Placing the copula だ not at the end of a sentence


In

> お酒は、ほろ酔いのうちが最高 **だ** と言われる。
>
> It's said that alcohol is the best while tipsy.

there is a だ placed before the end of a sentence. I was under the impression
that だ can _only_ be placed at the end of the sentence (excluding sentence
ending particles), or else it must take its な form. Is this not the case?




Quotative と uses the 終止形 and not the 連体形. This is one of the few instances
where they're different in modern Japanese. Surely you've seen だと思う?




Quotative と uses the 終止形 and not the 連体形. This is one of the few instances
where they're different in modern Japanese. Surely you've seen だと思う?

