The function of "was"

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Straydog  #296207  Wed, 22 Nov 06 08:03 AM

Hi, my grammar guide has tied me up in knots. Can anyone help with the following question?

In the sentence "The last sport I played was football" what function does "was" play? Is it an auxiliary verb? How does it relate to the rest of the sentence?

Thanks in advance.

  
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Anonymous  #296257  Wed, 22 Nov 06 11:26 AM

I think it's like this:

Football was the last sport which i played.

So "was" is a normal full verb in the main clause und you have a relative clause with another verb.

Please correct me if i'm wrong.

  
Grammar Geek  #296402  Wed, 22 Nov 06 06:39 PM

Yup.

[My favorite sport] is football.

[The last sport I played] was football.

The part in brackets is the noun phrase, the subject of the sentence.

So "was" is the verb, just like Anon said.

  
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Straydog  #296937  Fri, 24 Nov 06 01:19 AM
Thanks for your help, very much appreciated.
  
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