copula derives from the Latin noun for a 'link' or 'tie' that connects two different things.