The grammar of "He is gone" [duplicate]

In the sentence

He is gone

Is 'is' a a helping verb, as if to say "he has gone". Or is "gone" a complement meaning not present?

Solution 1:

The quick answer is that in the sentence "He is gone" is is a linking verb, and "gone" is an adjective, a subject complement.

The question gets interesting (read: "contentious") when it gets to "gone."

While it's the past participle of "to go," and expresses a similar-but-different meaning in the sentence "He had gone," that's not the case in the sentence given here.

M-W is pretty unequivocal:

Full Definition of gone Adjective 1 a : lost, ruined (lost looks and gone faculties — Penelope Gilliatt) b : dead c : characterized by sinking or dropping (the empty or gone feeling in the abdomen so common in elevators — H. G. Armstrong) 2 a : involved, absorbed (far gone in hysteria) b : possessed with a strong attachment or a foolish or unreasoning love or desire : infatuated —often used with on (was real gone on that man — Pete Martin) c : pregnant (she's six months gone 3 : past (memories of gone summers — John Cheever)

...and so on.