Simple nominal predicates

Predicates of this kind are expressed by a noun, an adjective, an infinitive, a gerund or a participle, e.g.

· I, a liar! 

· She, jealous! 

· They, trying to help?

· Such an old man, to walk so much?

Compound verbal modal predicates

Predicates of this kind consist of a modal verb and an infinitive (with or without the particle “to”),

modal verb + infinitive

• Dave couldn’t look into his mother’s eyes.
• They are to come at noon.

Compound verbal aspect predicates

       Predicates of this kind consist of a verb denoting the beginning, duration, repetition or the end of the action plus an infinitive or a gerund,

aspect verb + gerund/infinitive

a) beginning: to begin; to start; to take off, to commence, etc, e.g.

• They started to talk again.

b) duration: to go on; to keep; to continue; to proceed, etc., e.g.

• Len went on reading.

c)  repetition: used to, would to - with the past reference, e.g.

• My dad used to take me fishing

d) end: to stop; to end; to give up; to finish, etc., e.g.

• The students stopped talking.
• Try to make your boyfriend give up smoking.

Compound nominal predicates

Predicates of this kind consist of a link verb and a predicative (nominal part)

link verb + predicative

e.g. Pat is 25. She is single. She is a student. She looks very smart.

Do not confuse! predicate # predicative

 

PREDICATIVES

Predicatives can be expressed by different parts of speech:

1.  nouns

· in the common case, e.g. Barbara is a pilot. Steve and Lily are orphans.

· in the possessive case, e.g. This book is Helen’s.

1. different kinds of pronouns, e.g.

· That was she. (personal pronoun)

· This book is hers. (possessive pronoun)

· That was nothing. (negative pronoun)

· That was all. (universal pronoun) , etc.

1. non-finite forms of verbs,

· Boris’s aim was to study in Oxford. (an infinitive)

· His hobby is painting. (a gerund)

· The day got more and more fascinating. (participle I)

· Bella sounded amused. (participle II)

1. adjectives, e.g. The roses in Helen’s garden were always beautiful. This kitten looks cute.
2. adlinks, e.g. At midnight the boat was still afloat.
3. numerals, e.g. Derek’s number was 37.
4. predicative clauses, e.g. That was what Dad wanted me to do.
5. quotations, e.g. The pirate’s answer was ‘No!’

 

LINK VERBS

One and the same verb can be both a link verb and a notional verb according to its function in the sentence. While serving as link verbs, notional verbs lose or change their lexical meaning. Compare:

No	Infinitive	Link Verb	Notional Verb
1	to be	Mary is a student.	She is in London now.
2	to look	She looked happy.	She looked at her friend.
3	to feel	Mary felt well.	He felt her hand on his shoulder.
4	to get	He got tired of sitting.	He got a letter from home.
5	to grow	He is growing old.	She is growing vegetables.
6	to turn	She turned pale.	He turned round the corner.
7	to come	His dream has come true.	We come home late.
8	to become	She became nervous.	He became a doctor.
9	to keep	She kept silent.	She kept her letters in a drawer.
10	to make	She will make a good teacher.	She will make a tasty cake.
11	to appear	She appeared excited.	She appeared in the room.
12	to remain	He remained silent.	She remained at home.
13	to smell	The cake smelled nice.	She smelled the rose.
14	to taste	The cake tasted delicious.	He tasted the cake.
15	to sound	(giving impression) Her voice on the phone sounded strange.	(producing a sound) The fireman sounded the alarm loudly.
16	to seem	She seems happy.	It seems to me that it’s true.

 

LINK VERBS + ADJECTIVES

Link verbsare never followed by adverbs, only by adjectives. Russian and Ukrainian learners often make mistakes in the following:

• Мне холодно. (adverb) - I am cold. (adjective)
• Она посмотрела на него холодно.(adverb) - She looked at him coldly. (adverb)
• Cyп пахнет хорошо . (adverb) - The soup smells nice. (adjective)
• Ребенок вел себя хорошо. (adverb)       - The child behaved nicely. (adverb)

BUT: to feel well (physical state) ≠ to feel good (feeling happy or confident about smth)

       to feel bad (physical state) ≠ to feel badly (not to feel smth with your fingers when you touch it)

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