Sentence:  Mr. March , like Benjamin Szold , was a clergyman , although of an indeterminate denomination ; and `` Marmee '' March , like Sophie Szold , <WSD>was</WSD> the competent manager of her brood of girls , of whom the Marches had only four to the Szolds ' five . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)