Sentence:  I grant that the dog may not <WSD>be</WSD> really protective , based on his training , but if you were roaming the streets looking for a purse to snatch or a young lady to molest , how quick would you be to attack a person strolling with a dog ? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)